Be Bold, Do Right

Last evening our small group enjoyed the benefits of modern technology. We interacted with our missionaries to Nigeria (currently stateside) along with a few other members of our group that were quarantined due to Covid.

As our missionaries told us about God’s continuing work in Nigeria, we were reminded that the gospel of Jesus Christ does not advance without cost. Some of their own colleagues and friends have suffered greatly due to persecution. They have had family members beaten, raped and killed, their possessions stolen and their houses burned. While we go to sleep in relative peace, they go to bed wondering if they will be attacked in the dead of night. In one case, armed assailants raided Gora Gan village after dark, killing a dozen people and forcing hundreds to flee. This took place a day after assailants gunned down 18 wedding guests in a nearby village.

Our missionaries told us about another case – the tragic kidnapping of Leah Sharibu, which occurred almost three years ago (Feb. 19, 2018), when Leah was just 14 years old. At that time, Boko Haram kidnapped 110 girls during a raid on a school in the the town of Dapchi, in Yobe state. A month later, in a deal with the government, Boko Haram released 104 girls, with the last five thought to have died in captivity. Leah, however, has remained a captive, because she refused to renounce her faith.

When her friends were released, Leah sent a message to her mother, saying:

My mother, you should not be disturbed. I know it is not easy missing me, but I want to assure you that I am fine where I am…. I am confident that one day I shall see your face again. If not here, then there at the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

According to the organization International Christian Concern,

[Leah] has likely been forced to learn Islamic rules and Arabic as the groups tries to force her to change to their beliefs. They have also likely used physical torment and mental attacks to try and break her faith in Christ. These kinds of tactics, to include beatings, brainwashing, drugging and sexual abuse have been commonly reported from women who have escaped Boko Haram captivity.

As our small group listened to how our Christian brothers & sisters in Nigeria have suffered for their faith, we were humbled as we heard their two main prayer requests:

1. That they would be bold in their witness for Christ, not flinching in the face of persecution.

2. That they would do right and not seek revenge on their enemies, but love them for Jesus’ sake.

This report and these requests came at the end of the day on which our President was impeached, and a week after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, waving Jesus and Trump flags. These missionaries and their Nigerian friends are praying for us that we also would be bold and do right.

May we, like our Nigerian brothers and sisters, pray like the early church did, so that we too might experience a similar outpouring of the Holy Spirit:

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…. And when they had prayed, … they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness … and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:29, 31, 33)

A Warning to the Church

A week ago, a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, forcing Washington into a temporary lockdown. USA Today has provided a timeline of that fateful day. Since then, various folks have asked me to write a blog about it. I’ve been reluctant to do so for several reasons:

1. My goal in blogging is to provide encouragement from the gospel, but this article is more about encroachment on the gospel.

2. Space is limited. I empathize with one evangelical writer who told his critics, “I am sorry that I could not address every specific issue, with the nuance and caveats you would have, dealing with every concern with the detail it requires, in this 1000 word article.” (That’s how long my article today will be.)

3. Countless writers far more capable than I am have already addressed key issues.

4. I don’t want to be misunderstood and then ostracized by my dear friends and colleagues as a result.

But I’ll say it anyway, because I think it needs to be said. I’ve picked just one aspect of this ordeal that evokes a haunting lesson from history: “the church in Germany appeared to be too preoccupied with the problems of the nation to see what was happening before its eyes.”

So wrote Erwin Lutzer over 25 years ago in his award-winning book, Hitler’s Cross: The revealing story of how the Cross of Christ was used as a symbol of the Nazi agenda. This book came to my mind after the Capitol riots began. A pastor friend of mine tweeted:

To the people storming the capitol with Jesus flags, please repent and promote peace and the rule of law. If not, please leave the Jesus flags behind. He’s nowhere near this.

The rioters who stormed the Capitol, destroyed property, killed a policeman, and injured others, were anything but “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20).

Let me add two qualifying statements:

1. Many of the peaceful protesters were sincere Christians who simply wanted their voice to be heard and were exercising their First Amendment rights.

2. I am NOT comparing President Trump to Adolf Hitler (as some have done).

My chief concern is not about any one person, but rather the people of God in America. Christians are allowing their political views and loyalties to color their perspective, confuse their identity, rearrange their priorities, and tarnish their testimony.

Scripture says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident…” (Gal. 5:19). Such sins include “enmity, strife, … fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions” (v. 20). The way that some Christians have expressed their opinions and handled their differences, especially on social media, is disgraceful.

Have we lost sight of the fact that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36)? Pastor Matt Chandler shared some good thoughts along these lines in a brief video message last week, saying in part,

I want us, by the grace of God, to pray for our nation [and] to consider how we got to this moment. Personally, I think it’s a mixture of biblical illiteracy, a lack of spiritual power, and a lack of serious discipleship.

In Hitler’s Cross, Lutzer points out that Hitler’s “political machine swallowed the church whole because the church had lost its biblical mission.” In the days of Hitler, “the Nazis wrapped the cross in the swastika, making the cross a weapon to further Hitler’s agenda.”

On one side we see the danger from the political Left. In his newest book, Live Not By Lies, Rod Dreher warns us that “a progressive — and profoundly anti-Christian militancy — is steadily overtaking society.” We see this in the destruction of the nuclear family, the erosion of moral values, plus the rise of identity politics, intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, cultural Marxism, and other humanistic ideologies and philosophies. Dreher writes, “the Left pushes its ideology ever deeper into the personal realm, leaving fewer and fewer areas of life uncontested.”

So it’s easy to see why Christians are concerned and want to “contest” such wrongs. But as Trevin Wax states in his critique of Dreher’s book,

My point isn’t that Dreher is wrong to warn against cultural currents that sweep us into soft totalitarianism. I only wish he had explored how this tendency toward soft totalitarianism could wind up being as much of a feature of a nationalist surge from the far right as it could … from the far left.

Dr. Albert Mohler addressed this same concern in today’s episode of his daily broadcast, The Briefing. The first segment is entitled “What is Christian Nationalism and What Is the Danger? Understanding the Different Roles of the Church and Nations in God’s Plan.” To listen to the broadcast or read the transcript, click here.

I’m already over my usual word limit, so I’ll wrap up quickly. I realize that I’ve mostly raised a concern rather than resolve it. But I think that’s fairly simple (if not easy), so long as we remember who we are, whose we are, why we are here, and what we’re to do. Dr. Daniel Aiken summed up the matter well in his tweet earlier today:

The Great Commandments

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:37-40)

The Great Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

Here endeth the lesson.

AAA Membership

Are you a Triple-A member? You’re probably thinking of North America’s largest travel organization, which has over 60 million members and provides many benefits. But I’m referring to another Triple-A membership that’s far better in the grand scheme of things. Jesus talks about it in Mark 11:22-25 when he tells his disciples,

Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Here Jesus teaches us a three-fold lesson on faith. We could call it the “Triple A of Trust.”

1. Anchored in God

“Have faith in God.” Everyone has faith. But the defining issue for life and eternity is where that faith is placed.

Just prior to his conversation with his disciples, Jesus had cleansed the temple in Jerusalem, declaring, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17; cf. Isa. 56:7). The people’s focus was no longer on God but on the beautiful buildings and “big business.”

In his book, Coming Home: Timeless Wisdom for Families, James Dobson writes,

The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs ever built, but there is something fascinating about its beginnings. In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial for her. The shah placed his wife’s casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years into the venture, the Shah’s grief gave way to a passion for the project. One day while he was surveying the sight, he reportedly stumbled over a wooden box, and he had some workers throw it out. It was months before he realized that his wife’s casket had been destroyed. The original purpose for the memorial became lost in the details of construction. (p. 122)

That’s what had happened with the temple in Jerusalem. The same thing happens in many churches today. So Jesus tells his disciples, “Trust in God.” Our faith must be anchored in him.

