“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” Proverbs 18:16

“Give this to your wife and do NOT mention me!” It’s a line I used to influence men on the importance of ‘loving their wives as Christ loves the Church’ (Eph. 5:25). Women love candles… and I have a connection. Being a man, I know first hand that men are pigs! Being sensitive and giving are not typical of ‘dudes.’ And part of my job is to teach people to do and become non-typical.

One of my favorite things to do is to wrap up a candle in a used plastic store bag, hand it to a guy and tell him to pass it on to his wife. I’ll say, “there are 2 gifts in the bag. 1 for your wife, and 1 for you. YOUR gift is the appreciation you will get from her when you tell her you came across this and was thinking about her. Just DON’T mention me!” Which often leads to a sad, piggish confession.

“When I give this to her, she’ll KNOW it wasn’t from me!” men will often say. When I ask, “why,” they’ll admit, “cuz I don’t never do nothin’ like dis!” As I said, men are pigs! But to get from the pig sty to the palace, one must do and be different from what pigs do. Teaching men to be bigger and better than they usually are is part of the job. Demonstration is a good God teaching method!

Everything on this Earth, especially at Christmas, is about Christ! And everything about Christ is about God’s Grace and Mercy… NOT getting what we deserve but receiving what we don’t! My connection to The Savior is a long established one. But one in which I have SO much more to learn. Spending time with Him and His Word teaches me all KINDS of things this pig really needs.

The principle of God sending His Son into the world to save it is unfathomable. Jesus Christ was born… to die! He knew in advance what kind of death He would suffer. Not being a pig but a Prince, he wanted all mankind to join Him in the palace. To get that done, God used the idea of a gift to gain interest, and to influence those who would want to join Him.

Spreading light is God’s thing. 1 candle can light another… and so on and so on. It is important for me to remember that I was called to spread His light. To work on NOT being a pig, but to be the gift to teach others about the wondrous, matchless love and light of our beautiful Savior. I can’t think of anything greater or more enjoyable.

Are YOU God’s great gift to your family and those in your world? Or are you an oink?  

“…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

“I think over here might be a good place to hide it,” I said. Katie said, “Eh.. they’ll find it in less than a second! They always do!” What we were talking about was the moving of the Elf on a Shelf in her classroom at school. We had stopped by in the evening so it would be moved for the morning. I was getting sucked in! As creativity flowed, ‘Truth’ kind of slipped out the window!

The Elf on a Shelf is a product from 2005 that has taken a permanent spot at Christmas. Written as a book, a ‘Scout Elf’ is sent to homes with children to watch behavior. Every Night the elf fly’s back to the North Pole to update Santa’s ‘Naughty or Nice’ list based on it’s findings. Upon return to the home, it takes a different location. Finding the Elf each morning is exciting and fun for children.

Having not been the Elf on the Shelf mover, I’d only HEARD stories as Katie came home and shared fun details about the kids and ‘The Elf.’ The Elf idea reminds kids that their behavior is being monitored during the Christmas Season. Kids are STRONGLY encouraged to BE GOOD so they will get presents! I laugh because Christianity has the same kind of silly tricks to get people to behave!

There are LOTS of articles that claim ‘The Elf’ is nothing more than a form of behavior control and can damage children’s psyche if misused. I can see how the threat of abuse from a controlling, insensitive parent might scar or distort reality for a child. If that is true, then ‘religion’ in the wrong hands can do even MORE damage to someone who doesn’t fully know the Grace of God.

There are lots of ideas out there that act like snitching Elves to God. Lines like, “You’d better repent, confess, and ask God for forgiveness, sin separates you from God, you could lose your salvation,” can easily damage a believer’s faith, as being ‘good or bad,’ becomes the measure of how much God really loves and approves of me. It takes a LOT of effort to overcome conscience.

Satan LOVES to mess with believers. And why not? He already HAS the unbelievers. If he can distort scripture and make a believer feel guilty enough to stop them from sharing the Good News of Christ, in his mind, he can win. So he lays it on thick with guilt and remorse! Then, adding elfish lies, I can make myself FEEL unworthy of ANYTHING good from God. That method WORKS!

