Tag: preaching

Remember Your Baptism

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(Titus 3:4-7)

I was recently reminded of what I don’t particularly care for this time of year: the pronounced darkness. Not so much the darkness outside – that I’m used to. The darkness is the most striking inside immediately after all of the Christmas decorations have come down. In our home those include the warm glow of Christmas nightlights accenting the outlets, subtle string lights woven through the greenery on the fireplace mantle, and various other Christmas pieces throughout the house that have regularly cast their subtle flicker or glimmer every evening. I’ve gotten accustomed to their cozy welcome at night since the beginning of December until Epiphany, and now the darkness is so much more pronounced.

That’s also illustrative of how many people feel this time of year. While it’s said to have started as a marketing ploy, what’s been dubbed “Blue Monday” usually takes place the third Monday in January. There are a number of reasons why many might struggle that time of year: for some it may literally be the darker days, as less daylight can contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder. Bills that come due from the December spending and already-broken resolutions are some other contributing factors. Really, whether it’s this time of year or any other, when we struggle with being down, as helpful as it is to identify the cause, what’s more helpful is finding the solution. And that solution may be much easier – and far more helpful than you’ve ever realized: remember your baptism.

You’ve heard the words before. They’ve been offered as encouragement. They sound like something a pastor or Christian might say to another Christian. But what do they actually mean? How do we actually remember our baptism? Why should something so plain and ordinary on the surface be able to actually do anything meaningful for me in my daily life?

If you look at the font in the front of my church, you’ll see how plain it is. It’s not ornate. There’s not a single design or engraving on it. There are no colors or special attention-grabbing features except the cross protruding from its top. It has just four legs supporting a plain base that holds a plain and simple stainless steel bowl. Into that bowl goes plain water right from the tap. There may not be many fonts out there that are more plain than this ours. 

But what happens there is anything but plain. It is profound. It is powerful. It is also pictured in Paul’s letter to Pastor Titus. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.4-7). When you hear the words “remember your baptism,” remember these words. 

A business may determine it’s time to reinvent itself. Maybe it’s a result of some bad publicity. Maybe it’s because profits have been sliding. Maybe it’s some other reason. But whatever the reason, it decides to inject a new look or a new approach. The desired outcome of course is that reinventing itself will get the business back on a healthy track.

Individuals sometimes take the same approach. It’s more than just getting a makeover, although that may be a part of it. It’s a whole new you, different from what people have become accustomed to.

But as believers, we don’t need to reinvent; we just need to remember. We need to remember who we are because of whose we are, and whose we are was established at our baptism. There you were marked and sealed as belonging to God. In your baptism, God set you apart and gave you an identity that serves and secures you not just for your time here on earth, but for eternity.

If you aren’t sure who you are or who you want to be, it’s less about looking ahead and contemplating all the changes you need to make, and more about looking back and remembering all the changes God already made for you that he poured on you at your baptism. Remember these words: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.4-7).

But there’s a difference between being told all of this spiritual talk in church (or reading about it in a devotion or on a blog during the week) and living in the joy of that identity. We agree that the verses from Titus 3 are nice-sounding, and they certainly line up with everything the Bible teaches, and we even believe them to be true.

So why do so many walk out the door on a Sunday morning and immediately slip right back into trying to reinvent themselves or pursue some other identity? Why do we say to ourselves, “Oh, that was a nice little spiritual pep-talk this morning,” but nothing real happens in our lives, no real changes? 

I am convinced it has a lot to do with not reflecting on and thinking about so many of the words and promises of God, like the ones we have before us here from Titus. So which words shall we focus on? Which ones do you have to start believing to see yourself differently? Which ones do you have to believe to grasp how radically changed you are in Christ?

Let’s start with the phrase that is repeated twice: “he saved us” (v.5). How often do you stop to soak up what that means? Apart from “the kindness and love of God our Savior” (v.4), we know where we would be headed, right? Making it sting even more, we’re not just talking about some younger version of ourselves that didn’t know better and needed saving; we’re talking about the you today and the you tomorrow that will again and again demonstrate why you need saving. You can’t stop sinning. You can’t give it up. You keep on doing it, whether it’s calculated, consciously, or carelessly. Every single day you demonstrate why you need saving. 

And so every single day, these words ought to be life for you and me: “he saved us.” While you keep daily demonstrating why you need saving, his one-time sacrifice in the past already rescued you. That is your status: saved. No Seasonal Affective Disorder, no December bills, and no already-broken resolutions can ever change that identity. You are saved. Remember these words!

And let there be no doubt about how: “through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (v.5). Who needs reinventing when we remember that through baptism we’ve already been reborn and renewed? See how Paul gushes about baptism, echoing the words of Jesus to Nicodemus to be born again of water and the Spirit (cf. John 3)! 

The new year is always swarmed with publicity and promotions selling a “new you.” And everything from skin creams to day spas promise to rejuvenate and renew you.

But they promise what you already have in your baptism. The new you reborn at your baptism doesn’t age or deteriorate, but only grows in sanctified living and loving Jesus. Your renewal is daily, as you remember the sins that Jesus washed away and drowned along with your old self. Whenever you cast those sins away through confession, you are renewed again and again, without limit. Remember these words!

And be sure these words are reliable because “through Jesus Christ our Savior, [you have] been justified by his grace” (v.6-7). Let it be this simple: God says you are not guilty because of Jesus.

Read it again: God says you are not guilty because of Jesus.

That is what grace declares you to be: not guilty. Remember these words!

But wait, there’s more! If, as God declares, you are not guilty, and there is nothing to deny or disqualify you from heaven, then that makes you “heirs having the hope of eternal life” (v.7).

How much would your life change, not just decades down the road, but today, if today you found out you were an heir to an estate valued at hundreds of millions of dollars? Even though it may be years until that fortune is yours to manage, you would start living like it today. You would make all kinds of plans. You’d envision paying off all debt. You’d imagine splurging on a wild spending spree. You’d think about how it will change your family tree. You’d start discussing causes to support and generous gifts to give. You’d plan out a legendary legacy. You would do so much right now even though as an heir you won’t inherit anything until the future. 

Can it be any different as an heir who has the hope of eternal life? This is not church talk or religious speak here – that inheritance is worth ridiculously more than some multimillion or even billion dollar estate. Is there any reason you can’t live like that right now? Absolutely not!

Your debt has already been paid. You can splurge spiritually and feed your soul like never before. You can change your family tree by putting Jesus first and helping your loved ones do the same. You can discuss causes to support and generous gifts to give that build up Christ’s kingdom. You can plan a legendary legacy that will see that your kingdom impact will continue long after you’ve gone home and received your inheritance in heaven. You can do so much right now as “heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Remember these words!

Does it make sense yet? Do you get it? Can you articulate what it means to remember your baptism? It means to remember all that you are and have through Jesus because all that he did for you is yours in baptism. 

Your identity is secure. Live with confidence. Live over fear. Live out your faith. Live in the light.

Live in your baptism. 

A Gift for Everyone

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(1 Kings 10:1-9)

With Christmas now behind us, it’s probably time to start thinking about next year’s gifts. Wouldn’t Christmas shopping be so much easier if you could just get the same gift for everyone? Some are disgusted by such a thought, as they love the experience and challenge of finding the perfect gift for each person on their list. Others, though, would love the idea of a one-gift-fits-all solution. 

Of course it wouldn’t realistically work. Children don’t want the same types of gifts that adults would appreciate receiving. People have different likes and interests. And inevitably, there’s always one or two who already have the gift you got them. It’s a nice thought, but wishful thinking to imagine the same gift would work for everyone.

There is an exception, though: Epiphany. When we celebrate Epiphany, what we’re really celebrating is A Gift for Everyone. The Savior is for everyone, and the whole season of the church year known as the season of Epiphany (which means “revelation”), draws our attention to this truth and our role in making it known. 

When someone explains that they’ve had an epiphany regarding something, they aren’t saying anything about that thing or that experience itself changed, but rather that their perception or understanding of it is what has changed. Some revelation or unknown detail becomes known to them and now they look at it differently. 

