A New Year, A New You

I have not broken any of my new year resolutions yet, of course the new year has yet to start, so I am safe for a few more days. My problem does not seem to be the recognition of what needs to change in my daily habits, but the motivation to actually continue to change them. Perhaps my problem is not the ultimate goal but the zealous steps I determine to reach it. As an example, I want to lose weight so I set a ridiculous schedule for exercise and start some fad diet that promises miracles. Starving myself for a week while at the same time getting up at an hour even God is not awake (just kidding) and sweating to the oldies is never going to work. About one week in, I smash the alarm clock and move the treadmill to the garage where it belongs. I will not continue such an unworkable schedule, so a worthy goal goes by the wayside.

This year instead I have found a fun way to exercise by playing basketball with a group of men at a high school gym a couple of days a week. Adding a bike ride on Saturday will round out some good cardio and is a schedule I will enjoy. Some sensible diet changes that do not promise to drop ten pounds a week but will result in incremental weight loss will also be much easier to do. I believe the goal is within reach.

A much more important goal is often times sabotaged by the same micromanaging and over zealousness. I want to grow spiritually this year and be closer to the Lord than I ever have. Towards this goal I have in the past set a rigorous early morning Bible reading and prayer time. I have often committed to reading great amounts of scripture each day and spending time with a unwieldy list of names (some I don't even know) to pray for. When I miss a day, as it is inevitable that I do, I listen to the great accuser of the brethren and agree that I am worthless as a "good" Christian and will never be able to be consistent so I might as well give up.

Again, I am missing the goal because of unreasonable details. If I want to get up at 5 or 6 am to have time to spend with the Lord I have to give up my habit of staying up till midnight to watch the news. It would be better for me to read a little less scripture and meditate on what it means than to start some Bible marathon and have no idea what I have just read. I can break up my prayer list and pray heartfelt prayers for people's detailed needs without going to sleep in the middle of it. And, when I miss a day, yes it happens no matter how hard I try, I do not have to give in to the guilt that immobilizes me for the next day. Instead, I just start where I left off and keep going.

Reaching the goal is the issue not how fast the process is. So many worthwhile endeavors are thwarted near the starting line because we do not feel we are fast enough out of the blocks. Paul says of his life in 2 Timothy, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have remained faithful, therefore the crown of righteousness is laid up for me." My prayer for you and I is that we will see the goal that God has for us and we will resolutely keep moving toward it. It will be worth it all someday when God says, "well done my good and faithful servant."

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!! What a wonderful wish. That first Christmas would not have seemed merry to Joseph and Mary. The ridicule of friends for this out of wedlock baby (or at least before the marriage ceremony), the terrible timing of a census that required a mother in her final days before birth to travel 80 miles, a four day journey, then there was no room for them in any establishment or home except for a cave stable filled with animals. How could this Christmas be merry? What made the difference? It was the child!! This baby changed everything.

Faith Hill's new song A Baby Changes Everything puts it like this:
A Baby Changes Everything
Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what's to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring
On her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything (x2)

The man she loves she's never touched
How will she Keep his trust
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries, oh she cries

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can't stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it's coming soon
There's no place, there's no room
A baby changes everything (x2)

And she cries and she cries O she cries

Shepherds own they got their ...
Star shines down...

Choir of Angels say
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything (x2) everything, everything, every day
Hallelujah x4

My whole life is turned around
I was lost and now I'm found
A baby changes everything (x2)

The baby changed everything. Yes angels appeared, shepherds rejoiced, an old man and woman confirmed, and eventually wise men worshiped, but these were not the biggest changes. Times would still be tough, but God Himself in the form of this infant son, came into the world to save the world. The world would never be the same.
God wants our life to be changed because of this Christmas Child. I pray that you will come to the manger, to the cross, to the empty tomb, and your life will be changed forever. It is the only way to truly have a Merry Christmas!!

Ignoring Christmas

Ignoring Christmas, are you kidding? How would that be possible? The stores started assembling their elaborate Christmas displays in mid-October well before Halloween. It is a tradition in my family to wait until the day after thanksgiving to get all the decorations down and the tree up. Some wise people have been purchasing gifts all year long in anticipation of Christmas morning. Then there are those Christmas parties and the anticipation of spending the holidays with family and friends. With all this activity it is impossible to ignore Christmas.
Maybe that is exactly the problem. We are so busy getting ready for Christmas and cleaning up after Christmas that the true significance of Christmas can be ignored or missed entirely. Perhaps we need to learn the lesson that Dr. Seuss writes about in the Christmas classic, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.

