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Published: 19 December 2014

One cannot read through the New Testament without reading those words again and again. The exact wording in the NKJV is, “Grace to you and peace.” The phrase occurs at least twelve times by my count, almost always in the introductions of the epistles (letters) to the churches. Of course it is not grace and peace from Paul but from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”That is important, the NT authors wanted to make it clear that grace (God’s unmerited favor) and peace were connected and available from the Creator, Sustainer and Savior. This was part of the angelic celebration just outside of Bethlehem when Jesus Christ was born. The angels love what God loves and they had witnessed several thousand years of enmity and struggle since the fall of Adam. However, on that night, the One who made them entered the world that had largely forgotten Him and they were rejoicing in Hismission… ”peace on earth, good will toward men.” That line makes it onto a lot of Christmas cards but I wonder how many people take the time to think about what it means. The NIV translates it this way, “…peace to men on whom his favor rests." That really makes me want to know “on whom His favor rests!” It sounds like God has favorites. Could this be? We read in another place that God is “no respecter of persons.” How do these ideas harmonize? It is simpler than we might think. Some readers may go off here on the Arminian/Calvinist controversy, (have a nice time ). I believe God loves the world and that Jesus died for the whole world and that whosoever will may come to Him and receive pardon, forgiveness and FAVOR. Of course no one comes unassisted. The Holy Spirit is at work to woo and to win but we must exercise our spiritual capacity and say YES! That is not a “work”, that just makes sense. Grace is the unmerited favor that makes the offer and peace is the result of saying yes to the offer. The narrative of Jesus’ birth continues the theme that started in the Garden; God wants us and we can be His favorites if we want to receive His offer. It seems silly to me to reject the offer of grace and peace. Turning down the greatest gift ever offered is choosing to become something we were never designed to be. Most of you that read this have said “yes” to this wonderful provision of God. If not, why not now? If you have, why not thank Him with a glorious AMEN!!

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Published: 11 December 2014

We’re planning to explore the Biblical subject and Advent theme of JOY this coming Sunday. We probably all have a few stories about our own journey of joy. Here’s a little snippet of mine. I was a pretty happy baby, you should see my baby pictures…(just ask my mom). I had a wonderful childhood and lots of good friends. My thoughts of my childhood are filled with mostly happy memories. I enjoyed making people laugh, my little brothers were my audience to start with but at school I found a few others who liked to laugh and we had good times. (I don’t remember laughing in Junior High but that is another part of my story.) Fast forward a lot of years, I was happily married, I had two fine sons and things at church were relatively good. But I was sad! It wasn’t a short-term sadness and it wasn’t based on circumstances. I just couldn’t get out from under the cloud. I was unaccustomed to sadness for any long period of time so this season was very mystifying to me. I was experiencing darkness that I only heard about from others and I just couldn’t shake it. Diane and I were at Kregel Bookstore in November of 2006 and while browsing for a book to read while deer hunting my eyes were drawn to John Piper’s book, “When I Don’t Desire God—How to Fight for Joy.” I knew I needed that though I didn’t know if I had enough energy to fight. As I sat in my “deer shack” that year and read, tears were running down my face. I honestly don’t remember if I shot a deer that year or not but I do remember learning that sometimes we have to fight for joy. Sometimes joy has to be, in the words of another theologian, “a defiant nevertheless.” Piper suggested certain practices (disciplines) that needed to be embraced in the fight. I also learned that sadness can be a gift. Sadness became for me like my appetite. An appetite means I am hungry for food and it drives me to find some. Sadness turned out to be an appetite for God…it drove me to Him. The fight for joy is never won by pursuing joy but by pursuing God. He is the happiest and most joyful Being in the universe and joy comes as a by-product of seeking Him and His purposes. It didn’t happen overnight but over the course of a few months, the joy returned. The fight was worth it. If you are hungry for joy, I suggest seeking the happiest Person in the universe through His Son Jesus Christ and His Word. Sometimes joy won’t come without a fight…but He’s worth it!“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”