Jan 7 - Daily Devotions are on Sabbatical!

Our daily devotions are on a Sabbatical for two months

… because I am on Sabbatical for two months!

 

From the same root word as Sabbath, rest is God’s idea – not mine or the church’s.

 

People ask: Why do pastors (and professors) get “extra vacation” when no other profession does. Again, because it’s God’s idea … not mine or the church’s.

 

Pastors are called to feed God’s sheep (see Jesus’ words to history’s first pastor, Peter, in John 21). But in order to feed, a shepherd must be fed.

 

It’s the same logic as the instructions before a plane takes off. “In the event of an emergency and the oxygen masks become available. Put yours on first and then put it on children or anyone needs assistance.” Why? Because if you aren’t fed with oxygen, you’ll pass out before helping others.

 

I haven’t been in danger of passing out. But all pastors need oxygen – indeed, the breath of the Holy Spirit, occasionally – so they can continue feeding others.

 

Thanks to the congregation for this opportunity. Pray that God feeds and refreshes me.

 

And if you have any needs, contact the church and Pastor Nate!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s following

God’s prescription!

 

 

 

Jan 6 - Epiphany Devotion

“Where is the child who has

been born king of the Jews?”

Matthew 2:2

 

Today is Epiphany. It is one of the more major Christian Feast-Days. It is also a celebration we often forget.

 

Epiphany means “a revealing.”

 

At his birth, Jesus came into this world. But he’s had millions of “revealing-points” throughout history.

 

Scripturally, we’re familiar with the stories of when he was “revealed” as a child.

 

·         He was revealed to shepherds.

·         He was revealed to wise men – the traditional story for the day of Epiphany.

·         He was revealed at his eight-day-old dedication in the temple to Simeon and Anna.

·         As a twelve-year-old, he was revealed again in the temple, as people listened to his wisdom.

·         He was revealed at his baptism – “This is my Son, the beloved.”

·         He was revealed at his first healing … and his second healing … and his four-thousandth-and-forty-fifth.

·         He was revealed at each new sermon.

·         He was revealed through each miracle.

·         He was revealed as the fulfillment of prophecy upon the cross.

·         He was revealed as triumphant king at his resurrection.

·         He was revealed … again … and again … and again.

 

Wait! Notice the verb. “He WAS revealed.” “Was” is past-tense. And if we want, we can make Jesus “past-tense.”

 

But He is not!

 

He IS risen! He IS alive! He IS continually revealed – whenever and wherever honestly ask like the Wise Men, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?”

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who still sings

Christmas Carols on Epiphany:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem

Descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

Be born to us today

(That’s the “revealing” that I pray for!)

 

Jan 5 - Twelfth Day of Christmas

Legend tells us that The Twelve Days of Christmas

was a secret catechism during times of persecution.

For these twelve days let’s focus on twelve teachings:

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

Twelve Drummers Drumming

 

Yesterday we said that fifes and pipes and drums are an army’s signal callers. What message do the twelve drums beat out for us on the final day of Christmas?

 

The twelve drums in this catechism represent the twelve key doctrinal points of the Apostles Creed.

 

Written three centuries after Jesus’ resurrection, the Creed answered the heresies of that generation by beating out a steady cadence of true and grace.

 

1.    I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Our God is King, Father, Mighty, and Creator.

 

2.   I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. I believe [that Jesus] was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus – God’s son, our Savior – is fully God (as the Nicene Creed adds: Jesus is “eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven”) and while physically on earth, he was fully man (as the Nicene creed says: he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man).

 

3.   I believe that … He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was  crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The purpose of Jesus’ journey was to die to save us from our sins. The suffering was real. The crucifixion was real. And the death was total – that’s what “descended into hell” or “descended into death” means. Jesus submitted to the fullest emptiness and powerlessness of death.

 

4.   I believe that … on the third day he rose again. Oddly, and to reinforce the last petition and point, scripture doesn’t say that Jesus “rose again” – except once. Every other time it say, he “was raised.” It’s a significant difference! “He rose” implies that he had the power to change his own status from death to life. “Was raised” reveals the truth – he was totally, utterly, completely, powerlessly, dead.

 

5.   I believe … [Jesus] ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Heaven is Jesus’ eternal destination. Side-by-side with God the Father, King Jesus reigns over all of eternity.

 

6.   I believe … He will come again to judge the living and the dead. And Jesus’ primary “job” in heaven is to judge us. And his verdict is clear: Every one of us is guilty. All of us have sinned and all of us fall far short of God’s glorious standard. “But to all who receive[] him, who believe[] in his name, he g[ives the] power to become children of God” (John 1:12). When we stand before Jesus, he’ll declare each of us guilty. But then he’ll say to “all … who believe” that they are family – children of God – and that his righteousness has covered their sins. As it says in Romans 8:34, “Who … will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.”

 

7.   I believe in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also God. (But I’m not going to explain the Trinity in a paragraph here!!)

 

8.   I believe in … the holy catholic Church. The word “catholic” throws people. It’s the name of a “denomination,” so are we confessing that we’re Roman Catholics? No. In fact, just the opposite. With a little “c”, “catholic” means world-wide or universal. (Once the Roman church was the world-wide church, which is why they used the name.) But if “catholic” means throughout the world, it means that we believe that there is “one church” throughout the world – and it transcends the human divisions that we call denominations. As it says in Ephesians 4:5, the is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” We may “like” our denominations and our traditions, but what we should “love” is God’s truth and a unity that cuts across human divisions.

