Merry Christmas – Re-ignite the Dance!

It is officially twelve days until Christmas, holiday shoppers are increasing while patience with our fellow man is slowly, sometimes rapidly, decreasing. Yuletide mirth and cheer are everywhere! I was driving down-town last night and the town was all aglow with ambient strings of lights hung meticulously as were the green festive wreathes on lampposts and specialty shops. The colors blurred my vision as the reds danced and twinkled to an invisible tune played by the wind as the colors of blues and greens joined in. They marked out a clear and perfect message; “Christ is almost here again!” Perhaps it was all in my head, but I heard it’s siren’s song! I heard the melodious cacophony of merriment and expectations! My heart leap within my chest as I longed to join in as its tune caught my breath and carried it away in one puff of steam rising into the cold crisp air.

I was alone, being it late at night, there in my van looking down a vacant street waiting for the light to change. The giant Christmas tree before our old red bricked city hall also glowed and pulsated as the winter wind too en-wrapped its furry bows in merriment and festooning. Such mystery and awe captured in this solitary moment. I was caught off guard and yet something that night spoke to me. Not an audible voice, nor a messenger from heaven with unfurled wings and halo to boot…though I have always longed for such a sign. But His still small voice whispered into my very soul. He made me look closely at the dance of His creation there before me. The humming rhythm and the melodies and harmonies that sauntered on the breeze and blended in an intertwining dance. He drew my eyes to the dimming lights of homes nearby and my thoughts wandered into their homes and into lives of people I have never met. They too needed to dance like this. They were missing the true celebration of Christmas. They were missing the music of creation worshiping its Creator! This music doesn’t just happen here on a cold winter night in December, but I felt closer to Him on this night. My eyes caught its fire and I was ill-prepared to take it all in.

We need to dance to the music of the Creator. We have lost this glow and joy from within our souls and hearts! Our greatest gift, our source of hope and joy is still playing our tune and message that can ignite our lives once more. We shouldn’t idly cruise on through, just trying to “survive”…I want to relish this. We have to relish this! Cannot miss this anymore. It isn’t about the lights or the trees, or even the gifts beneath the tree, it’s about God sending us His Son…It’s about Jesus saying “If they keep quiet, the very rocks will cry out!” (Luke 19:40) The rocks, lights and trees have cried out for far too long…it’s our turn to worship Him! It’s our turn to re-capture the mystery and awe of His birth! Don’t miss it again this year! Don’t be caught unaware and wake up January 1st and wonder how you will survive this next year. Stop from time to time and dance to His music. Stop and sing His praises. Stop and allow Him to shine through you into a world that still longs to wake up and dance as well.

May your Christmas be about Him, and may He ignite in you like never before!

Merry Christmas!

December 13, 2013 1

Re-birth from the shattered (A Poem)

Innocently, our mystery and providence

brakes the stranglehold upon this confidence

and as the attempt to grasp a hold of it

we lose our grip, it slips as does our wit.

And all we can reclaim are the broken bits

shattered and jagged are all that we get

we slice our fingers until they bleed

picking up the things that we thought we’d need.

Yet on our knees with all of this mess

contrite, we fight this need to confess

yet it bites at our heels and pulls us still

discarding the shattered and hopes that will kill.

A light to our sight is cast in our night

it scatters our fears and increases our fight

it charges our hope, the need to be free

lifting our burdens and making us see

That death to the body is not death to the soul

there is a Savior who is making us whole.

We might be weak but He will be strong

lifting our burdens, and righting the wrong.

Find strength dear sinner, find it today

we aren’t alone even when in this fray

Though we are broken and tattered and torn

An eternal salvation and life is re-born!

December 3, 2013 0

Me, the Prodigal (Poem)

There are days, dear Lord, when I fear

and I let go of your mighty hand

when all around me danger looms here

I am weak and deaf to your commands.

Yet your loving hand never strays from me

How could I have ever taken my eyes away

from your strength and presence free

while I begin to sink beneath this deadly fray?