So it is with Jesus. You already know who Jesus is. You already know what the Bible says about him. He hasn’t changed and won’t change. But what can change is our perception or understanding of him, so that we look at him differently. 

We notice this even within Christianity. One Christian is passionately engaged in church life or vocal and active in some ministry, while another is rather ho-hum about his faith in general, really kind of indifferent – could take it or leave it. What accounts for the difference? Has Jesus changed? Is he one type of Jesus for the one Christian but another type of Jesus for the other? 

No. Same Jesus. Just a different perception or understanding of him. Which description do you think God desires to apply to believers – the first or second type of Christian? Then let’s pray that, as we need it, the Spirit provides an epiphany and adjusts our perception of Jesus so that we embrace what it means that he is truly A Gift for Everyone.

The queen of Sheba had a certain perception of the Lord, which at least in part prompted her visit to Solomon. She wasn’t just star- struck by his fame; “his relationship to the Lord” also played a role in her curiosity. Was she, like the wise men who traveled to worship Jesus, interested in seeking out the true God, that she might worship him, too? It’s possible. However, as a powerful leader herself, she may also have been interested in the religious element from the standpoint of pursuing anything that might possibly work to her own benefit and advantage. If Solomon was truly as successful as the news about him indicated, then surely it wouldn’t hurt to look into the matter some more and see if there were some additional religious bases she could cover in hopes of replicating his success for herself. Wanting to do some investigating, she journeyed to Jerusalem with gifts in hand, preparing to “test Solomon with hard questions” (v.1) and “talk[ed] with him about all that she had on her mind” (v.2). 

Even the brightest among us today is light years apart from matching the wisdom or wealth of Solomon. We ought not hold our breath waiting for international visitors to pay us a visit and pepper us with penetrating questions to put our wisdom to the test. 

But you do have something in common with Solomon that will lead to questions from others: your “relationship to the Lord” (That assumes, of course, that others know about your relationship to the Lord because you don’t seek to keep it a secret. Or live a double-life that looks the part on Sundays while walking in-step with the world Monday-Saturday. Or avoid discussing it because you don’t wish to offend, turn off, or make others uncomfortable). 

But if you simply live out your calling as a Christian in an increasingly Christ-less society, you will stand out – and in a good way. And people will notice. And when people notice that something is different in a good way, they want to know why. So they ask questions. They will ask you questions.

How would Solomon respond to the Queen’s questions? Would he rise to the challenge? “Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her” (v.3). Solomon didn’t disappoint. The magnitude and magnificence of his kingdom left her “overwhelmed” (v.5) (the original literally means it took her breath away). In her own words, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard” (v.6-7). 

But as impressed as she was by Solomon and his kingdom, it was the conclusion she drew about it all that is noteworthy. She didn’t just fawn over him with flattery, like some love-struck or gold-digging pursuer might. Instead, she genuinely expressed what a blessing Solomon must have been to the people he ruled. And, even more shocking from a Gentile ruler, she lavished praise on the Lord! “How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness” (v.8-9). 

It would not be a stretch to conclude that when the queen departed after her visit with Solomon, she did so as a believer. Her own words certainly imply as much. Additionally, Jesus’ own words in the Gospel of Matthew could also be understood to support this. In chastising the Pharisees for asking him for a sign to back up who he was, Jesus said, “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here” (Mt. 12:42). Whether or not she ended up a believer, what is obvious about her time with Solomon is that God was glorified. So it may have been Solomon’s wisdom and wealth that initially captured her attention, it all worked out so that God ended up being the hero of Solomon’s story.

And that’s the goal when others come to us with their questions: we want to make God the hero of our story. Because he is. 

Stick with me on this thought for a moment, because working through it may be what provides a bit of an epiphany for some of you regarding your relationship to God. When others come to us with their questions, do you see that as an opportunity to make God the hero of our story? If it’s not, then let’s ask why. 

Could it be because you want people to know you for you and your accomplishments or reputation, and not to label or identify you by your faith or religious affiliation? Essentially then, you want to be the hero of your story, not God. If that is the case, your own pride will remain a wedge between where you are now and the epiphany that needs to take place for you to see who Jesus really is for you. 

Or, if making God the hero of your story isn’t your goal, is it because you’re ashamed of being associated with him by others? Do you feel it necessary to keep your belief in him on the down low because of the flack you’ll take for it? The Bible does have a warning or two for those who profess to be believers, but are ashamed of God or being associated with him. Is this the epiphany that needs to take place for you to see who Jesus really is for you?

Here’s the real kicker: if for either of those reasons or any other, we refuse to let God be the hero of our story, we are blatantly displaying this ugly reality: we don’t deserve him. We don’t. If God is an after thought in your life, if he’s way down on the totem pole, if he’s conveniently tucked away in your back pocket and hidden from others, you don’t deserve him. 

Honestly, what is your faith made of if you treat God like your dirty little secret that you don’t want anyone else to find out about? Is it really faith? Why bother hanging on to him by a thread any longer if that’s all he is to you? Just let him go and relieve yourself of the constant burden of having to keep him hidden from others. Some need to have an epiphany and see that this really is an alarming description of their current relationship with Jesus.

Solomon didn’t try to keep God hidden from the queen. In fact, he did quite the opposite. He made it known that the Lord was responsible for all of his blessings of wealth & wisdom. What conclusion do you suppose Sheba drew about how highly Solomon thought of the Lord based on what she witnessed of his worship? Remember that list that impressed her so much? Included in it was “the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord” (v.5). While the original there could also be taken as a reference to the impressive appearance of Solomon’s Temple, either way we interpret it, his worship of the Lord was evidently a priority. So during her visit, two things were obvious to Sheba: 1) how much the Lord meant to Solomon, and 2) how much Solomon meant to the Lord.

When others come to you with their questions, are those two things obvious? Can they tell how much the Lord means to you, and can they tell how much you mean to the Lord? When God is the hero of your story, they will.

And how can he be anything but the hero of our story? What do we have and what can we claim that isn’t from God? Physical blessings abound, but those are much further down the list than the spiritual blessings. My baptism serves as the adoption papers that I belong to God’s family – how much must I mean to the Lord?!? He regularly gives himself to me in Communion to ease my guilty conscience and refresh my worn out soul – how much must I mean to the Lord?!? Jesus’ birth took place so that he could be my Savior – how much must I mean to the Lord? He endure the shock and shame and beatings and the brutality of the cross for me – how much must I mean to the Lord? He defeated the one enemy who was literally capable of making my life an eternal hell – how much must I mean to the Lord? 

When all of this work of Jesus on my behalf plays over and over again in my heart and mind, my life will also clearly reflect how much the Lord means to me. I will jump at the opportunity to talk him up and brag about him. I will eagerly acknowledge to others that every good thing in my life – including the good he brings out of the bad – is from his loving hand. I will welcome the questions others have as a chance to bring my Savior into the conversation and make sure he is the hero of my story. Because he is. And when others come to see how much I treasure this gift of Jesus for everyone, they might come to treasure him as their gift, too.

The Perfect Gift for Getting the Job Done

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(Isaiah 50:4-9)

It’s a pretty common formula in movies: the main character or group is tasked with securing some desirable object or treasure either for themselves or on behalf of someone else. After overcoming obstacles and adversity from things like boobytraps, rivals, or villains, they eventually succeed in getting their hands on the object. However, getting their hands on it is only part of the job; the rest of the challenge is getting away with it and/or being able to get it to the person who requested it. If that doesn’t happen then the job was only half done. And half done isn’t good enough.

When we explain to others why Jesus’ birth is such a big deal in Christianity, it isn’t uncommon to offer the simple explanation that Jesus had to be born so that he could die on the cross to pay for our sins. And this is true. But if Jesus’ death was the only reason we understand that he had to be born as a man, then the job would be only half done. And half done isn’t good enough. 

Because if we just fast-forwarded to Jesus’ death, as if what happened between his birth and death didn’t matter, we would be missing a big part of what made his death so significant. In order for his death to matter, he had to be the perfect sacrifice. And in order to be the perfect sacrifice, he had to live perfectly, without any sin whatsoever. When later reflecting on Jesus’ life, that was exactly what Peter described:  “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:18-20).

