For the past 10 years or so, I've struggled to enjoy Christmas. From a child's perspective, it's great: You get nearly two weeks off from school, a mythical fat guy brings you free stuff and your biggest responsibility is to keep your snowman from melting. As an adult, however, the holidays are far different. In the past seven years, I've only had a few Christmases off, and holidays usually mean picking up the slack from vacationing co-workers. Not only that, but the typical holiday fare about commercialization and the "war on Christmas" pops up in the stories I help publish. Legalistic Christians say "merry Christmas" simply to be spiteful. The holidays also bring up unpleasant memories of the last couple of months of my father's life. I had to watch him battle cancer, one of the most painful illnesses one can get. So you'll forgive me when I say that I haven't looked forward to Christmas since I was in high school.
My spiritual life has grown and changed significantly since then, and, accordingly, I view Christmas through a different pair of eyes. I saw a holiday crafted by the Catholic Church in order to accommodate former pagans. They didn't have an exact date of Christ's birthday, so they took a pagan god's and gave it to Jesus. Today, most mainstream Christians still celebrate Dec. 25 for Jesus, in spite of its pagan origins. Hopefully you knew most of that anyway.
Let's get this straight: I still don't think packing malls and spending tons of money we don't have to buy Chinese-made crap for people we don't like honors Christ. I don't care how many retailers try to wrap their agenda in a sparkly package and sell it the day after Thanksgiving to a crowd ready to trample each other to death. But I'm learning that a lot of things are a matter of attitude. We teach in the church that love is a choice. So is having a good mindset. In Romans 14, Paul says, "For the Kingdom of God is ... living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too." Attitude is everything.
So I've taken it upon myself to look at the Christmas holiday not with ridicule, but with acceptance and joy. In the same chapter of Romans, Paul says, "So let’s stop condemning each other." In other words, if someone genuinely enjoys Christmas as a day to honor Christ's birth, I'm not acting in love if I bust out my ol' Ebeneezer routine. Who am I to say that person is wrong?
However, we're not to conform to the customs of this world. That means analyzing every tradition and seeing if it lines up with Christ's commands. If downing a couple bottles of Jim Beam and dancing naked in a lampshade at the company Christmas party is part of your tradition, perhaps it's time to amend that. If slugging soccer moms in Target on Black Friday while clawing for an iPod is your idea of Christmas cheer, perhaps you should re-evaluate your priorities. And Santa Claus? Well, I hate to break it to you folks, but he's about as close to a modern-day pagan god as we're going to get.
I think if you embrace the good and toss away the rubbish, you'll be able to make it through Christmas without being hauled away to the nuthouse. At least that's how I was able to survive.
12.24.2010
12.03.2010
Stuck like glue
I'm constantly reminded of the need to stick to Christ. John 15:5 ("Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.") is one of the most relevant scriptures in my life right now.
Since most of us don't live an agrarian lifestyle, I like to use the analogy of a light bulb. By itself, it really doesn't serve a purpose. It's not until it's connected to a live light socket does it become useful. It's a lot like my life. When I remove myself from the Source, aka Christ, my life doesn't shine like it should. I don't have the power to maintain the level of holiness in my life that I need. I don't feel the drive or conviction to push myself to do what should be done.
I think what's dogged much of my 11-year walk with Christ is the feeling that my salvation depends on how little I swear or look at porn or how much I pray or read scripture. I don't think, until recently, my heart attitude has been addressed, and my walk has suffered accordingly. This is why staying close to the Source is important.
Since most of us don't live an agrarian lifestyle, I like to use the analogy of a light bulb. By itself, it really doesn't serve a purpose. It's not until it's connected to a live light socket does it become useful. It's a lot like my life. When I remove myself from the Source, aka Christ, my life doesn't shine like it should. I don't have the power to maintain the level of holiness in my life that I need. I don't feel the drive or conviction to push myself to do what should be done.
I think what's dogged much of my 11-year walk with Christ is the feeling that my salvation depends on how little I swear or look at porn or how much I pray or read scripture. I don't think, until recently, my heart attitude has been addressed, and my walk has suffered accordingly. This is why staying close to the Source is important.
10.21.2010
What me worry?
I'm ashamed to say how often I worry. You're probably ashamed to admit it, too. Why? Worry seems like a natural part of life — like smelling the flowers or laughing at a joke. For a Christ follower, however, it's never considered a virtue. In Matthew 6:19-34, Jesus unloads perhaps the most profound statements about worry in the entire Bible.