It is at my worst that I turn again to You

how could I have let go of your strength and might?

Your love shines and pierces all the way through

my heart and within this sinking darkest of night.

Though I, the fool, am ashamed of my misgivings

You clothe me in riches beyond my deserving

Such love I cannot express to you in serving

all my days, all my efforts will I devote into your keeping.

-Amen.

November 15, 2013 0

I’ll Fight!

In the years that I have lived, loved and groaned

I have never known the hunger pangs of children

I have never witnessed a child dying from the curable

because resources and money was lacking.

I have never found pleasure in a single morsel of rice

because this was all I would eat in a week.

I have never been witness to the slaughter of my parents

because they believed in Jesus.

I have never had to watch as my brothers and sisters

were sold into slavery on the human trafficking market,

loaded up in boxed trucks by the dozens like animals

heading to market…

Yet I know it exists.

I know that many still today find grace in one ray of sunshine

in the midst of hell and fury of hate.

I know children go hungry as militant leaders steal

their wealth and resources and make child soldiers out of them.

I know Aids has killed and will kill entire generations in Africa

leaving orphans in its wake.

I know human slavery hasn’t been eradicated

but is extricating the innocent still to a shortened life of horror.

I know.

But how can we end this?

How can we bring food to the hungry,

safety to the threatened

and cures to the dying?

My heart yearns to help.

My heart groans to give aid.

I want to fight this.

I want to stand in the gap for those who cannon for themselves.

I want to bring the light of Christ into darkened places.

To be a place of safe harbor to the lives clinging to death.

Lord how?

How can we fight this?

How can we go?

How can we soldier on?

How do we shine when all we want to do cry and weep over

the evils of man?

This fight must begin and end with You!

Your strength.

Your peace.

Your discernment.

Your empowering arms of love.

Father, we cry out to You in a world

sin sick and broken.

Be our salve.

Be our shield.

Our fortress.

Our deliverance.

Our Victory.

I’ll fight!

I’ll fight on!

I’ll fight on into your victory!

November 8, 2013 0

In need of a Savior

In just a few days another installment of Marvel’s Thor will hit theaters (Thor 2 The Dark World) . It will undoubtedly be #1 at the box office over the weekend. This time Thor returns to Earth to help save mankind from an evil force not of this earth. It will be an action packed movie with lots of special effects, some romance and the underlined theme that the World is in need of a savior. I find it interesting that Thor is the son of a god (Odin). Thor comes to Earth to save mankind from evil and death. To me there is a deep underlining parallel here to Christ.

Last year the Avengers was a world wide success and financial money maker. The entire Marvel franchise is well over a Billion dollar industry. Why has their movies received such international success and acclaim? Naturally people of all ages enjoy a good action film, but beyond that I believe there is this underlining innate longing to be saved and to have find a savior from life’s worries, fears and heartaches. Every person on earth can most likely relate to such a longing. There is something remarkably missing in our hearts that cannot be rectified from the inside alone. We need an external force to save us.

Jesus came to this earth seeking to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Why did He come? Because we could not, in our own power and strength, save ourselves from the trappings of sin and death. We needed an external force to grasp us by the hand and pull us to safety. Since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, we have lived with sin in our world. We have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and we are in dire need of one who can save us from certain death. This is why, I believe, we respond so passionately to superhero movies like Thor(2) and others before it. We crave saving. We long for deliverance. We look around us in our world and we see evil and hatred, sickness and death, and we pray for those life ending threats to end. We turn on the news and witness another violent shooting in a mall or another systematic genocide taking place on this planet and we wish such stories would end. We long for a savior to come and save us!

This life isn’t easy, sin is still very present and real, hatred and sickness at times still prevails; and yet there is hope. The hope of the world entered earth some two thousand years ago and with Him, brought deliverance, salvation and the promise of new life for all who sought after Him. God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ still says to us today “I am the way the truth and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father except through me .” (John 14:6)

We are all in need of a Savior. Though we enjoy a good flick about Superheroes now and then, we can recognize that we have already been saved and that new life can start today with our love and devotion towards God and His image reflected towards those around us.