While the prophet Isaiah served seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, his words before are still serving us twenty centuries after Jesus’ birth! More than any other prophet, Isaiah delivered descriptive details that specified the Messiah with precision. God used Isaiah in a unique way at times in his ministry to speak as the Savior himself. We read Isaiah’s words, but we hear Jesus’ voice. The specificity and precision of Isaiah’s words don’t allow for us to take his words in any other way than as those of Jesus himself. And, since we have the added blessing of the New Testament as a historical cross reference, we can see through Isaiah’s writings when and how Jesus’ words and works were carried out. Through them, we have confidence that Jesus didn’t leave the job only half done, but flawlessly carried out the mission his Father entrusted to him and secured our salvation. 

As we consider the first portion of the verses from Isaiah 50, the Gospel this morning provides an excellent example. Through the written word of Isaiah, Jesus said, “The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears” (Is. 50:4-5a). Luke gives us a glance of Jesus’ “well-instructed tongue” in action as he dialogues with the religious leaders in the temple as a boy. He isn’t there merely as student, but as teacher, already at a young age enlightening all who would listen to his instruction. Even as a boy, Jesus knew “the word that sustains the weary.”

As the Gospels provide us with the narrative of Jesus’ life and ministry as an adult, we also see his dedicated love and commitment to his Father and the Word. He worshiped regularly, teaching in the synagogues as he was allowed. But even when he was no longer welcomed or invited to speak in the synagogues, that didn’t deter his teaching the Word of God. He delivered his Sermon on the Mount, he taught one-on-one, and he directly instructed his disciples repeatedly. He took one-on-one time with his Father in prayer and devotion. He honored God’s name through his unwavering commitment and dedication to Word and worship.

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we so often defer and even despise! How many Christians that belong to a local congregation did not set foot inside their church even once in 2024? What does that say about where God’s Word and worship rank in their lives, and ultimately, what they think of God? Do you know that there are some who belong to a local congregation who did set foot inside their church many times in 2024, but who might as well have been somewhere else, since their hearts and minds were filled wisth other priorities? Do you know there are those who belong to a local congregation who hardly ever crack open their Bibles and who pray sparingly, as if prayer was a paycheck and every day is like the end of the month? See how desperately we all need not just a Savior to pay for our disregard of Word and Worship, our failure to love God perfectly, but also a Savior to keep it perfectly for us!

Nor did he stop there. We also hear Jesus speak through the written word of Isaiah about his resolute determination to fully adhere to God’s command to obediently and perfectly love our neighbor. “I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (v. 5b-7). 

While we see these words most clearly fulfilled during the week of Jesus’ Passion, when he endured the suffering that led up to his crucifixion, by no means was it the only time Jesus kept his faithful obedience on track. He was constantly challenged throughout his ministry, questioned and tested, but never lost his composure or despised even his enemies, and always loved with a perfect love. And, even though Satan tried to deter him from following the path of obedience that led to Jerusalem and the cross, he was resolute in his determination to finish the job. Through all of this Jesus was fulfilling God’s command to perfectly love his neighbor.

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: lovingly obey, love our neighbors – including our enemies – and faithfully carry out our callings with resolute determination! Our obedience is often conditional: we’ll follow the rules so long as we agree with the rules, but they’re optional otherwise. Our love for others is also often conditional: we’ll love those who love us back or at least acknowledge or appreciate our efforts, but those who are negative or even just neutral sometimes are undeserving of our love. Our commitment and dedication are also often conditional: we’ll follow through, depending on what’s in it for us (assuming we also don’t get bored, sidetracked, or lose interest!). See how desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: lovingly obey, love our neighbors – including our enemies – and faithfully carry out our callings with resolute determination!

Jesus was so confident in his outward obedience because he knew nothing was hidden in his heart that would disqualify him from the perfection required as our Savior. “He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up” (v.8-9).

How desperately we need a Substitute Savior to do what we on a daily basis fail miserably to do: maintain perfect obedience not only externally, but from a pure and holy heart! Our Christian lives are so much like a poorly chosen gift that is dutifully wrapped. We get better at making sure the outside looks good, putting in much effort to come across as having our lives together, but once the outside wrapping comes off, what is revealed inside is exposed. Our minds think thoughts and our hearts entertain emotions and feelings that would clearly condemn us, but because we are able to keep our lips sealed and our outward actions inline, we fool even ourselves into thinking that we’re not half bad. But we are not like Jesus – Satan’s accusations stick when it comes to us, because we cannot hide from God what is inside. How desperately we need a Substitute Savior who had nothing to hide inside, because his heart alone was pure and holy. 

Jesus’ pure heart and absolute confidence gave Paul – and it gives us – the same confidence against the accuser, Satan, and any other accusers who would stand with him. Because of Jesus’ perfect record of obedience – externally and internally in the core of his pure heart – we express the same confidence: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Romans 8:1, 33-34).

As swiftly as time flies by, we’ll be into the season of Epiphany, which will usher in another Lent, where we will end up at the all-too-familiar place of the cross. Again we will stand in bewildered appreciation for our Savior who was willing to die as our perfect sacrifice. For our sins it was necessary for him to die.

But, for our righteousness it was necessary for him to live. Not one to leave the job half done and not good enough, appreciate that Jesus first carried out the important work of our salvation by being willing to live as our Substitute. As our celebration of Christmas continues, rejoice with double the joy, for the one born in Bethlehem was not born only to serve as our Sacrifice, but also our Substitute. This Gift of God, his Son, is truly the perfect and complete gift we all need this Christmas and for eternity. 

A Real Christmas Is (Not) All About You

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(Luke 1:39-55)

Whether you have it on repeat or you skip it every time it comes on, the song is popular enough to engrain in our hearts and minds that Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Even if it’s been a while (or never) since you’ve sung carols in the snow (especially if you live in CA), toasted marshmallows, or gone “mistletoeing,” the song ushers in warm and fond memories of Christmases past that put us in the mood to celebrate once again. For so many, it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

But there’s another possible label that is very fitting for this time of year. It could also be known as “The Most Deceptive Time of the Year.” Consider how much of an emphasis is placed on giving. The expression “it’s better to give than to receive” probably gets more exposure during the month of December than it does the other eleven months of the year combined. Organizations have Giving Trees displayed to help those in need. Retailers even guilt us with the enticement to shop at their store to make sure you’re giving the perfect gift.

It might sound like I’m blasting all of those examples outright, as if they are inherently sinister or shady. That certainly isn’t the case. As they stand on their own, they are good reminders, and necessary ones, so that I don’t allow a season associated with gift exchanges to become entirely about what gifts I’m getting. 

No, the warning comes in recognizing how persistently our pride seeks to make everything – even giving – about us. Yes, our pride is such a master of disguise that it can even expertly hide behind something that on the surface appears to be all about other people. That’s why this season can be so deceptive. A season of giving and putting others first is simply another way for my pride to place itself on a pedestal for all to see.

Don’t underestimate our pride’s ability to hide behind giving. A whole season that is supposedly all about giving is the perfect cloak under which to hide my pride. So when I hear the reminder that it’s better to give than to receive, my pride perks up at the word “better,” and immediately zeros in on my own selfless acts of generosity and raises them up far above those other people who only complain about not getting this gift or that gift, or how cheap someone was toward them in their gift exchange. I don’t hesitate to impress others with my stories, making sure they haven’t missed the news of my participation in this Giving Tree campaign or that toy drive or that other cause for people in need. When others come to know me as the person who always gives such good gifts, is my giving really about finding that perfect gift for the other person or has it become more about keeping up that reputation of world’s greatest gift-giver? In each of these cases, can we see ourselves as the puffed up pharisee standing next to the tax collector, thanking God that he’s not more like that guy? It’s such a natural bent that we have toward sin that pride can even make something like giving all about me. Then we’re doing the opposite of everyone’s favorite Christmas magnet, “Keeping Christ in Christmas,” by taking out the “Christ” and replacing it with ourselves.

