Why Christmas?: The Wisemen and the fool

Earliest known depiction of the Magi, Mid 3rd Century fresco in the Catacomb of Priscilla

Does anyone else other than me judge the value and validity of a nativity set by how many wise-men it contains? We recently purchased a PlayMobile set and it came with one wise man. ONE! Haven't they read the Bible? I mean it says right here......hang on let me find it......I know it's here somewhere........it's right after the little drummer boy, right? Hey, there's no little drummer boy in my set either! I'm calling heresy!

All joking aside (I hope you were following that) the magi (or wise men) contain for us a mysterious element of the Christmas story. Who were they? From what nation did they come? How did they know that this star would lead them to the King born of the Jews? All questions that scripture does not answer. It just says:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."     Matthew 2:1-2

Most scholars and traditions understand what was said about them to mean that they were astrologers from Persia. Men who's daily responsibility was to "read" the heavens. How a star moved through the sky and in what constellation it appeared was understood as a sign or omen about events in their world. It's interesting to note that this practice was expressly forbidden in the law of Moses. Herod, who was a puppet king of Rome, was a madman. Paranoid and murderous Herod would kill even his own children if he felt they were a threat to his power. No wonder the response of Herod to these magi's declaration is one of suspicion and espionage.

 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him...Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying. "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I to may come and worship him."

Funny how the man who was to lead the Jews was ignorant of the Scriptures yet these pagan astrologers were willing to leave their home, their king, their gods and worship this baby born in the obscurity of Bethlehem. 

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. They, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

The magi brought kingly gifts that were worthy of a royalty(Gold), worthy of a Divinity(Frankincense - incense for worship), and worthy of a mortal man  (Myrrh - used for embalming the dead). Valuable gifts that speak to what they believed about this newborn baby. They fell down and worshiped. Herod, more concerned about the security of his kingship, missed his King. The Magi, more concerned with worshiping Jesus, turned from idolatry. What can we learn from Herod and the Magi about Christ Worship (Christmas):

1. Worship is about submission: 

- Just as a wicked man sat on the throne at Jesus' birth, so too a wicked man sits on our thrown as well.

- Following Jesus means we give up our thrown to the only one worthy to occupy it.

- Herod thought he could thwart God's plan. That NEVER works.

2. Worship is about giving BECAUSE we've received. 

- Jesus is worthy of our worship because of who he is and what he has done. 

- Our worship is just our responding to who he is.

- The magi brought kingly gifts because God had given them a king.

3. Worship is about repentance:  

- Turning from idolatry to Jesus is about us exchanging what has no value to what holds greatest value.

- Repentance is not us being sorry for what we've done. It's about us turning from rebellion to submission.

- In the Magi's worship of Jesus they were acknowledging that what they had worshiped was not worthy of their worship. Our sin never leads us to great joy. 

It dawned on me that Herod did believe that Jesus was the Messiah. That's why he asked where he was to be born. He just didn't put his faith in him to follow him as the Magi did. Too many today do exactly as Herod did. They believe that Jesus is the Christ, Messiah, Savior of the world, but are unwilling to follow him by faith. Don't be a fool: follow and worship. Then one day maybe others would refer to us as wise men too.

Merry Christmas!

Why Christmas?: When God interupts your night with favor.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby..."

Luke 2:8-20

Shepherds around the time of Jesus' birth were the modern equivalent in society of the garbage man: Someone that we know we really need, but not someone you generally think of as being "clean". This was the main problem for shepherds, they were unable to carry out the ceremonial washings that had made their way into Judaism. BUT they were the ones that made sure there were lambs available for temple worship and passover. Kind of a rock and a hard place. So it was that Shepherds provided their service on the edge of culture. They were brave, hardy men who lived in an open field and often were threatened by wild beasts and thieves who were trying to steal the sheep. 

It was to men like this that the greatest heavenly declaration was made: "Do not be afraid! I bring you good news (Gospel) of great joy (literally Mega-joy) that will be for all the peoples...a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord." Then a great company of heavenly hosts appeared praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men on whom His favor rests."

