Decorations

Well, the decorations are coming down. Lights, trees, ornaments, manger and ribbons. The presents have been put away, the cookies are almost gone and I am looking at how I will work off the extra pounds I gained. Christmas is over.

It took a seemingly long time put it all up and just a minute to take it all down. All is as it was.

Or is it? Do we really only celebrate Jesus for a day or a week? Do we wait now until Easter to celebrate Him again?

Question. Who is the decoration? Answer. We are. We are His ornaments, His light. We are the ones called to celebrate Him and reflect His joy to the world. The Lord is come.

So can I encourage you as you start 2010 to remember that we are called to know we are free in Christ? If we know and live that, then we can celebrate Him. As we celebrate we will want others to join in the party. That is called community. Finally, we will look for true joy as we discover the magic of serving others together in His name.

Now, go light up the place!

Has the Lord come?

It must have been hard for those not in Bethlehem. They were still waiting. How could they have known he came? As Lloyd Weber said, "Israel had no mass communication."

Some died the next day or week. Never knowing He came. Even in the next years. They simply did not get the message. Doctrine of election aside, I wonder if we are called to get the message out in any way we can. A card, a call, a conversation.

No need to defend His position. Just to say, "We celebrate. He came back for us!" People can reach their own conclusions. Some might think we are goofy. Maybe if some don't think we are goofy, we are not communicating the joyous news at all.

He came back for us!!

Merry Christmas

Ahead

I wonder if you might take a moment and look ahead. Past Christmas.

2010.

A whole new decade.

Can you think of two things you want God to do in you and through you next year? How about one thing you really want to stop? Anything you know you have to start doing for health?

Planning counts.

Once you do it, ask some one, "Is this for me?" Ask someone who will be hard on you. Ask some one who will definitely force you to change it.

Blessings

The Question I Dread

I was recently on a flight and sat next two two young people. The woman was going to meet her boyfriend for vacation in a very romantic city and the man his girlfriend. As their stories unfolded, it turned out that one of those being visited was not quite yet divorced. “It is what it is,” my traveling companion said. We chatted more, and then it came. It is the question I dread, “So..., what do you do?”

The shortest time between two sentences is between the time I say, “I am a pastor” and they say, “Oh, oh.. I am so sorry.” They are not sorry that I am a pastor, but that they just told me something that they think a pastor would view as inappropriate: “I am dating a married man” kind of thing. Now, I have been around long enough that I know how to play it cool. I never say, “You are going to hell!!”, and I never say, “That’s nice!” I just say that I am not offended. Not that I am indifferent, but my role, and yours if you are a Christian, is to be a witness; not to put someone on a witness stand. There is no need for me to grill someone on their lifestyle. It just puts up a wall. Besides, non-Christians act like non-Christians. Sometimes Christians act like non-Christians! God is offended at both. The good news is Jesus paid for offenses of His people.

Back to my plane ride. I asked the woman if I could share a few thoughts. Now because she had, in her mind anyway, offended me, I think she felt obliged to let me speak, maybe expecting the hellfire speech. I spoke of my daughter who had committed to not say, “I love you” to a man until he put a ring on her finger. Her eyes lit up. I asked her to think about what that might look like for her. I said that I normally encourage people to wait at least a year after they are divorced to begin dating because it gives them time to recover. She frowned at that one. Most importantly, in front of the man who was sitting between us, I shared that she was made in the image of God, and she had worth; she was a “catch.” She smiled, and her eyes brightened.

So where was Jesus? How did she not get “saved” on the way to Paris? Jesus was and is interceding. Rest assured, the Holy Spirit will apply His work to hearts of the elect. How? Here is where you get involved. At the end of the flight, she sincerely thanked me for “my” wisdom, and she asked for my email as she gave me hers. The trip is not over for her. I have an email.

Now, I would love your thoughts on what to write to her. Post away! Then pray for her. By the way, can I encourage you to engage with people you meet? You don’t have to be going to Paris. No frontal assaults permitted, and you have a great advantage in that you do not have to say you are a pastor.

Blessings.

The Power of Presence at Christmas

Christmas is a time for presents isn’t it? My guess is most of you will give or receive some present on Christmas Eve or day. That is just great, and it really is an important part of the season. As you do, we would love for you to reflect on presence. The words are similar aren’t they? The presence we are talking about is, in the first part, your presence. You are present here today, on earth.

Presence counts for a lot. In fact, it counts for more than presents. Being with someone has a value that far surpasses sending them a gift in a box. This holiday season many of you will give a hug, share a meal, smile a smile and laugh till you cry as you gather with one another around a dinner table. Some of you will weep as you realize that the one who was present last year is no longer here.

There is a great One who makes His presence known at this time of year. Jesus came in human form to be with us. He lived with us and died amongst us. He rose from the grave and now intercedes in the presence of the Father. He is our ever present help in trouble. He is Emmanuel, God with us. This is the time of year we remember all that and more.

No other religion has a God like that; a God who is with us and in fact is in us. He is our great present. He is our great reward.

So as we celebrate this season, we encourage you to be fully present and to enter into His presence. It is a bit mysterious, but we believe His presence this season is for you.

If you have questions, are hurting or feel like your presence is so small that no one cares, let us know. We care because He does. Have a blessed Christmas.