2. Able to move mountains

Faith in God, expressed through prayer, has exponential power to accomplish God’s purposes. Jesus used the symbol of a mountain to convey this point. From the Mount of Olives, where this conversation was taking place, the disciples would have been able to see on the south horizon a peak shaped like a volcano. The peak is actually the Herodium, one of many citadels built by Herod the Great.

Herodium seen from Artas village (next to Bethlehem)

As John Beck notes in Bible Study Magazine,

The Herodium is the only mountain in view that had a history of being moved — a fact that Jesus alludes to in his lesson. Herod directed his builders to remove part of the mountain adjacent to the Herodium in order to provide material to create an artificial slope…. With its high elevation, unique shape, distinctive architecture, and history of being moved, the Herodium is the most likely referent of “this mountain” ….

When Herod built it, he used slave labor to transfer the earth from an adjacent hill to form the foundation and support structure for the fortress. Herod literally moved a mountain to build his fortress!

Yet as impressive as this construction was, Jesus said it’s nothing compared to what God can do through those who place their faith in him. Herod’s architectural ambitions had changed the landscape of Judea, but those who trust in God can change the landscape of human history.

3. Always ready to forgive.

What does forgiveness have to do with faith? Forgiveness toward others is the outworking of one’s faith in God.

Joseph exemplified this beautifully. After their father Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would inflict vengeance on them for selling him as a slave to Egypt years earlier. So they told Joseph that before Jacob died, he had expressed his wish that Joseph forgive his brothers. But their pleading was unnecessary, for Joseph had already forgiven them.

Joseph was able to do so because of his faith in God. He told his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). Faith can see the hand of God working even in the most unjust circumstances. Such a perspective wields a lot of power — enough to move a mountain.

Are you a “Triple A member”? Is your faith anchored in God ... able to move mountains ... always ready to forgive? That’s the kind of faith that God uses to accomplish his purposes and alter the landscape of history.

The Princess That Perplexes Me

When reading through Genesis, my impressions of Sarah tend to be more negative than positive. I’ll get to that in a moment. But first I should clarify that the reason I refer to her in the subject heading as “princess” is because that’s what her original name Sarai means. God later changed her name to Sarah, “mother of nations” (Gen. 17:15). She was the wife of Abraham, whose name God also changed — from Abram, “exalted father,” to Abraham, “father of a multitude” (Gen. 17:5).

Sarah was “a woman beautiful in appearance” (Gen. 12:11). So Abraham got himself a catch — a beautiful princess for a wife! So far, so good.

Abraham and Sarah were initially from Ur, which was located in what is now the country of Iraq (Gen. 11:31). But the Lord told Abraham to leave his country and family to go to a land that God would show him. God also promised to bless Abraham and make his name great so that he would be a blessing. (Gen. 12:1-3). Abraham obeyed God and took his wife Sarah with him.

God led them to the land of Canaan, but there was a famine in the land, so Abraham and Sarah “went down to Egypt” (Gen. 12:10). Eventually they came back to Canaan, where Abraham and Lot parted ways. Abraham and Sarah “settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron” (Gen. 13:18).

Fast forward a few chapters later, and that’s where I start seeing Sarah in a somewhat negative light. In Genesis 16, Sarah is still barren, even though God has promised Abraham a son (Gen. 15:4). So Sarah tells Abraham to have children by Hagar, Sarah’s maid. So he has sexual relations with Hagar, and she winds up pregnant. When Hagar finds out she’s pregnant, she starts treating Sarah with contempt. But then Sarah deals so harshly with her, that Hagar runs away into the wilderness. The angel of the Lord tells Hagar to go back and submit to Sarah, while at the same time promising Hagar that the Lord is aware of her affliction and will make her son great.

In Genesis 17, God reassures Abraham when he is nearly a hundred years old and Sarah is ninety, that she is going to give birth to a son “at this time next year” (Gen. 17:22). In chapter 18, God reiterates this promise to Abraham. When Sarah overhears it, she laughs in disbelief. The Lord asks Abraham why Sarah laughed at the notion of having a baby. Afraid, Sarah denies it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the Lord says, “No, you did laugh” (Gen. 18:15).

Sure enough, Sarah bears a son, and Abraham names him Isaac, which means “laughter” (how appropriate!). Later, when they hold a feast on the day that Isaac is weaned, Sarah’s sees Hagar’s son Ishmael laughing. Sarah tells Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son” (Gen. 21:10). This grieves Abraham, since Ishmael is his son. But God tells Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy…. Do whatever Sarah tells you…” (Gen. 21:12).

So early the next morning Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away with nothing but a loaf of bread and a container of water. Later on this mother and her son are so famished, they’re about to die. Hagar puts her son under the shade of a bush and sits by herself a stone’s throw away, saying as she bursts into tears, “I don't want to watch the boy die” (Gen. 21:16). But God hears her cry and rescues them. Long story short, Ishmael becomes a great nation, just as God promised.

But I couldn’t get over why Abraham, given how rich he was, sent Hagar and her son away with so little. A loaf of bread and skin of water? But then I remembered the Lord’s words to Abraham: “Do as Sarah tells you.” Could it be that Sarah cruelly insisted that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away with nothing more? This certainly seems to be the case.

So, to summarize, Sarah tells Abraham to have a son by Hagar, then gets mad when he does, and she treats Hagar horribly. Later, Sarah laughs at God’s promise that she will bear a son. Then she denies laughing when confronted about it. After Isaac is weaned, and Sarah sees Ishmael laughing, she insists that Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael away without even enough food and water to survive.

Sarah has some serious hangups and glaring flaws! She’s quite the sinner! Yet the New Testament makes her look like a saint! Hebrews 11:11 says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” (Apparently she ended up believing God after all.) Peter refers to Sarah as a holy woman of God who made herself beautiful by obeying her husband (1 Pet. 3:4-6).

As I thought about God’s assessment of Sarah in the New Testament, I went back to the Old Testament and began to think about some other things, like how hard it must have been Sarah to move away from her family and home in order to follow her husband, who went without knowing where he was going (Heb. 11:8). I thought about how Sarah obeyed Abraham, even when he wasn’t always right and seemed more concerned about this own well-being than hers (see Gen. 12:10-13).

So Sarah is the princess that perplexes me. She is, at the same time, a woman of faith and a woman with flaws. But I really shouldn’t be all that perplexed, because each and every child of God is, as the Reformer Martin Luther put it, Simul Justus et Peccator — “at the same time righteous and sinful.” In and of ourselves, we’re still sinners. But through our faith in Christ, God counts us as righteous (Rom. 5:1).

As the late theologian R. C. Sproul stated, “This is the very heart of the gospel” — and it gives us every reason to celebrate. We are forgiven and reconciled to God, not by our own righteousness, but the righteousness of God himself which comes through faith in Christ (Phil. 3:9).

If you can, take an extra few minutes to watch R. C. Sproul explain this glorious truth in a simple, colorful way. It’s a great reminder that although we are great sinners, Christ is a great Savior!

The Ultimate Victory

Note: I’m blessed to have my friend and fellow elder, Brad Wade, as our guest blogger on “Family & Friends Friday.” Brad and his wife Peggy have been married for 22 years, and have two children: Ryan (in college) and Megan (in high school). They have been at Webster Bible Church for nearly 13 years. They were among the first believers I baptized when I came on as pastor in 2011. Brad and Peggy have a genuine love for Christ which is reflected in their relationships with others, especially those in our own church family.