In an instant the night was shattered with Good News and God's favor. What were these men to do with this? Settle back down to their job? Discuss the personal ramifications of this information? Just forget all about it? No. They didn't do these things. And neither would we. Confronted with the Good News and God's favor our response should be the same as the Shepherds: Grow in Faith, Share the Joy, Adore God.

1. Grow in Faith - In the last blog post we understood that Immanuel (God with us) calls us to faith in God. The Shepherds heard of the good news, and of God's favor, and said "let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." Faith is never simply mental assertion, it is always accompanied by action. When we see a chair we judge if it will hold us if we sit in it. But it is not until we attempt to sit in it that it proves faithful. And once we have sat in it our faith in the chair grows because it has proved itself faithful. Simple illustration of what went on with the Shepherds and what goes on with us. When we comprehend the Gospel, and understand God's favor towards us in giving us His son we can either intellectually agree or dis-agree with the information, but we do not have faith in it until we "go and see". God's faithfulness is never in question. Jesus was already born. He was already lying in a manger. He was already wrapped in cloths. God invited them into His faithfulness, the same as He does for us.

2. Share the Joy - The Greek for the declaration is amazing. "Megas (Great) Chara (Joy)". I wish we'd just leave the first part in Greek: Mega joy. When the shepherds heard and saw (grew in faith) they "told everyone what had been told them concerning this child." Here he is! The long awaited Messiah! What else could they do but tell people. He was not just A messiah, he was THEIR messiah, THEIR savior, THEIR Christ! Unspeakable, glorious, wondrous joy was theirs because "a savior has been born". Evangelism is not about the simple dissemination of information to people who just need to know the facts. Evangelism is the proclamation of MEGA joy! We have a savior. God is with us. You should see this! And these shepherds didn't know the full story of their deliverance. By God's favor we know the full story of just what Christ would save us from (sin, death, and the wrath of God) and whom he would save us to (himself as a covenant child of God). Can we not help but share the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Or have we forgotten that joy.

3. Adore God - Vs 20 says "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." We praise what we enjoy. When the mega-joy of the Gospel is seen and heard, not only do we tell others what we've seen and heard, but we praise God who orchestrated it and gave it. The famous CS Lewis quote on this seems appropriate:

All enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise...The world rings with praise - lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game...I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (1)

 As we will see next week, we were made for worship. And with the "Good news of Great Joy" we cannot help but follow suit with the angels "Glory to God in the Highest" and the lowly shepherds "glorifying and praising" the One whom they now believed in. When God interrupts your night with His favor you will enter the dawn worshiping Christ the Lord.

(1) C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (Orlando: Harcourt, 1986, 94-95

Why Christmas? - Give me faith like Joseph

I remember seeing this video a number of years ago that was the Nativity as if it was told through Facebook. It was cute and funny but the part that really gripped me was that it was told mostly through the lens of Joseph's story. There isn't much told to us about this man other than he was a carpenter, and he was "a righteous man" who didn't want to expose his wife to be to public shame or death because she was pregnant, engaged to him and the baby wasn't his. This aspect of the Advent story has gripped my heart every Christmas for the past several years. His reputation is at stake, let alone his marriage, and future family. When the angel appears to him in a dream he calls Joseph to remember his Bible, to the story of Isaiah's appeal and prophesy to Ahaz, King of Judah.

Isaiah 7 "(Vs 4)Say to him (the king), "Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood (Syria, and Ephraim)...(Vs9b) If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

The prophet Isaiah had been called by God to deliver a message to the King of Judah who was facing a terrible situation. The leaders of Syria, and Ephraim had joined in opposition to Judah. The king had decided that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" and was trying to align himself with Assyria. Isaiah's message is that the Lord will destroy both opposing nations, and that the king need merely to have faith in the Lord. Apparently the king does not listen and "again" in verse 10 Isaiah brings a message to the king, this time to show the quality of the kings faith.  (Vs11) "Ask the LORD your God for a sign" but Ahaz does not want proof because he does not want to believe God. So he acts pious and says (vs 12) "I will not ask: I will not put the LORD to the test." Isaiah responds with what has become one of the most famous prophecies of the Old Testament:

