Three Commitments to Embrace in 2016

Ever hear anyone say, "May the New Year bring you joy and happiness!"  I know I'm being rather trite in even mentioning this but on this advent of the New Year I'd like to remind us that the "New Year" won't bring us anything.  I know what we mean when we say that, but God says that "every good and perfect gift comes down from  above from our Father of light"--not the New Year!  All the good things that may come our way in this New Year we call 2016, will come to us by God's grace and goodness.  So let's begin 2016 with hope in God and gratefulness to Him. 

But that being true, God often uses our faithfulness and determinations to bless us, and the New Year is always a great motivator to refocus and recommit ourselves to positive and helpful engagements.  There are so many things I could challenge us to focus on but as followers of Jesus let me ask you to commit to these three specifics that will greatl

Determine to spend time with Jesus each day.  Let's all choose to read through our Bibles this coming 2016.  Even if you find you need more time to finish then the next twelve months, let's start and not give up.  You probably know this, but we listen backward through His Bible, His Word, and we listen forward by His Spirit.  God has spoken to us in the past by His Word, and He speaks to us today by Jesus and His Holy Spirit who, by the way, often uses the Bible.

Determine to connect with God's people weekly.  You weren't meant to follow Jesus on your own.  You were created to be a part of His Body and yet all too many of us sever ourselves from the rest of that Body and think it's ok.  We even convince ourselves that we are actually still a part.  What I'm asking you to do is determine that each week you will gather with other believers in a small group and at your church family's weekly large meeting on Sunday morning.  Make it your priority, your commitment.  Even as you commit to do your job each day of every week, be committed to be a part of Jesus' Body, His Church.

Determine to be a disciple-maker in 2016.  Decide you are going to tell others about Jesus.  If that means you need to get help in how to do that, choose to get the help you need.  Determine to pour what's in your life into the life of another.  Ask someone to read the Bible together with you. Take someone out for a coffee, or lunch, and share who you are in Jesus by working through a Bible study together.  Plan on God using you daily in the coming year and be on the edge of your seat looking for the works He has planned for you.

There are other areas in which we could determine to invest, and I would encourage you to do so.  Areas like your physical health, your intellectual growth and your relational skills would all be good investments--they would all most surely result in greater blessings in your life.  But this challenge my friends is to invest in your spiritual life, your relationship with God and God's people.  I'd be glad to help you in anyway I can.  

May God bless us greatly in 2016 as we follow Him!

What's a Pastor to do?

I’ve been a pastor for about thirty years now.  I’ve always taken my job or my calling very seriously and even as Paul declared himself to be an example for others to follow, I sought to be that too.  I remember many determinations I made as a young pastor to help me lead by example in devotion, discipline and determination.   Now let me be quick to say that I’ve failed pretty substantially in those endeavors but nonetheless I continue to strive to show myself an example to believers. 

Have you ever thought about a pastor’s primary responsibilities?  Is it to preach on Sunday?  Visit the sick in the hospital?  Is it to be an example of the Christ-follower?  Recently in my study of Acts 6 God strengthened my heart in what He has called me to do as a pastor.  The church in Acts was growing and the apostles came face to face with the reality that they could not keep up with leading the ministries of the exploding church.  They couldn’t lead everything, much less do everything, so they commissioned a second tier of ministry leadership to take care of ministries that seemed to be popping up organically through the work of the Spirit.  But in that process they also drilled down on what they were called to do—they were to focus on God’s Word and prayer.  In Acts 6:4 the apostles say, “We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

In the thirty years I’ve served as a pastor, I think I’ve always looked at that through Western eyes.  What I mean is that I heard them saying, “The apostles role (or the pastor role in my case) is to preach God’s Word on Sundays, and possibly Wednesday or at any other church function, and to devote much time to personal prayer.”  But this time, in my study, I looked at what they meant through the lens of what the apostles were actually doing at that time, and I came up with three very clear, and somewhat different, responsibilities.  If you are a pastor, let me share them with you and challenge you by them.

