Christmas: A Reminder of God's Unconditional Love

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'” ~ Luke 2:1-12

On Christmas, it is time to not only gather with family and friends, but to also remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. More and more these days the birth of Jesus seems to get overshadowed by materialism and consumerism. The crazy lengths that people will go to on Black Friday to get the "best Christmas deal" now seem to include attacking others with pepper spray. I think this completely misses the point of the message that God wants us to focus on, which is love.

The birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary was a miracle, but this was just the beginning. It's incredible to know that we have a God who loves us so much that his Son came into the world to serve us and to bare the weight of our sins, all because He loves us. The Christmas season is meant to be a season of love in order to remind us of the love that the Lord has for his people. John 3:16 elaborates completely on this immense love. This verse states, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This should really make the birth of Jesus a cause for celebration. Without Jesus coming into the world, we would not have had someone willing to obey the Father and die for our sins so that we can have eternal life. On this Christmas, it is my hope that you will all take time to reflect on the significance of the birth of Jesus and how belief in Him can impact your eternal life.

Coalescence of Idolatry and Pride

Psalm 31:6 "I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord."

Like the psalmist says, idols are worthless. We are warned numerous times to separate ourselves from or flee from idols. Particular verses that come to mind include 1 Corinthians 10:14 "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry," and 1 John 5:21 "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." But what exactly are idols? Many people are familiar with the term, especially in the title of the hit show American Idol, but few understand its true meaning. There are some who believe that idols are just other gods that people choose to worship. They aren't wrong in this assumption, but they are missing a portion of the picture. Idolatry is not just worshipping false gods. Idolatry involves anything that you focus on or depend on more than God. One definition lists an idol as, "one that is adored, often blindly or excessively." Some people focus too much on celebrities, musicians, or athletes compared to God, which in a sense turns those objects into idols. Others seem to worship knowledge, technology, or themselves. The most prominent idol in society today, though, is money. So many people try to store away this so-called precious commodity without realizing they are truly worshipping it. The devastation that comes from idolizing money and getting caught up in greed is devastating. At the beginning of the Great Depression when the stock market first crashed in October 1929, numerous people committed suicide because they lost their life savings. It's scary to think that people are so willing to give up on living when all of their money is stripped away. Then again, I'm not surprised because we are warned about the power of money in 1 Timothy 6:10, which states, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." We must not allow our love of money and wealth to hinder our walk with God. Eternal life is much more precious than anything that can be bought here on Earth. My request is that you try to steer your focus away from your idols and back to God. No matter what the focus, if it isn't on God, there is definitely a problem. I think Jonah expresses this best when he states in Jonah 2:8,  "Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them." If we are constantly placing everything else before our love for God, then we are really losing out and missing the point of our life here on Earth, which is to glorify Him. 

I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with keeping God a priority in my life. I didn't realize it at the time, but there was a portion of my life where I relied heavily on other people, whether it was family or friends, to help get me through difficult times in my life. Forming close relationships with people is not a bad thing, but when you become dependent on them and turn to them in the face of chaos before turning to God, then something is bound to give way and implode. And that's exactly what happened to me. God definitely got my attention when he stripped away my closest relationships in order to get me to focus completely on Him. God knew I wasn't depending on Him in my deepest times of need, so in an effort to recapture that focus, God took away my distractions. It was staggering the impact it had on me, but I have become a better person for it. In hindsight, now that the cloud of devastation has cleared, I realize that it was necessary for my path to diverge from certain relationships in order to get back on the narrow path towards God. Now that I'm in the rebuilding phase of my social life, I am much more conscious of God and what He wants for my life. I am careful not to get caught up in that dependence of people, though going to friends for council and comfort is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn't trump my need for God.

