Another Chance to Evaluate

Flat spaces collect objects quickly, far more quickly than the time it takes to removes those same objects. My desk is an example. Multiple piles hide the glass top. Every piece of paper, book, and file has its place. Unfortunately their places overlap the places of numerous other papers, books, and files. It is an accumulation of information and plans going back several months, even years. My desk screams for evaluation.

Yes, I envy those people whose lives and workplaces exemplify orderliness and control. I can only laugh so much at the old adage, “A neat desk is the result of a sick mind.” Then I wish I could see my workplace orderly just once!

Nothing is stopping me except a decision. I simply have to decide I will handle that piece of paper once. I will put away the book once it is finished or until I decide it is worth reading. I will return the file to its proper location when I am finished instead of placing it on top of the nearest stack. It only takes a decision.

We all know such decisions can be difficult to make. Habits, hopes, and good intentions make that decision a hard one to reach. Sticking with the decision is harder still. Yet it is the only way to bring order out of the chaos that rules so many lives.

Is this something new? Is it restricted to the workplace? Does it only deal with material objects? No on all counts. The need to evaluate what is happening in our lives is ever present. What we need is the decision.

The mess on the desk is easy to see. The mess in our lives may be a little harder to identify. Yet we are called to evaluate that as well. We must see the flat spaces we have allowed to accumulate wasteful and harmful habits. We must identify the areas in our lives that have been stained so long with the corruption of the world we no longer notice what has colored our lives.

With another year about to begin, now is a great time to be honest, do that close evaluation of our lives, and decide what baggage we are carrying that needs to disappear with the old year.

Jesus used this parable to encourage his disciples to make the decision:

Mat 13:52 So he replied, "This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room."

When we become a follower of Jesus, we still bring a lot of baggage with us. We may be new creatures, but the old habits are still there, and the new way of thinking will take a lifetime to settle into full control.

Evaluation for the individual starts with a decision about the relationship we have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do our thoughts honor the One who died for us? Do our words reflect his nature now living within us? Do our actions show his full control of our lives? Evaluation means looking at all the stuff in our lives and deciding what does and does not fit into the life of a follower of Christ.

The same goes for a local congregation. New ideas become ministries. Ministries become traditions. Traditions become roadblocks to the new ideas which must develop to face the changing culture around us. A congregation must go through the process of evaluation on a regular basis. It must be honest in its evaluation of what is old and still of value, what is new and just a fad, and what is timeless and must remain an important part of the investment of the congregation.

As we move into a new year, we cannot be afraid to make tough decisions. Things change whether we want them to or not. We must be ready to keep or to throw out. We just need to do it under the leadership of God.

Miracles in the Midst of Weariness

It has been a long day and I am tired. The sleep and rest that await me will be so welcome. I have traveled over 250 miles. The car seat got uncomfortable. I got sleepy, and that is not a comfortable feeling when you are driving 75 miles per hour on an interstate. I looked forward to the time when it would all be over.

I can only imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, must have felt even worse at the end of that last day of her pregnancy. Scripture does not tell us how long she and Joseph were in Bethlehem before Jesus was born. It does not give us the details of where they stayed until the time of her delivery arrived.

All we are told is she was pregnant when they left Nazareth. She made that long journey to Bethlehem either walking or on the back of a slowly rocking donkey. Either way it could not have been easy.

Then there was the wait in a strange village away from family. Joseph would be trying to find a place to stay, taking care of census business for the family, and trying to find a way to make a living to support his family until all this government registration stuff was finished. Through it all he would have been concerned about his young, pregnant wife.

During the daylight hours Mary may have felt the contractions begin and slowly get more regular and more intense. The foretold event would soon take place. She would give birth to a son, the Son of God. Already under stress of all that had been happening in the previous nine months and earlier, she can only be described as tired, so very tired. She just wanted those last hours to pass quickly. She just wanted to rest.

Luk 2:5  He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant,

Luk 2:6  and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby.

Luk 2:7  She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger---there was no room for them to stay in the inn.

Joseph had not been able to find a suitable place for Mary to have the privacy and comfort she deserved in which to bring this special Child into the world, only an isolated stable. They would be out of the worst of the wind, but there would be none of the comforts of a human habitation.

Mary was tired. She would have wanted more, but in those hours she knew only she was about to have her baby. She wanted to have a healthy baby, she wanted Joseph to be by her side, and she wanted it all to be over.

Then it was. As so often happens, the pain and all the discomfort were soon forgotten. Mary held in her arms the promised Child, the fulfillment of prophecy, Emmanuel – God with us. The weariness fell away, and Mary knew the rewards of having been the maiden who was favored by God above all women.

Miracles don’t always occur when we think they should. Then again sometimes God’s timing matches up with ours in the most wonderful way. Birth is always a beautiful miracle. When it is the birth of the Son of God who is to be the Savior of the world, it is one of the best miracles of all.

