Christ out of Xmas?

In recent years there has been a war between the church and the world regarding the sacred day that represents the birth of our Lord.  When you see the word Xmas in place of the word Christmas, does it upset you?  Do you see it as the world's attempt to subtract Christ from Christmas?  If so, take a deep breath.  Indeed the world is seeking to make little of our Messiah but we ought not give them credit where it isn't due.

The letter X is a Greek abreviation for the name of Christ.  This form of abreviation has been used for the past 1,000 years in the English language.  The Oxford English Dictionary cites the words Xtian and Xtianity from 1845 to 1966.

This is one thing less to be concerned over this XMAS!  By the way... even though the world may try with all it's might, it will never remove Christ from Christmas.  He is it's very definition!

What Does Thanksgiving Mean to You?

So... it's Thanksgiving morning and the daylight peers through the shade. What do you do? Turn over and thank God that it wasn't an alarm clock that woke you up; catch another hour's worth of zzzzzz's; jump up quickly and turn on the parades; make a b-line to the kitchen to start the feast; go look for a neighborhood game of two hand tag? The possibilities are endless!

All of those things sound like viable options but let me encourage you to do one thing before you actually make your choice... praise the Lord for the chance you've been given to make the choice.

If you turn over to sleep a bit more it's because we live in a country that is free and there are those who are fighting today to make you feel safe. If you spring out of bed for anything it's because God has given you health. If your destination is the kitchen it's because there is food in the cupboards to prepare (Many will go hungry over Thanksgiving). Whatever you are able to do today, tomorrow and every other day... make sure you never take for granted how blessed you are to have the opportunity to do it.

Take the time and leave your comments about Thanksgiving! Let the world know what you're thankful for.

Our Source of Joy

Be honest... what do you tend to depend on for your happiness? Take a snapshot of the last few years of your life. When you were at your highest high, what was the cause? When you were at your lowest low, what caused the decline? Sadly, the church's telemetry screen looks much like the world's. Those things that make the sinner's heart beat faster with excitement causes ours to thump the same way! Those circumstances that make the sinner's heart murmur in defeat have the same affect on the blood bought child of God.

Where am I going? Really simple... a raise at work makes anybody and everybody smile; the purchase of a new shiny car makes the sun shine brighter; when a dream home is completed, the owner swells with pride. All of these things are well and good but they have one thing in common... they are passing away. You can take it to the bank; if you depend on these types of things for your joy, that joy will be just as passing. The church sports a defeated persona because, for the most part, we haven't recognized that along with our conversion came a new set of standards; a new book of rules. If we desire for our mood to be consistent, the object of our joy has to be something that never changes and that object is the risen Son of God! We have to find ourselves steeped in His word and loyal to His commands. If we abide in His word we'll continue in His love and the Bible says that we will experience His joy in it's fullness.

You want real joy? Stop investing in those things of earth that let you down and are passing away. Lay your treasures up on the other side... for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!

Do Wounding Friends Wind You Up?

Are you the type whose skin crawls when someone points out those things about you that could stand attention? For instance, if a friend of yours came to you and told you that you tend to talk more than you listen... how would you take it? What if you were questioned by a fellow Christian about your lack of ministry participation? Listen to what the wisest man who ever lived said...

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, BUT the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

I'll be the first to admit it... when somebody tells me something about me that needs to be changed I tend to get defensive at first but usually, as I think about it and the truth of it sets in, I see that the change would benefit me and those around me as well. Those words that shock us and even cause wounds are indeed faithful. The ones you need to watch out for are those who want to remain in denial about the need for change in life. One who only tells you how great you are all of the time surely seems like a good friend but in reality their kisses can prove deceitful.

Real friends blow kisses of encouragement but along with the kisses they shoot arrows of reproof.

What kind of friend are you? What kind of friends do you have? Are you helping them be what they need to be? Are they encouraging you in the right ways? Who knows... it may be time for a change.

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Investment Tip!