What I have learned about myself, and what I assume about others, is that idols sprout up in our lives because we feel that we know what is best for us. Instead of remembering Scripture and the fact that God knows what is best for all of Creation, we become arrogant and prideful assuming that we know better than God. This is definitely not a good place to be in. Author, C.S. Lewis, put it this way in Mere Christianity: "It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." We must not forget that we are mere, imperfect humans. In the grand scheme of things, we don't even know what good is, let alone what might benefit us in the long run. Lewis continues by stating, "As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." This is exactly what happens to those prideful humans who are caught up in the fog of idolatry. They can't see anything outside of their idol because they are completely consumed by it and do not understand that it is essential to focus on God for their needs, as opposed to believing they know what is best. Lewis's concluding thoughts related to pride are expressed in this way: "For Pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense." Pride is a disaster because it prevents us from being able to follow through with God's greatest commandment, which is to love one another, as God loved us (John 13:34). This is probably why God has such strong opposition to the proud. We are to follow His commands and bring Him glory, but if we spend our time here on Earth trying to glorify ourselves, we fall short. The next time you consider that you have a handle on your life, check yourself. Remember that God is sovereign and should always be glorified. And keep in mind what is stated in Proverbs 16:5 ~ "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished."

Evangelism

Mark 16:15-16 "He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.'"

Matthew 28:19-20 "'Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"   
The original disciples were commanded by Jesus to go out and preach the Gospel. This was the first call for evangelism, and it continues for every generation of Christians. As believers, were are to go out into the world and share the Good News with all, in the hope of planting seeds so that God can call more of His people back and bless them with saving grace. This takes much courage because we will face much mocking from those around us, or worse, depending on the area in which you choose to share the Gospel. There are countries in which Christianity is considered illegal, with death being the punishment. But we must remember that fear of man should never be something to stand in our way. Instead, our focus needs to be on the lost and broken people on Earth who are in desperate need of a redeeming Savior. Matthew 9:37-38 should be the driving force behind everybody's desire to enter the mission field, whether at home, work, or in a foreign land: "Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" There are so many people who still know hardly anything about Jesus or have yet to accept Him into their hearts, and it is every Christian's job to bring the message of hope to all. It'll probably be much easier to reach those who have never heard the Gospel because they are eager to learn more and soak up the Son. But sharing with these people typically involves the most danger because people who know little about the Gospel tend to be those who live in countries where it is forbidden.
Evangelism is definitely no easy task. I have already mentioned some of the issues that people might face. In my opinion, though, the hardest people to reach are the rich, who love possessions, and those who were either raised in the church and claim to still be Christians, or those who go through the motions of being Christian, but do not have Jesus in their hearts. They are not open to rebuke. As C.S. Lewis stated, ‎"A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world - and might even be more difficult to save." These people feel that they are doing well by their own standards, and thus refuse to compare themselves to God's standards. They are much like the Pharisees who lived in the time of Jesus, who were merely hypocrites. This is why Jesus reminds us to not continuously butt heads with such individuals in Matthew 10:16 ~ "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Know when to walk away and move onto others in need of the Gospel. Remember that only God can open people's hearts to Jesus, so don't get discouraged or feel unworthy. You are merely following through with Jesus' command in the hopes that God will draw others close to Him and fill them with the Holy Spirit.
In conclusion, allow God to guide your steps into the mission field. Use His Word as a means of discernment to help determine your direction. Some might be called to evangelize at home, while others the jungle, desert, or arctic. One thing to remember, though, is to walk the narrow path of Jesus in order to be an example of a true believer to those around you each and everyday. Others should look to you and wonder what you have that they don't. Do not end up living like the people C.S. Lewis mentioned in this passage: "When Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world...Our careless lives set the outer world talking; and we give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity itself."