Today’s Bible verse is just 1 of MANY that talk about Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. It is clear. Jesus died once… FOR ALL! All people and all sin! PERIOD! But satan doesn’t want us to believe that truth. He wants to keep believers focused on SIN instead of the Savior! The Truth is, I don’t get to heaven by ‘being good,’ I get there by receiving His free Gift of Grace, which makes me HIS!

The Joy of Christmas, understood through to the purpose of Easter, shows me how much God loves and wants me. Faith comes by receiving His free gift of Grace through the Holy Spirit, not my behavior. In God’s opinion, He has no BAD KIDS, even though I will NEVER act perfect on this Earth. I have discovered that playing hide and seek for God’s approval is a waste of time! I’m already in!

Are YOU playing games with God’s grace? Do YOU allow guilt and remorse to drive you further from Christ because you haven’t met some perfect standard? Cheer up lil sheep! God has no reporting elves and doesn’t even keep lists of bad behavior!       Got Jesus?

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” Hebrews 4:14

En route to the airport to pick up a couple of our church snowbirds, their flight got delayed. I had some time on my hands. I was driving Katie’s car and it was in need of a wash. Time, space and opportunity presented itself so I pulled into the first car wash I saw, paid my money and drove onto the track. Pulled into the spinning, foaming, loud, dark waters was cool. Then I wondered WHY?

For some reason my mind took me back to having kids in the car when we went through a car wash just like this. I remembered how excited they were. Yet my same kids, when first introduced to a swimming pool, were scared out of their minds! What was the difference? Having time in the whirring spinning thing, I think I figured it out. I was “WITH” them and they had faith in ME!

The first time my kids went into a swimming pool I was there. BUT… when a child puts their head UNDER the water, they do it ALONE! Since I could not breathe for them, the fear, danger and death became very personal. In the dark car with all the sounds, I was in there too. I guess they just knew that if I put MY faith in the machine and was WITH them, they could trust too! Like Jesus!

Unfortunately, death is one of those subjects that people like to avoid. When sharing the Gospel, I’ll bring up the question of where folks think they will go when they die. Usually, they make some kind of joke about it to avoid the subject, even though death has a 100% success rate. Sadly, until folks are faced with the cold hard reality they already know, they won’t put trust in someone else.

God has designed me with choice by HIS choice. He will not force Himself on me and MAKE me receive His free gift of salvation and eternal life. He has planted enough of Himself in me that I should KNOW to run to Him and trust Him with my life. When He sent Jesus here, Jesus had to CHOOSE to come to suffer and die! And He faced death ALONE! What He does NOW is BETTER!

When death grabbed hold of Jesus in the grave, it messed with the WRONG GUY! Jesus BEAT death to death! NOW He sits beside His Father in Heaven and talks to Him about ME! “See that?” He’ll say, “I died for that one!” As I ride this life I face darkness and fear every day. But I do not need to succumb to them! Because Jesus and I are in the same car going in the same direction!

Through the stormy fears of life, are you clean, riding with and holding on to, The Savior?

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“There’s a flag on the play… this one is coming back!” Katie and I were watching the NFL football game on TV when a successful pass play, which had moved the ball downfield for OUR team, suddenly wasn’t so successful! Someone had committed a foul and the ‘Ref’ threw a flag. Our famous quarterback suddenly had a meltdown!

The TV flashed a quote from the young opposing team’s quarterback, referring to OUR’s, which said, “He’s been an NFL Quarterback for longer than I’ve been alive!” At the break they showed OUR veteran’s reaction to several plays and players as he unhappily yelled and gestured his dissatisfaction. I knew EXACTLY how he felt!

As I pondered on what and why I do the things I do, I felt the same attitude and response ‘OUR’ Quarterback displayed. Watching NFL Football is just an example. Katie and I have watched it for so long, stopping watching it isn’t even discussed. I’m not a big fan and don’t even LIKE the NFL anymore! But there we were! Habit stuck!

The older I get the more trouble I seem to see. Rock solid truth that should be common knowledge, isn’t anymore! As society continues to fumble and fouls become more the norm, the ‘Flags’ are completely ignored. Gesturing in dissatisfaction only makes me appear like the grumpy old grandpa I’ve become in the youthful eyes of those who do not know what I know! Enter Jesus!