But here’s the rub: if we are going to experience a real Christmas this year, we have to come clean with our natural inclination to make it about us. As long as we imagine that the responsibility of making it a real Christmas or giving someone else a real Christmas, we’re going to end up with an artificial attempt that is worse than a fake tree so bad that not even Goodwill can unload it. So, want a real Christmas? Realize it’s not about you. 

Don’t you get a clear sense of that from both Mary and Elizabeth? Well, kind of, anyway. It was about them, but not about what they had done or achieved or about being recognized by others, but rather about what they had received: God’s grace. And as they express their amazement of being on the receiving end of such favor, they clearly realize how little they deserve it!

Appreciate first how Elizabeth reflected this. “In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (v.42-45). Elizabeth’s attitude wasn’t one of arrogant expectation that Mary would visit her, since she would after all be giving birth to John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Savior. No, she asks why she should be deemed worthy of a visit from the mother of the Savior of the world. That’s genuine humility! And following that, she belts out blessings to Mary, not praising her for any Mother Theresa-type good works or anything along those lines, but simply for having a humble faith that believed what God had promised to do for her. Remember, Mary was the one who came to visit Elizabeth,yet Elizabeth made it all about Mary.

Mary did something similar. She came to celebrate the good news with Elizabeth, but her celebration was all about her Savior. Her song, known historically in the church as the Magnificat, is a beautiful example of genuine humility. When Mary references herself, it is only in the context of being on the receiving end of what God has done and is still doing for her. Otherwise, the whole song is filled with “He” – as an ode to all of the amazing things that God has done and continues to do for his people. So both Elizabeth or Mary didn’t make it about themselves; they made it about their Savior. They humbly – yet jubilantly! – praised their Savior.

A real Christmas is about giving. But not about using giving as an outlet to put our pride into practice. And, even in those cases where our giving is genuine (and not a pretense for our pride), it’s still misguided if the intent of our giving is to somehow manufacture a “real’ Christmas. Instead, the kind of giving that makes for a real Christmas is giving Jesus the attention that Elizabeth and Mary did. 

And he deserves it, because as Mary confessed, in his mercy, he doesn’t give us what we deserve. “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation” (v.50). “He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever…” (v.54-55a). God’s mercy means our pride no longer damns us! Mercy means God hasn’t treated our selfish pride as it deserves. Mercy means we have just as much reason to celebrate the Savior as Elizabeth and Mary did!

But for those not interested in that mercy, who prefer to remain in their pride, God has something for them, too. “He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones…” (v.51-52a). Pride is nothing more than a human attempt at raising oneself above God, and God is no stranger to dealing with it. He has shown throughout history how he handles it, and he won’t hesitate to humble those insisting they have something of which to be proud.

But that is not God’s greatest desire. Think about it differently. If God’s greatest interest was merely behavior modification (for example, to make us more humble), if that’s all that Christianity was about – doing the right things and living the right way, then God would have addressed pride (and all other sin!) much differently. He would have sent his Son – but perhaps with a team of elite angels to sniff out sin and immediately punish it wherever they found it. That would get people to shape up very quickly, wouldn’t it?!?

But his preference is to show mercy. And Christmas is proof. God didn’t send his Son to change your behavior; he sent his Son to be your Savior. When we set aside our pride long enough to see that Christmas isn’t about us, that’s when we’re free to see Christ clearly, and see that… he already made Christmas all about us! 

Do you get it? When I make Christmas all about me, I suffer the most, because I am blinded to the reality that God already made Christmas all about me. If not, he would not have sent his Son to save. But he did, which is how you can be certain that Christmas is all about you.

When we know that Christmas is actually all about us – in the right way! – then we can revisit that whole matter of giving. And we can do so by following in the footsteps of humble Elizabeth and Mary. Yes, give. Give glory and praise to God this Christmas! Make Christmas about Christ. Give to God by going to church. Give to God by getting in the Word. Give to God by giving a special Christmas offering. Give to God by taking time over the twelve days of Christmas to consider how to give him more of you in the next year. Give thought to how you can make Mary’s words your own and how you can put those words into practice in your life: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” (v. 46-47). 

A Real Christmas Is Filled with Delight

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(Zephaniah 3:14-17)

When someone bursts out with “Let’s celebrate!”, it’s hard not to get excited. Who doesn’t like celebrating? And there all kinds of ways to do it. It could mean planning a big party. It might mean booking a vacation. It might also be a very nice dinner out or a special, home-cooked favorite and a movie. No matter what it looks like, everyone likes to celebrate.

But long before you start cranking out celebration plans, a natural question arises: What are we celebrating? The answer to that question matters, because the cause for celebration determines the scale of celebration. Going out for ice cream might be an appropriate celebration for a Third Grade daughter’s good grade on a quiz, but it falls short as a celebration for that daughter’s college graduation. A special getaway could be an appropriate way for a couple to celebrate a 25th Anniversary, but it would be overkill as a celebratory reward for the husband actually remembering to stop and get milk on his way home from work. The cause for celebration determines the scale of the celebration.

So when we have a celebration on a scale like the one Zephaniah describes, “Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!” (v.14), we want to know: what is the cause of the celebration? Singing, shouting, and glad rejoicing – it sounds like something pretty significant is the cause of celebration! 

Zephaniah, who served during the reign of Josiah, one of Israel’s few respectable kings, explains why such a celebration is justified. “The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm” (v.15). We might assume he was referring to some pretty awful times that Israel was going through. He was… only they hadn’t happened yet. In the first two chapters of Zephaniah, he prophesied the judgment that would be coming on not only Israel, but the surrounding enemy nations who had opposed Israel. Their downfall was coming. For Israel, that would be fulfilled through their Babylonian Captivity. Yes, they would be taken captive, displaced from their homes, and relocated to a foreign land.

But on the other side of that captivity would be reason to rejoice and be glad; to sing and shout: the Lord would end that punishment, overcome the Babylonians, and allow them to return to their homeland with the assurance that the Lord – the true “King of Israel” – would be with them. Zephaniah further cements that certainty. “On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves” (v.16-17a). While it would be understandable for them to question if God had deserted them while in Babylon, let there be no doubt that he would be among his people once again as a Mighty Warrior to save them. Their gracious God, who had warned of their judgment if they continued to turn from him, is also concerned about making sure they know he would be with them and accept them again. 

We may not be all that open about our need for it, but we also crave acceptance. It may be more important coming from certain people than others, but deep down, we want to be accepted. When therapists talk about working through a person’s “father wound(s),” they are referring to the lack of acceptance a child felt coming from their father. Maybe dad was never in the picture, leading the child to feel abandoned because dad didn’t care enough to be a part of their life. Perhaps dad put work over family and/or kids. Sadly, emotionally and physically abusive dads compound the problem by replacing that desired acceptance with harmful rejection. Children in those settings tend to seek out acceptance from other outlets, and those often less desirable outlets snowball into bigger problems down the road. 

The father-child relationship isn’t the only one that craves acceptance. We want our boss to appreciate and accept us for the hard work we do. We want our spouse to accept us for the effort we put into marriage. We want our friends to want to hang out with us as a sign of acceptance. We want our kids and grandchildren to accept us. At times, the acceptance we crave in any one of these relationships can even cause us to go to extreme and even unhealthy lengths to earn it.

Sadly, some of us never feel like we have it. No matter how hard we try, it never seems to be good enough. We lack this or that. We fall short. We don’t measure up. This time of year can also easily amplify the lack of acceptance we feel. 

Take heart, Christian. God has a word for you this morning. He accepts you. More than that: he is delighted in you, even breaking out into song over you! “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (v.17). The Lord delights in you. The very acceptance you crave from others is already yours in the Lord. 

While this Sunday has been traditionally labeled “Guadete” Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”), in reference to our rejoicing, here it is the Lord who is doing the rejoicing over us! He doesn’t just delight in us, but takes great delight in us, AND rejoices over us in song! 

Here’s why being the Lord’s delight actually surpasses the acceptance you might otherwise desire from others: you weren’t required to earn it. You did nothing to be deserving of it. But it’s yours nonetheless!