Vs 14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Immanuel

God with Us

Fear, Uncertainty, and a reputation on the line. These were what Ahaz had when he was confronted with Immanuel, a fulfilled prophesy in his own day. This prophesy was what we can call a "now and not yet" prophesy: one that would see a literal fulfillment in the time of the original hearer and one that would not see its full fulfillment until some time later. Ahaz did not choose faith in the Lord. He rather chose faith in an Assyrian kingdom, which would ultimately lead to the destruction of his linage and kingdom.Oh and God did still destroy Syria and Ephraim as He said. He just didn't deliver Judah. As one author says,

 "So it always is. Evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it. Where there is not faith, evidence is merely unwelcome, something which needs to be explained away."(1)

 Joseph is gripped with much the same as king Ahaz: Fear, Uncertainty, and a reputation on the line. The messenger of the Lord appears to Joseph and says:

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20b-21

A command and a sign (miracle), what does Joseph do?

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. (1:24)

 Immanuel means "God with Us" the significance is that in our fear, uncertainty, and identity God calls to us and says, "I'm with you". In His declaration of love for us he does not merely have someone else tell us of the love for those made in His image. He comes down and says it himself. Jesus says "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."Mt28:20

I am with you

Jesus is still Immanuel and he still poses the same question as He did for Ahaz and Joseph: Where's your faith?

"Why Christmas?" is a question I'll be asking over the next couple of blog posts and preaching about at church. Immanuel teaches us that Christmas was in part about our faith in God. Do we believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do? Your choice this Christmas is when it comes to Immanuel, will you be like Ahaz or Joseph? Does Christmas evoke in you a deeper faith in the saving work of God through Christ? That God would show his salvation to us by being with us is one of the most glorious displays of grace that God gives to us. Let Christmas swell your heart in the assurance of your faith in Christ Jesus.



(1) - Oswalt, John. The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1998. 203. Print.

Empty: When Religion Doesn't Save

Sunday Sermon at the Galena Bible Church, Sunday December 1st, 2013.
Empty: When Religion Doesn't Save

Reclaiming Thanksgiving

When you lose a significant amount of physical possessions in a natural disaster you begin to realize how much stuff you consider to be treasure. You realize this when you are looking for something that you need or "need" and are unable to find it. You can get really mad, grumpy, frustrated, and irritable that you can't find said object. It reminds me of how Gollum responds when he realizes that he doesn't know where his "precious" is. (Did I let my inner nerd slip out there?) Try as we might to not allow things to become "The Thing" our old nature slips us back once again to the place were we anchor our happiness to the temporal rather than the Eternal. And as I think of these things I stop, pray, and ask God how to be thankful with what I have.

Does anyone know what national sacred holiday happens this week?........... You guessed it, Black Friday. Oh that's not what you were thinking? You didn't think it was a holiday? Tell me how many commercials or ads did you see this week promoting thankfulness, contentment, family, grace, or community? I saw ads promoting covetousness, lust (does not just include skin), discontentment, greed, and idolatry. Oh and an ad for a new toaster oven that imprints the face of Jesus on every slice of bread. I need that.

No wonder our world, our country, and our families are in the state that they are in. Jesus says of those who hold value to this evil treasure that"out of the abundance (treasure) of the heart his mouth speaks" Luke 6:45b. What we have or don't have becomes the central focus of our speech. This is not thanksgiving. When that first group of Christians set foot off the Mayflower they were not looking for fortune (unlike other explorers of this new world). Rather they were looking for a place that was simpler, where they would be free to love Jesus and hear and obey His commands. Were they perfect? Of course not, but there was something that they had figured out that we could stand to be reminded of: "Thankfulness".
 My ancestor, William Bradford (great to the 11th power grandpa) , described the legacy they desired to leave by saying:

“May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: "Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity, &c. Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the; desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.” - Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647

The foundation that these men secured their lives to was that of the faithfulness of God. When the trials came they were not shaken because their foundation was secure. Too many today are like the man who Jesus described as "building his house upon the ground without a foundation." When the flooded river broke against the house its instant destruction was complete. That man's home was surely his treasure but he neglected the foundation that simply lay beneath a few feet of soil. He had the same opportunity as the man who built his house with a foundation. He had to "dig down deep" to build off of the foundation that was offered to him. That involved a clearing away. Maybe for Thanksgiving you can take the opportunity rather than looking at what more you want, to clear away that which isn't anchored to the foundation of Christ. If what you treasure cannot be anchored to Christ one day you will call it "rubble".