Their first responsibility was sharing the word of God in the temple and I think that clearly refers to sharing with an evangelistic intent (Acts 5:21, 25, 42).  You will remember they were intent on being a witness to the life and resurrection of Jesus, and in Acts 6:7 it says that many of the priest were even coming to faith.  And pastor, please notice this—they were doing that from day to day.  In other words, when they said they were going to give themselves to the Word of God, they were saying they were going to keep on sharing God’s Word in the temple evangelistically.  Our role as a pastor is to be an evangelist—to share God’s Word so as to lead people to Jesus.  Obviously I think that can apply to our Sunday morning formal preaching but in the context of their lives, it’s pretty clear that this means I am to be a daily soul winner.  Do you remember what Paul told Timothy?  Don’t neglect doing the work of an evangelist.  Our ministry as a pastor is to share the gospel intentionally and as often and clearly as we can.  We should be on the edge of our seat looking for and even seeking to share the gospel of Jesus.  Lately I begin every day with this prayer; “God, I’m planning on you using me today—keep me alert for that time.”

Their second responsibility was to teach God’s Word to believers for their edification.  Not only were they in the temple doing evangelism, they were teaching from house to house (Acts 5:42).  We all know that in these early days of the church, believers met in their homes so the apostles were teaching them there, and again they were doing so daily.  In his letter to the Ephesians Paul would tell us that our ministry of pastor is to equip the saints and that equipping comes primarily through God’s Word (Ephesians 4:11-12).  Obviously this includes our formal teaching on Sunday morning, but it’s more than that.  It’s our small group discipleship, when like Jesus we pour our lives into a few strong men who in turn will pour their lives into a few other strong men who will turn around yet again and do the same.

Their third responsibility was to pray for the sick.   When this need for specific ministry leadership arises in Acts 6, the disciples are swamped with the responsibility of praying for all the sick who are being brought to them from all over (Acts 5:12-16).  When the apostles say we must give ourselves to prayer, they are not talking about personal, private prayer in their closets; they are talking about a ministry of prayer where they are praying for needy sick people from all over the region.  When I got this picture in my heart, God invigorated my soul to pray for the needs of desperate people.  When James wrote his short letter he says, “Is anyone sick?  Let them call for the elders to pray for them.”  Pastor, our ministry is one of praying for people.  Should we pray privately?  Of course.  Should we pray in church meetings?  Obviously.  But as a pastor I should see my ministry as one of shepherding and caring for people by coming along side them and praying for them.   These days I sense a great burden to pray for people’s needs.

I’m not saying by this post that there are not other things we could and even should be doing, but pastor, I believe these are things we must see as priority.   Use God’s Word as an evangelist,  explain God’s Word as a teacher, and shepherd God’s people, all people, with the great responsibility of prayer.

Celebrate Christmas Well!

As one who follows Jesus, do you ever struggle with celebrating Christmas?  I know I did.  I always asked myself, how can so many people who don’t hardly know anything about Jesus, much less follow Him, celebrate Christmas?  Obviously, they are not celebrating what I’m celebrating.   But then, what am I celebrating?  Certainly, as a Christian I am celebrating the fact that God chose to enter the world He created as one of us, and He chose not to do so with fanfare and accolades, but incognito and among the poorest of the poor.  But what do Christmas trees and colorful lights have to do with that?  How does exchanging gifts with those I love and sharing meals with people I treasure have anything to with God becoming a person?

Maybe this confusion has bothered you too.  A number of years ago I accepted a couple of realities and made a couple of decisions that have helped me—maybe they will help you too.

First, I accepted the truth that for most people in America Christmas as we know it isn’t about Jesus, God or even anything spiritual.  In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that this has probably been the case for generations, maybe from the very rise of Christmas as we know it.  Don’t get me wrong, I accept the reality that in days gone by more Americans tipped their hat to Jesus at this season, but I doubt the coming of Jesus has ever been what most people celebrated at this time.  People, by their very nature, love to celebrate family, friends, joy and happiness; and however it happened, those things came to be associated with Christmas.  Parents love to see the joy on their kids’ faces as they open gifts.  Most everyone loves the joyful music, the festive lights and the obvious good will that seems to permeate this time of year.  However it came to be, this is what most people are celebrating.