Brad is also big into sports, as you will see in today’s article. Enjoy!

I love sports, and I love competing. I’ve spent much of my life either playing or coaching a sport where a major theme is to pursue victory. Of course, there are many benefits one can gain from competition including:

1. physical fitness

2. developing improved teamwork

3. learning how to deal with both victory and defeat in a healthy, Christ-honoring way.

However, all of that is accomplished in the participant’s pursuit of victory. There is a saying in sports: “That’s why they play the game.” This means that no matter what the pregame odds are or what each team looks like “on paper,” no competition is ever a sure thing. I could give example after example of this from my own many years of personal experience. One of the more recent examples comes from my son’s senior year baseball and basketball teams. Both teams ended their season with a win in the championship game where, in both cases, the other team was heavily favored and had already beaten our team multiple times during the season.

Turning to the professional world of sports, growing up a Buffalo Bills fan, the phrase “wide right” still haunts me and other Bills fans to this very day, even though that infamous kick happened almost 30 years ago! While on the topic of the Bills, just this year, while playing against the Bills, the Arizona Cardinals snatched victory from the jaws of defeat as they caught an extremely improbable “Hail Mary” pass on the last play of the game. Another sure victory for the Bills literally ripped away from them!

As a big baseball fan and a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, one of my favorite television sports moments came during game 6 of the 2011 World Series where the St. Louis Cardinals were 1 strike away from losing the World Series to the Texas Rangers. In fact, they were down to their last strike multiple times in both the 9th inning and then in extra innings, yet somehow still managed to win that game in walk-off fashion and then, ultimately winning game 7 to give them their 11th world championship.

There are so many other examples of competitions like this. Year after year, one of my favorite sporting events is the NCAA basketball championship tournament. The main reason I love it is because the games are typically so close, regardless of the seed (rank) of the teams, and it seems that there are nightly highlights of shots floating through the air as the final buzzer sounds. Shots that, if made, will send one team on to the next round, and if missed will send a team home and will end the careers of some of the players on the team. After a hard-fought game, it all comes down to one final shot.

Outside of the world of sports, the line between victory and defeat can often be very slim as well. In the 2000 presidential election, the winner of the Florida electoral votes would win the presidency. When all was done, George Bush won Florida and it’s electoral votes by only 537 total votes, a margin of 0.009%.

So here’s the point:

In our lives and in this world,
no victory is certain.

So many of the contests we watch or participate in can go either way and ultimately can’t be determined until the very end of the game, the election, the match, or whatever.

HOWEVER, there is One for which all victories are known, clear & decisive. You guessed it - God Almighty! There is no need for a final “Hail Mary” (no pun intended), buzzer-beater, recount, or any of that. God doesn’t squeak by His opponents — He obliterates them!

The Holy Scriptures are full of examples of God’s clear victories and is, in fact, the theme of the Bible as a whole! Consider how God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, as told in Exodus. He didn’t have them sneak out in the middle of the night hoping no one would spot them. No, he delivered them in broad daylight, ultimately swallowing up Pharoh’s army in the Red Sea. Wow!

Or how about the story of David and Goliath - a young shepherd boy versus a huge battle-tested warrior. God delivered a swift and clear victory to David using just a sling and a stone. It was so decisive, it can barely be considered a fight at all!

Another one of the many examples of God’s clear and decisive victories is recorded in the book of Joshua. God delivered Joshua a victory over the city of Jericho by telling Joshua to march around the city over 7 days, blowing a trumpet, and shouting. The walls of Jericho then collapsed and the army was able to charge in and take the city. Another clear victory!

This leads me to the most important and most decisive victory in the history of the universe - Christ’s once and for all victory over sin, death, and Satan! In Genesis 3:15, commonly called the “Protevangelium” — a term that essentially signifies the idea of the “first gospel proclamation.” The Lord said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” In living the perfect life that we couldn’t, in the shedding of His blood and His death on the cross, and finally in His resurrection and ascension into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, Christ earned this eternal decisive victory, known from the beginning of time, once and for all! In THIS victory is where we find OUR eternity! If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you share in this victory! You have eternal life! If however, you have not yet received Christ, you can still join the winning team! In Acts 16, someone asks the all-important question “What must I do to be saved?”. The answer is given: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Oh what an awesome victory celebration it will be one day with the whole team in Heaven!

So, regardless of the outcome of the first Bills home playoff game this millennium, or the outcome of any other situation in your life, just remember that for those in Christ, the ultimate victory is ours!

Beating the Winter Blahs

The “winter blahs” may not be the best term. It’s a common expression but may not convey just how heavy our spirits can feel this time of year. The medical term for this condition is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). According to the Mayo Clinic website, SAD symptoms typically start in the fall and continue on through the winter, sapping your energy and making you feel moody, discouraged, unmotivated, unproductive and worthless.

If you struggle with SADness, I want to give you gospel encouragement along with practical counsel and resources.

Gospel Encouragement

Recently we celebrated Christmas. When the angel announced Jesus’ birth, he said, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

This pronouncement is not just for Christmas, but for every day of our lives. Jesus came to die on the cross as our substitute in order to satisfy God’s righteous wrath against our sin (Rom. 5:6-10). Three days later Jesus rose from the dead, showing that he had conquered death for all who believe in him (1 Cor. 15:53-56).

Because of Christ, we believers are reconciled to God (Rom. 5:1), forgiven (Eph. 1:7-8), and have eternal life (Rom. 6:23). That is cause for great joy!

Practical Counsel

Nevertheless, we can still struggle with discouragement. That’s why Paul tells believers, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). He then gives good practical counsel on how to battle anxiety and fight for joy (see Phil. 4:5-9). After all, the fight for joy is part of “the good fight of the faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).

With that in mind, Mark Altrogge lists seven ways to fight for joy:

1. Realize that all lasting joy is found in Christ. Jeremiah 2:13 says “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” When we look to anything else but Jesus for lasting joy we’ll come up empty.

2. Abide in Christ. Seek him, walk with him, rest in him, trust him. In John 15:9-11 Jesus said: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

3. Take in God’s Word. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart.” God’s word is a conduit of his joy to us. As we continue to take it in, believe and obey it, it becomes a joy and delight. His promises give us hope and make us glad.

4. Thank him and praise him for as much as you can. Thank him for spiritual blessings and material blessings. A thankful heart is a joyful heart.

5. Ask Jesus for joy. As David prayed in Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”

6. Contemplate your salvation and heaven to come. In Luke 10:20 Jesus said, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

7. Tell yourself to hope in God. David took himself by the collar and shook himself in Psalm 42:5-6 and said, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

Additional Resources

Maybe you’re looking at the above list and thinking, “Yeah, I know that’s right, but right now I just don’t desire God.” That may be hard to admit, but if it’s true, there’s a wonderful resource for you. Years ago John Piper wrote a book titled When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. I’ve read this book and highly recommend it.

One other musical resource is an album by Sovereign Grace Music titled Come Weary Saints. These songs have been composed for the purpose of soothing and strengthening your soul. My favorite song on the album is “Oh the Deep, Deep Love.” Why not take a moment to listen to it now?

Life is tough, but God’s joy is real. Fight for it, because it’s worth it.

All Glory Be to Christ

On New Year’s Eve I posted an article about Auld Lang Syne — the meaning of the words, the origin of the song, and its relevance to us. Upon reading the article, one of my Bible college professors texted me to express his appreciation for the “essay” (his term). He then proceeded to point out two bits of information about the (Scottish traditional) tune of Auld Lang Syne:

1. It is the tune of “The Good Ole Song,” which is the de facto song of the University of Virginia (my professor’s alma mater).