Yes indeed!!! I have a tip for each of you that is 100% reliable and the return on investment is literally out of this world!!! Let's face it... what does any of us have to lose?

Now here are some things you need to have in place before you can take advantage of this financial opportunity. First of all you need to believe that Jesus is who He says He is. Jesus is either one of two things. He's either the only begotten, virgin born Son of God who came to redeem the world from sin or He's the biggest liar who ever walked. There is no in between. To not believe His claim of deity yet revere Him as a good teacher is absolute foolishness. There are no gray areas with Christ! If you believe Him to be the second person of the Trinity the next thing you need to have is faith to step out on His direction.... and last of all you'll need to take action on that faith.

Now, just to set this up... it is made extremely clear that everything that we aquire on earth shall indeed pass away. If you profit $100,000,000.00 in earthly investments over your lifetime every last dollar will be burned up along with the rest of this world. So, why spend a multitude of effort trying to build a kingdom here that will result in rubbish? Christ spoke of a better way to invest and here's where we're tested on our faith. Hear the words of the Lord...

Luke 12:33 "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

You read it right... forget making a ton of money here, send it ahead where you'll be able to enjoy it for eternity. We all have such an earthbound mentality because this is where all our stuff is! Jesus goes on in the next verse to say... "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". It's no wonder we give no more thought to the things of God than we do, most of us have yet to begin a Heavenly savings account! If you invest in GM, every time the news mentions their name you turn up the TV. If you give a great amount of money to bless AIDS children in Africa, every time you hear a report on AIDS research you perk up.

So, how much time do you have left down here... 35... 40 years? Does that even compare to the neverending span of time Heaven offers us all? With that considered... what's the smart investment; a possible return in a blue chip stock that yields you treasure for a few more years (or not) or a sure thing that yields an infinity of return for an infinity of time? Don't take it from me, take it from Jesus! Lay your treasure on the other side... you'll be glad you did.

Is Church a Necessity?

There's an age old question... "Does one have to go to church in order to be a Christian?" The answer is without question... NO. One does not have to go to church to be a Christian. The word of God is very clear that one thing and one thing only makes one a Christian... the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The fact is, there are many who go to church on a regular basis who have never surrendered their lives to Christ. Yes indeed, you can go to church every time the doors are opened and still spend eternity in Hell apart from God. Church attendance doesn't make one a Christian anymore than going to a steak house makes one a steak!

Now, with that said let's pose another question. Should a Christian go to church? Well, understanding that Jesus left the comforts of Heaven to walk among those who would hate, persecute and ultimately hang Him on the cross so that we might experience freedom from our sins and become joint heirs to all He owns... how could church involvement even be considerd optional? The word of God instructs those of us who have taken advantage of Christ's sacrifice not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together but to exhort one another as Sunday approaches (Hebrews 10:25)! Church was the vision of Jesus. With the empowering of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the New Testament church was established. It was Christ who said, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). For us to believe that church is not an important piece of the equation for every Christian is to believe that Jesus' passion is unimportant!

NO... you don't have to go to church to be a Christian but if you are a Christian you should have a deep desire to, not only attend but, be as active as you can possibly be. One who considers himself a Christian but has no time for the church... I question his or her conversion.

I know it's not pretty but that's why we call it... The Dirty Gospel!

Perception is Reality is Questionable

There is an old saying that demands our perception of things is reality to us but that doesn't mean that our perception is sincerely reality. I have surmized that Satan operates within our perceptions. We live in a day and age where communication has drastically changed. Instead of a heartfelt handwritten note we send our thoughts electronically via E-mail. Instead of picking up the phone and calling a friend with a question we shoot it their way in a text. Instead of taking the time to ask someone what a statement, look or gesture meant... we allow Satan access to our minds by seeking to figure it out on our own. Before we know it, we have imagined the worse possible scenario and have accepted it as the truth therefore causing division.

How do we combat this dillema? It's very simple, go to the one you have a question with and ask them to clarify the situation. Nine times out of ten you will see that there was nothing to be at odds about. Confrontation is never fun but nearly always ends in peace!