Often, I worry about money and finances. It's not easy to admit, but it's true. I believe money is one of the biggest battlegrounds in our hearts — it's why Jesus mentioned it so often. Greed is a powerful force. It destroys lives, starts wars, corrupts good men and can eventually bring entire nations to ruin. If we can turn away from greed's influence in our lives, I believe God can do incredible things through us.
Turning my finances over to Christ is one of the most difficult things I've done as a believer. It's where the rubber meets the road. It separates the real followers from the fakers. It's a matter of me saying, "I really believe in this Jesus stuff." Of course, it's not going to save anyone, and you can never buy your salvation. But it's a matter of giving back to Christ in an attitude of thanksgiving and obedience.
Often, I worry about money and finances. It's not easy to admit, but it's true. I believe money is one of the biggest battlegrounds in our hearts — it's why Jesus mentioned it so often. Greed is a powerful force. It destroys lives, starts wars, corrupts good men and can eventually bring entire nations to ruin. If we can turn away from greed's influence in our lives, I believe God can do incredible things through us.
Turning my finances over to Christ is one of the most difficult things I've done as a believer. It's where the rubber meets the road. It separates the real followers from the fakers. It's a matter of me saying, "I really believe in this Jesus stuff." Of course, it's not going to save anyone, and you can never buy your salvation. But it's a matter of giving back to Christ in an attitude of thanksgiving and obedience.
10.03.2010
The power to move mountains
Boxer Muhammad Ali wasn't a modest individual by any means. He regularly boasted that he was the greatest, and few experts would argue. He was able to fight impressively against opponents bigger and stronger than he was — and beat them.
Of course, believers shy away from boasting. As it's often said: Pride comes before a fall. However, one virtue that Ali possessed was the power of positive thinking. At some points in my life, positive thinking has been about as rare as unicorn droppings. When I'm overcome with negativity, it pulls us down in other areas. I don't eat or sleep as well as we should. I'm sluggish. I lose focus on what's important.
Jesus talked about the power to move mountains. Even with our best machinery, it takes a few hours and many workers to move a small hill. Jesus told us that all we need is to tell the mountain to move over. How? With the power of faith and the absence of doubt. In other words, we don't need to think it can happen, we have to know it will happen.
Positive thinking turned a guy from Kentucky into the greatest boxer of all time. Think of what positive thinking and the power of almighty Christ can do when we put it to work.
Of course, believers shy away from boasting. As it's often said: Pride comes before a fall. However, one virtue that Ali possessed was the power of positive thinking. At some points in my life, positive thinking has been about as rare as unicorn droppings. When I'm overcome with negativity, it pulls us down in other areas. I don't eat or sleep as well as we should. I'm sluggish. I lose focus on what's important.
Jesus talked about the power to move mountains. Even with our best machinery, it takes a few hours and many workers to move a small hill. Jesus told us that all we need is to tell the mountain to move over. How? With the power of faith and the absence of doubt. In other words, we don't need to think it can happen, we have to know it will happen.
Positive thinking turned a guy from Kentucky into the greatest boxer of all time. Think of what positive thinking and the power of almighty Christ can do when we put it to work.
9.26.2010
Change we can all believe in
Every election cycle, politicians woo the electorate promising to end their problems with a flurry of legislation (or lack thereof). Yet it becomes apparent shortly after election day that the problems facing the nation won't go away so easily.
That reminds me a lot of my life. Often, I promise to do better — and I might even succeed for a couple of weeks — but before long, I'm back to the old me. My feeble attempts at morality might look spiritual, but in the long run, human effort accomplishes a net gain of zero.
Lately, God has been doing an awesome work in my life. You know when Jesus shows up because things truly change. Drug addicts clean up, alcoholics dry out and sinners repent. This way I know that it was the Holy Spirit's touch, and not my effort. I have to pray every night that God doesn't let me screw it up.
This is the change that truly makes a difference. People can write checks with their mouth that their actions could never cash. That's why I leave it up to the Almighty.
That reminds me a lot of my life. Often, I promise to do better — and I might even succeed for a couple of weeks — but before long, I'm back to the old me. My feeble attempts at morality might look spiritual, but in the long run, human effort accomplishes a net gain of zero.
Lately, God has been doing an awesome work in my life. You know when Jesus shows up because things truly change. Drug addicts clean up, alcoholics dry out and sinners repent. This way I know that it was the Holy Spirit's touch, and not my effort. I have to pray every night that God doesn't let me screw it up.
This is the change that truly makes a difference. People can write checks with their mouth that their actions could never cash. That's why I leave it up to the Almighty.