2. It is also the tune of “All Glory Be to Christ,” a hymn written by Dustin Kensrue, released in 2012.

My prof’s text jogged my memory. A few years ago, I joined 12,000 other Christians (mostly pastors) in singing this hymn at the Together for the Gospel conference. (That recording appears at the end of this article.)

All Glory Be to Christ. This should be the theme of our lives. Paul testified, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Likewise, in Colossians 3:23-24, Paul wrote to his fellow believers,

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

This past Sunday, the first Lord’s Day of the new year, I began preaching through Hebrews 13, the final chapter of this New Testament book that extols the supremacy of Christ. Chapter 13 is filled with practical commands for doing “that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:21). In my Bible I wrote a heading over chapter 13: “Exalting Jesus in Everyday Life.” This should be our primary resolution that governs every other resolution we make in life.

Here are the lyrics to the hymn, “All Glory Be to Christ.” If you know the song Auld Lang Syne, then you’re already familiar with the tune. May its message ring loud and clear in our hearts, homes, and churches!

All Glory Be to Christ

Should nothing of our efforts stand,
no legacy survive;
Unless the Lord does raise the house,
in vain its builders strive.

To you who boast tomorrow’s gain,
tell me what is your life?
A mist that vanishes at dawn —
all glory be to Christ!

Chorus:
All glory be to Christ, our King.
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

His will be done, his kingdom come,
on earth as is above;
Who is Himself our daily bread,
praise Him, the Lord of love.

Let living water satisfy
the thirsty without price,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
all glory be to Christ!

Chorus:
All glory be to Christ, our King.
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

When on the day the great I AM,
the Faithful and the True,
the Lamb who was for sinners slain,
is making all things new —

Behold, our God shall live with us
and be our steadfast light,
and we shall e’er his people be.
All glory be to Christ!

Chorus:
All glory be to Christ, our King.
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

Ask Great Things of a Great God

When I was a kid, our church hosted a Bible conference. The guest preacher taught us a chorus that came straight from Scripture. The lyrics were based word-for-word on Jeremiah 33:3 in the King James Version (KJV):

Call unto me,
and I will answer thee,
and shew thee great & mighty things
which thou knowest not.

The Lord uttered these words to Jeremiah when he was in prison for preaching God’s Word to his wayward people. Jerusalem was under attack by the armies of Babylon, and Jeremiah prophesied that God was going to give the city into their hands. This made King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem upset, so the king put Jeremiah in jail (see Jer. 32:1-5).

Pretty dismal circumstances, right? Yet God promised Jeremiah that better days were coming! In fact, God had Jeremiah buy a field from his cousin to show that God intended to bring his people back to their own land after a specified time of captivity in Babylon.

After making this purchase, Jeremiah prayed for further understanding. He began by saying, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” (Jer. 32:17).

How many of our prayers start this way? Jeremiah went on to extol God’s steadfast love, his infinite power, his great counsel & wisdom. He recounted God’s mighty deeds in the past for his people, despite their disobedience and deserved punishment from God.

But now Jeremiah wanted to know more. Why did God have him purchase a field, and how exactly did this fit into God’s plan for his people?

God responded to Jeremiah by giving him greater insight about what was to come. Things would get worse before they’d get better. But then they would be better than Jeremiah could have ever imagined. The Lord was going to institute a new, everlasting covenant for his people whereby he would “not turn away from doing good to them” (Jer. 32:40). God said, “I will rejoice in doing them good … with all my heart and all my soul” (Jer. 32:41).

That’s the note on which Jeremiah 33 begins. The “chorus” I quoted up top is prefaced with this statement:

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it — the Lord is his name . . .”

God had already showed Jeremiah wonderful things about what was to come, but God came to him again, wanting to show him even more!

God wants to do the same with us. In fact, Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that God saved us “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace & kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). But God also wants us to experience a measure of this now. So Paul says, “I pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him” (Eph. 1:19).

Everything God wants us to know has already been written in the Scriptures (Deut. 29:29), but God wants us to know the reality of his greatness in an intensely personal, experiential way.

While most of us are not in prison with our city under attack, Jeremiah’s circumstances remind us that even when things are at their bleakest, God is always at his best.

When things are at their bleakest,
God is always at his best.

What problem weighs heavy on your heart? What situation seems hopeless to you? Whatever it is, bring it to God! Trust him to do what is best! It’s not a question of his power but his purpose. Remember, God has assured us as believers that he will rejoice in doing us good with all his heart and soul.

So let us pray accordingly! The other day I came across a bold prayer in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. I highlighted it and even took a picture of it with my iPhone so that I could keep it with me. May it encourage you and embolden your faith in God, who is much more eager to answer than we are to ask!

Nothing exceeds thy power,
Nothing is too great for thee to do,
Nothing is too great for thee to give.

Infinite is thy might,
Boundless thy love,
Limitless thy grace,
Glorious thy saving name.

Let angels sing for

sinners repenting,
prodigals restored,
backsliders reclaimed,
Satan’s captives released,
blind eyes opened,
broken hearts bound up,
the despondent cheered,
the self-righteous stripped,
the ignorant enlightened,
and saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

Abel's Better Offering

With the dawning of a new year, I have begun reading through my Bible again. Nothing nourishes the soul like “the eternal, living word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). When Scripture speaks, God speaks. When I read my Bible, it also reads me. Nobody “speaks the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) like God.

Even the most familiar stories convey fresh lessons for today. Such is the case with the offerings of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Scripture says,

When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:2b-7)

Despite their fall into sin, Adam and Eve passed on to their sons the importance of worshiping God. But the brothers did so in two different ways, with two different results. Whereas Cain “presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord,” Abel brought “the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.” See the difference? The text indicates that Cain gave God a bit of what he had, whereas Abel gave God the best.

But the main difference between these two brothers was the manner in which they presented their respective offerings to God. Hebrews 11:4 states,

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And though he died, he still speaks.

The book of Hebrews is all about the supremacy of the Son of God. He is “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 11:9). All the Old Testament sacrifices provided a temporary covering for sin as they pointed to the ultimate, once-for-all sacrifice of the promised Deliverer — “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The first mention of the gospel, often referred to as the protoevangelium (proto, “first” + evangelium, “gospel”) appears in Genesis 3:15, when God promised that the woman’s offspring would crush the serpent’s head. Then “the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). An innocent animal had to be killed in order to provide a covering for Adam and Eve.

So the first mention of the gospel was followed by the first animal sacrifice, which pointed to the eventual sacrifice of Christ for sinners.

Because Abel presented his gift to the Lord “by faith,” his offering was one of atonement, whereas Cain’s offering was one of attainment. That is to say, Abel trusted in the Lord and his work, whereas Cain trusted in himself and his work. As a result, God received Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s.

When God rejected Cain’s gift, he became angry. But the Lord spoke to Cain and assured him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:7). At the same time God also warned Cain that if he did not master sin, sin would master him.

Sadly, Cain did not listen to God and made the wrong choice. Sin became his master, and Cain murdered his brother. “And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous” (1 John 3:12).

Cain’s offering stands as a warning to us that it’s possible to go through the motions of worship while missing the entire point of it. But Abel stands out as a true worshiper, one whom God commended, and one whose testimony still speaks to us today — thousands of years after his death.

Incidentally, the name Abel means “breath.” His parents rejoiced as they saw him take his first breath, and they grieved greatly after he had breathed his last. Abel’s life was cut short by an act of cruel violence. But Abel’s godly legacy lives on.