Sometimes miracles are that big, big enough to change history. Mary experienced that kind. She also experienced the smaller kind that can mean so much to all of us. They are the small ones like a good night’s sleep after a long day of travel, or the rest that comes when a baby is born after a long day of labor.

On Christmas Eve may we take the time to thank God for the big miracles that change the history of the world and our part in it. Let us also remember to thank him for the small ones like the gift of rest.

One Thing Doesn’t Change, But Others?

Time moves at the same speed whether it is the lazy, hazy days of summer or the frantic days leading up to Christmas. Yet in our schedules we find things can get all in chaos as we find too much to do in too little time to do it. Throw in a bout with nasal and lung congestion, and you can get behind in everything!

With all this going on, there is a reassurance for believers. One thing never changes regardless of our circumstance.

Heb 13:8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

This verse has been a source of reassurance for Christians for generations. The world may change. Evil may appear victorious. Hope has been destroyed. Then we are reminded the appearance of the world does not indicate the eternal condition. The King of kings, the Lord of lords does not change.

The New Testament reflects the changes some of its most important personages had to face.

Peter had his eyes opened to what God was doing to bring in the Gentiles into the Kingdom.

Act 10:9 The next day, as they were on their way and coming near Joppa, Peter went up on the roof of the house about noon in order to pray.

Act 10:10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; while the food was being prepared, he had a vision.

Act 10:11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners to the earth.

Act 10:12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and wild birds.

Act 10:13 A voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat!"

Act 10:14 But Peter said, "Certainly not, Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled."

Act 10:15 The voice spoke to him again, "Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean."

Paul had a Damascus road experience.

Act 9:3 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him.

Act 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?"

Act 9:5 "Who are you, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you persecute," the voice said.

Act 9:6 "But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do."

The Apostle Peter needed to remind his readers there was a time the relationship they had with God was broken. They could not benefit from his promises. Now, because of the action of Christ, change had come.

1Pe 2:10 At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

Paul calls all who would be faithful to Christ to recognize the change that must take place in their lives.

Rom 12:1  So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.

Rom 12:2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God---what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

In this season of giving and semi-controlled chaos, Jesus represents a rock of stability. The Church must address the needs of the world in different ways, but the One who is the heart of the message does not change.

Joy Is More Than a Good Joke

Thanksgiving was a season of happiness. The time with family and all the good food, too much food, made it a time to smile a lot and sit back in the chair. The time came, however, to leave family and return home. The huge feast became leftovers. The present occasion turned into a memory. The sense of happiness became a bit of sadness. All too often happiness depends upon the present experience. Not so with joy. The joy lingered because of the relationships.

We want happiness to last for more than the moment. We want happiness to be a foundational feeling to which we can turn at any moment regardless of what is happening around us. Unfortunately, that bluebird of happiness can fly away at the sight of the cat or when the temperatures drop to a low enough point. Happiness is a fickle thing.

Many years ago my family lived in an apartment complex with rather thin walls. Emotional conversations could easily be heard from the neighbors next door. One particular couple apparently found it difficult to discuss marital issues with their “inside voices”. One exchange went like this:

Wife with sobs in her voice: I just want you to be happy.

Husband in a loud, domineering voice: I’m happy! I’m happy! I’m happy!

It was obvious he was not happy! If there was any joy in that marriage we never saw (or heard) it. They sought happiness, but it seemed they rarely found it.

If we see joy grounded in a relationship rather than a current experience, then its durability becomes more obvious. Happiness is a feeling. Joy is a contentment in life. Happiness is grounded in an experience. Joy is grounded in a relationship. Happiness depends more upon personal desires being satisfied. Joy comes as much if not more from satisfying the desires of the other in the relationship.

The world can affect our happiness. Joy, based upon an enduring relationship, is independent of how the world may be trying to influence us. We find our deepest joy in investing ourselves in relationships through which we give ourselves to others. Our happiness may be impacted by their response, but our joy in the giving cannot be touched.

The relationship we have with God the Father through God the Son should provide a joy within our lives that is independent of our circumstances. We don’t normally think of being happy when we are hungry or cold, yet the joy of the relationship supersedes the context. As the Apostle Paul says,

Php 4:12 I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.

Happiness is most often connected with having what we want. Paul’s contentment, his joy, is connected with a contentment that is independent of his circumstances. He may not have what he wants. He is confident he will always have what he needs whether that reflects a lot or a little. In this he finds a joy that endures.

The traveling apostle had learned the hard way the foundations for real joy. He was compelled in his work not by seeking something for himself, but in fulfilling his calling as a servant of Jesus Christ. He rejected a lifestyle that focused upon personal desires and even needs. He rejected the pattern of the world and let his life be transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Rom 14:17  For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.

The only relationship that promises joy that cannot be touched by the world is the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. In a season in which we see so much happiness in people only to watch it disappear with the coming of January, the joy we have in “The Reason for the Season” will be with us all year long.