9.18.2010
Need a little patience?
One of the most elusive spiritual fruits for me has been patience. It's one of the easiest topics to discuss and one of the most difficult to put into action. Yet I think it's one of the most important. Time and time again in scripture, we find people making grave mistakes simply because they were impatient. We can all name situations where patience would have saved us a load of heartache and/or stress.
Today, I had somewhat of an epiphany in regards to patience. More specifically, I felt like I understood the importance of doing things God's way and in God's time. In Exodus 32, we see a perfect biblical example of impatience and what it cost people. When Moses had climbed Mount Sinai to speak with God, the rest of the Israelites felt like God had abandoned them. They asked Aaron to make them an idol to lead them. Instead of waiting on God, they turned to a golden calf. In the end, the incident cost 3,000 lives — more people than were killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Many of our "golden calves" have resulted in any number of things — bad relationships, addictions or heavy debt. I often wonder what the cost of giving into my impatience would have — or has — cost me. Thankfully, God has spared me from many of the fruits of my stupidity and impulsiveness. I need to repent of this attitude.
When we choose to do things our way, the enemy can take full advantage of that. We lose the comfort, security and grace that God offers us. In the end, we run back to God full of scars and frustrations. What we need is a dose of Galatians 5:22-23, " But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." I'll be praying tonight for a stronger connection to the Spirit.
Today, I had somewhat of an epiphany in regards to patience. More specifically, I felt like I understood the importance of doing things God's way and in God's time. In Exodus 32, we see a perfect biblical example of impatience and what it cost people. When Moses had climbed Mount Sinai to speak with God, the rest of the Israelites felt like God had abandoned them. They asked Aaron to make them an idol to lead them. Instead of waiting on God, they turned to a golden calf. In the end, the incident cost 3,000 lives — more people than were killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Many of our "golden calves" have resulted in any number of things — bad relationships, addictions or heavy debt. I often wonder what the cost of giving into my impatience would have — or has — cost me. Thankfully, God has spared me from many of the fruits of my stupidity and impulsiveness. I need to repent of this attitude.
When we choose to do things our way, the enemy can take full advantage of that. We lose the comfort, security and grace that God offers us. In the end, we run back to God full of scars and frustrations. What we need is a dose of Galatians 5:22-23, " But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." I'll be praying tonight for a stronger connection to the Spirit.
9.15.2010
A bunch of junk
Last night, I was watching this TV show called "Hoarders." As the name suggests, it's about people who keep so much stuff in their homes that it becomes a serious problem. It wasn't easy to watch; one family had so many dirty clothes in their house that it carpeted the entire floor. The husband nearly went into convulsions when they tossed stuff that was nearly worthless. The most shocking was a woman who had hoarded food. Perishable food. The inside of her home was full of rotting vegetables. She seemed visually upset when it was about to be thrown away. She argued and tried to reason rather than let it be tossed.
I can see how we would have a hard time relating. After all, researchers are finding that hoarding is a psychological disorder rather than a bad habit. But as I was watching the show, God reminded me how that is my spiritual life. I have a habit of hoarding things that are poisonous, yet I refuse to let God get rid of it. Not only that, but the sinful nature is more ingrained in me than the instinct to hoard is to the folks in that show. In Romans 7:18, it says, "And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature."
At the end of the show, the households were given the opportunity to have the homes cleaned by a group of professionals. They had to part with their junk, or face serious consequences (the couple faced losing their children; the woman was threatened with eviction). Are we ready to open up our doors and let God remove the junk? The best solution is to let go in our hearts of anything that's poisonous or can get in the way of our walk with Christ. After all, we face more serious consequences than just an eviction or even the loss of children.
I can see how we would have a hard time relating. After all, researchers are finding that hoarding is a psychological disorder rather than a bad habit. But as I was watching the show, God reminded me how that is my spiritual life. I have a habit of hoarding things that are poisonous, yet I refuse to let God get rid of it. Not only that, but the sinful nature is more ingrained in me than the instinct to hoard is to the folks in that show. In Romans 7:18, it says, "And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature."
At the end of the show, the households were given the opportunity to have the homes cleaned by a group of professionals. They had to part with their junk, or face serious consequences (the couple faced losing their children; the woman was threatened with eviction). Are we ready to open up our doors and let God remove the junk? The best solution is to let go in our hearts of anything that's poisonous or can get in the way of our walk with Christ. After all, we face more serious consequences than just an eviction or even the loss of children.
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