May the same be true of us. Let us “by faith” give God our best, knowing that God gave us his.

Soli Deo Gloria

Today I’m pleased to have my brother-in-law, Pastor Tim Boger, as our guest blogger on “Family & Friends Friday.” Tim loves people, the Word of God, coffee, and baseball. His greatest joy is spending time with Wendy, his "sweetheart since junior high." They have two grown children: Seth and his wife Emily along with their son Levi live in Jerusalem, Israel. Sarah and her husband Ben live in Kansas with their two children, Denson and Noel.

Tim is presently the Senior Pastor at Big Woods Bible Church in Lock Haven, PA and is continuing further studies at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Etched in a piece of black walnut hanging on my office wall (pictured above) are three simple words Soli Deo Gloria, a Latin phrase that means “Glory to God Alone.” It emerged more than five hundred years ago from the Protestant Reformation as a summary statement for SALVATION, which is according to Scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone … for the glory of God alone.

But in many ways it could also be a summary statement for ALL of life! The Bible teaches that God has offered salvation to mankind through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and paid the price for all of sin. When Jesus rose from the tomb three days later, He came to life so we too could “walk in the newness of life” (Rom. 6:4) when we put our faith in Him. But God also created each of us with a purpose and gives each of us a new day, every day. Therefore, we should live each day for the glory of God alone.

This means we are to wake up each morning for the glory of God. We are to go to work or school for the glory of God. We are to think, talk, write, study, learn, drive, play, exercise, rest, read and run … for the glory of God! You and I are to carefully maneuver our way through every day … for the glory of God. The Apostle Paul said it like this: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)

At first glance, this seems logical and perhaps even doable because it, most certainly, is the right thing to do. But the problem comes with that little word “Soli,” or “alone”. It may seem easy to give all glory to God knowing that is what we were created for, but it is not as easy as you think. I have found that we love our own glory! We love to delight in our own fame. We love to center life around ourselves.

By pursuing our own glory, we are in essence trying to rob God of His glory. But God will not have this! We need to remember God does not share His glory with anyone. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 115:1, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory.” We are fallen, sinful beings. It would be inappropriate for us as human beings to receive all the glory but it is more than appropriate for God. We need to remember … “all things” bring glory to God. This means all the glory of creation–all the universe, all the solar systems, all the stars, the sun, the moon–belongs to God.

• All the academic glory in every library of every university belongs to God.

• All the glory of the military might belongs to God.

• All the glory of the weather systems — even with storms, hurricanes, winds and floods belongs to God.

• All the glory of art belongs to God.

• All the glory of athletics belongs to God.

• All the glory of science and medicine belongs to God.

• All the glory of governments — with kings, princes, presidents and prime ministers — belongs to God.

• All the glory of every life belongs to God — which means it does not belong to us.

In a world filled with so many people looking for identity, purpose and joy, I am reminded of Eric Liddell, the great Scottish runner and Gold Medalist from the 1924 Paris Olympics who said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Today, we need to be reminded God wants us to delight in all the joys, wonders and pleasures of life that He created for us, but this will only come when we learn not to live for our own glory but instead live Soli Deo Gloria.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?’ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Auld Lang Syne

When I was in college, my wife Ruthie (my girlfriend at the time) got me to watch the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s been a Christmas tradition for us ever since. The movie ends with George Bailey’s family and friends singing Robert Burns’ classic song, Auld Lang Syne. The lyrics, as sung on the movie, are as follows:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of Auld Lang Syne?

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear,
for Auld Lang Syne,
We'll take a cup of kindness yet
for Auld Lang Syne.

Many people sing these words without knowing what the phrase “auld lang syne” means. It’s an old Scots phrase that literally means “old long since” and carries the idea of “old times” or “the olden days.”

Auld Lang Syne is sung in almost every English-speaking country across the world on New Year’s Eve. Burns didn’t write the song with New Year’s in mind, but the melody fits well with the occasion as we bid adieu to one year and welcome in the next.

Burns’ song celebrates the gift of friendship that has withstood the test of time. As Natalie Schuman points out in a recent CountryLiving.com article,

In Scotland, where the phrase [Auld Lang Syne] originated, New Year's celebrations are of unusual importance. The holiday is known as Hogmanay, and in some regions and households, it even holds more importance than Christmas. This cultural standard can be traced to the Scottish Reformation era, when early Puritans and Presbyterians looked down upon extravagant Christmas celebrations as superstitious and unnecessary. With Christmas celebrations restricted to the bare minimum, Hogmanay stole the spotlight as the main winter event.

The "Auld Lang Syne" lyrics we know (or pretend to know) today are derived from the original poem, and are typically sung at New Year's Eve celebrations to reflect upon and recognize old friendships that have stood the test of time as a new year begins. Traces of the original Scots language are still there, but today's lyrics are comparatively easy to decipher.

New Year’s Eve is a wonderful time to “celebrate God’s abundant goodness” (Psalm 145:7), including the gift of friendship and of days gone by. Yet, sadly, many spend the final night of the year getting drunk and acting stupidly. With their slurred speech and poor memory they’re not recounting much of anything. Plus they are dishonoring God, “who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17), including food and drink and friends (Eccl. 12:7; 1 Cor. 10:31).

We know from what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11 that drunkenness was a problem in the first-century church when believers feasted together in conjunction with the Lord’s Supper. Paul rebuked them, saying, “When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper…. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk” (1 Cor. 11:20-21 NLT). This sinful, self-centered behavior betrayed the very essence of the Lord’s Supper, which is to stimulate our remembrance of the person and work of Jesus, who called us his friends (John 15:15) and showed the greatness of his love by laying down his life for us (John 15:13). Jesus is the ultimate Friend who has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).

So as we “take a cup of kindness” on New Year’s Eve, let us also remember the “cup of blessing” (1 Cor. 10:16) by which we remember Jesus’ sacrifice and rejoice in our great salvation (Heb. 2:3). The Lord’s Supper is also called “communion” because it celebrates our fellowship as believers in Christ. Indeed, those who point us to Jesus are the best of friends.

The song Auld Lang Syne begins with two rhetorical questions:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of Auld Lang Syne?

The implied answer is no! Let’s be sure to celebrate old friends and precious days gone by.

Better yet, as believers let us look forward to the grandest reunion of all, when Christ returns in power and glory to gather us to himself. We along with all of God’s people from all the ages will sing and feast and laugh like never before in a glorious celebration that will never end.

Note: For your enjoyment I’ve included the above video of The Tenors singing Auld Lang Syne amidst the beautiful scenery of Newfoundland.

Happy New Year!

Let It Go Gray, Guys!

It has come to my attention that more than a few folks think I color my hair. Let me state for the record: I don’t! My hair is naturally brown and for now is staying that way (except for a trace of gray on my sideburns). I’m not sure why that’s the case. I told my wife, “It must be my stress-free life.” Ruthie retorted, “You mean your stress-free wife.” I’ll leave that one right there!

Considering that I’m 52 years old, I figure that I’ll go gray soon enough. Whenever that happens, I’m not going to hide it.

I would encourage my friends to do the same. To be clear, I’m speaking to men, not to women. (I wouldn’t dare tread on such dangerous ground!)

I think guys should let their go gray in light of what we read in Proverbs 16:31:

Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.

This doesn’t mean that every gray-haired man is a godly man. But gray hair is a crown of glory [splendor] for one who walks in the ways of the Lord. The beloved Puritan commentator Matthew Henry wrote,

Let old people be old disciples; let them persevere to the end in the way of righteousness, which they long since set out in, that they may be found in it. If old people be found in the way of righteousness, their age will be their honor.