The Lord's Provision

Some of you might know that I've been unemployed since July. For those who didn't, you are now caught up to speed. I graduated with my Master's of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology in August and have been applying to jobs ever since to no avail. There were few jobs in my field that had openings, so for the past month I have applying to anything from the UPS warehouse, to snowshoveling jobs, to medical assistant positions, to a website design gig. Still nothing. Back in September, I was frustrated that my life had no direction, but eventually I ended up letting that frustration go and decided it was best to be thankful for what I do have.
A few weeks ago, I decided to apply at a temp agency after a friend of mine suggested I give that a shot. I filled out all of the necessary paperwork and hoped for the best. Tonight I got a phone call from the temp agency offering me a part-time position as a data-entry clerk for a plastics company, which I greatly accepted. I was just so thankful to have God provide me with a job with Christmas coming up. I was praying that things would all work out in His time and I know I had plenty of people from church and Bible study praying for me as well. I feel very blessed to have God's faithfulness come to light in my life. As Paul says in Philippians 4:19-20, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Communication is Necessary in Any Relationship

"What we've got here is a failure to communicate." ~Cool Hand Luke

I think it is human nature to long to have one person in your life that you can always count on. It is natural to want to have that kind of close relationship with another person to the point that you don't even hesitate to call them when something good or bad happens in life. But that kind of relationship takes time and effort to build. One cannot expect a friend they met yesterday to drop everything to help in a crisis. It takes months or even years to build a solid relationship with anybody, and steady communication is the glue that holds the foundation of that relationship together. It would be ridiculous to assume a close bond existed with someone you only talked to once every couple months. You would be mere acquaintances at best. No, a close relationship requires communication at least once per week to remain strong. That doesn't necessarily have to be face to face, but nor can it be superficial. There must be genuine interest on both ends to set aside time for certain people who are important in our lives.

The same goes for your relationship with God. It is God's will for us to pray to Him in order to maintain a relationship, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~ "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." In order for it to be successful, you must make time for Him on a daily basis, at the very least. Only praying to God out of necessity due to a crisis will not lay the bricks for a solid foundation on which to build a relationship. This only breeds a very inconsistent relationship with God, which lacks any true desire on your part to get to know Him and give well-deserved praise in the good times and bad. 

It is important to be open with the Lord and trust Him. Philippians 4:6-7 states, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." We seem to forget that God knows all and can help us through each and every situation if only we just communicated with Him. By neglecting your relationship with God, you are hindering your spiritual life and impeding any potential growth. Some feel that God simply won't hear their prayers. Again, this neglects the fact that God is ever present in our lives. When you begin to doubt that God doesn't hear your prayers, refer to Jonah 2:1-2, which states, "From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: 'In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep inside the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry." If God heard Jonah from inside the belly of a fish, I believe that God will hear you no matter where you are in this world. Psalm 145:18-19 can also build your confidence in the fact that the Lord hears your prayers because it says, "The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them." He is never far away from His creation and those He loves unconditionally. So we must remain steadfast and earnest in our prayer life in order to get to know Him.
What some seem to forget is that selfishness builds walls in any relationship. If you require your friends to always do what you want without ever considering their feelings or opinions, they probably won't remain your friends very long. This relates to your prayer life as well. Selfish prayers most likely will not be answered, unless God has a specific purpose behind it. The best way to pray is to mirror Jesus, whose walk was blameless and in line with the Father. As stated in 1 John 5:14-15, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." All prayers and prayer requests must be made in accordance to God's will. God desires to be glorified and should be glorified, and all prayers should express that. Selfish desires with ulterior motives will not be answered and promoted. So the next time you find yourself wondering why your prayer has seemingly gone unanswered, instead of blaming God, look back at how you prayed because you are the flaw in the system. Patience is also key because God has a plan for everything and your prayers will be answered according to His time schedule, and not yours. So go and pray and build your relationship with your Father in heaven. 

