I pray the road you’re on today leads to a warm, loving place filled with people you love and who love you! Merry Christmas! #escondido @thecenterchurch
Go to LAX and meet my friend
If I asked you, “Would you go and meet my friend at LAX?” but that was all I told you, you’d probably not be too willing, after all, LAX is a huge airport with thousands of people coming and going. Although you could walk around the airport asking people, “Are you Pastor Joel’s friend?” the chances of finding the right person would be impossible.
But if I told you my friend is coming in on Alaska Airlines Flight 18, from The North Pole, arriving at 12:04 at gate 12 in terminal 2. Then described him, “He weighs 300 pounds, he’ll have on a red suit trimmed with white fur and matching hat, wearing big black boots, carrying a big knapsack over his shoulder, and his name is Chris.” Could you find him?
For over a thousand years prior to Jesus coming to earth, Godly men, led by the Spirit, had been writing about his coming. They told where He was to be born. They described the circumstances of His birth. They told us the city He would grow up in and the details of His life and ministry. They told us about his betrayal, death and resurrection. In all, over 300 details were given.
Peter writes,
“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty… and so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:16, 19)
Not emotional. Not subjective. Not unclear, vague, debatable thoughts or fancies, but facts that have been confirmed over and over. So much so, that people willingly gave their lives before they would deny them.
Why are we sheepish, timid, or ambiguous in our declaration of Jesus Christ? He was who he said he was. God has made it very clear how to find Him, what He’s like, what He does, and where and who He hangs out with.
My friend is at LAX, in fact He’s everywhere. And you can find Him a lot easier than some big guy dressed in red named Chris, and when you do He’ll be you’re friend too.
A Dividing LIne Forever
Sweetly and almost whispered, the carolers sing into the cold night’s air…
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
Ever wonder about what “hopes and fears” are being referred to in this song? Quite easily the “hopes” could be summarized in the various titles given to Jesus: the gentle shepherd; the prince of peace; the wonderful counselor. Our savior. Our Lord. God with us. These, and many more, describe the blessing and hope that has been given to us in Jesus Christ.
But what about the “fears”? This striking contrast is magnified in light of these words of Jesus…
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34–39)
This almost a polar opposite mode of Jesus is further illustrated while performing his first miracle at the prompting of his mother (turning the water into wine at the wedding of Cana), Jesus says to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?” (John 2:4).
Then even more surprising was Jesus’ harsh response to a Gentile woman who begged him to help her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus rejects her saying, “It’s not good throw the children’s bread to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26).
And then once again we’re given a seemingly contradictory glimpse into Jesus when told that he went and “fashioned a whip out of cords and drove the people buying and selling out of the temple; and turned over the tables.” (John 2:15)
In the 6th century the modern calendar was developed thereby identifying history either prior to, or after the birth of Jesus Christ. “A.D.” refers to the Latin phrase, “anno Domini” meaning, “in the year of the Lord.” The significance of this effects more than just record keeping, it designates in a powerful way that when Jesus Christ was born everything changed.
We no longer need to fear if God’s going to do something (even if all the wine is running out). We no longer need to beg God in hope that he’ll answer (even if we are Gentile mother with a demon-possessed daughter). And, we no longer need to worry about impressing God with giving or sacrificing (even if people in the temple are offering it to us).
Jesus is a dividing line. He turns us away from the thinking of this world. He closes the doors on self-dependence and hope in natural things. And demands that we lose our lives, but promises that in doing so we’ll find them.
The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight…forever!
“Mommy guilt” is a trendy phrase going around used to describe what mothers feel when they elect to put their children in childcare and pursue careers or other interests.
But there’s a different kind of mommy guilt that’s been around for a long time. Anyone who has felt the anger of the lady of the house can tell you all about it. It can be verbal with sentences that start out, “You never…”
Or, it might be manifest through the clanging of dishes and pots coming from the kitchen region.
Or, it could just be the vicious nonverbal assault of a browbeating.
It’s biblical too.
Jesus and seventy of his closest followers had been making their way to Jerusalem (Luke 10). They came to town called Bethany where a very kind woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. As Martha invited Jesus to make himself comfortable, she went and prepared food for everyone.
All who were there, especially Martha’s younger sister Mary, were spellbound to Jesus. They were hanging one his every word. But it grew increasingly hard to hear what Jesus was saying because of all the noise coming from the kitchen.
Suddenly, Martha burst into the room. Everyone turned. “Is it time to eat?” someone asked. Seeming to ignore the question, Martha pushed through the room toward Jesus.
Glaring at Mary, then quickly doing her best to smile at Jesus, she said, “Lord, I know everyone’s hungry, and you guys are going to love my hummus, but things would go a lot quicker if Mary could give me a hand.” She glared again. Everyone in the room could feel her heat. It was awkward.
Jesus smiled and pulled Martha over to the side. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your hospitality,” he said, “and I can hardly wait to taste your hummus, but what you just did risks making all your hard work in vain.” Jesus turned back toward the room and smiled at everyone especially Mary. “See your sister over there? While you’ve been working, she’s had the opportunity to get to know me a little better. And that’s the best thing that could possibly ever happen!” Mary went back and finished up. And her hummus was a total hit!
Avoiding these kinds of situations is at the heart of what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he said,
“Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.” (2 Corinthians 1:24, NIV)
The goal and purpose of all our work, ministry, serving, even cooking, is people’s joy! This will cause us to avoid any word, any actions, or even any look that could possibly lay the guilt on. By working for their joy, we provide the means to allow them, like Mary, to get to know Jesus better, and to allow the Lord to do for them what He’s done for us! It may not make your work less, but it will change the way you do it. Might even make your guacamole a hit.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Amazing Sighting
“Deer!” yelled my friend as he suddenly slowed the truck down.
“Where?” I asked, looking out the truck’s window.
“There!” he answered as he pointed. “Whoa! They’re big! And there’s a buck! Now that’s an amazing sight!”
I looked but saw nothing. “Where do you see them?” I asked, now a little frustrated.
“Look right over there” he said with an impatient sigh (as if I were such a wildlife slacker), but now being more specific as to the location. Sure enough, there were four does and one big buck standing there looking at us.
Ever had something like this happen to you…somebody sees something that you can’t? Or, you’re seeing something that others can’t? Either side of the equation is frustrating. The Apostle Paul experienced this.
The Holy Spirit was showing Paul unbelievable things. He was shown how amazing God’s grace and justification were. He saw how God was now sovereignly including the Gentiles in His great plans and purposes. But when he told people about what he was seeing, they didn’t get it. So he would say things like…
“I pray that your eyes are focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers.” (Eph 1:18, The Message)
It’s like God was yelling through Paul and others in the Bible, “Whoa! Did you see that?!” But unlike my friend, God isn’t impatiently pointing in the general direction wondering why we’re such slackers, but by His Spirit inside of us, He pulls down the mirror over the visor and has us look at ourselves, “Look right over here. Now that’s an amazing sight!!!”