Such honor engenders respect. Thus the Lord commanded his people, “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:32)

With age comes wisdom, or at least that should be the case, especially for those who walk in the ways of God. And with wisdom comes honor and respect. Gray hair is supposed to be a sign of maturity.

A Surprising Trend

While older folks are trying to look younger, “more young people are starting to dye their hair gray.” The Considerable.com website (self-described as “a new media brand for people who are redefining what it means to grow older”), celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Ryan Lochte, Hillary Duff, Lady Gaga, and Lourdes have “taken the silver look for a spin.” Why? Because our culture knows that “gray has long signified experience and wisdom.” So now “youngsters have taken a shortcut to gray power.”

The only problem is, there is no such shortcut — and no amount of dye will change that.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Each stage of life has its own innate beauty and benefits. “The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair” (Prov. 20:29).

Me with my four sons this past Thanksgiving
(from L to R: Timothy, Ethan, myself, Elijah, Matthew)

So enjoy the season you’re in. I’m in no rush to turn gray, but once I do, I’ll be happy to “take the silver look for a spin.”

Prompted to Pray

A weird thing happened to me last Sunday morning. I woke up, and the first thought that came to my mind was another pastor in the area. I had met him just a couple of times in a group with other pastors, and I probably hadn’t seen him for almost a year.

I don’t know why he came to mind. After I lay there perplexed for a moment (I was still in bed), it occurred to me that I should pray for the man. I didn’t know what his present needs or circumstances were, but I figured that maybe the Lord brought him to my mind for that very purpose. Frankly, I don’t even remember what I said. I certainly did not pray long, probably only a matter of seconds.

Then I got up, grabbed a cup of coffee and spent some time with the Lord, reading his Word and praying. My morning schedule was a bit more relaxed than usual, since I didn’t have to preach that morning. My worship service responsibilities included reading Scripture and leading the congregation in prayer.

So after the first hymn, I made my way to the pulpit. When I looked out over the congregation, I was shocked to see — sitting near the back of the sanctuary — the very pastor that I had prayed for the morning! This was the first time, to my knowledge, that he had ever attended our church.

I was so taken aback, that I almost forgot what I was going to say. After all, I had only met him twice, and it had been nearly a year since I had last seen him. Yet he had popped into my mind first thing that morning. Now here he was, sitting in our church service!

I made a beeline for him after the service and told him what happened. He too seemed a little perplexed but was glad that I had prayed for him.

I told my wife what happened, and she said, “Yeah, that’s weird.”

When we describe something as “weird,” we typically mean that it is strange, odd, or bizarre. But the primary definition of weird is “involving or suggesting the supernatural.” Such was surely the case in this instance!

Why am I sharing this with you? Because this whole episode got me thinking about the Lord’s leading in our lives. It made me think of a quote by Martyn Lloyd-Jones that I read years ago in his book Preaching and Preachers. He said, “always respond to every impulse to pray” (pp. 170-171).

Always respond to
every impulse to pray.

Lloyd-Jones went on to say,

I would make an absolute law of this — always obey such an impulse. Where does it come from? It is the work of the Holy Spirit; it is a part of the meaning of “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). … So never resist, never postpone it, never push it aside because you are busy. Give yourself to it, yield to it…. Such a call to prayer must never be regarded as a distraction; always respond to it immediately, and thank God if it happens to you frequently.

I don’t know what’s going on in the life of this pastor, or if anything came to his own mind as I shared what happened. But I realized afresh how awesome it is that the Holy Spirit of God lives in us and is at work in us. Oh, that we might increasingly be more tuned into him!

With that in mind, I would commend to you two sermons that I tapped into today from preachers who, though dead, still speak (Hebrews 11:4).

The first is an audio recording of a sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones titled “Praying in the Spirit.” It’s 43 minutes long and well worth your time. If you can’t listen to it right now, please consider carving out time later to do so. Think of how much of our time is consumed by social media, Netflix, and other superficial activities. Let this preacher of yesteryear feed your soul. To listen to his sermon, click here.

The second resource is a manuscript of a sermon also titled “Praying in the Spirit,” by John Bunyan (the author of Pilgrim’s Progress). To read Bunyan’s sermon, click here.

If you only have time to utilize one of these resources, choose the first one. Have your Bible handy, and block out all potential distractions. You will be richly blessed.

Divine Wordplay

For Christmas my wife got me a 2021 daily calendar of Dad Jokes. It’s a rip-off. Get it? I just made a joke by using the word ripoff as a pun. According to Dictionary.com, a pun is

the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning;
a play on words.

If you buy something and it’s a ripoff, that means what you bought isn’t worth what you paid for it. But I used the word ripoff in the literal sense, because each of my calendar sheets is perforated, so it can be ripped off to reveal the next joke for each new day.

Here’s another pun that appeared on the back of the calendar box:

I booked a hotel room for my vacation, but I’m not sure about it. I have reservations.

Haha, get it? To have “reservations” is to have doubts. But “reservations” also means to secure accommodations — like at a hotel. One word can have multiple meanings. You can use that to make people laugh or to make a point. That’s the essence of wordplay.

God does this in Scripture. Because the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, we don’t always pick up on the puns in English.

Speaking in reference to Adam and Eve, the Lords says in Genesis 2:25, “The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” The very next verse, Genesis 3:1, says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other best of the field that the Lord God had made.”

The words “naked” and “crafty” both come from the Hebrew word ă·rūm, which means “smooth.” Someone who is naked with no clothes on is smooth (of skin). Someone who is crafty in speech is what we call a “smooth talker.” He says flattering things in order to deceive people — which is exactly what the serpent did to Adam and Eve in the Garden, when he tempted them to disobey God.

In these back-to-back sentences, God uses a pun to make a point. He uses language creatively — not so much to make us laugh as to make us learn.

Truth is often more memorable
when combined with some wit.

Jesus employed wit when rebuking the hypocritical religious leaders in Matthew 23:23-24:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Here Jesus rebukes the religious leaders for being obsessed over little things while ignoring the big things. That’s the comparison he makes.

But why compare a “gnat” with a “camel”? Why not compare a seed to a tree, or a humming bird to an ostrich? The reason is because Jesus used a pun to make a point. Jesus spoke in Aramaic. The word for “gnat” is galma, and the word for “camel” is gamla. So Jesus said, “You strain out a galma and swallow a gamla.”

Jesus’ remark packed a punch. He used a pun to make a point that the people would not soon forget! Perhaps Jesus’ play on words even evoked a few chuckles — not from the religious leaders, but from the “common folk” whom the leaders had oppressed.

God is to be taken seriously, but he also has a sense of humor. After all, he created us with a sense of humor, and we are made in his image (Gen. 1:27). Plus, Scripture says there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh” (Eccl. 3:4).

The fruit of the Spirit is joy (Gal. 5:22), and Jesus had “the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34). Children were drawn to Jesus, and the crowds loved to hear him. No doubt he used humor wisely and well.

Sometimes our humor is sinful. We use words in a way that grieves God, while making others laugh. That’s no joke, which is why Scripture clearly states, “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.” (Eph. 5:4)

Both laughter and language are gifts from God. Let’s be thankful for them and enjoy both, together, for his glory.

A Christmas Day Poem

I’m thrilled to have my father, James Fletcher, as our guest blogger today on “Family & Friends Friday.”

My dad has a knack for writing poetry. Some of his poems are humorous, while others are more serious and thought-provoking. All of them convey a wonderful talent that Dad has put to good use over the years. Countless people have been stirred, challenged and uplifted by his writings.