There's a Bit of Jonah in All of Us

Have you ever found your heart full of resentment towards another individual or group of people? Have you ever resented blessings coming to those who have hurt you and find it hard to truly be happy for them? Then you have a bit of Jonah inside of you.
Jonah was a prophet of the Lord. His God given mission was to preach to the city of Ninevah so that they would repent. The only problem was that Jonah harbored a deep resentment for the Assyrians of Ninevah due to the atrocities they had caused using brute force. They were the epitome of evil, in Jonah's mind, and he didn't feel that they deserved God's love and mercy. So instead of obeying God's mission, Jonah decided to make a run for it: Jonah 1:3 ~ "But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish." (For those who don't know, Tarshish is in the complete opposite direction of Ninevah. It would be like heading to New York City from Denver, instead of going to Los Angeles.) Jonah soon learned that fleeing from the Lord is cowardly and impossible, and that his decision greatly impacted many around him.
The ship that Jonah boarded to take to Tarshish soon encountered a great storm, which instilled fear in the sailors onboard. They started crying out to their false gods for help, but soon cast lots to determine why such a calamity had arisen. Only then did Jonah speak up in Jonah 1:12 ~ "'Pick me up and throw me into the sea,' he replied, 'and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." It is interesting to see that once Jonah realizes that he has caused distress in others that he chooses to alleviate it. This is the first time his conscience sensed that maybe what he was doing was wrong. The irony, as stated in the notes from my Life Application Study Bible, was that he was trying to seek God's love while running from it at the same time. Essentially, "if you want more of God's love and power, you must be willing to carry out the responsibilities he gives you." Jonah finally took some responsibility in Jonah 1:15-16, which demonstrates the lengths he was willing to go to in order to spare the sailors from the storm: "Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him." The lesson that can be gained from this is the fact that "God is able to use even our mistakes to help others come to know him."
What happened next to Jonah is what he is most known for; he got swallowed by a great fish and was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). This verse provides some foreshadowing to when Jesus will spend three days in the center of the earth before being resurrected. Jesus actually makes reference to this verse in Matthew 12:40, stating the aforementioned foreshadowing in response to the Pharisees asking for a sign from the Lord.
While inside the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to the Lord to give thanks for being spared from the raging waters. Deep inside his heart, Jonah knew that God had shown him mercy and he was very grateful. It's while he was within the belly of the fish that Jonah realized that he must obey the Lord and repent for not following through in the mission to preach to the city of Ninevah. Upon hearing Jonah's repentance, "The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up on dry land" (Jonah 2:10). We often have similar revelations when we suffer hardships. We immediately call upon the Lord to repent for our lack of trust, once we realize that that is why we have ended up in a particular predicament. The best thing we can do in storms, and even in the good times, is holdfast to the Lord. He has the authority over all circumstances and can have us placed in the correct spot on our journey through life if we decide to relinquish our desire for control. Allow yourself to be puked back up on dry land to continue God's mission for your life.
Once Jonah was back on dry land and given a second chance, he obeyed the word from God to go preach in Ninevah (Jonah 3:1-3). After a days journey into Ninevah, he declared that the city would be overthrown in forty days (Jonah 3:4). The Lord wants his Word preached to everybody, even to the most evil people on the face of the earth. We shouldn't allow our fear of people get in the way of sharing the most important Truth with others. Through Jonah's presentation of God's Word, the people of Ninevah repented and were spared God's wrath (Jonah 3:10). As stated in the notes from my Life Application Study Bible, "Ninevah's repentance stood in stark contrast to Israel's stubbornness. The people of Israel had heard many messages from the prophets, but they refused to repent. The people of Ninevah only needed to hear God's message once." We must always remember to not just listen to the Word of God, but to repent and try to refine our way of life to meet Christ's standards. Without doing so, we are merely fooling ourselves into a life of complacency when we are meant to live a life of devotion to the Lord.
Instead of being joyful over the repentance of Ninevah, Jonah decided to sulk and be angry (Jonah 4:1-2). Luckily for Jonah, the Lord remained patient with his anger and chose to teach Jonah a lesson instead of bearing down with wrath. The Lord provided a plant to give shade to Jonah, but caused it to wither the next day (Jonah 4:6-7). This was to teach Jonah about how the Lord shows mercy to all, not just the chosen people of Israel and how it is wrong to be angry when evil people, like the people of Ninevah, receive mercy and forgiveness after repenting to the Lord.
In the same way, we must not let our emotions dictate who we share the Word of God with. God wants everyone to be saved and to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." We often get angry when God showers mercy on those we resent, but we must not focus on our own foolish desires and hatred. We must make the choice to be concerned about the salvation of every human being on this earth and not refuse to share the Gospel with certain people just because we feel they are unworthy, or because our sinful nature is holding a grudge. Try your best to quell the Jonah inside of you in order to fulfill God's purpose in your life.