-Just a thought for today.

November 5, 2013 0

Fidelity & Infidelity in the Christian world.

This is a very sensitive topic, I know.

I don’t know the effects of infidelity (thankfully) first hand, nor am I about to make a broad brush stroke and lump other marital issues such as physical or substance abuse in with unfaithfulness. Let me be clear, my primary purpose in writing on this topic is strictly to confront areas of sinful unfaithfulness within the sacred partnership of marriage within the “Christian Church”.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this ought not be. I do want to be sensitive with extemporaneous issues which might lead to such a betrayal, but in many cases Christians who are facing these types of issues in their marriage really need to consult professional marriage counseling before it gets worse.

If we can learn anything from the story of Hosea and his marriage to Gomer (which was a metaphor for the sacred yet broken Covenant relationship God had with His people) we should learn just how serious a partnership the marriage relationship was and still is today. After all, even the Apostle Paul wrote of the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5:22-33, and the main focal point in those verses center on resembling how Christ’s love is bestowed and poured out upon His bride the Church.

Husbands and wives, when you make that solemn commitment and say “I do” you are committing to that person FOR LIFE! This isn’t some kind of two year cell phone commitment, where, after two years, you can upgrade to a different model. This is why it is so crucial to get to know your “bride-to-be” or “groom-to-be” before you make that life long commitment! How heart wrenching it is to watch two committed Christians split up over some elicit affair or “moment of weakness”. Many psychologists have ascertained that a betrayal like this can be as devastating as a death in the family. (http://www.alfredadler.edu/sites/default/files/Livingston%20MP%202012.pdf)

One of the biggest public stories recently in Hollywood is of the elicit affair Kristen Stewart had with a married man, Rupert Sanders. Though this isn’t specifically a Christian story, the devastation that this had on both parties has ended in divorce and separation. How horrifying it must be to discover the one you have confided in and trusted your heart and life with has betrayed you. http://www.eonline.com/news/475712/liberty-ross-opens-up-about-husband-s-affair-with-kristen-stewart-it-was-really-the-worst

As Christian people, we are a living example of Christ to the world around us. I believe it hurts the heart of our Lord when marriages fall apart and unfaithfulness is at its center. Beware too…don’t ever think that you are not susceptible to such trappings of temptation! Steer clear of these moments of weakness. Don’t place yourself in compromising situations where you may be tempted! Keep your allegiance not only to God but also with your spouse and life-partner! Hebrews 13:4 Says; “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

Get Help!

If you and your spouse are facing issues in your marriage, don’t be afraid to seek professional help with a Christian marriage counselor! It is a sign of strength and not weakness that you do so. After all, if there is something worth protecting in this life it would have to be your marriage and family? So take the time, seek support and guidance and don’t put it on the back burner because life is “too busy” right now! Be proactive in your marriage and don’t wait for the bags to be packed and the sofa full of pillows and blankets!

Cherish!

Seek fidelity in your marriage, but go way beyond that! Cherish your spouse! Be attentive, supportive, communicative and loving! Be selfless in your attitude towards each other instead of selfish! Spend time with one another and perhaps plan dates away from the kids and the stresses of work! Invest in your relationship and don’t neglect it! If we are to be amazing representatives of Christ-like living in this world it ought to begin with cherishing and preserving our love for our spouses and family first.

Pray!

Make sure you pray for one another, both privately in your own personal devotions as well as together. Prayer is not only our source of communication with God but it unifies and solidifies our intentions as couples. Never stop praying for your relationship, and also pray that Christ’s love would be demonstrated in how you treat each other.

Just an important thought for all of my married brothers and sisters out there today!

I am certainly not a marriage counselor, but I recognize this very real danger in our Church today and feel I must constantly remind myself and you of how easy these temptations can turn into moments of full blown infidelity if we are not diligent and aware of their trappings.