"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

                  
Christ is what Christmas is about. The more we ignore that the greater chance that we will miss Christmas. The more we recognize Christ and His gift of eternal life the more Christmas will mean to us. Though I love the tinsel and decorations, the family and friends gatherings, the opportunity to show my love to my loved ones by giving a small token gift, and the small traditions that make this such a blessed time of year, I fully realize that Christmas in it's true significance, can be experienced without any of those things. Christmas is about Immanuel, God with us. So really everyday ought to be Christmas in the believer's heart. May you have a great Christmas season, and may you have the joy of having Christ within you all the days of this new year!!

Walking The Talk.

Hollywood and Christians are often at odds. It was good to read an Associated Press story this week about actress Sandra Bullock who expressed her appreciation for meeting Leigh Anne Tuohy and seeing her walk the talk of Christianity. Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne in the recent block buster movie, "The Blind Side." In preparing for the part she spent a lot of time with Mrs. Tuohy.

The movie depicts a Christian family who adopts a young homeless African American teenager into their home. They supported him through many challenges and later adopted him into their family. Michael Oher, the young man, finished high school, was outstanding in college, and was a first round draft pick for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens.

The Touhys attend Grace Evangelical Church in Mephis and according to Ms Bullock the family allowed her to have “faith in those who say they represent a faith.” “[Mrs. Tuohy] was so open and honest and forthright,” Ms. Bullock said, “and I said, wow, I finally met someone who practices but doesn’t preach.”

Ms. Bullock said she had met other Christians who promoted their faith but did not live a lifestyle that matched it. She stated that she became wary of Christians before she meet Leigh Ann Tuohy.

What this report says to me is that we are a witness for Christ or against Him. The way we live our lives either validates the truth we believe or makes the words invalid by the very actions and attitudes we exhibit. We will fail to carry out the great commision of our Lord if we do not match words with walk.

Many times the problem is not doing things that we should not do (keeping God's proabition laws) but it is in not doing what we should do. Responding to anger with kindness, keeping our own anger under control,  displaying the fruits of the Spirit, taking care of the helpless and "to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly before our Lord." (Micah 6:8). When we begin to live this kind of life we will begin to change minds about Christians being narrow-minded, bigoted, judgmental and hypocritical.

Revenge

You can't live life for long before you are hurt by someone and the thought of getting even comes to mind. Revenge is a natural response but not a Christian response.

"Bless those who curse you...pray that God will bless them...Never pay back evil with evil...never take revenge, leave that to the righteous anger of God...I will take revenge, I will pay them back, says the Lord. Instead if your enemies are hungry, feed them, if thirsty, give them something to drink...Conquer evil by doing good." Romans 12- selected portions.

Revenge is in God's hands because only He is righteous enough to judge fairly the motives of the heart. He will act so we do not need to. We are charged with showing kindness to our enemies and leaving the rest to God. We will be hurt or offended but we are not to respond with equal treatment. While we may be able to keep from taking revenge God expects more. We are to pray that God will bless the people who hurt us. Now I can understand praying that God would get them but not bless them. That is not really possible without God's help.

I have tried to live by this principle and found that it is impossible to continue to be angry with someone when I am praying that God will bless them. I pray that God will help each of us to go the extra mile and pray for "those who spitefully use you."

Blessings

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I wonder just how thankful I have been. God reminded me in my quite time that I am truly blessed and my troubles are few in comparison.

Zach. 9:12b "I will repay two blessings for every one of your troubles."

Everyone will have troubles. You are either going into a valley of trouble or climbing out of one. These scattered Jewish people had their share. Many troubles have been of our own making or a result of our mistakes and sins. God is faithful to His own but also righteous. He will not punish us forever or allow us to be forever tormented. There will be a time when we will have two blessings for every trouble. Realistically we are already doubly blessed but we just don't recognize it.

Thank you God for all your blessings. Blessings that I do not deserve but deeply appreciate.

Pastor Albert