To the world, the Bible appears to be an old book written by grumpy old men. What ‘I’ know to be true is that The Word is more progressive than today’s news. The last book wraps up the 65 before it by throwing a Flag on the game of Life! The Book says things WILL get worse… that TROUBLE IS on the way! But Jesus sends in the pass play to ‘Peace.’ To ‘Take Heart’ and keep my eyes on HIM!

Are you keeping your eyes and heart on Jesus, trusting in HIS completed work and not your own? Have you ever considered that as the world gets farther from Jesus, even GOD gets grumpier?  ‘The Ref’ is watching, and according to what I know, there’s a big flag coming! Are YOU ready?

“These (trials) have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:7

“Ya wanna buy some gold?” That was the question asked by a man who had some to sell. Having an interest about a year ago, I had asked about owning gold and he had strongly recommended it. Now, needing to raise some money for an emergency, my former interest made an opportunity for both of us. Knowing NOTHING about gold, I contacted a friend of mine who does! And good thing!

The advice of my friend was to get a picture, then to have the gold tested. When the picture came, my friend said, now get it tested. So arrangements were made and the valuable coin was taken to an expert with a tool to verify its authenticity. The ‘tool’ turned out to be a fancy gun shaped object that shot some kind of magic ray at the coin. Within a second, the expert said, “it’s a fake!” 

It became important to me to remember that the OBJECT being tested was the COIN! NOT the man selling it! Having been around the block many times, I have been taken advantage of many times, and sometimes intentionally. The lesson from being burned in the past has been reduced to an age old saying, “trust… but verify!” Relieved, the verse today reminded me ‘my Faith’ is under the gun!

The topic of testing by trial is a can of worms that nobody likes to open. Mostly because there are so many tests and testers to consider. The thing to remember is that God isn’t usually the one DOING the testing. Sadly, too many folks like to blame Him when He has NOTHING to do with it.

The world, the flesh and the devil are the typical culprits from which tests come. But it is important to remember that it is ‘MY FAITH’ that is being tested from all angles. NOT GOD! God is perfect! ANY leaning toward God being otherwise will only result in Faith’s failure of the test! Sadly, the world is falling for sin because it fails to WANT to trust the authenticity of the Creator of Life.

Everyone I know is going through some kind of test right now. It’s getting tough out there. But today’s verse tells me that testing is an INVESTMENT in my future. For when my faith PASSES the test, it will result in something FAR more precious than any earthly riches. Praise, Honor and Glory will be the eternal result. And that is good enough reason to press on and endure any test!

Are YOU passing the Faith Test? Or are you blaming God for something He has nothing to do with? I prefer to keep my eyes on Jesus. Not the fake stuff that glitters! How about YOU?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Last night was our annual Christmas Trivia Night! I had asked a couple ladies if they would mind bringing some snacks for the occasion, and was told by text that ‘Pigs in a Blanket’ would be part of the fare! Immediately I thought, “OH NO! That’s WAY too much to ask of somebody.” When I called, I learned that our experiences of that menu item differed greatly! I was happily confused!

Growing up, Pigs in a blanket was a MAJOR dinner item. It consisted of cooking meat and rice, wrapping tubular balls of that mixture in cabbage leaves, then baking them in the oven. It took a lot of work! When I was told HER version was mini hot dogs wrapped in dough, I still appreciated the effort, but was happy that HER pigs it wouldn’t take all day to blanket! I thought of this verse.

Basically it starts off with the idea that LOTS of people are watching me. Since that is the case, I’d better watch my behavior and STOP doing the sinful things that so EASILY mess up my life and reputation! Reading that part scares me because… THAT part isn’t so easy! Admittedly, I have been trying to do that since I first heard the word “NO!” So far it hasn’t easily worked! So what’s the deal?

OBVIOUSLY, sin is fun! If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have done it so much. Growing up, parents and teachers would say, “you stop that right now young man or you’re going to get in trouble!” I didn’t, and I did! Over and over again! My piggish sinful flesh was actually comfortable being wrapped up and coddled! In time, I realized I WAS in trouble, but had NO way to stop it on my own! Now THIS?

At my age and in my profession, I guess you could say I am a master at recognizing pigs in blankets. Having run to Jesus and been forgiven, it is now a pleasure to point people to the same Savior who ‘set me free from the law of sin and death!’ But once in a while I read a verse that scares me into an uncomfortable, labor intensive, working idea of Faith that DOESN’T work. Un-blanketing ain’t easy!

