Less presents, more presence

As we enter into Advent, anticipating the birth of our Saviour at Christmas and knowing that He will return, it’s critical to remind ourselves what this season is and is not about…
 

   
Prayer of confession
Lord God, we honestly admit that when it comes to Christmas, we do a lot more shopping, spending and stressing than worshipping.  Please give us not another present, but rather Your presence, Your Holy Spirit to help us to make good choices this year.  …Choices that free us to give of ourselves – our time, our abilities, our resources, our love.  And in that way, may we reflect Your love, shown so amazingly through Your Son, born of the virgin Mary, who was crucified, dead and buried, but on the third day rose again for us and our salvation.  It’s in His name we pray. Amen.
  

Assurance of God’s salvation
”…When the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.  Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer slaves, but God’s children; and since you are His children, He has made you also heirs.” – Galatians 4

“Shine, Jesus, Shine”
  

Rededicating our lives to Godly living
“God’s gift to us [is] a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?”*

Let’s follow God’s example and learn to give.  This Advent and Christmas, let’s reflect our God and give of ourselves – our time, our abilities, our resources, our love.  It might mean a few less presents, but a whole lot more presence – with each other and in worship to our loving God.
    

Notes:
*This paragraph comes from the Advent Conspiracy website.
All of the above was part of today’s 11am worship service at Telkwa Christian Reformed Church.
 

A church-goer meets a worshipper

Virtually everyone’s seen those highly successful (though endlessly ongoing) Apple ads.  The Bill Gates look-alike says, “Hi, I’m a PC.”  And the cool, young guy says, “And I’m a Mac.”  By the end of the ad, the Mac looks a lot better than the PC!

Here’s a Mac-ad-inspired clip that reminds me of how worship is not just “going to church,” but “a condition of the heart” as I mentioned last week…

I found it (and more like it) at ThinkChristian.net.

“Honey! Quick! Help me clean up the place… Jesus is going to be here in 8 minutes!”

Jesus called the other day to say he was passing through and wondered if he could spend a day or two with us.

I said, “Sure. Love to see you. When will you hit town?”

I mean, it’s Jesus, you know, and it’s not every day you get the chance to visit with him.  It’s not like it’s your in-laws and you have to stop and decide whether the advantages outweigh your having to move to the sleeper sofa.

That’s when Jesus told me he was actually at the convenience store along the highway.

I must have gotten that Bambi-in-headlights look, because my wife hissed, “What is it? What’s wrong? Who is that?”

So I covered the receiver and told her Jesus was going to arrive in 8 minutes, and she ran out of the room and started giving guidance to the kids in that effective way that Marine drill instructors give guidance to recruits.

My mind was already racing with what needed to be done in the next 8 – no, 7 – minutes so Jesus wouldn’t think we were reprobate loser slobs.

I turned off the TV in the den, which was blaring some weird scary movie I’d been half watching. But I could still hear screams from our bedroom, so I turned off the reality show it was tuned to. Plus, I turned off the kids’ set out on the sun porch, because I didn’t want to have to explain Jon & Kate Plus Eight to Jesus, either, 6 minutes from now.

My wife had already thinned out the magazines that had been accumulating on the coffee table. She put Christianity Today on top for a good first impression. 5 minutes to go.

I looked out the front window, but the yard actually looked great thanks to my long, hard work, so I let it go. What could I improve in 4 minutes anyway?

I did notice the mail had come, so I ran out to grab it. Mostly it was Netflix envelopes and a bunch of catalogues tied into recent purchases, so I stuffed it back in the box. Jesus doesn’t need to get the wrong idea – 3 minutes from now – about how much on-line shopping we do.

I plumped up sofa pillows, my wife tossed dishes into the sink, I scolded the kids, and she shooed the dog. With 1 minute left I realized something important: Getting ready for a visit from Jesus is not an 8-minute job.

Then the doorbell rang.

  
Written by Doug Mendenhall.  Doug is an instructor of journalism at Abilene (TX) Christian University and the author of How Jesus Ended Up in the Food Court.  He writes a column for the Abilene Reporter News and the Huntsville (AL) Times.  Reposted from the Abilene Reporter News with the author’s kind permission.

Worship is not a spectator sport

How was your worship experience today?  Were you moved?  Were you fed?

