Get Behind me, Santa

Tis the season, so I suppose I should probably have a Christmas themed post or two. Trouble is, I’m a self professed Grinch.

The other trouble is that I love and follow Jesus and I enjoy giving gifts to no end.

As I’m sure you can imagine, this time of year is a bit confusing for me.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love all the holiday spirit: the tree, the food, the gifts, and most of all the family and friends. I love the traditions and the general good-will mood.

The part I can’t stand about this time of year is the politics.

Everywhere you turn there are the debates over ‘Happy Holidays’ vs. ‘Merry Christmas,’ Hymns vs. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, nativity scenes vs. Santa and his sleigh. It seems like you can’t make a move without stepping on someone’s toes.

It’s the season for political correctness to run rampant and offenses to run high.

We Christians are all but commanded by the church community to ‘Keep Christ in Christmas.’ But I was thinking about that phrase the other day and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s really a very dumb phrase.

Think about it: the implication here is that if we Christians do not fight tooth and nail campaigning for our rights to our music, decorations, seasonal greetings, and shopping hours, that Jesus will be taken out of Christmas. This call to action is basically stating that non-Christians have the power over Jesus to ban Him from this time of year.

And it’s not just Christmas either. The Church is campaigning to keep Jesus in our schools, in our government buildings, in our currency, in our laws, etc. As though to say that if we were to step out of politics, Jesus would be ousted and denied re-entry.

But I’ve got news on the political fighting point: God is omnipresent.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Watching the evil and the good.

Prov. 15:3

This means that God is in every single government office, every school, every college lecture hall, every supermarket, etc. Furthermore, wherever there is a Christian, there can and will be Holy Spirit anointed prayer.

Even if there were no Christians for miles, God would still be there. His presence is not dependent on us. It’s not like He needs us to get Him into a building and the lack of Christians will keep Him from standing in the oval office and seeing that everything goes according to His perfect plan.

I really don’t think that we Christians are meant to be campaigning so hard on the political front (with the exception, of course, of those who God has called to political office). I don’t think it shows the love of Christ to get our noses bent out of shape when we hear ‘Happy Holidays.’

Those types of political concerns are for the world to worry about. There’s no mention of the apostles marching up and down the street with picket signs. They were too busy loving on people and preaching against sins. Not the sin of Santa and his reindeer, either.

I just worry that the church may have its priorities out of order and that we are fighting in battles that don’t concern us.

If someone wants to sing frosty the snowman and wish me Happy Holidays, then groovy. The far greater concern to me should be whether or not that person realizes how much Jesus loves them and how much they need Him. Because if they don’t have that, then they could celebrate Christmas in the Godliest manner possible and still lose their soul.

So this year, let’s not worry about keeping Jesus in Christmas, in government buildings, in schools, etc. He is already there, and I can assure you that no scheme of man can keep Jesus away from any place He wants to be.

Let’s focus instead on whether or not He is in our hearts and the hearts of those around us. Let’s just love on people this year, pray for those in power, and live lives that are glorifying to God.

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Tim.2:1-4

Will the Real Victims Please Stand Up

There’s a word that’s popping up a lot lately, especially in church. It often prompts controversial discussion, leaving most people feeling angry and/or scared.

That word? ‘Rights.’ Particularly ‘Christian,’ ‘religious,’ and ‘American’ rights.

It can’t be denied that the political climate of our country is changing and that freedoms we once enjoyed are being threatened. In reaction to this, the church has become a political force and Christians everywhere are being urged to stand up and defend their rights.

Trouble is, I honestly don’t see anything in the Scriptures about fighting for our rights. In fact, in 1 Peter 2:17, I found what seems to me to be the direct opposite:

‘Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.’

That doesn’t sound very much like the current Christian agenda. But, we are living in a different culture with different sins. Surly, if Peter were to see our president today, he wouldn’t tell us to honor a man who is so clearly against our Christian values. Right?

Only, Peter wrote this letter to the Roman provinces in Asia. And the king at that time? Nero.

And I looked into it, the word honor as used here in the Greek basically means honor. Does that mean we obey the laws of the land if that requires disobeying the laws of God? Of course not. Does that mean we stop gossiping and complaining about the government and pray for them instead…?

If honoring a king you don’t agree with is hard, how much more so people whom you interact with every day. ‘Honor all people.’ Well, it does say all. Does that mean that we defend actions that are clearly sinful according to God’s definition? Of course not. Does it mean we stop trying to save people in our own strength by manipulating them into repentance and simply share the Gospel with them instead…?

We’ve lost ourselves to a screaming match with culture.  Social media is lifting up sin as heroic and empowering while the church is condemning its practitioners to the pits of hell. Meanwhile, what we’re failing to realize is that we are fighting the wounded.

When did we get so caught up in ‘rights’ that we forgot to preach the Gospel? When did we forget that we laid down our rights to fair treatment at the foot of the cross?

Christ died to take our rights away from us, because our inalienable birthright is eternal punishment for our sins.

