Christmas Music in Stores Already?!?!?!?

Posted on November 23, 2011 by JohnJ


What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice” Philippians 1:18

Melissa and I were in the stores this afternoon, two days before Thanksgiving. Christmas music blared from every speaker. In every store. It was very annoying! It just seems too early! Even in my place of work Christmas wreaths were hung last week on our customer’s office doors, Christmas trees were up with prettily wrapped presents of empty boxes underneath. Isn’t that too early?

My wife and I don’t have children so we don’t experience the demand from that sector of society to put up decorations so early along with every other commercial force, like Halloween decorations going up the first day of October. And not that we are a couple of Scrooges, at least in our estimation. But it just seems like it is too soon for all that. The commercial entities are trying to get you into the Christmas spirit (i.e., get out and part with your money) so soon it seems the two months before Christmas gets here you will certainly get burned out on the whole Christmas spirit. Maybe its just me.

But rather than just get annoyed at the onslaught of Christmas music en masse, while sitting in a movie theater, I listened a little closer. It seemed most of the music was actually of Christian hymns, portraying the Gospel themes of Jesus as God, coming to earth to free us from our sins, worshipped by angels, and of the holy night of our Savior’s birth. In other words, songs of evangelization. If indeed as scripture says it is the remnant that is saved, and by that read, a very small percentage of humanity, then what excuse can so many have for not responding to the Gospel message? Like Isaiah says, to whom has the message been delivered? (Isaiah 53:1) Well, pretty much to everybody. Who doesn’t know the words to all these Christian Christmas songs? Many probably sing along even silently while wandering a store’s aisles. It isn’t like the Gospel message of such a great salvation has been told only in churches on Sunday. It is in the streets, on every TV and radio commercial, and in every store and mall, all across America, and probably the civilized world. And certainly not for the honorable purpose of turning every man from his sin and to kneel before a merciful and loving God. It is merely a marketing ploy to part you and your money.

So rather than get annoyed I can think like Paul, who even in his day the Gospel message was preached and broadcast for reasons other than honorable. And he knew that regardless the reason, the message of salvation was still being published, and word of Jesus life, death and resurrection could be heard, and perhaps a stray heart here or there would latch on to that message and be saved.

It could happen. And in that we really can rejoice!

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

Posted in Christmas | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Christmas Music in Stores Already?!?!?!?

At Home with the Lord

Posted on November 17, 2011 by JohnJ


we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8

Do you look forward to a vacation where you can get away from it all? Take a week or two and go backpacking in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area; basking on the pink coral sand of Crane Beach, Barbados; cruising the Caribbean on a luxury ship? Sure you do! What is your dream vacation? Touring Italy’s Almalfi coast or the Alaskan wilderness? Bicycling across America? Visiting a theme park like Disney World? Anything that is so dramatically different from your normal day-to-day experience amplifies the feeling of the exotic and other-worldly. So many places and events from which to choose. And with all the things available to the civilized (and not so civilized) man, Paul says the preference is to bask in the presence of the Lord. Face to face. Am I the only one who agrees with him?

Paul says “we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (verse 1) But this home is not like our earthly stick-built houses. It’s God-built. No cockroach or termite infestations, no trees falling on our houses destroying property and lives. The mansions the Father is preparing for us (John 14:2) are far more comfortable than what we can imagine today. “For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.” (verse 2) I certainly understand the many delights of the world that captivate our senses, and tend to keep us earth bound rather than upwardly oriented. But are they worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us? (Romans 8:8) Very few it seems would agree.