Common questions.  And I’m not saying they are bad questions.  But I will say that they should not be the only questions we ask after we worship with other disciples of Jesus.  These questions focus only on us.  And worship is not first of all about us!  What’s more, it doesn’t end with the final song.

Here is a fresh reminder of what worship is (and is not) from Kevin G. Harney’s book Seismic Shifts:

Worship is not a spectator sport.  We don’t come to sit in an audience while a group of people perform for us.  There is an audience in worship, but it is not the congregation; it is God.  We, the people of God, are all on the stage, and God alone is the recipient of the praise we express.

Worship is about giving ourselves to God.  …Our worship does not end with the closing prayer or benediction.  Worship is a condition of our heart.

We can’t confine worship to a set time of the week in a certain place.  We are God’s worshippers at all times and in all places. (pp. 66-67, 68)

Related:
I’ve quoted Kevin Harney a couple times before…
::  17 Sep 2009: ”Falling Asleep While Praying”
::  19 Sep 2009: “Sword Fighting”

I am still not religious

To follow up on what I wrote last week, Jesus desires relationship with us more than watching us be busy with religious activity.  Notice I am not saying that activity is bad; rather, it needs to be the happy by-product of knowing and loving Jesus, following and obeying as He leads.  How sad it is when our busy activity distracts and disconnects us from our Lord!

In his commentary on John’s Gospel, Gary M. Burge writes:

Faith, then, is more a matter of relationship than of creed.  (p. 577, discussing John 20)

Now, I don’t think the author is bashing creeds, confessions, or catechisms.  I think what he is saying is that faith is more than only storing the correct information in your head and being able to let it pour out of your mouth.  Not that knowledge and speaking up are useless; it’s just that those abilities do not necessarily equal having true faith.

I think the Reformed tradition has accurately (though perhaps excessively) been accused of focusing too much on the head and too little on the heart.  Granted, there’s something appealing to sticking exclusively with intelligence: You can convince yourself that you have mastered it as you would a course at school; you can appraise and judge other people and traditions by how closely they believe the same things you do; you are less vulnerable than when emotions get involved.  Unfortunately, keeping faith as only a cerebral thing can result in us keeping Jesus at arm’s length.  I guess there’s something appealing about that, too:  We’ll feel we can avoid following Him when He leads where we don’t want to go.  But we’ll also miss out on deeply experiencing His power and enjoying His close friendship.

Here again is Dr. Burge’s comment in the context of its paragraph:

Faith, then, is more a matter of relationship than of creed.  On occasion it means accepting that a message given is true and trustworthy, but for the most part, faith springs from confidence in the works Jesus has done and results in a desire to invest all hope in Him.  Faith is personal and transforming since it is dependent on a Person who has demonstrated Himself powerful and trustworthy.  It is the decision whereby a person gains eternal life and … become[s] a child of God, and so marks himself or herself as a member of Jesus’ community.

That’s a good story!

This is good stuff, these daily devotions I mentioned the other day!  Today’s takes seriously our stories of faith and how God uses our stories to bless others.

“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” – Romans 1:8

Can you imagine someone thanking God for you because your faith – your story – is being shared with people all over the world?  Maybe that is too much too imagine.  How about your story – the story of how your walk with God has helped you not only get through the tough things you’ve gone through but has enabled you to live your life with joy and fulfillment – can you imagine how that story could be of some inspirational value to the people you work with, or your neighbours, or perhaps people within your own family?  You will never know what God can do with your story until you start sharing it.  Remember God uses ordinary people like you to spread His love.  So how about it? Not sure what to share?  Just answer these questions…

What difference has walking with God made in your life, your marriage, your family, your purpose, your joy, your fun, your work, your friends?

What experiences have you had that have reassured you that God is real and that He has a purpose for you?

How has walking with God made thing different for you, your marriage, your family, your life?

For Discussion:  Take some time to answer the questions above, and share those answers with someone(s).  Can you think of some concrete ways in your life that you can share your faith with other people?

Prayer:  Lord our God, we want to share our faith in you with everyone, including our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbours.  Please give us the wisdom and the courage to do that, and to know when to do it. Amen.