Contrast that with the acceptance you crave from others. Suppose you get it. Suppose you finally receive the acceptance you crave, whatever that looks like for you. Your next natural step is to assess what you did right to finally receive that acceptance. When you pinpoint whatever it is you think you did (cooked your spouse the perfect meal, over performed for your boss, etc.), now what? Do you have to maintain that same standard indefinitely? What happens when you fail to hit that mark in the future (you will at some point!)? When you miss the mark in the future, do you miss out on that acceptance as well? Is it conditional, entirely dependent upon something you did or didn’t do? Then what happens when that falls short in the future? 

Poof! There goes your acceptance.

But not with God. The Lord delights in you because he’s already done all the work to make you delightful! He carried out what was necessary to delight in you. You can’t undo it. You can’t improve on it. The Lord delights in you because he’s the one who made you delightful. 

Imagine how these words must have hit the ears of God’s people when they came from Zephaniah. Zephaniah, along with his contemporaries, prophesied the imminent judgment that was going to be carried out against Israel. Remember, they were going to be picked apart by the Babylonians and taken into exile to live in a foreign land. Worse than refugees, they would be conquered captives, forced to adapt to new customs and a new language and the list goes on. This was going to be the consequence of their repeated unfaithfulness to God. 

Do you imagine this reality would lead to doubts about where they stood with God? Do you suppose they second-guessed their status as his special, chosen people? Wouldn’t rejection – not affection – better describe what they were going to be experiencing? And they knew there was no negotiating with God. They had repeatedly cheated on him. They ignored him. He was an afterthought in their minds. He was far from first in their hearts, and they had no one to blame but themselves.

Sound familiar? “And they knew there was no negotiating with God. They had repeatedly cheated on him. They ignored him. He was an afterthought in their minds. He was far from first in their hearts, and they had no one to blame but themselves.” That’s not just idolatrous Israel. That’s me! That’s you! We have no wiggle room to negotiate with God, and we know it. 

So, let the words sink in again. “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (v.17). But why? How? How can we be sure that this is true and that he won’t change his mind???

As we draw closer to our celebration of Christmas, it is time. Time to shift your gaze from the clouds, where we await Jesus’ return, to the manger in Bethlehem, where we celebrate his arrival. This is true: if God did not delight in us, in you, there would be no celebration at Christmas, because he wouldn’t have given us Christ. But he did! The gift in the manger seals the deal. The gift of Jesus Christ our Savior is the proof. God does delight in us!

We don’t often focus on feelings as they relate to our faith. There’s a reason for that: we want to guard against our feelings about God overshadowing (or ignoring!) what the Bible says about God. But as we consider the words from Zephaniah this morning, and as we apply them to our Christmas celebration, you have permission to bask in the feelings associated with knowing that God takes great delight in you. How can we not?!?

Your feelings do matter, because the more Christmases we celebrate, the more we realize that the most likely indicators of memorable or forgettable Christmases are not really the gifts given or received, but how we felt. Gifts are quickly forgotten, but how we felt is not, and the strongest feelings we experience are often those that involve our relationships with others. The Christmas spent estranged from an otherwise close family member is one you’d like to forget because you didn’t enjoy feeling that way. Ask the military wife which Christmas stands out to her and she’ll tell you the one when her deployed spouse surprised her and the kids with an early return at Christmas time. The Christmas engagement is going to stand out in memory over the year you didn’t get that gift you really wanted. 

So how will you feel this Christmas? It depends on where you focus. Will everything get done? Nope. Will everyone be thrilled with their gifts? Nope. Will everyone get along peacefully without anyone losing it? Nope.

Does God take great delight in you? Absolutely. Always. May that fill you with feelings of joy for A Real Christmas. 

And, if the cause for celebration determines the scale of the celebration, you have all that you need for an incredible celebration this Christmas: you have Jesus, and all the divine delight that he brings with him.

God Gives Return Gifts

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(Malachi 3:1-7b)

It’s good business for retailers to have a good return policy, since anywhere from 15% to one-third of Christmas gifts are returned. However, since those returns also amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in purchases needing to be refunded in, one might think retailers would make returns difficult or at least very inconvenient for shoppers. But one reason it pays for retailers to have a good return policy is that shoppers are more likely to buy from them in the first place. In other words, when purchasing gifts for others, if a retailer doesn’t have an easy or favorable return policy, shoppers are less likely to buy from them and will take their business elsewhere. Another reason to have a favorable return policy is that those returning gifts to the store from which it was purchased are more likely to spend their refund – and perhaps a little more – in that same store. So it bodes well for retailers to have good return policies. But shops and stores aren’t the only ones focused on handling returns; so was the prophet Malachi.

Malachi’s whole message is all about returns. While he isn’t the most well-known prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi does have the distinction of being the last one recorded. After the book of Malachi, the Lord silenced his notifications for about 400 years until Jesus’ birth, after which point the Holy Spirit picks up pen again through the New Testament Evangelists and writers and resumes recording the truths of his Word for us again.

Malachi served long after the era of patriarchs and kings in Israel. He was a messenger to the Israelites who had returned from their exile in Babylon. But, since things weren’t as magical as the Israelites expected them to be once back home, they took issue with God. The message recorded for us in Malachi is a back and forth between God and the Israelites, with their complaints directed at God, and God’s response, which essentially amounted to, “You are no different from your ancestors; you are the problem, not me. Return to me and I will return to you.”

He isn’t talking about returning gifts after Christmas, though. He’s got more important returns on his mind, and wants to make sure that God’s people do, too. So what are the returns Malachi mentions?

The Lord’s messenger will return.

The Lord himself will return.

The Lord’s people are called to return. A real Christmas is all about the returns.

The Lord’s Messenger Returns

The first return will be of the Lord’s messenger. “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1a). About whom was Malachi speaking? He is none other than John the Baptist. But wait. Why do we speak of John the Baptist’s arrival on the scene as a “return”? Because Malachi pictures him metaphorically as Elijah, one of God’s well-known and respected past prophets who lived and served in the past during the time of Israel’s monarchy. In one of the final verses of the whole Old Testament, picturing the arrival of John the Baptist, Malachi writes, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5).

John the Baptist, the second Elijah, returned for a very specific purpose: to prepare the way. In the Christian Church year, the Second Sunday in Advent always focuses our attention on the messenger who came to prepare the way for someone greater. That was John’s role, he was well aware of it, and he carried it out faithfully. Another prophet, Isaiah, foreshadowed John’s work by illustrating the type of preparatory work that would need to take place in hearts to be ready for the Savior (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5).

The Lord Returns

Through John the Baptist, God prepared his people for another return: his own.“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:1b-2b).”  This “return,” so to speak, from Malachi’s perspective, looked ahead to two fulfillments: Jesus’ first coming and his return on the Last Day. 

While we spend a significant part of our lives in anticipation of our Christmas celebration each year, we are celebrating an event that already took place 2000+ years ago. God already came into our world in the flesh when Jesus was born. Malachi, along with so many other messengers in the Old Testament, looked ahead to that day, but we look back on it. For them it was an anticipation of a future event to come. 

In that regard, we can relate to the anticipation of a future event to come when we speak of Jesus’ return on the Last Day. Just as Malachi’s audience in his day understood his words to speak of a coming event, so we see his words also referring to a coming day, when on that Last Day he appears again for judgment, and the question is asked, “Who can stand?”

When Jesus returns on the Last Day, it will be as a judge, and he is right to ask “Who can stand,” based on the evidence stacked against the Israelites. Malachi exposes them. “‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them’” (Malachi 3:5, 7a).

Indeed, who can stand before the Lord with all that evidence stacked against them? Here is the good news. That day of Jesus’ second and final return, Judgment Day, even with all the sin stacked against mankind, will not be be a day of dread for those who by faith receive the work Jesus did when he came the first time. 

Malachi described that work, too, using pictures to illustrate why the Lord would have to return to his people and the work he would come to do in Jesus Christ. “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years” (Malachi 3:2c-4).

Jesus came first to refine and purify, to wash away sins and make us presentable before God. Now we can stand! Jesus came to bring the righteousness we needed and to remove the sins we didn’t. Since we have been made holy by faith in Jesus, we have nothing to fear when thinking about standing before the Lord at his Second Return.