For some reason most people would prefer to remain in this aggravation filled world where you have to sweat to eke out a living, slaving for an unappreciative task master. Yes there are delights of technology, appealing to the eyes and ears, and other sensual appetites with which we can be immersed. But should our focus lock onto all these things, or should we rather know what it means to be “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” (Heb. 12:2) Not a casual glance but a focused concentration of a determined love. It is after all the love that makes the relationship special. And to experience that love of God toward us without the wall of sin and flesh dividing us, well, it is no wonder that Paul was able to boldly state that it is to be preferred to be in His glorious presence than to remain struggling in this earthly tent. “For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened,” (verse 4) but under His wing, in His mansion, there is no more groaning, no further burden. And we can finally do all the things with our lives without the limitations we are encumbered with presently. We will be so fulfilled with our new occupations as citizens of Heaven and children of God we won’t have time to be bored, to be just siting on a cloud all day plucking our harps. We’ll have boundless energy and drive, and enjoy unbridled imagination and have rewarding creativity to exercise, all in the presence and under the wing of our King of Glory. How could it be otherwise, since all these characteristics came from His imagination and creativity in the first place!

I can’t imagine the finest vacation on earth that could hold a candle to that!

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

Posted in Heaven | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on At Home with the Lord

What is Really Real?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by JohnJ


For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17,18

This is one of my very favorite verses of Scripture, a beautifully stated general description of reality. To the non-believer it is unmitigated, preposterous nonsense. At best nothing more than the product of an overwrought or perverse imagination. At worst a dangerous delusion. But to the believer this is the emphasis for living needed to withstand the daily bombardment of this world’s truly monstrous nonsense of evil and destruction. The things you see are not the ultimate reality, nor the things you can count on, nor depend on; these things will fall away, will always ultimately disappoint. The things you can’t see are the things that will last, and so to speak, are more concrete than, well, concrete. To the unsaved this is the stuff of fairy tales. To those in Christ, the ultimate reality.

The believer knows instinctively that Paul is absolutely right when in this statement. What is not so clear, and bears stressing, is that all the negative things the world throws at us are the things that God ultimately is using to make us grow and flourish. The fruit of which is something so wonderful, so magnificent, so phenomenal, that Paul was forbidden to vocalize it with anyone, since no human alive is ready to hear of such things. (2 Cor. 12:2-4) An “eternal weight of glory.”

A new television show, ABC’s “Once Upon A Time,” which I think is the best show on TV this season, possibly one of the best shows in recent memory, can be seen as a parable of the above verses. The show with great imagination and flourish brings to life many characters from fairy tales we know from childhood, brings them to life with quality writing, great acting, and a captivating cast. The proposition is that these characters really did exist once upon a time and because of a curse they are all now inhabitants of a small town in Maine, unable to leave, living their lives oblivious to their associated character in the old tales. None of them remember who they were in the stories, and, as the plot develops, only one character in the show can break the curse and set them free from the prison of this back woods town. For such a unique storyline, the telling of the tale is quite entertaining and engaging.

The parallels between the show and the world are abundant. The non-Christian also has no real idea what the correct reality is. He is under a curse that blocks what once was open reception to the truth of the creation and his Creator. The unbeliever has his sense perception of the things of the spirit dulled from moment to moment, day after day, year after year, of only seeing the things physically around him, refusing to pay attention to the things he can’t see. But this veil Paul says is lifted from our eyes by turning to Christ. (2 Cor. 3:14-16) Even though the most hardened individual has still heard a lot about the Gospel and what Christ has done and can do the veil remains, his ears dulled, his mind and heart closed. But those things which are not seen are right in front of his face.

“The things which are not seen are eternal.” In a world of shifting moral values, collapsing economies, devaluation of currencies, it gives great comfort to know that the things eternal are not going to fade away.

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

Posted in Reality | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What is Really Real?

Read the Word, or Else!

Posted on November 11, 2011 by JohnJ


Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction . . . .
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1 Cor. 10:11, 13

Temptation is indeed common to man. Most do not recognize it as such, impulses are routinely acted upon, just as it is said, “if it feels good, do it.” The believer, though, is under constraint to glorify God in his body (1 Cor. 6:20), to flee from sin. We all know this, but the knowing and the doing are two different things, and as we all know, it is all too easy to succumb to the world’s seductions.

How can we improve the odds of successfully battling the daily temptations? Paul give the hint in the above verses. How can we fight against temptation? Is it through Tradition? Through humorous anecdotes? Examples from TV shows? Shots in the dark? Educated guesses? General consensus? Jumping to conclusions? Jesus was tempted in all the things we ourselves are (Heb 2:18; Heb 4:15), how did He succeed? What tools did He use?

