Gimmie 3 Steps

A Christmas "Re-Post": Things I Need to Remember - Especially while Shopping

I Need to Be:
1. Grateful
2. Cross Focused
3. Scripture Stained

I. Grateful

Circumstances affect our lives and attitudes. We should not deny that this is true. But our lives do not have to be shaped by circumstances; our hearts do not have to be controlled by these things. Beginning each day with gratitude is difficult but necessary. It involves adjusting our perspective so that God’s goodness is in view – as opposed to our circumstances. (1 Tim. 6:6-8)

Some days our hearts may be heavy and only able to admit that God has given us life, but this is a place to begin. If we do not even acknowledge God’s life-sustaining power, then this lack of gratitude can lead to a totally self-focused day or (if left unchecked) way of living. If we begin with the basic truth that God has given another moment of breath and life, this act of gratitude can lead to the perspective shift that will enable us to continue throughout the day with a grateful heart, which should lead us to gratitude in other areas: family, friends, even employment and financial provision. (Is. 42:5; Ps. 150)

II. Cross-Focused

Connected to the need for a grateful perspective is the need to contemplate the cross. Dwelling on the significance of the cross – even if just for a moment – should lead us to a genuine sense of gratitude and humility. If our day is shaped by the thought that Christ the Lord, though the rightful king and God over all of humanity, humbled himself and served us best by his self-sacrifice, then we will be marked by this thought the whole day through. (Phil 2:1-11)

Looking at Jesus is like looking at a map before you leave on a trip. You really only know where you’re going once you’ve taken a good, hard look at the lay of the land. And you really only know what kind of person you are supposed to be by taking a good, hard look at the only person who was ever perfect at doing God’s business – the only person in whom God, the Father, was “well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)

III. Scripture-Stained

We see the cross of Jesus best through the scriptures. In the Old Testament, we see it anticipated. In the Gospels we see it carried out and glimpse the heart of Jesus. In the Epistles, we see its implications for life and application to the church. We should spend time reading the scriptures and bear the marks of our contact with these wonderful writings of God.

If we read and walk away without thinking any further about what we’ve read, then we have missed the point. We need to be stained by our contact with the bible like our fingers get stained from coming in contact with blueberries or engine grease. There should be evidence of what has touched us. We should be scripture-stained.

This means that we must ask for the Holy Spirit to remind us of what we’ve read throughout the day and help us to bring the truth of scripture to bear upon our lives, which will continue what we have begun in adjusting our perspective and by contemplating the cross. This will help us to be grateful and challenge us to live in “the way.” (Acts 24:14-16)

-wp

Christmas Banquet '08

Here are a few pics from the Triangle Brass concert at last night's Christmas Banquet:






Click HERE for more.

If you missed it, then you missed a great night!

The First Christmas Musical

Another Look at Luke 2:14

I hope this image doesn't resonate with you at all. I mean, you may like it, but I hope that it doesn't strike a chord in your understanding of what happened on the night Jesus of Nazareth was born. Look at Luke 2:14 again, including a couple of extra verses:

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

So, first off, angels are scary. One angel shows up in front of these shepherds, and they're terrified. Then, after the angel speaks to these men, a "multitude of the heavenly host" appears. So, before we imagine little girls with wings an halos singing a lullaby, let's stop to think about what it would mean to see "the host of heaven" and perhaps feel some of the dread excitement of these poor shepherds.

The word "host" has some difficulties, so let's use a better word, "brigade." That's right. Suddenly a regiment of heaven's brigade appeared. A section of God's army showed up and said something (once again, potential bladder issues here). Now, why are these angels usually depicted as singing? It could be that there's a decent reason. The text of Luke 2:14 reads like poetry. It has nice parallels and rhythm in the original language. So, it's possible it was sung (more likely chanted). But what kind of song is this? Please don't imagine that it was anything like children singing.

These are soldiers in God's army singing. And what kind of song does an army sing? A song of war. A battle cry. And THAT is the beautiful irony of this moment. This is the real crux of this passage.

Glory to God
in the highest,
And on earth
peace,
goodwill
toward men.

It's a song of war that talks of peace, that proposes something utterly bold - almost preposterous. God will get the glory of battle in his domain (the heavens) by bringing peace, from his own goodwill, to the domain of men (the earth).

How is this possible? How does it even make sense?

Go find the child in the manger.

Gloria

Goodwill Hunting

If you read more than one version of the bible, then you'll notice that - from time to time - there are more than just a few words that differ from one another. In Luke 2:14, we see that this is just what has happened. Two translations will show what I'm pondering here: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." KJV "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." NASB

That's a lot of extra words, so where are they coming from?

Well, there are quite a few technical issues surrounding the passage, but I would like to boil it down to this: the translations represent two traditions of thought. One tradition asserts that God's offer of peace through Jesus' birth is an offer of goodwill toward all people. The other tradition replies that God's offer of peace through the birth of Jesus only applies to some. In other words, Jesus only means peace to those upon whom God's favor rests.

That's - in many ways - an oversimplification of the issues, but it leads me to ask a couple of questions. Doesn't the birth of Jesus (God in the flesh, born into a world filled with undeserving people) represent an extension of goodwill - no matter how you cut it? Then, doesn't that extension of goodwill have an impact on everyone? In other words, if Jesus means peace at all, and if that peace has been extended to any person at all, doesn't that offer of goodwill have an impact on everybody?

I think so.

But I am willing to go one further. Jesus of Nazareth is God's goodwill offering to the whole world. His birth is God's initiative of hope, goodwill, good news, and peace for anyone who would accept it. Jesus, the Christ-Child in Bethlehem, is the extension of God's glory to undeserving humanity, and this action from a loving God demands a response: trust or refusal, worship or rebellion. We can find ourselves in the story if we wish - with Herod or with wise men, with shepherds or with tyrants. But the gracious offer of peace remains.

New Direction

I'm just going to start blogging random things. It seems that this is what I do best. So, for today:

VOCATION

I've been thinking a lot about vocation. That internal question and inkling of answer: "Where am I going in life? How will I get there? What am I 'supposed' to do?"

This question is especially interesting when it is posed in terms of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. When did Jesus understand his vocation? Was that understanding always fully present? From birth? From adolescence? When? How?

Again, we have questions and inklings of answers. He was in the synagogue as a youth asking astounding questions. He was acutely aware of John the Baptist's mission and went to him. There, Jesus was absolutely convinced of his own mission at his baptism, in the desert for 40 days, on the mount of Transfiguration, in Gethsemane.

Though all of these events point to confirmation, none point too far afield of our own experience in life. We certainly won't have the audible words of delight from God the Father, but we should surely expect moments of clarity, moments of assurance - but likely never a "writing in the sky" sort of epiphany where everything is abundantly clear from the cradle to the grave.

Vocation is a slippery thing. I wonder if the word 'vocation' or 'calling' is appropriate because it indicates a clear directive? Or is it appropriate because it indicates something less tangible: a voice from down the hall or from around the corner - always just audible, never quite perfectly clear? I wonder if God chooses this way for us because it means we must listen more intently and pray with ever increasing fervency.

I actually think the voice behind the vocation is intentionally soft.