That day will be radically different from his first coming, where joy was initially confined to a local hillside among a group of shepherds on a hillside and an angel chorus. The whole world will be the audience when Jesus returns, and the outcome for all people at that return will be entirely dependent upon what each individual believes about Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, and his perfect life, death, and resurrection that follows. 

But until that day, here we stand, sandwiched in the middle. In the past, the Lord returned to his people when Jesus was born into this world on Christmas. In the future, Jesus will return on the Last Day. How do we spend our days in the meantime? The same way. By returning. Returning back to God. 

Our Returns

Why is that such a priority? Because Satan and sin do not take days off. They do not stop doing everything possible to turn you away from God permanently. We already saw the evidence Malachi presented in verse five, but when we read through a list like this, it might be natural for us to presume it’s referring to someone else – those wayward Israelites. But we must know better, right? It’s not an exhaustive list – there could have been many more sins included.

If Malachi was alive today, his warning to us would read a bit differently. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against, drunkards, greedy shopaholics, sex/pornography addicts, lovers of violence, foul & filthy language, worshippers of sports, celebrity idolators, etc.” He would name different sins, but the sin doesn’t matter – it all does the same damage, trying to gain the upper hand and lead us off the path of righteousness along the path of selfishness that leads to permanent separation from God. 

So Malachi’s message then, along with the other OT prophets, along with John the Baptist, along with any Jesus-loving, Bible-treasuring believer today, is the same: return. For example, listen to just one other Old Testament prophet,  Hosea. “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:1-3,9). Return to God. As often as it takes, return. Get back on track and don’t step too freely and frequently on that other path so that it becomes comfortable. Return to grace, return to goodness, return to God. 

That’s really just another way of saying “repent.” We often think of repentance as being a call to get our act together and stop sinning so that we can somehow make ourselves presentable before God, and that he’ll will be happy with us as a result.

But if we know the gospel, then we know that God’s happiness with us isn’t based on our repentance or lack thereof; it’s based entirely on what Jesus already did for us. So we don’t return to God in hopes of winning his affections; we return to God because we already have God’s affection. And don’t let sin and Satan fool you – they cannot ever offer you anything better than what you already have with God because of Jesus Christ. 

God says to you through Malachi, “Return to me, and I will return to you” (v.7b). Is there a better gift than that permanent promise? God’s returns are the best gifts. He returns his messengers to us as often as we need to hear their message. He himself will return on the Last Day to make all things new. And in the meantime he give us the gift of returning to him through repentance, and attaches to it his promise to never turn away from us when we do. 

When it comes to your Christmas gifts this year, hang on the ones you like. Return the ones you don’t. It doesn’t really matter. But what does matter is that you don’t miss out on the best return gift of coming back to God again and again. That’s his gift to you, and it’s the key to A Real Christmas. 

A Real Christmas Requires Remembering Why Christ Came

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(1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)

Although it’s unlikely that Paul had just stuffed himself full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, too many pieces of pie, and then passed out on the couch while the football games were on the TV. Nonetheless, the sentiments of Thanksgiving certainly are in line with what he wrote in this section to the believers in Thessalonica: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of God because of you?” (v.9).

Paul was feeling gratitude. He was grateful for what God had done and had continued doing in the lives of the believers there. He directed his gratitude, his thanks, to God. He was rightly thanking God for the joy that the Thessalonians had brought into his life. And, as is the case with genuine gratitude, Paul was interested in more than just empty words, but backing that gratitude up with action. That’s why he desired to return among the Thessalonians to continue what had been started: keep feeding their faith by supplying what was still lacking (v.10-11). What Paul wrote after that is essentially a prayer.

In that prayer, Paul expressed his desire that  “the Lord make [their] love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…” (v.12). It’s as if Paul is providing a flow chart for us to see how the Christian life works. It all starts with God, who then funnels his gifts to us through faith. Then, as we grow in our faith, those gifts – like an increase in love as well as the other blessings that will follow, will all increase, too. Do you want a “Real Christmas” this year? Here’s your recipe! Go back to the basics: God and his gift of faith and growing it, which leads to other spiritual gifts spilling over, like the ones Paul continues to pray for. 

Paul’s prayer continues. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). We know the physical dangers of a weak heart. Not only can it cause complications, but even the slightest physical activity with a weak heart can potentially cause serious damage or even be fatal. 

But a weak heart spiritually is even more dangerous. A spiritually weak heart can lead one to drift from God or depend on some other source for strength and sustenance. That will certainly do damage for this life, but the greater concern of having a weak heart is how it potentially will leave us “in the presence of our God and Father” (v.13).

When will we find ourselves in that situation? Paul is looking way beyond the celebration of Christmas to the most monumental event, the Last Day, “when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). The Gospels in the Bible record Jesus teaching and preaching about this day. Even Paul, in this same letter, speaks of what that day will be like. The Thessalonians believers were someone what confused on the details of that Last Day. It’s worth noting that even that much closer to the life and ministry of Jesus, Paul was already focusing on his return and what its looks like to be ready for that day.

What does being ready for that day look like? It means we “will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God.” The first part of that may grab your attention, as “will be” almost sounds as if that status of being “blameless and holy” is something still to come, something to strive for, something to be attained at some point in the future. 

That view would certainly fit the common ideas people have of good people getting into heaven. It’s based on the idea that good people would do – and keep doing – good things. Then, at the end of the day when their time is up, God would sit down with them for what amounts to a sort of performance review to determine if they’re in or not. So long as they have a strong enough track record, they’ll be fine. It’s no surprise then, that since we all imagine ourselves tending to have a pretty good track record in our own minds, replaying the “best-of’s” and the highlights of our lives, we’re rather confident that we’ve got nothing to fear.

The idea of eventually arriving at being “blameless and holy” might also seem to be supported by Paul’s own words, even in these very verses. After all, a faith that is “lacking,” love that can “increase and overflow,” and hearts that can be “strengthen[ed]” would imply that “holy” hasn’t quite been achieved yet.

So which is it? Are we holy right now, or is holiness a status that is arrived at by putting in the appropriate time and effort? How do we ensure that we’re blameless and holy on that final day?

Both can be true. We can be holy right now, and we can also be becoming holy. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re following in the footsteps of the world that says truth is relative and subjective, and that we can all have our very different truths, even when those contradict each other. There’s a difference between each of our individual constructs of truth as we drum it up in our own respective worlds and what we’d call a paradox in Scripture. Our subjective truths have no backing or support from anything authoritative – they are based purely on our own personal thoughts or feelings. The Bible, however, as the Word of God, is authoritative.

So when the Bible speaks both ways, so do we. And the Bible does. It says that we can grow in our faith. Nearly half of what Paul writes in the New Testament is Paul addressing Christian living and spiritual growth. It lines up with exactly what he is writing in these verses, encouraging growth in our spiritual lives. Moreover, we personally know how necessary it is for us to grow as Christians in all areas of our lives. Yes, we are saints, but on this side of heaven we are saints who still sin and are still a work in progress. We want to grow and mature in our daily responsibilities and vocations, and rightly so!

But the Bible also speaks about our status before God. God calls us holy, and he calls us holy right now, in the present, as we are in this very moment. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

We notice two things in just these two passages – and we could have mentioned many other passages as well. First, there are no “ifs” in these verses. There is no carrot-on-a-stick holiness that is held out to us if we meet certain conditions or criteria. Holiness isn’t conditional.

Second, the tense of the verbs speaks volumes! We “are” holy because we “have been made” holy. There is no “someday down the road if you play your cards right.” There is no “once this happens, then…” There is only who we are because of what happened to make us that way.

So how does it feel? You are holy right now! And it is because God declares you to be holy right now that you also strive to live holy lives right now as you grow in holiness.

Perhaps one of the clearer Bible passages that ties our status as holy before God with our call to continue growing in holiness is found in Colossians 3:12. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience aren’t the prerequisites to achieving holiness; rather, they are how our holiness is expressed as we grow in them and put them on display in our Christian lives. You are holy right now. And you are growing in holiness right now.

But if this holiness isn’t something we arrive at or achieve on our own, then how does it happen?