The First verse by itself leaves me the pig I am! And in the same position as those we ate last night! Wrapped up and headed for the oven! The Christmas JOY of this lesson comes in verse 2. Because while it is IMPOSSIBLE for ME to do the first verse alone, I CAN do the second verse… and that is ‘Keep my eyes focused on Jesus, the AUTHOR and PERFECTER of MY FAITH! Now I’m comfortable.

Are YOU trying to break free from sin and make a good impression on your own? Why not turn your focus on The Savior and stay OUT of the oven!  

“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'” Galatians 3:10

“Ugh!” “UGH!” “AHHHHHHH!” I was trying to get my pool pump cleaned, and the pesky top that unscrews off ALWAYS feels like it’s glued on! So I put more effort into it! I learned from MY dad that effort comes out in noises of frustration… and then defeat! In 35 years, I have done this job HUNDREDS of times. Yet I’ve never learned to just go and get the wrench BEFORE starting! DUH!

Now granted, as the pool filter basket cover has gotten older, it’s gotten harder to unscrew. Time does that to old parts. In men like me, time does the opposite… time makes me weaker! AND apparently dumber too! Because I certainly wasn’t thinking logically. Older, weaker me was trying to man-handle an old part that is practically FUSED together! Hearing demons laughing, I YELLED!!

As it took the whole of 2 minutes to walk to my toolbox in the garage to find and return with ‘The Wrench,’ I sensed The Holy Spirit chuckle as well! Then He spoke in His special way with no sound, “When will you ever learn son? Strength only comes through weakness” So pausing in weakness, I decided to look up the verse. Not because it was the first time. But cuz it SHOULD be the LAST!

This principle SHOULD immediately be acted upon in a Christian over 55 years. But I am living proof that God picks the foolish of the world to confound the wise (2 Corinthians 12)! TADAAAA! The whole ‘law vs faith’ principle is as universal and unchangeable as the laws ordering physics or gravity! AND the law governing my flesh as well. Deep down, I DON’T WANT TO GET IT! Sad!

As strange as it may sound, working to be and do good comes with us right out of the womb! I do bad, then feel bad. So I resolve to do better, then work harder toward that resolution. Which sounds good and pleases parents, teachers and bosses! But to God, it sounds like Idolatry! And THAT is what today’s verse actually means! Working HARDER at being good is a SIN! READ IT!

I am an old guy, which means my mind, will and emotions are even WEAKER than when I was first saved. If I couldn’t BE GOOD on my own THEN, there is NO possible way that trying harder now will get me anywhere close to that goal. What I NEED is a TOOL! That tool is the Cross of Jesus Christ, and all that He IS! That means dying to myself and submitting to HIS ability to work in me.

I”m happy to say that BOTH tools worked. The pool pump is cleaner and therefore more efficient at doing its job. And so am I!

Are YOU trying to be and do righteousness in your own power and strength? Are you frustrated enough to hear God’s snicker, dropping your own ideas of what it means to BE righteous in HIS eyes? Will you die to yourself so you can let Him live in and through you? If so.. Good boy (or girl!)!

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

I have a snake in my garage! Yup! We were headed out to a Christmas Party and I was wearing my suit. Seeing movement to the right of my feet, we instantly recognized each other! In that 21.9 nanosecond period of time, we both hesitated. Then as I reached, he slithered! The result? Like I said, I have a rat snake in my garage. My inside mischievous Christmas elf smirks at the possibilities!

I know lots of people freak at snakes… it’s only natural! When God put the curse on the serpent and turned it into a slithering belly crawler, humans were instilled with heebie-jeebies when they meet. It’s all part of the Edenic Curse. But I’ve been around snakes my whole life, so they don’t bother me. But my wife? Haaaaa! THAT is where interesting possibilities lay! She doesn’t want to go in there.

Now don’t give me that “you’re so bad and evil” attitude! It’s RAT snake! This one is a little under 4’, but it doesn’t have a fang or drop of poison in it’s non-slimy body! In fact, we have the advantage, it being in there means WE don’t have RATS! Or won’t for long! Things that irritate are the gnats, mosquitoes and palmetto bugs that show up more often. Bugs bug me! I can PLAY with snakes!