Blessings on you and your spouse today!

November 1, 2013 0

Shine!

“He said to them, “Do you bring a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” -Mark 4:21-25

Okay, let’s get it over with…”this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Jesus spoke to His disciples and to the crowd that had gathered there. He spoke wisdom and truth to them and in the midst of these parables He begins to speak about a lamp. What does a lamp do? It illuminates a room doesn’t it? When someone walks into a dark room the first thing most people do is switch on the light so that they might see. The same principle is applied any place that is dark. One would never venture into a deep dark cave unless a flashlight was lit. Does one go into places that are dark without prior preparation? Of course not because that would be dangerous and foolish!

Similarly the Light of Christ is never to be hidden from the world! To do so is dangerous and foolish. Fellow Christians who play church on Sunday yet keep the truth of the gospel to themselves like some sort of private VIP only club are foolish and narrow minded…but if I were truly honest with myself there are times that I have treat the light of Christ this way. I have been one of those ‘members only’ Christians.

Yet if we look at how God works, does He need us to shine the light? Yes and no. Yes God wants us to share His good news to the world and yes we are partakers of His kingdom but does He need us more than we need Him? Of course the obvious answer is ‘no’! So why are we called to be ‘Light bringers’ into this world of ours? The short answer is; so that we can be Christ’s faithful ambassadors to those still in the darkness! He could clearly call someone else, and if we’re not careful He will call someone else. But He wants us to be the torch bearer.

Exposed by the Light:

This world is a dangerous and dark place. Christ brought the light so that everyone might see. What is it that we see when His light is shone upon us? For starters we see how lost we truly are. It is easy to wander in the darkness and to ignore the filth that we have allowed to blemish us. But when His light is cast upon us we find ourselves wanting, dirty and guilty. The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of heaven and in the Light of God and all that he saw, he knew that he was unclean and marred by sin. The light of God does that to His people; exposes the sins. Nothing is hidden from God. Nothing is kept locked away and private. He light shines upon us so that we might finally be free from this life sucking filth which is sin.

When Christ spoke of the light, He was talking not only about Himself but about the truth of God. Everything in this world both hidden and dirty will be exposed and known. We, as His ambassadors are to be faithful to Him. The good news is this world can be freed from the enslavement of sin and death! The good news is that darkness is just the absence of light. The good news is that God is the light that will shine upon all people here on earth. The amazing news is that Christ has come to set us free from these bonds that keep us in the darkness!

This good news must be shared to the world! This amazing light will deliver us all…and in so doing we are then called to pick up His light and share that good news to those still in the darkness.

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

September 6, 2013 3

Here’s to you PCUSA Committee!!

In Christ Alone

August 3, 2013 0

My Life = Christ’s Broken Bread

Think of it. A life completely devoted to the cause of Christ. Not a divided life, where half is devoted to Christ and half is devoted to self…but completely and utterly surrendered to the cause of Christ.

For some, dare I say most, being Christ’s broken bread sounds great on paper. It even sounds romantic to some degree, but truly living a broken life before God and man is an extremely daunting task indeed.

Galatians 2:20 the Apostle Paul tells us; “I have been Crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and have himself for me.”

There is a very disturbing image for us here. The suffering and death of Christ for the world becomes the very image we too take on as we become Christ’s broken bread to the world around us. It transforms us into what Christ said would happen to His disciples: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26)

Our borrowed time, our pooled financial resources, our hobbies and precious treasures…they mean nothing if they are not subjected to the filter of Christ on the cross. Everything will eventually pass away. Everything will eventually disappear from us. But one thing will remain: God’s love for us, His people.

In return, our duty, our purpose for living ought to transform our thoughts, our passions, our perceptions of the stuff we own…all of it in the spectrum of grace and redemption.

Why do we need to become Christ’s broken bread?