Of all my father’s poems, “The Christ of the Cross” ranks near the top in terms of its wide impact. Dad employs rhyme to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas. While many folks are quick to say “Jesus is the reason for the season,” they fail to grasp the true implications of that statement. Dad provides a needed corrective to that by pointing us to the reality of who Jesus is and what he came to do.

Many folks have liked the evangelical thrust of this poem so much, that they have placed miniature copies of it in their Christmas cards. My wife Ruthie and I have done this. In fact, we have a framed copy of it in our living room

I think you’ll enjoy the poem. But more importantly I pray that you will worship and exalt Jesus Christ the Lord.

The Christ of the Cross
by James W. Fletcher

Amidst all the tinsel and trappings,
The holiday glitter and gloss,
God help us to see past the wrappings,
Remembering Christ and the cross.

While many grow teary and tender
When scenes of the stable they see,
To little Lord Jesus they'll render their thanks
But not the Christ of the tree.

Now marvel we must at the manger,
The Babe, and the Bethlehem birth.
But, oh, let us stay not a stranger
To why Jesus entered this earth.

For Christ in the cradle could never
Have saved us from infinite loss;
But praise Him forever and ever -
He's also the Christ of the cross!

My father, James William Fletcher

A Bishop Visits Bethlehem

One of the many Christmas carols we sing at church or hear on the radio during the holiday season is O Little Town of Bethlehem. Most people know the song but not the story behind it.

This popular Christmas hymn was written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) while he was pastoring the Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia. In 1865 he took time off to travel abroad.

Can you guess where Phillips Brooks was on Christmas Eve of that year? Bethlehem! Before nightfall, he rode a horse from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. He went to the field where, according to tradition, the angel appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of the Savior (Luke 2:8-14). Imagine what it was like for Rev. Brooks to celebrate Christmas at the birthplace of Jesus!

The late Gospel musician and hymn historian Albert Smith described the scene, saying,

As [Rev. Brooks] looked toward the little town of Bethlehem, with the … stars shining in the sky, he witnessed a scene much the same as the shepherds had witnessed almost 2000 years before.

Except for the absence of the great light and the shepherds, nothing had changed very much. Instead of a candle to light their way, some who were traveling through the quiet streets were using lamps. There also were no angels present, yet the aura of the occasion lent a holy hush to the surroundings.

From 10:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m., Phillips Brooks worshiped the Lord in the Church of the Nativity. Soon thereafter he wrote a letter to the children in his Sunday school class, telling them about his experience. In part he said,

I remember on Christmas Eve, when I was standing in the old church in Bethlehem, close to the spot where Jesus was born, when the whole church was ringing hour after hour with the splendid hymns of praise to God, how again & again it seemed as if I could hear voices I knew well, telling each other of the ‘Wonderful Night’ of the Savior’s birth, as I had heard them a year before.

Yes, Phillips Brooks loved the children in his church, and it was almost as if he could hear them singing in the church at Bethlehem those same songs that he had sung with them back home in Philadelphia the previous year.

But now words to a new Christmas carol began stirring in his heart! Yet it wasn’t until two years later, when he was 32, that the preacher wrote them down. He was hoping to have the song in place by Christmas. So he asked his organist, Lewis H. Redner, who was also the superintendent of the Sunday school, to write the tune.

Even though Rev. Brooks had given Mr. Redner plenty of time to compose the tune, the organist kept waiting in vain for a “moment of inspiration” — right up until Christmas Eve when he fell asleep without having written a single note. But several hours later he woke up with a melody ringing in his ears! He quickly jotted down the musical notes on a piece of paper by his bed. The following morning he completed his composition by writing out all the harmony parts for the tune.

The hymn was sung for the first time on the Sunday after Christmas — December 27, 1868. (This coming Sunday falls on December 27 too!)

Now that we know the history of this Christmas carol — especially the fact that the words began formulating in Phillips Brooks’ mind as he stood in the field near Bethlehem — we can appreciate the lyrics all the more. Below are the four published stanzas, followed by a video of the lyrics to stanzas 1, 2, and 4, sung by children. (This seemed most appropriate, since Rev. Brooks had the children of his Sunday school class in mind on that Christmas Eve when these words first stirred in his heart.)

Why not take a moment to sing this song as part of your Christmas Eve reflection and celebration?

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wond’ring love,
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in;
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.

When Christmas Loses Its Sparkle

It can happen to any one of us. The “glad tidings of great joy” can become yesterday’s news. Of course we would never say that. But we feel it. The tree is up, the lights are on, but the sparkle is gone. The holiday has lost its luster. There’s no jolly with the holly.

We know the meaning of Christmas. We know who Jesus is and what he came to do (see Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:11). We know we should be joyful, but we’re not. So what’s the problem?

Is it the pandemic? Should we chalk it up to being the “Covid Christmas of 2020”? Perhaps other circumstances have stolen our joy: financial hardship, the loss of a loved one, marital conflict, a bad breakup.

As difficult as these issues may be, they shouldn’t be able to steal our joy. After all, Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Plus, for many of us, our circumstances aren’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. Truth is, we’ve simply grown accustomed to Christmas, and it just doesn’t feel all that special anymore.

The Real Problem

When Christmas loses its luster, when it no longer excites us, it’s because we have fallen into the rut of familiarity. We’ve lost our awe of God.

I preached on this theme a few weeks ago in a sermon on Hebrews 12:18-29. Verse 28 says, “let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” The greatness of our God should never cease to amaze us.

But, sadly, the sacred can become all too familiar and commonplace to us. The distinguished Princeton professor and theologian B. B. Warfield warned his students,

As the average man breathes the air and basks in the sunshine without ever a thought that it is God in his goodness who makes his sun to rise on him, … [so] the words which tell you of God’s terrible majesty or of his glorious goodness may come to be mere words to you….

It is your great danger. But it is your great danger only because it is your great privilege.

The very atmosphere of your life is these things; you breathe them in at every pore: they surround you, encompass you, press in upon you from every side. It is all in danger of becoming common to you! God forgive you, you are in danger of becoming weary of God!

Paul Tripp included this quote in chapter 8 of his book, Dangerous Calling. Its geared to pastors, but applies to all believers — especially those who know their Bibles well.

Tripp then provides a helpful analogy:

Artists talk of the dynamic of visual lethargy, which means that the more you see something, the less you actually see it. On that drive to work the first day, you are conscious of all the sights and sounds…. But by your twentieth trip, you’ve quit noticing…. The beauty that once attracted you is still there to see, but you don’t see it, and you cannot celebrate what you fail to see.

You cannot celebrate
what you fail to see.

To make matters worse, we turn our eyes to that which we most naturally and sinfully see: Ourselves. Things.

Yet Jesus came so that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who loved us and gave himself for us (see 2 Cor. 5:15; Gal. 2:20). As Paul Tripp points out, “any glorious thing in creation was given that glory by God so it would function as a finger pointing you to the one glory that should rule your heart — him.”

So how do we get our awe of God back? How do we put the sparkle back in Christmas? How do we get to the place where we once again “stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene”? Tripp writes,

I don’t have a set of strategies for you here. My counsel is to run now, run quickly, to your Father of awesome glory. Confess the offense of your boredom. Plead for eyes that are open to the 360-degree, 24/7 display of glory to which you have been blind. Determine to spend a certain portion of every day in meditating on his glory. Cry out for the help of others. And remind yourself to be thankful for Jesus, who offers you his grace even at those moments when that grace isn’t nearly as valuable to you as it should be.

Note: Just hours after I published this article, Erik Raymond wrote a terrific piece on The Gospel Coalition website that serves as a perfect “sequel” to my devotional. Plus he shares some great insight on what could otherwise be a confusing Christmas carol. So I joyfully commend to you Erik’s article, What If I’m Not a Merry Gentleman?