This Thanksgiving let Christians everywhere rejoice that they have a Rock to anchor all good things to and find our true happiness in His steadfastness. Happy Thanksgiving!

Empty: At His Feet

Sunday Sermon Galena Bible Church November 17th, 2013.
galenamissions

We're Back

We are back. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually back in the job God has called us to. I want to apologize that I did not do a stellar job of keeping people up to date on the challenges we were facing via this Blog. To be honest every time I thought about sitting down to type this out I got nauseous because it seemed like one more thing out of a thousand to do. Let me give you the broad overview leading up to our 5 week hiatus "outside".

From the end of June to the beginning of October we recruited and hosted over 230 volunteers to come and serve in flood ravaged Galena. We had volunteers from Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvanian, Alabama, California, and Washington State. We also had volunteers from all corners of the road system in Alaska (Homer, Soldotna, Kenai, Anchorage, Big Lake, Glen Allen, Palmer, Nenana, and Fairbanks). These volunteers logged just shy of 11,000 man-hours of volunteer labor (or 1 1/4 years of non-stop work) in about 14 weeks. The last number i was told was that we helped in some capacity to restore 45 homes.

While on our recent trip when people asked about the challenges of rebuilding I came up with the best non bush explanation that I could think of: "How many trips to Lowes does it take you to complete a basic weekend project?" Average answer was 4 trips. I said now imagine that you had 45 weekend projects and each trip to Lowes took about 2 weeks in transit (at best) and you'll begin to know the frustration that we felt. There was a significant amount of time spent driving around Galena looking for a specific plumbing part that "might" be in a tote that "should" be under the garage at "so in so's house". The Galena Bible Church early on began to gather basic consumible "job stopper" goods and became a clearing house for basic tools and supplies. Even the FEMA volunteers began to use us as a resource to meet their needs. It was a unique way that we were able to be a practical help.

Speaking of FEMA volunteers ours were not the only volunteers in town. FEMA sponsored about 80 United Methodist volunteers and around 10 Southern Baptist volunteers who in teams of 10 served two weeks at a time. Sunday services were packed to bursting and standing room only on most Sundays with attendance near 100.

During the middle of October Shell, Me, and the kids left for a 5 week homeservice/vacation. I mentally felt like I crawled on the plane exhausted and burnt out. And God's timing and peace are perfect. We had opportunity to rest, reconnect as a family, be loved on and share the story of what God has accomplished. I was blessed to preach at two different churches, take my wife on two date nights, read one and a half good books, and regain a clarity for the next season of ministry. When I stepped back in the pulpit at Galena Bible Church yesterday I did so with a renewed spirit and a fresh burden to share the hope of Christ. I'll be preaching a series I'm calling "Empty" as we look what it means to be emptied for Christ so that we can be filled with Christ. Check it out at our podcast (www.galenamissions.podbean.com)

Things you can be praying for:

• Galena Bible Church Elders will meet this week to plan how to most effectively move forward with recover efforts in the Spring. Pray that we would know what to say no to and what to invest our energy in.
• Galena YoungLife has several blessings and challenges you can be praying for. GYL has started a weekly Campaigners (Bible Study) and WildLife (Jr High club) in addition to regular Club. Pray that the volunteers would be able to build deep and impacting relationships with teens. You can also pray that the Lord would provide the right Area Director to fill the open position.  
• The infrastructure of Galena is still strained from recovery. In addition to that our Police officer resigned and we have no local law enforcement. Pray that cooler heads would prevail and that the Lord would protect Galena.
• Martin and Silke Hornfischer (SEND Missionaries who serve in Galena) are still awaiting their VISA Renewal in Germany so they can return to here. Martin oversees outreach for the Bible Church and is desperatly needed back. Would you agree with me to pray that the Lord brings them back soon.