Mysterious Meal

Most people like a good mystery novel or movie. It is engaging to get caught up in a plot, try to figure out who did it and then have all things resolve in the end. We like to get answers don’t we? That is part of the reason we come to church. To get answers. We get some answers as we sing, as we pray and certainly as the Word is preached. How about the Lord’s Table? Are any mysteries solved there? Yes and no.

Many of you know what we believe about the Lord’s Supper. It is more than a remembrance. Those who are in good standing in the church may come to it. It is a means of grace. It is to be taken in community in conjunction with the preaching of the Word.

We believe more than that, but that is not the point of this blog. I want to share with you today that it is mysterious and it gives us the answers we need. It is mysterious because we do not know exactly what happens and how Christ is unusually present.

We can tell you that sometimes nothing happens on the surface. That is when we remember it is a spiritual thing. Sometimes emotions are evident, but we always consider them in light of spiritual change. We do it because Jesus strongly suggested we do. He knows all the details. So where are the answers? Maybe the answer is found in the question, “Are you in Christ?”

I mean after all you have said and done, wicked thoughts you have had, kind deeds you left undone and the general malaise you have had towards the One who died for you, are you still here? Are you still counting yourself as one of the faithful? If you come to the table, the answer is yes. You are saying, at that moment, “I take Christ over my sin, over my life, over my free will. I take Christ.”

In the past few months we have seen people be so mysteriously drawn to the table that they were willing to give up sin. As we have counseled with them, and they have admitted holding on to sin, we have said, “We want you to come to the table, but we fear that you can not unless you are willing to lay down your sin.”

We are His witnesses. Some have. They so wanted Him that they laid down them. Tears of emotion included were not the reality, Christ was the reality. He overwhelmed them and they were changed. He drew them.

Maybe you are stuck. Maybe you are holding on to something. Release it by the power of the Spirit and come to the table of the Lord a free man or woman. He waits for you. Saturday nights 6p. Sunday morning 10:45a gym

Worship Well

3

I was so over it. One car in shop = $900. Next car = $250. Next car dripping from water pump. We will wait. First car back in shop another $200. Next car (2nd car) back in shop. Leaking water. I was expecting the worst. ARGHH!!!

So my Volvo guy called me. "Mr Schlichting your car is ready.."

"How much Edgar?" (yes we are on a first name basis) "Three..." I thought, "$300...oh my..." "Ok," I said.

"Actually, three seventy eight..." Edgar said. "You just needed a clamp. $3.78"

He could have said $378 and I would have paid. I don't know the difference. He was honest. He was trustworthy. $3.78

We need people we can trust. I am sure Edgar is not perfect, but he was kind.

Need a good Volvo guy? Ask me.

Sometimes I think the worst. Expecting Him to tell me the great expense. Often, my life is a lot better then I think. He is sweeter than we know.

Blessings!

On the Shelf

This will be the last post about it!

Minority Rules is now officially on the shelf!! Sold only at Perimeter Bookstore where the staff is wonderful!

The gist of the book is that Christians are a minority, but they don't recognize it and so they live like the majority to the demise of the movement. Christians need Pirates of the Carribean type guidelines to help them fulfill their purpose.

Click here to go to the web store or stop by and meet Luann and her great team!

Minority Rules

When you think of a minority, what comes to mind? African americans perhaps. People who like butterscotch. Gays. Women CEOs. Koreans in Atlanta. There are lots of ways to look at minorities. I wonder if you think of Christians as a minority. I do.

In America, Christians are a minority. Most polls will reveal that even though more than 50% of people believe in God, a very small percentage believe in the God who is also Jesus, as He is truly portrayed in the Bible.

Christians are a minority. So what? Does it matter? Yes, it does because if you are a minority and you act like the majority, you lose your distinction and perhaps extinction is on the horizon. That is the question for Christians today. Christians are a shrinking minority.

Got Credit?

Most of us have it: the ability to borrow money. It can take the form of a home equity loan, a car loan, a credit card or a loan from a friend or relative. We can get what we need now and pay for it later. We have credit. So this holiday season, all who have credit can use it and pay for things in January. In fact, if we can’t pay for it in January, we can pay for it in February or March. Installment plans work.

So why not do that? After all it is just a little interest. Well, we would say that you should not buy presents for people using a credit card, if you can not pay the bill at the end of the month. The debtor is a slave to the lender. More importantly, using credit like that says something about our souls. It is a spiritual thing. It says that we are not patient. It says that we feel the need for approval or acceptance. It says that we want to buy love. It does not say that we have a healthy perspective on money.

Jesus said it well. You cannot serve God and money. So, bluntly put, we want to implore you to serve God this season. We know it will be hard. We know the temptation is great. We know that everyone else will have more and do more. We know. We also know that the way of the Lord is, “paid in full.”

Some of you may have credit card debt. We encourage you to develop a plan to get out of it. We have some good ministries that can help. We believe you will be happier and holier if you take a pass on debt this Christmas.

Last point: help others. There are people in your family who cannot afford it either. Offer to do a “service gift” exchange or have a meal together. Be honest. Tell them, “This is the year for a note card, not a gift card.” Be creative, but don’t let your sin nature or the evil one convince you that you need to keep up with other’s gift giving ability.

Then, on the 24th when fewer presents are opened, remember that He is our very great reward.

Worship Well.