Do we really want to fight for our rights, for what we deserve?

But then, what about defending the Scriptures, and God’s laws? I read an article recently that said we have to defend the sanctity of marriage from the government because it’s a God-ordained institution. The implication here being that the Supreme Court’s decision supersedes God’s opinion, that if the Federal Government of America calls it a marriage, then God is forced to acknowledge it as such. That’s just silly.

We defend the Scriptures by living by them and by allowing God to exhibit His glory and love in our lives. We need to be wary of distractions; Jesus didn’t get mixed up in politics, nor did the apostles. Instead, the early church did what it was mandated to do: spread the Gospel.

By doing that, they turned the world upside down.

That’s all we have to do. Instead, we Christians are playing the persecution card, cloaking ourselves in victim-hood. But we are the ones with full access to God. We are the ones who have tasted of His love and forgiveness. We are the ones looking forward to eternity in paradise with Him.

We aren’t the victims. The people we’re fighting are. That makes us the bullies.

We are so eager to save a dying world for God that we condemn the homosexual, conveniently forgetting that he’s the one who isn’t enjoying God’s best for his life. We shout hate at the pregnant teenager as if killing her unborn child won’t scar her for life. We gossip about and pray against politicians who’ve traded their morality for the perception of power.

That can’t be right. They are the ones who are truly suffering in their sins. They’re the ones who will be hurt by their choices. Why are we offended? Why are we hurt? Why are we fighting for our rights? And most importantly, why aren’t we loving these people instead?

Let’s bring the focus away from political agendas and back to Jesus and His saving power, instead of trying to save people our way. Instead of defending our rights, let’s defend the Gospel with our lives by displaying it in our lives and show a dying world what the Savior can do.

What Perfect Love does to Paper Tigers

I’ve been noticing a lot of unfounded and paranoid fears in my life lately. In truth, they have always been there, I’m just becoming more aware of them. And I’m noticing that a lot of other people are scared too.

This fear is hindering growth in my life at almost every turn. Fear of failure is keeping me from trying new things. Feat of rejection is keeping me from reaching out to others. Fear of disappointment is keeping me from trusting those I love. Fear of ‘what if’s is keeping me from living a full life.

I know we live in a scary world and there is a lot to be afraid of out there, but I honestly believe God’s best for us is to be fearless. 1 John 4:18 says,

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

I know that a big fear for most of us is losing a loved one. Others fear that they won’t see their friends and family in heaven. There are more responsible fears like being able to provide for your family, or your child’s performance in school. These may seem like legitimate fears, but if the Bible says there is no fear in love, and Jesus – the very definition of love – lives inside us, surely fear has no place in us.

We start to feel weighed down with doubt and fear and worry and I think it’s because we have lost one of our most basic and powerful defenses against fear: Truth.

In Eph. 6:14, when Paul is talking about the armor of God, the belt of truth is the first element he mentions. In those days, the belt not only kept the armor in place, but was also usually wide enough to cover and protect many vital organs. Not something you would want to forget at home.

The trouble is, that truth is under attack, and has been since the dawn of time. Satan tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit by lying to her and accusing God of lying, attacking the very heart of truth. We’ve been doubting God ever since.  

In society today, we are being accosted with the notion that absolutes do not exist, there is no right or wrong, and everyone’s opinion is correct. The only time anyone is wrong is when they say someone else is wrong.

We don’t know who to believe anymore so we are just accepting that ‘everyone is right.’ Whatever the media says is being accepted as true and infallible. The ‘theory’ of evolution is being taught in our schools as fact. The thought that our teachers, reporters, and favorite political leaders could be wrong, or even flat out lying, is not one that crosses our minds.

One of God’s greatest gifts to us was free will and we are giving it up. We are gradually losing our capacity for independent thought. Society would have us believe we are more open and free minded than ever, but that’s not the case. By telling everyone they are right, we have inadvertently been closing our minds to the possibility that we are wrong.

We need to begin searching for truth again. Truth, in its purest and most correct form, can be found in the Bible. I know that I know that God is all powerful, that He created the world, that He sent His one and only Son to die for my sins, and that He loves me.

But please, do not take my word for it. Don’t take anyone’s word for it. Find out for yourself.

If you have never read the Bible, but have only heard about it from others, then please, pick it up and read some of it. Make your own decisions and draw your own conclusions. Stop taking it for granted that everyone is right and you can trust their opinions. Find the truth for yourself.

God is the ultimate source of truth and He will be found by those who seek Him (Deut. 4:29). And satan knows this. Why else would he fight so hard against truth? He knows that if we really start looking for truth, we will find God.

I’m sick and tired of being afraid of the unknown. I have found truth in the Word of God and I’m going to dig deeper and find more truths to wield against the fears in my life. I’m going to start taking God at His word and listen to His truth above all others. Only then will I be able to defeat the paper tigers in my life and begin to be ‘made perfect in love.’

(Originally published 9/17/13)