Just look at the best example, Satan directly tempting Jesus at the commencement of His ministry, after fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:13) Satan confronted Jesus three times. And every time it was Scripture that was the weapon of choice. In point of fact, Scripture is the ultimate if not the only choice. And the more we immerse ourselves in the Word the easier it is for the right words to come, just as in Jesus’ case. Which is why it is vital to read the Scripture regularly, habitually, daily, so that just as an athlete trains and practices over and over so that his responses become automatic, patterns are memorized, just so the believer should be as familiar with the Word that an intimacy and familiarity of God, His character, His holiness, are so familiar to us, they become a part of us.

The Word is our way of escape. It is God’s great weapon to teach, correct, and train us in righteousness. (2 Titus 3:16) Many of us listen to music on such a consistent basis, either the radio or mobile mp3 players or CDs, that we have memorized a great many songs. God’s Word should be just the same. With repetition comes the ease of recollection. The easier it is to recall the Scriptures the easier it is to deflect the arrows of Satan. As Paul states, they were written for our example, so we really can learn from them.

Sincerely ask daily that you would be given a great delight in His Word, something to miss if you don’t read it for a time, something to treasure, that you would become a great light of glory to God, not someone hiding under a bushel (Luke 11:33). We ignore the Word to our peril. We relish the Word to our profit and that of the world.

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

Posted in The Word | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Read the Word, or Else!

Unity of Brothers in Christ

Posted on November 6, 2011 by JohnJ


Romans 14:9 “we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”
Psalms 133:1 “how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!”

Back home in Michigan for my niece’s wedding gave me opportunity to visit with family, which occurs not often enough since we’re spread around the country. One of the highlights of the trip was time spent in fellowship in Christ with my brother who hosted me for those few days. One evening, while he was engaged in his daily scripture reading we enjoyed discussing the great things of our Lord in Christian fellowship. This is one of the most pleasant things for me. Digging into the Word with a brother, glorifying God for the awesome, amazing things He has done for us, in the past and in the present. Leaving aside our differences in spiritual things we were able to enjoy our unity in the body of Christ.

By God’s grace I could ignore the things that could easily divide us, me being on the protestant-evangelical side, and he on the Roman Catholic side. But both being born of one Spirit, I was able to follow Paul’s admonition in Romans 14:3, “let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this–not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”

Also by God’s grace I view my brother being where God wants him, he lives a few blocks from my aging mother (Dad having passed away 5 years ago) the only sibling around to help her on a daily basis (for which all my brothers and sisters are grateful). He helps her out, driving her to church frequently (as both my parents were very devout Catholics), and is her one source of assistance in times of need. I see this as fulfilling a need for which God as placed him.

It is very easy for the evangelical to get caught up in the things that divide the members of the body of Christ. In centuries past wars were fought, inquisitions were held, saints were martyred, for such extreme divisions. Recently one of my brother’s neighbors, of the Protestant persuasion, conversed with him trying to evangelize my brother, using well worn arguments that have been used against Catholics for years. When he mentioned this exchange my thought expressed to him were that in these kinds of cases, very little is to be gained in such confrontation. There is little chance that either side will persuade the other, and the damage done to the fabric and unity of the body of Christ, both parties being children of God, would be regrettable, and of no profit. My suggestion was that in future exchanges expressions of unity in the glory of our inscrutable Savior and Lord Jesus Christ be emphasized. There is always more that can be shared and enjoyed when the focus in on the person of Christ and the glory that has been revealed to us in the person of His work on the cross and in His church. I suggested avoidance of the things that divide and focus on the unity we have in Christ. This is the emphasis Paul strives to make us understand in the 14th chapter of Romans.

I’m sure there is a time and a place to teach, instruct, and discuss the real meat of the Word. Paul sought this very thing in every one of his letters to the churches. However, the fellowship in Christ and with His church is not something to be casually assaulted, but nurtured. As Paul states, summarizing the unity of the body, in verses 17-19, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

Posted in Fellowship | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unity of Brothers in Christ