Merry Christmas from the White House

As a general rule, I try to keep my blog articles brief enough to be read in a few minutes. Since that’s the case, I thought I would “yield my time” to the President of the United States, who recently delivered his Christmas message to all Americans.

The President’s message was brief and to the point. At the heart of his message were these words:

As Christians everywhere know, the birth of our Lord and Savior changed history forever. At Christmas we give thanks to God, and that God sent His only Son to die for us and to offer everlasting peace to all humanity.

Amen, Mr. President.

The ceremony ended with a regal call to worship, with the orchestra playing and ensemble singing:

O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him!
O come, let us adore Him —
Christ the Lord!

Mistletoe Musings

Hanging from an archway or lintel in many homes is a sprig of mistletoe. Kissing beneath it has been a long-standing holiday tradition. But why?

To answer that, we must first answer the question: What is mistletoe? Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that comes from bird droppings and grows on various trees. Mistletoe attaches itself to the “host” tree, sucking water and nutrients from it. The name “mistletoe” is derived from two Anglo Saxon words: Mistel which means “dung,” and Tan which means “stick or branch.” (Middle English speakers apparently confused tan as the plural of ta, “toe,” which is how we ultimately get mistletoe). So mistletoe is basically a “dung-twig” or “poo-stick.”

Not very appealing, is it? So how did mistletoe become a popular Christmas decoration and occasion for kissing? Zack Sterkenberg provides a succinct answer in his article, “The KISStory of Mistletoe”:

The consensus among experts is that the use of Mistletoe in ritual form started with the Celtic Druids. This ancient civilization of people lived on the British Isles in what is now Ireland and Scotland. The Mistletoe became a sacred symbol of vivacity and fertility to the Druids after they saw it blooming in the trees during the harsh winters.

As noted on the History.com website,

Another famous chapter in mistletoe folklore comes from Norse mythology. As the story goes, when the god Odin’s son Baldur was prophesied to die, his mother Frigg, the goddess of love, went to all the animals and plants of the natural world to secure an oath that they would not harm him. But Frigg neglected to consult with the unassuming mistletoe, so the scheming god Loki made an arrow from the plant and saw that it was used to kill the otherwise invincible Baldur.

Mistletoe’s associations with fertility and vitality continued through the Middle Ages, and by the 18th century it had become widely incorporated into Christmas celebrations. Just how it made the jump from sacred herb to holiday decoration remains up for debate, but the kissing tradition appears to have first caught on among servants in England before spreading to the middle classes. As part of the early custom, men were allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing under the mistletoe, and refusing was viewed as bad luck. Yet another tradition instructed the merrymakers to pluck a single berry from the mistletoe with each kiss, and to stop smooching once they were all gone.

In light of mistletoe’s origin and history, Zack Sterkenberg ends his article on a humorous note, saying, “So next time you find yourself puckering up under the Mistletoe, remember that it all started with bird droppings, a parasite, barbarians, and a Norse goddess. Cheers!”

That’s pretty funny, and the sarcasm is certainly warranted, but I think we can end this article on a more positive note. To do that, we have to look no further than the cross. It too has an unsavory past — far worse than Mistletoe, because the cross was an instrument of torture and death, slowly sucking the life out of its victims.

But because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross — forgiveness of sin and the free gift of eternal life for all who believe in him — the cross has become an object of delight rather than disgust. This is the theme of George Bennard’s classic hymn, The Old Rugged Cross. The lyrics are familiar to us, but I would encourage you to read over them slowly and reflectively once again:

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

Even the practice of kissing under the Mistletoe has a parallel to the significance of the cross. Psalm 85:10 says, “righteousness and peace kiss each other.” A kiss was a common form of greeting in ancient times and is still practiced in many cultures today. So this verse pictures two friends who have been separated for a long time, but now they are coming together again. That’s what happened at the cross of Christ. Up until that point, the righteousness of God was opposed to peace on earth on account of humanity’s sin. But Jesus came to bring reconciliation between heaven and earth. That’s why, when the angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, a multitude of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)

At the cross, righteousness and peace kissed each other, because Jesus reconciled the world to God. Through faith in him, we experience peace with God and the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 5:1). Because of Jesus’ substitutionary work on our behalf, God declares us to be righteous — not because of what we’ve done but because of who He is (Eph. 2:8-9).

The “kiss” of righteousness and peace took place at the cross. That’s why this “emblem of suffering and shame” has become a symbol of love to us.

Think about that the next time you kiss a loved one under the mistletoe.

Family Heirlooms, Traditions, and Truth

Today on “Family & Friends Friday,” we’re blessed to have my friend Noble Armstrong as our guest blogger. He and his wife Heather have been members of Webster Bible Church for 15 years, joining shortly after they were married. Noble is currently an elder at WBC and previously served on our deacon board. He also helps to lead our Tuesday men’s Bible study, Journeymen. Noble and Heather have five children, ages 7 to 13. He is a middle school technology teacher in the Webster School district and enjoys woodworking, trapping and, as you will see, hunting.

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I love hunting season. Deer hunting has been a tradition in my family from as long as I can remember, and long before that. I grew up listening to stories from both my grandfathers, telling about the pursuit and harvest of whitetails. When I got older, I joined these activities and have many fond memories of being in the woods, waiting for a deer to appear. I love the cool of the morning, the sounds of the forest as it wakes up and watching various birds and animals. I love the challenge of matching wits with a wiley and crafty buck. And of course, I love the taste of venison!

For the past few years, I have enjoyed sharing this experience with my kids. Passing on this tradition to them is yet another reason I love hunting.

This year I rattled in bucks with a pair of antlers from a deer my dad’s dad, Papa Phil, shot. I use a buck knife that my mom’s dad, Grampee Leigh, gave me to field dress the animals after harvest. Although I have a lot of new, modern equipment, these activities with these particular tools link me to the past.

I know that by these activities I am keeping alive traditions that have been in our family for generations. We took the beautiful 8-point buck that we harvested this year to the taxidermist. For years to come, when my boys look at the mounted head of that magnificent animal we shot together, they will reflect back on the events of that morning in the woods.

This also makes me think of other, more important activities, that need to be passed along and remembered.

The Bible is full of examples of people who commemorated important events. After God caused the Jordan River to part, allowing the Israelites to cross, Joshua realized that moment needed to be memorialized. He had the men bring 12 stones from the dry river bed, to set up a memorial to the miracle that God performed there that day (see Joshua 4:4-7). Joshua said,

Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” then you shall say to them, “Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord….” So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.

In addition to remembering the Lord’s goodness, we are also to teach our children to love the Lord and obey his commands. Joshua’s predecessor, Moses, told the people of Israel,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deut. 6:5-9)

The apostle Paul reminds the believers at Thessalonica to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thess. 2:15). He praises the church at Corinth for “holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you” (1 Cor. 11:2).

Even our Savior himself reminds us of the importance of remembrance and reflection as it concerns his atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus did so the night before he died on the cross. Scripture says,

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:24-27)

We are in that time of year that is filled with remembrance and wonderful traditions. Let’s use that as an opportunity to remember the amazing gift that Jesus gave us, through His work on the cross.

I earnestly pray that the family prayers, Bible readings, devotions and missionary stories we read as a family will last in our children’s minds. As a family, I want to recommit to making church a high priority, serving the body of Christ, and shining God’s light to the world around us.

What about you? Are there traditions you carry on individually or as a family that bring you closer to God? If so, great! if not, why not start some new ones?