Now here’s the second truth I accepted—it's ok for me as one who follows Jesus to celebrate all these things too.  It’s ok to love the lights and the songs and the joy of watching my kids exchange gifts of love with each other.  It’s ok to decorate my house and cook great Christmas cookies just for the fun of it—just for the joy!  Actually, God made us to enjoy festivities.  He himself gave the Israelites so many joyful festivals for their pleasure and happiness.  I’m not a Jew, at least not a natural born Jew; I’m an American.  Christmas is a time my culture celebrates family and friends with feast and fun and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Accepting those two realities helped me immensely sort out my confusion about the season, but I also made two coinciding decisions.  

The first was that in the midst of celebrating with my culture, I was going to not forget, but purposefully celebrate, what the Bible calls the incarnation of God.  Jesus is often called “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”  As a Christian, I wanted the truth that God came to earth as a man to be something I prioritized in my celebration.  Over the years Anne and I have done some things at this season to help us remember this great event.  You might think they are simple, even crass, but we put red and white lights on our tree to remind us of Jesus' holiness and his death on the cross.  We set up a manger scene in our living room to help us commemorate.  In our family it is tradition to worship together with other believers on Christmas Eve.

The second decision was that in my heart I’d not separate the celebration of Jesus’ birth from the remembrance of His death.  When Jesus was born the angels said, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  The birth of Jesus was joyful news because God had Himself come as our Savior, but Jesus’ saving work wasn’t complete until His death on the cross some thirty-three years later.  His birth and His death are inextricably tied together and I promised myself not to celebrate the cradle without remembering His cross.

So if you are a follower of Jesus too, let me urge you celebrate Christmas well!   Celebrate this festive time with our culture.   Enjoy the lights and the chestnuts roasting on an open fire.  Take advantage of that mistletoe!  But don’t forget the greater joy that Christmas brings to your heart.  Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day and later died on Calvary that you and I might know God and have a personal relationship with Him.  Take special care to worship Him joyfully and purposefully at this special season of the year.

Don't let the past rob you of the present!

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.  Most of us are too young to remember that infamous day but I imagine it felt a great deal like 9/11 for those of us who lived through that morning and its aftermath.  My guess is that just about every generation and every individual life will live through days that impact them emotionally.  The end of WWII, the assassination of MLK or JFK, and Neal Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind" are days that will forever be etched in the minds and hearts of those who lived through them.  

But here's my challenge for us today--let's not live in the past no matter whether it was good or bad.  Some days in our past may have blessed us beyond measure--our happiness meter was off the charts.  Other days may have scarred us and wounded us so profoundly that we wonder how we can even go on another day.  But here's what I know in my mind, my heart and by my experience; whatever the past, good or bad, it's behind you.  You can't erase it or change it--it is what it is.  We should learn from it but we should never live there.

Paul, writing to his good friends in Philippi says, "This one thing I do, I forget what lies behind."  He doesn't mean that he blocks it from his memory; instead what he means is that he doesn't let the past dictate his present.  Have you every known someone who is always reliving past victories?  They live in years gone by when they had a good day or a good season.  It seems they miss the present by always living in a better past day.  Or have you known someone who is always reliving the past trauma of a bad decision, failure or event?  I don't mean to minimize people's past traumas--I know they are real and terrible.  But they are in the past and if I live there, for whatever reason, I forfeit my future.

To live in the present, to forget what lies behind--good or bad, is a choice.  The only person who can make that choice for you is you.  Someone has said, "Wherever you are, be all there."  I think that means in the flow of time too--be all in the 'present.'  Choose this day to stop living in the past and invest in today.  Whoever you are, invest in your friends, in people.  Don't let the past rob you of the most precious possession you have this actual day--relationships.

Many of you who might take a moment to read this know that I am a follower of Jesus.  You yourself might be one as well.  In the passage where Paul says he forgets what lies behind, he goes on to say this; "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  Paul says I invest my present by pressing forward in this upward call of God in Jesus.  You might ask, what is that call?  Just a few lines before this Paul says, "I count all things as loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."   Here is that upward call Paul was pressing toward in the present-- to know Jesus.  The relationship that mattered most to Him was knowing Jesus and I might add, making Him known to others.  All the good in the past, all the trauma in the past--it was in the past.  What mattered most in the present was to know Jesus better.

Whether you are a Christ follower or not, don't let your past rob you of the beauty of this day.  And definitely don't let it keep you from seeking to know Jesus better and follow Him more completely.