Refreshed!

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." ~Hebrews 10:25

"Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name." ~Psalm 30:4

Yesterday was thoroughly refreshing for me. In church, members spoke about how God had blessed them throughout the year and expressed why they were thankful. During the afternoon, I came across new songs by the band The City Harmonic. I purchased some of these songs and the lyrics really spoke to me. The song "I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home)" has these lines:

O we will meet

Our souls are longing 

We'll be a symphony of peace

Brothers and sisters will be free

Thank God Almighty they'll be free

It is awesome to look forward to what we have waiting for us in heaven, and this song does a great job expressing that fact. 

The song "Spark" has these lines: 

Could a spark of Your love light the whole church on fire

When we care for our neighbor
More than we care for style
When we breathe in
Hope we breathe in
Create some meaning God
When we breathe out
Peace will breathe out
Just to breathe out love

I love how God's love is expressed in terms of being a spark because that's all that is needed to ignite something really great. It makes me think of forest fires that can consume acres upon acres of land from just one match spark. The immensity of God's love and how it envelopes us is just amazing.

The song "Mountaintop" reminds us that God saved us from this lowly world using the lines, The valley low that's where we'll make our homes, but this I know that's what He saved us from. We forget our great potential for settling in the valleys of life. We need to charge up the hills to the mountaintop where we belong to proclaiming the glory of God. 

The last song that I bought was called "Wake Me Up." The following lines are my favorite:

How long, how long will the river run dry
Cause I'm so busy living I forgot to be alive...

Cause when You sound You bring to life
Even my darkest of nights
Wake me up to shine...

Yeah, I've come home like a prodigal son
If home's where the heart is that is in the hands of God
And that is just where my heart belongs
Turn on the light, come on wake me up

I really like how this song reflects how much God longs for us to come back to Him. We must escape our little worlds and remember to live for the Lord. He is the source of all light in our lives and we must desire for Him to wake us up to the life we were meant to live.

In the evening, I met with a friend for frappucinos and discussed life, baking, and foreign accents. Definitely a friendship that will strengthen with time because we each know that God blessed us with the timing of us becoming friends. This was followed by Bible Study in Coopersburg, which is just a great place to have fellowship with other believers. We had a teaching from Matthew 9, which was very enlightening. My favorite part of the evening, though, was the lengthy conversations. I talked with numerous people about varying topics, but the best conversations were those that got me to think deeper. I hardly ever get to have deep theological discussions with anyone anymore for various reasons, and it was great to be able to sit and talk about different theological ideas, and also how current events could impact the church. Two Penn State students home on break explained the impact of the scandal and how outsiders perceive it in such a different light. We also discussed the possible implications it could have on youth group attendance for the area because people may begin to question the safety, all because of a scandal on the other side of the state. Other concepts, such as how to have righteous anger and maintain the compassion of Christ, anti-Baptist theology and what to have assurance in, oral tradition vs. historical accuracy and believing the Word of God over archaeological discoveries made by humans, being weary of allegorical meanings within Scripture, and the impact of pantheists were all discussed amongst a handful of us who stayed late. I was very intrigued by all of the topics and the questions that were asked to expand upon particular ideas. It was definitely a refreshing evening with fellow believers that I desperately needed and am quite thankful for, even though I didn't get home until 1:30am. In my mind, it was totally worth it.