 

9.   I believe in … the communion of saints. We believe that when people die they go to heaven. Therefore, in heaven now are 1) God-the-Father, 2) God-the-Son, 3) God-the-Holy-Spirit, 4) Angels (of all forms and varieties – angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, etc.), and 5) the Saints, people of faith who have died and gone to heaven. They’re there now, and as Revelation hints at – they’re aware of our circumstances and praying (at least in a global sense) for events on earth.

 

10. I believe in … the forgiveness of sins. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, you’re free. Forever.

 

11. I believe in … the resurrection of the body. We don’t become “spirits” when we die. God’s final plan – to go with a “new heaven and a new earth” (see Revelation 21) – is a new body for each of us. God didn’t create the blessings of physical life to be only temporary; physical life is eternal!

 

12. And … I believe in … the life everlasting. (Life eternal is God’s gift to all who believe.) Amen.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who could study

those twelve points for

the rest of his life

and never get bored!

 

Jan 4 - Eleventh Day of Christmas

Legend tells us that The Twelve Days of Christmas

was a secret catechism during times of persecution.

For these twelve days let’s focus on twelve teachings:

The Eleventh Day of Christmas

Eleven Pipers Piping

 

My son Jay is a piper … and a fifer.

 

The first time he did a Revolutionary War re-enactment, an experienced drummer was coaching my little twelve-year-old. He explained that the fife and drums were signal callers of the unit. In the heat of battle, the wail of fifes and pipes can be heard above the musket fire. At the officer’s command, they’d blow “advance” or trill “retreat.”

 

“In battle,” said the portly drummer, “we will essential follow the line of soldiers.” Re-enactments aren’t real battles, of course. Pretend fifers don’t issue real commands. “Instead,” said Jay’s experienced coach, “When the soldiers advance, we advance behind them. And when they stop to load their muskets and fire, we kneel behind them. It was how the young drummer boys and fifers stayed safe.”

 

So Jay did as he was told. When the soldiers advanced, he stood and advanced. When they stopped and fire, he knelt behind the lines. It was up and down. Kneel and advance. Kneel and retreat. Shots were continually fired. Pretend soldiers were continually “keeling over dead.” It was up and down, up and down. Kneel and advance.

 

One time as the soldiers stopped again, the portly drummer beside Jay knelt again. But this time his pants split wide open! He whispered anxiously to my boy, “Jay, take my drum. At the next gunshot, I’m ‘dying’!”

 

Fifers and pipers were signal callers. They relayed the commands. And that’s what the eleven pipers piping represent.

 

The eleven pipers are the eleven faithful disciples (remembering, of course, that Judas, the twelfth, betrayed Jesus). But after Jesus’ death, the eleven remaining disciples were “sent to war.” Ten out of eleven were killed as martyrs. The eleventh – John – was tortured and imprisoned. But they were brave pipers, sent into hostile territory to call out the signals and commands of Jesus the King.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s willing to take

a bullet for the kingdom

(and wonders why to many are so shy

to proclaim the good news when it’s a whole lot

less embarrassing than splitting your pants)

 

Jan 3 - Tenth Day of Christmas

Legend tells us that The Twelve Days of Christmas

was a secret catechism during times of persecution.

For these twelve days let’s focus on twelve teachings:

The Tenth Day of Christmas

Ten Lords a Leaping

 

Yesterday we said, “If you want to dance, allow the Spirit to help you live according to the nine fruits of the Spirit.”

 

Today we say, “If you want to leap … to soar … to hope and fly and aspire … allow the Spirit to help you live according to the ten commandments.”

 

Human nature makes us want to chafe at the Law. We want to do what we want to do. But the path to true blessing is the exact opposite.

 

When we are loving God – which is what the first four commandments are about – we are following God’s life-giving priorities rather than the world polluted principles. As we said yesterday, these principles may not seem to get immediately be rewarded; but when we follow God’s path (including his rules), we begin to see God (as well as discover greater love, joy, and peace).

 

And when we are truly loving our neighbor – which is what the final six commandments are about – we are creating a life-giving relationships … and it’s that one of life’s greatest hopes and goals. Loving our neighbor has another positive effect: It recreates the world! In small, gradual, wonderful ways, loving people tend to create around them a world of love, honor, dignity, forgiveness, and selflessness.

 

Most people live like this: If I break a law, if I fudge and cheat, I’m not hurting anyone but myself. Not true. We are polluting the world. We are contributing, even subtly, to the disintegration of society. People joke about “raising a little hell,” but the fact of the matter is that fudging and cheating causes us to reap a whole lot more hell than we realize. Compromise breeds the disintegration of society.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to leap

rather than be grounded

by the anchor of sin

 

Jan 2 - Ninth Day of Christmas

Legend tells us that The Twelve Days of Christmas

was a secret catechism during times of persecution.

For these twelve days let’s focus on twelve teachings:

The Ninth Day of Christmas

Nine Ladies Dancing

 

Recently a friend was diagnosed with a time-bomb in his chest. Doctors warn him: “Your vessels are weak. They could blow. Therefore, don’t do anything to raise your blood pressure.”

 

This active man took it first, and understandably, as a punch in the gut. “Don’t do,” was how it sounded.

 

But then the Holy Spirit spoke. It wasn’t, “don’t do.” It was live according to the fruits of the Spirit! Indeed, “your blood pressure won’t rise if you highest goals are …”

 

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Generosity

Faithfulness

Gentleness

and Self-Control

 

“I need to write my doctor a thank you note,” said this friend. He just prescribed living spiritually … which is what I was supposed to be doing all along.”

 

… and because of this … he’s going to spend his life dancing. Indeed, this is what the nine ladies dancing is really all about. If you want to dance, ask the Spirit to help you live according to the nine fruits of the Spirit!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants

to learn to dance