The answer is Christmas. Holiness left heaven and entered earth to bring holiness with him. If holiness is required to get into heaven, but holiness cannot be achieved outside of heaven, then holiness had to be brought to us. And to be brought to us, God had to come to us, which is exactly what happened at Christmas.

When you assemble enough things over the years, at some point you’ve experienced the frustration of arriving at a dead end. You can’t move forward because something is missing. You retrace all of the previous steps in the directions to make sure you didn’t use the wrong piece in the wrong place, and confirm that each step was properly followed. Just as you are getting ready either to disassemble everything and return it or contact customer service, convinced a piece was missing, in trots one of your children, caught up in some imaginary game, or possibly pretending to “help” you, and you notice they have in their hand the piece you need to finish the assembly. Now that you have that piece, you finish putting everything together.

Jesus is that piece. Only he is much more than a missing piece to our holiness (as if we were somehow almost there and he just needed to come in and supply what was missing)! He isn’t just a missing piece; he is the whole thing! He IS our holiness, through and through. We cannot have holiness apart from him. 

And for him to be able to be our holiness, he had to provide our holiness by entering a holi-less world and bringing it with him. On Christmas, he was born to bring his holiness into a holi-less world. His perfect life in perfect obedience to God’s perfect law resulted in our holiness.

Therefore, dear friends, because of what Jesus came to do in the past, we know that we already have what we need when he comes again in the future on that Last Day. By faith in Jesus, we have holiness. His holiness. Yes, we have all that we need to be “blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). Christmas can’t get any more real than that!

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Jesus-Centered Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today I ask you to help me stay focused on what makes worship so special: worship is where you give me Jesus. Where Jesus is, there is peace for troubled hearts and rest for weary souls. Where your Word is present, there also the work of Jesus is present. Therefore, as I hear the Word of God read and preached, as the Word of God is spoken and sung, as I see the promises from the Word of God attached to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, help me see Jesus and his saving work for me. Refresh and recharge my soul. Let the words and works of our Savior Jesus be proclaimed clearly and considerably in Christian churches everywhere, nurturing and strengthening the faith of many.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Live While Watchfully Waiting

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(Mark 13:26-37)

While it may make the productivity proponents among us cringe to hear it, there are areas of life in which complacency or indifference isn’t really the end of the world. Deciding where to eat on date night is not a life or death decision – food will be consumed regardless of where it will be. This or that color of paint on the wall will not result in visitors black-listing your home due to poor color choices. The dirty dishes washed before bed or first thing in the morning are still getting washed. It’s pretty harmless to be indifferent or complacent about these kinds of things. 

But that same approach doesn’t work if you’re planning a trip when there are only so many flights on the date or around the time you need to travel. Complacency may result in pretty significant changes to your travel plans or itinerary. The same attitude about a job opening could easily result in someone else jumping on it and getting hired before you. Indifference toward your retirement plans may find you without any actual plan when the time comes, leaving you working right up until the day you die. So there are also areas in life when being indifferent or complacent can leave you reeling.  

If you’re picking up what Jesus is laying down in these verses from Mark 13, one of the areas of life where indifference is not an option is being ready for Jesus’ return on the Last Day. Yes, some of you have been hearing this type of warning for as long as you can remember, having grown up in the church and being used to the ongoing warnings to make sure you’re ready for the last day when Jesus returns. With each passing year, and then decade, it becomes easier and easier to tune out, because Jesus still hasn’t returned.

Of course, this underscores precisely why Jesus gives the warning! He knows that the more time passes as he is patiently waiting for more of the spiritual lost to come to repentance, the more inclined we are toward indifference. So all the more reason – not less – for us to heed his warning. We do well to listen to his words: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (v. 37). The time is coming when Jesus will return, so let us live while watchfully waiting.

To highlight the immanence of Jesus’ return, he gives us a botany lesson. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door” (v.28-29). Jesus could well have used any other type of tree or plant to make his point. When you pay attention to the stages of growth, they indicate what is coming next. A sprout that sports leaves is maturing. A fruit tree that buds is going to blossom, and after it blossoms it’s getting ready to bear fruit. We can see what’s coming next by paying attention to what the signs are showing us right now.

So it is with Jesus’ return. Since he has provided numerous signs that would precede his return on the Last Day, and we’ve seen and continue seeing those signs take place, his return is immanent. So what does it look like for us to live while watchfully waiting in the meantime? It involves working wisely. Working wisely includes 1) focusing on what lasts, 2) guarding against what doesn’t, and 3) staying on task. 

Focus on what lasts

Jesus basically covers one and two with a contrasting statement. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (v.31). Did you catch what lasts from Jesus’ words? Do you see what is never a waste of our time to focus on? If Jesus’ words will never pass away, doesn’t it make sense that they would receive much of our attention?

Not only will his words never waste away, but their power will always be present for us to take advantage of. When your sin’s guilt, shame, and embarrassment have had their way with you and you can’t shake them no matter how hard you try to make it right, turn to the words that will never pass away. The prophet Isaiah provides a beautiful example of such words: “But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail” (Isaiah 51:6).

Do those words from Isaiah help you appreciate why one of the best questions you can ask yourself when facing nearly and struggle is, “What has my time with Jesus in his Word been looking like?” If Jesus’ words will never pass away, and his words point us to who we are and what we have in him because of what he has done for us, why would we possibly start anywhere else? Rather than working backwards through a process of elimination after trying everything else that hasn’t worked and then finally turning to the Word, let me provide you with a helpful cheat code: start with the Word! Start with the powerful words that will never pass away. Focus on what lasts.

Guard against what doesn’t

That Word, which will never pass away, is unlike everything else. “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (v.31). Working wisely isn’t just focusing on what lasts, but also guarding against what doesn’t. To do that successfully, we have to be really honest with ourselves about what so easily gets our attention.

Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to do just that. As loved ones gather together and at some point take the time to share what they’re thankful for, take note of how many of the blessings mentioned are physical, temporal blessings that fall under the “will pass away” category. Now, it’s never wrong to be grateful for those things at all! However, when our expressions of gratitude default to what passes away rather than what will never pass away, that may be an indicator of some priorities that need adjusting.

Moreover, if we conclude that an unbalanced and unhealthy focus on what is passing away isn’t really that big a deal, then we have really failed to capture the tone of Jesus’ whole teaching here. For what else does Jesus have in mind by his repetition of warnings like “Be on guard! Be alert” (v.33) and “keep watch” (v.34 & 35) and “do not let him find you sleeping” (v.36) and “Watch!” (v.37)?

Warnings aren’t issued when nothing could go wrong. No one says, “Watch out, your grandkid is coming in for a big hug!” or “Be alert, someone is about to give you a gift!” Warnings are issued when there is potential danger or risk involved. Jesus’ warning is to guard against attachments to and distractions from the “heaven and earth” stuff that is on its way out. So while we’re focusing on what lasts, it’s equally important that we’re guarding against what doesn’t. 

Stay on task

To help us in both of these areas, working wisely also includes staying on task. Jesus compared our watchful waiting to a man leaving his servants in charge while going away for a time. “It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch” (v.34). His absence doesn’t mean an extended break or vacation for his servants; quite the opposite! Instead, they were to take care of things, “each with their assigned task.” You, Christian, have been assigned tasks to tend to until Jesus returns. 

That is to say, the Christian life is not one of spiritual unemployment. When Jesus paid a dear price for you, you were brought into God’s family by his grace. You were hired not for your qualifications, and not because you deserved some amazing compensation package, but by grace. And by grace you were paid salvation and eternity up front. They’ve already been credited to your account. We are saved by grace, not by works

But we are saved for works. As Christians, we are not sluggards. We are not slouches. Just because we don’t run ourselves ragged like much of the world busying itself with chasing after what will pass away doesn’t mean we check out and sit on our thumbs all day. Quite the opposite!

We have every reason to work harder than anyone else who only has this world to live for! Your work matters because you are the lips and the ears of Jesus, you are his hands and feet. You are how he gets his work done in this passing world, so work as hard as you can for him before the owner of the house returns on the Last Day.