– written for CRC Home Missions by Steve Elzinga

Waiting in a “right now” world

We live in a “right now” world.  Overnight delivery.  Microwave dinners.  Fast food.  High-speed internet.  We are forgetting how to wait, forgetting how to persevere.  A week-long series of devotionals in anticipation of Reformation Day begins with speaking about the courage (yes, courage!) it takes to wait…

As we near the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we have witnessed the advent of new and innovative technologies. From iPhones and iPods, to YouTube, MySpace and Twitter, the method of communicating and transferring information has dramatically changed.  It is no secret that it is much easier now than 20 years ago to move knowledge, insight and information around the globe. But at what cost?  The recent economic crisis has shown us that now more than ever we reside in a microwaveable society, where human beings need and want everything right now.  We have to have a house, right now.  We have to have a new career, right now.  We have to have the latest clothes, computer or car, right now.

The Reformation reminds those of us in the body of Christ of the need to develop the courage to wait; and not just wait for new things, but wait for God to renew our minds, body and soul.  The early reformers of the church had a mission: to bring the church back to a Bible-centred approach in regard to its doctrine and practices. Reform was (and is) not easy; but through many trials and tribulations, the reformers did not give up or give in.  They had the courage to wait for renewal to come; to the church, in particular, and the body of Christ as a whole.  As Isaiah 40:31 so eloquently states, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

For Discussion:  Talk about something you thought was important, that you had to wait for.  Was it a new toy?  Summer vacation?  Your favourite TV show season premiere?  Now think about how we wait for something much more important: God’s renewal in our lives.

Prayer:  God, we ask you to give us the courage to wait for You to renew us, in mind, body and soul. Amen.

— written for CRC Home Missions by Ed Rockett

The worst thing you could ever say

Christians are called to love each other.  That’s about as basic as saying “The sky is blue” or “The grass is green.”  Yet Christian couples sometimes say the reason they are separating or divorcing is because they no longer love each other.  This is a terrible indictment not only on their relationship, but also on their faith, as Gary Thomas makes clear in Sacred Marriage…

One of the cruelest and most condemning remarks I’ve ever heard is the one that men often use when they leave their wives for another woman: “The truth is, I’ve never loved you.”  This is meant to be an attack on the wife – saying in effect, “The truth is, I’ve never found you loveable.”  But put in a Christian context, it’s a confession of the man’s utter failure to be a Christian.  If he hasn’t loved his wife, it’s not his wife’s fault, but his.  Jesus calls us to love even the unlovable – even our enemies! – so a man who says “I’ve never loved you” is a man who is saying essentially this: “I’ve never acted like a Christian.” (p. 40-41)

Related:
:: More quotes from Sacred Marriage are here.
:: Sacred Marriage Seminar beginning tomorrow at Rough Acres Bible Camp.
 

Nurturing a sacred marriage

The Sacred Marriage Seminar is happening this weekend at Rough Acres Bible Camp.  I’m looking forward to hearing Gary Thomas speak and elaborate on what small groups in northern BC churches have been discussing over the course of this past year – namely the principles within his book Sacred Marriage.

The subtitle reveals much about its contents: “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”  It’s quite different than any other book I’ve read about marriage.  I would not call it a “how to” book.  It’s a book that seeks to nurture a person’s walk with Jesus – a person who happens to be married.  It delves into numerous intersections between faith and marriage.

God invites us to find fulfilment in Him.  How many people get married expecting their spouse to consistently fulfill them, to completely satisfy them, to continually make them happy?  Before Monica and I met, I remember thinking, “I’ll be happy when I find the right person.”  While words can never express how wonderful a blessing Monica is, things can easily go awry when I begin to expect that she will be my only source of fulfilment.  What a horrible burden to put on someone, expecting that s/he will singlehandedly make your life meaningful and give you joy!  Some would call that being your saviour.  You’re only setting your marriage up for failure.

But what if Jesus is your Saviour?  What if you find your ultimate identity and fulfilment in Him?  Then you free your spouse to be your partner, to be a fellow broken yet image-bearing child of God.  Together you and your spouse can explore how God is building character in you both.  And together you can discover God’s purposes for you as individuals, as a couple, as a family.  This does not necessarily make marriage easier; perhaps sometimes it makes marriage harder!  But it makes it richer.

In Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas rightly sees the theme of reconciliation running through the apostle Paul’s writings in the New Testament.  Reflecting on this, Thomas says:

The very nature of Christ’s work was a reconciling work, bringing us together again with God.  Our response is to become reconcilers ourselves…  Everything I do in my life is to be supportive of this Gospel ministry of reconciliation, and that commitment begins by displaying reconciliation in my personal relationships, especially in my marriage.  If my marriage contradicts my message, I have sabotaged the goal of my life: to be pleasing to Christ and to faithfully fulfill the ministry of reconciliation, proclaiming the Good News that we can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ…

If I’m married only for happiness, and my happiness wanes for whatever reason, one little spark will burn the entire forest of my relationship.  But if my aim is to proclaim and model God’s ministry of reconciliation, my endurance will be fireproof.  (p. 34, 36)

As someone said in the Sacred Marriage small group in which Monica and I participated this past year, doing what makes God happy makes us happy – including, perhaps especially, when it comes to our marriage relationships.

Read more:
I’ve quoted Sacred Marriage in previous blog entries…
:: “Practical Holiness” (25 May 2009)
:: “Savoury Relationships” (10 July 2009)

One more thing:
If you’re thinking about coming to the Sacred Marriage seminar this weekend and haven’t told the organizers, please fill out the registration form and contact them ASAP!

David Letterman’s “confession” about sex

Last week, David Letterman of CBS’s Late Show admitted to having had sex at undisclosed points in time with women who work for him.  His admission was a response to a blackmail threat he received from a CBS employee who allegedly threatened to go public with this unless Mr. Letterman gave him $2 million.  By publicly admitting this, Mr. Letterman is attempting to diffuse a scandal: Now that the secret is out, the blackmail letter is useless.  The whole business has received publicity across American and Canadian networks (e.g. CBC’s pieces with their ensuing online discussions are here and here) and the video of the admission has been uploaded numerous times to YouTube…

I’m intrigued by the language David Letterman uses in this clip.  He quotes the blackmail letter writer as telling him: “I know that you do some terrible, terrible things.”  Accompanying the letter was a package, and “contained in the package,” says David Letterman, “was stuff to prove that I do terrible things.”

Although he expresses guilt, never in the clip does David Letterman admit that he himself recognizes that what he did was indeed terrible.  The closest he gets is saying that what he did was “embarrassing” to himself and the women involved.

At first I thought of David Letterman’s words as a confession.  But I don’t think that accurately describes it.  It’s more like he gives an admission to doing something, and I’m starting to see that admission and confession are not the same thing.  When you admit something, you’re not necessarily disclosing something bad that you’ve done.  On the other hand, when you confess something, you own up to the fact that what you did was indeed bad.  I will confess to my wife if I polished off the last of the ice cream.  I do not confess to my wife that I went and bought a bucket of ice cream.  (Well, uh, maybe I do need to confess how much ice cream I buy…  For another example:  I do not confess to my wife that I’ve washed and put away the dishes.)

Admission is the easier thing to do: It’s just stating a fact.  You let people know that you did something, but assign no moral value to that action.  It’s rather politically correct.  After all, what you did is your own business and no one has the right to suggest that your moral compass is wrong.

Confession is the harder thing to do: It indeed reveals that the morality of what you did is questionable at best and just plain wicked at worst.  That, in turn, prompts you to further action such as seeking forgiveness and repenting.  And when you repent, you declare that you are turning 180° away from what you did and towards something different.  When disciples of Jesus repent of their sins, they turn away from those sins and instead – by the grace of Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit – turn towards God and His will.  In one of his sermons, Matt Chandler from The Village Church in Highland Village TX defines repentance as “making war against your sin.”  This is politically incorrect, even offensive in a culture where everyone is entitled to their own sense of morality and where suggesting that what someone does is sinful could label you narrow-minded or a bigot.

Yet it is through repentance that we receive hope.  In her book, Speaking of Sin, theologian Barbara Brown Taylor writes that “the recognition that something is wrong is the first step towards setting it right again.  There is no help for those who admit no need of help … [and] no repair for those who insist that nothing is broken.”  After quoting Rev. Taylor, Peter Schuurman, a father of two and a professor at Redeemer University College, writes in Christian Courier: “‘Sin’ may be a four-letter word for many, but without it there can be no redemption.”

David Letterman may have minimized a scandal and perhaps even assuaged his guilt through his admission a few nights ago, but I wonder whether he is experiencing the marvellous, redemptive freedom gained by true confession.