The Bible verse today has always intrigued me. It is obvious sheep and wolves don’t pair well. The CRAZY thing is, ‘Savior Jesus’ isn’t bothered in the least at the thought of sending me, his sheep, out into a world FULL of wolves! The operation method He provides sounds more ridiculous than the commission! “Go be shrewd like snake… innocent like dove!’ Like, “wax on-wax-off!” Funny Jesus!

The words used to define ‘shrewd’ hint at what Jesus expects. ‘Showing a clever awareness, resourcefulness, artful and cunning practices, tricky and penetrating!’ Which should be kind of fun! Except that He also demands ‘innocence’ like a ditsy dove! The verses afterwards warn us that I WILL get the snot beat out of me, but it’s ok! He’ll be WITH me through the beatings and fast exits!

There are snakes in my world. Satan is Biblically referred to as one. Sometimes they openly attack and send me running. Other times they sneak in the backdoor and cause terror just by showing a little skin! But Jesus doesn’t kill snakes, He USES them. Extermination day is coming. But not yet. Which means I am required to trust HIM for the attitude and skills necessary to live with snakes!  Even though I naturally don’t want to!

Are YOU fearful or shrewd? Prepared or oblivious? Are you ready to face the snakes in life using HIS skills and resources? Seeing snakes turned into saints is actually kind of interesting and fun!

We are asking for prayer for healing, strength and a special touch of the Holy Spirit for Keri Allen, Husband John and their kids J.D., Zach and Mallory.  They are battling a big snake and need our support in Christ!  Will you join us in expectation and hope?

Five Looks at Jesus

For every look at yourself, take five looks at Christ.

Those are the words of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a pastor in Scotland in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was born in Edinburgh in 1813, and what’s striking about his life (and that some still remember him today) is that he lived only twenty-nine years. He died of typhus fever in 1843.

Two years later, his friend and a fellow minister Andrew Bonar published Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray M’Cheyne, which in time came to be published in over a hundred English editions. In Memoir and Remains appears a letter M’Cheyne wrote to a friend:

Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. Such infinite majesty, and yet such meekness and grace, and all for sinners, even the chief! Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in His beams. Feel His all-seeing eye settled on you in love, and [rest] in His almighty arms . . .

Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh. (293)

Ten looks at Christ for every one look at self. I suspect M’Cheyne’s counsel was striking in his day. But now, some 180 years later, what are we to make of it, living in an age so saturated in, so dominated by the ruse of the almighty self?

Ten looks at Christ for every one look at self was a countercultural word in M’Cheyne’s day. And how much more so for us now? And what healing might there be for us in heeding his counsel? How impoverished are we for our subtle and overt fixations on and fascinations with self, dwelling in a generation that both nourishes the love of self in us and conditions us for greater and deeper attention to self than we otherwise might dare venture?

So I want to ask you to come with me on a journey. I invite you in these moments — as much as you’re able — to put self aside, and together let’s take ten looks at Jesus. In this first session, we’ll take five looks at him from eternity past to the cross, and then in the second session, from his resurrection to eternity future. And with each look, we’ll anchor our glance at his glory in at least one key biblical text and also a key theological term that seeks to capture some of the majesty we find in Christ. So, here are five looks at Jesus.

Look #1: He delighted his Father before creation.

Look #2: He became man.

Look #3: He lived to his Father’s glory.

Look #4: He humbled himself.

Look #5: He died for sins not his own.

5  looks at Jesus that teach us just who and what He did! Remember that Jesus chose to come and die for us. His submission was not without joy. His was not obedience without willingness. He did not just endure death for those who believe; he embraced it.

Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross.” And I would not be surprised if Hebrews leaned on Isaiah 53:11 to make such a stunning claim: “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.”

What sustained Jesus on that dark Friday we now call “Good,” on the single most horrible day in the history of the world? Joy. He saw ahead and was satisfied enough that what joy he tasted even then sustained him through the agony, distress, and anguish.

Unlike the animals who stood in temporarily as substitutes for God’s people in the old covenant, Jesus willed it, with his human will. He embraced it. It pleased him to give his own life as a substitute for sinners — for the joy of the many who would believe and the glory of his Father. What wondrous love we have available to us if we simply choose to look at Him.  Especially during this Christmas season.

Do YOU see Jesus in your circumstances?