Christians often assume the most important work they can do is the work within the church. To be sure, that work matters, too. To have leaders to keep us all moving in the right direction, to manage our finances and pay our bills, to teach in our classrooms, to edify our worship with their musical and creative gifts, to roll out the welcome mats every Sunday, to manage the kitchen and meals, by greeting, by handiwork, through overseeing technology, coordinating events, facilitating Bible studies, etc. Yes, all of this and so much more is essential to the health and growth of any congregation, not just numerically, but more importantly, spiritually. This is all certainly included in the “assigned task(s)” of working wisely. 

Let’s widen our field of view, though. Let’s realize that each of us also has more than our share of assigned tasks to carry out for the kingdom right where we are in our own little station in life. When you clock in at work, you do so as a Christian, so let that be clearly known to others as the light of your faith shines so brightly that it cannot be ignored. As a student, you carry out the assigned task God has given you by studying hard, participating in class, and helping to encourage your classmates and show respect to your teachers whenever possible. As a parent, you have more influence on your child’s spiritual growth than any pastor or teacher ever will have, so carry out your assigned task with intention, highlighting Jesus daily. As a friend, you carry out your assigned task to others by listening patiently, speaking the truth in love, and being deliberate about drawing others – believers and nonbelievers – closer to Jesus. There is no shortage of work to be done ahead of Jesus’ return, so let’s make sure we stay on task.

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (v.26).

Imagine, for a moment, just how amazing that day will be. Our Savior, arriving once again on the scene, visible for all to see, without question will be the single most spectacular event the world will ever get to witness. And all of that glorious display and all of that fanfare will be… for you.

Knowing all of that is coming, and knowing how supremely superior your eternity will be from that point on, what place does complacency have in our lives? There’s far too much to live for right now as we watchfully wait, so let’s make as much of a difference as we can with the time we have left by working wisely.

Focus on what lasts.

Guard against what doesn’t.

Stay on task. 

Live Free from the Fear of Judgment

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(Hebrews 9:24-28)

With the exception of the occasional scary movie, most of us don’t like being afraid. The husband who gets a kick out of surprise scaring his wife because he knows how much she hates it is liable to be on the receiving end of a different kind of kick if he’s not careful. Each of us also has different phobias and fears that can make us anxious just thinking about them. As we age, our fears may have less to do with Hollywood or halloween type scares and more to do with real life realities of what could go wrong for us. Kids getting injured or sick. Losing a job. Going to the doctor to face the symptoms I’ve been dealing with. Not having enough financially to carry me through my later years. 

Lingering somewhere in that list of fears is the fear of judgment. Someone once described it as if we’re all living in our own little courtroom, imagining judgments being rendered against us. We are afraid of being judged for what we wear or who we associate with. We’re afraid of being found out we’re a fake or fraud on some level. We’re afraid of… the list goes on.

But we’re doing those very same things to others. From the first moment you see a person, you make a judgment about them – what they’re wearing, how they speak, how much they weigh, what they eat, etc. We are constantly being scrutinized and judged by others – and doing the same thing right back. 

There’s a different kind of judgment that all of us will also face – one that will determine our eternity. The writer of the book we call Hebrews pointed out that “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (9:27). His statement is consistent with what we hear in the rest of Scripture: “Christ Jesus… will judge the living and the dead…” (2 Timothy 4:1). “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” (John 12:48). “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

Judgment will happen. Each of us will face it. The question is, do we have reason to fear it? How can we know if we have to be afraid or not? It depends on whether or not we know the verdict of that judgment.

Would any of the fears mentioned previously exist if you somehow knew the thing you feared wasn’t going to happen? Of course not! If you knew in advance that the outcome you feared wasn’t going to happen, then you’d have no fear! You wouldn’t be restrained by the straightjacket of anxiety or worry. You’d be free to live without those cares or concerns of uncertainty weighing you down. No fear! 

What I’ve just described isn’t a guarantee I can make to you regarding your fit, your friends, or your family, etc., but it’s a 100% guarantee I can make regarding your judgment before God – because God has already revealed the verdict to us: you aren’t guilty! No fear!

The writer to the Hebrews (we don’t know who he is) uses Old Testament (OT) practices and their fulfillment in Jesus to help illustrate how certain we can be when it comes to our judgment. The OT was rich with rites and ceremonies and all sorts of things that served not to accomplish anything in and of themselves, but rather to illustrate or point ahead to what/who would absolutely accomplish something: Jesus. So the writer compares a number of these historical places and practices with their fulfillment in Jesus, so that in him we may have confidence and certainty.

He first points to something very relatable for those who attend church each week. While we are more familiar with just referring to that whole building as “church,” the particular space within a church building where people gather for worship is referred to as the sanctuary. It is where worshipers gather to come into the presence of God. It represents the space where God dwells. This is even reflected by people using the phrase “God’s house” when talking about the church building.

God’s people have been gathering at God’s house, his sanctuary, ever since he gave his people very specific directions for building a tabernacle (essentially a portable church) after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. As they wandered through the wilderness on their way to the land God had promised them, they repeatedly set up and took down the tabernacle, the physical place depicting God’s dwelling among his people. Eventually, after they arrived in the land God set apart from them, in the area of what is now modern-day Israel, they replaced the temporary tent tabernacle with a beautiful permanent temple (although it would later be completely destroyed by the Romans). 

It is in comparison to this sanctuary that the writer points out how different Jesus was. Jesus didn’t need a sanctuary, because where the sanctuary represented man being in the presence of God, Jesus didn’t need a likeness or a symbol; he literally returned to the place all of those religious spaces represented: the presence of God in heaven. “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence” (v.24). Jesus wasn’t the fake thing or the figurative thing, but the real deal, returning to heaven where he belonged.

And take note of the “why” wrapped up in those verses that is really the author’s whole point: “for us.” Jesus appeared before God not in some building, but in heaven itself, “for us.” What was he doing there for us? The writer goes on to explain.

Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (v.25-26).

Before Jesus, those who served as priests would take their turns offering sacrifices that illustrated a very important point God was impressing upon his people: sin comes at a cost. In order for sin to be paid for, blood has to be shed. Of course the animal sacrifices of sheep and cattle never paid for a single sin. But, they served as powerful illustrations pointing ahead to the ultimate sacrifice that involved the shedding of blood that would pay for the sins of the world – the sacrifice of Jesus at his crucifixion.

So unlike those priests, who carried out their responsibilities again and again, including the once-a-year entrance into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, Jesus didn’t need to repeat his sacrifice. His one-time sacrifice on the cross “for all” (there’s that phrase again) was sufficient to pay for all sin for all sinners of all time. 

Why is that such a big deal? Why does it matter? The news of Jesus dying on the cross is not likely something new to you. And maybe you’ve even heard the reason: to pay for our sins. But it is nonetheless possible that the significance behind all of this and its meaning for you have remained somewhat foggy. So let the writer to the Hebrews clear it up for us.

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (v. 27-28). We all have that in common: we will die and face judgment. We also have something else in common: Jesus was sacrificed to take away the sins that would make us dread judgment.

But you might notice that the writer wrote, “take away the sins of many.” Why not “all?” To be sure, he did take away the sins of all (remember what was written in the verse prior that included everyone!). However, those who through unbelief reject his payment of sins will face a different verdict on that last day. So not “all” will benefit from Christ’s sacrifice, even though it covered all people; only the “many” who believe it can be confident of the “not guilty” verdict.

They know that when Jesus comes a second time, it will be to finalize our salvation and sweep us out of this broken world into the new world waiting for us – one that will not only be without sin or sorrow, but without any judgement, either. So living like we’ll live forever means that we get to live free of the fear of judgment. 

With the holidays coming, you may be looking ahead to visits from certain family members or friends. There may be, though, one or two among them you aren’t looking forward to, or are perhaps are even dreading. The uncle with the off-color comments or offensive jokes. The friend who insists on polarizing political conversations. The ardent atheist or blowhard Christian more interested in arguing than in seeking to under.

Sorry – I can’t do much about those individuals or any judgment coming from them. But I can assure you that you have no need to dread that final visit when Jesus returns on the Last Day. Those who believe the words of the writer to the Hebrews already know what the verdict will be: not guilty. And you know what that means? You have nothing to fear.