Because there are countless souls in our world who need salvation! There are many lives who are still lost in the darkness of sin and certain death! Without willing servants of Christ giving their all in His services, they will perish! Some might utter the excuses like “the Holy Spirit can save them”, and rightly so but Christ has sent US to be His ambassadors into this world. The Holy Spirit is with us in this venture! Without the willing hands and feet of Christ, who have been broken and humbles before His love and grace, the great commission cannot be fulfilled.

We are called people. Set apart for His holy purpose in this world wrought with sin! People in our own neighborhoods are lost and in need of anyone who is willing to love them and show them this amazing Christ whom we serve! There are countless souls caught up in addictions of all kinds who are in need of the extension of grace that Christ has given to us.

Who will be Christ’s broken bread to them? Will you? Will I? This isn’t some part-time calling. It’s full-time within our occupations and our passions! We are called to be His broken bread to the world, and that starts with our family’s, neighbors, friends and even enemies. It will not be easy! There will be days in which we will utterly fail along the way. Other days when we will be scorned and mocked. Yet this humbled state of servants of Christ brings upon our lives such a richness of mercy, grace and love!

-Just a thought.

“My life must be Christ’s broken bread,

My love his outpoured wine,

A cup o’erfilled, a table spread

beneath his name and sign,

that other souls, refreshed and fed,

may share his life through mine.“

(Albert Orsborn SASB 512)

July 30, 2013 1

“Don’t let my son die!”

There are no lengths in which a parent will go to in order to save their child! Few things in this world terrify a parent more than the threat of an illness or death of their child. As a parent, my worst nightmare in this world is that something would happen to one of my children. We love them dearly and we want them to live long, healthy lives free of harm and illness.

Such was the case of a royal official. His story is found in John 4:43-54. Jesus was back at the place where He had performed His first miracle at a wedding feast. The wine is long dried up, yet memories of this epic event still linger. Hearing the news that Jesus, the healer, was back in the area of Galilee, this royal official traveled twenty miles to find Him. Leaving his sick child behind in this last ditch effort to heal him, the royal official is desperate. As a parent I can imagine his heart wrenching panic and fear. His son, whom he loves, is dying. The distance is great, and yet if Jesus can heal him it will be worth it.

Finding Jesus, this worried father begs Him to come and heal his sick boy. With tears streaming down his face and panic in his eyes he makes his plea to Jesus. “Come! My son is dying!” This desperate man is facing his worst fear and not so much with his words, but with his eyes he is pleading with Jesus; “please don’t let my son die!”

Others are gathered there too. Listening and waiting expectantly for Jesus to do something…something miraculous. Jesus looks at them and sighs. They don’t understand who He is. Their Messiah is standing right there in their midst and yet they still do not believe. He says to them, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders you will never believe.” There is certain sadness in His words. Jesus understands them all too well, and has struck at the heart of their disbelief.

For a moment, at the words of Jesus, this royal official is afraid He will not come. There is a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as this last hope seemingly appears to evaporate. Prompted by this momentary panic, he implores Jesus one last time; “Lord, please come before my son dies.” Jesus looks at this frightened father and says; “You may go, your son will live.”

The father feels relief as he hears Jesus say those words. ‘Could it be? Is my son really healed?’ He hurries off to find out, taking Jesus at His word. The twenty mile journey will take him over a day to reach home. Yet while on the homeward trek his servants meet him. They confirm this long distance miracle: his son is healed and very much a live! What joy must have filled his heart! His fears relieved, his son’s health restored! A parent’s nightmare is lifted and is replaced with a dream come true!

This is what Jesus does. The healer of the sick, the resurrector of the dead brings us hope and a chance at new life! To any parent, this is a relief. But to all Jesus comes and longs for everyone to believe in Him. He can perform a miracle in your life. He still heals and binds up the wounds of the sick, and He can still put broken lives back together again. For this royal official, Jesus provided healing for his dying son. For all of us, Jesus can and will provide the restoration that we need in our lives.

June 25, 2013 0

Tag: Salvation