Silent Night

Over the past several weeks I have heard different people talk about, as well as have seen people post on their social media outlets, what their favorite aspects of Christmas might be.  People have conversed about loving to sit in front of the fireplace, snuggled up in a blanket, watching Christmas movies, and drinking hot chocolate.  Others have spoken of the joys of decorating their homes with Christmas trimmings and lights.  Several have mentioned the wonderful times they have had shopping for the perfect presents while others have loved all of the social gatherings.  Then I have heard much talk about the anticipation of spending some needed time relaxing with family during these holidays.

Let’s transition that from our favorite Christmas activity to our favorite Christmas carol.  Why?   If you were to take one Christmas carol and say this embodies the totality of Christmas what would it be for you?  As I contemplate the essence of Christmas the song which I hold tenderly and which I feel communicates Christmas best would have to be “Silent Night.”  Below are the lyrics for this great and most popular Christmas carol.  Read through these lyrics and look for the Gospel message proclaimed.

Silent night, holy night! All is calm, All is bright round yon Virgin, Mother and Child
Holy Infant so Tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight! Glories stream from heaven afar;
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia! Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night, Holy night! Son of God, love's pure light radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus Lord at thy birth; Jesus Lord at thy birth.

Silent night, holy night! Wondrous star, lend thy light! With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King! Christ the Savior is here, Jesus the Savior is here!

There are several things which leap off the page as I read these lyrics.  First, Christ is holy!  He was God’s child born through a virgin conceived by the Holy Spirit.  He is God in the flesh!  Second would be that because of the birth of the Messiah all creation proclaimed His greatness.  Their song was Christ the Savior of this world is born.  Because of His birth the darkness of this world which necessitated His coming is now being pushed back.  The love of God, the light of God pours out from His face shining forth the grace of redemption which was His sole purpose in coming to earth.  We find in 1 Timothy 1:15 that purpose which states, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…”  He has come to reconcile each of us to a love God.  Then in the closing verse we are invited to sing His praises.  We are beckoned to proclaim the great news that Jesus Christ our King is now here. 

As we draw near to Christmas day let us sing forth the praises of the King of Glory who left heaven to redeem His lost creation.  Let us sing praises to His name of His wondrous light which shines in this dark world.  Regardless of what our enemy the Prince of Darkness might bring our way we must remember the darkness cannot overpower the Light of the World. 

Merry CHRISTmas,

Pastor Ric

 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Immanuel--God With Us

Sunday evening Timmy Ray lead our sanctuary choir, musicians, narrator, and A/V staff in a masterful way which helped us worship God through the presentation of the Christmas program “How Many Kings.” The program used some great songs of the faith of days past combined with some new pieces by some of today’s leading songwriters.  As we closed out the time together I challenged us to think about the meaning of Isaiah 7:14 where the prophet gives us the words of God in saying, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  (ESV) After sharing the verse I expounded on the meaning of Immanuel which means God with us.  The principle part of that word Immanuel gives us the essence of what God wanted to do for His wayward creation.  He wanted to reconcile or restore His creation to the rightful place in creation, by His side in an intimate relationship with Him.  There were four words which I used to describe His process of reconciliation:  fellowship, feel, fight, and forgive.  I want to expound and expand on that thought for a moment.
 

God remembered His reason for the creation of mankind was in order to have fellowship.  God longed for the fellowship with His creation.  He missed that time of intimacy such as He had in the Garden of Eden.  The fellowship had been broken when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and follow the deception of God’s enemy Satan.  Therefore as God looked down on the state of man He felt for their waywardness and their sinful state.  He knew that mankind could not handle the necessary punishment for their disobedience therefore He initiated a plan to bring about the reconciliation.  That plan included the birth of His Son in human form to become their substitute for the punishment necessary.  However, because Satan recognized God was seeking to restore the severed intimacy with man he decided to mount an “all-out assault” on God’s creation.  He knew his fate was eternal punishment; therefore, he made plans to take as many of God’s chosen creation with him.  God chose to fight for each of us.  He would not let the enemy have His prized possession.  Satan’s “M.O.” is to “steal, kill, and destroy.”  God said I will fight for what is rightfully mine.  To cap off this plan God then turned to mankind offering forgiveness for their disobedience toward Him. 

 

This final step of God’s plan of “Immanuel” leaves the proverbial ball in our court.  God has initiated the step of redemption and reconciliation by offering a plan to us for fellowship again.  This Christmas we will fellowship with family and friends.  Why not fellowship with our Father?  He has provided every opportunity to for us to have that deep, intimate, and abiding fellowship rekindled.  Will you seize the golden opportunity?  Will you make this a time of “Immanuel” where God is with you in a fresh and new way?  Will you deepen the fellowship to a greater magnitude than ever before?  The God who created you and redeemed you longs for just that, a fellowship of deeper proportions than ever before.

You can have that today by simply stopping to offer yourself to God as He has offered forgiveness to each of us.  This Christmas give the gift that will benefit you for eternity, a gift of a renewed relationship with your Creator and Sustainer, Immanuel.  He is waiting for you today.

Merry CHRISTmas,

Pastor Ric,

 

Clothes that Should Never Fit

Over the course of the next several weeks during the CHRISTmas holidays we will find ourselves focusing on many things ranging from how many shopping days are left until CHRISTmas all the way to what are we going to eat!  We will be bombarded with circulars for sales as well as the finest of sweets and treats to eat.  I find myself struggling too often in the latter category, especially in the area of sweets.  While some of my co-workers would find that hard to believe in that I try extremely hard to avoid such weight gaining delicacies, if the truth be known they are my horrible nemesis.  This time of year is especially hard when I know I will be faced with my mother’s homemade fudge, pecan pies, and Martha Washingtons.  In addition, I will have to contend with the pecan balls, no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, and peanut butter cake which Lisa’s mother makes each year.  These temptations are all the more alluring because I know I will only see them for a brief time while at each of my family’s house.  Therefore, I began to rationalize that I will only have these seasonal treats for a short time and must indulge!  (Sounds like logical thinking!  Right?)  To make matters all the worse, these treats are often left out in the open to be easily seen and accessed during the duration of our visits.  Oh what is a weak man to do as he sees these treats and hears their beaconing call?  I mean I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not eating them, especially since they went to all the trouble of cooking them for me!  I wonder what I would look like when the holidays come to a close if I indulged wholeheartedly into these treats and just enjoyed them immensely.  Most likely I would be as large as a whale and as unhealthy as could be.  Much to my dismay I will refrain from going overboard and attempt to continue a running schedule to ward off any additional pounds of weight which would come with the indulgences. 

In the same vein of thinking regarding what we would look like if we indulged in overeating and lack of self-discipline let me pose a few questions for us to ponder.  What would happen if we began to surround ourselves with spiritually healthy and encouraging words, activities, and endeavors?  What would happen if we began to seek to act more like Christ and less like the world?  What would happen if we began to walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh?  The Word of God tells us in Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (NASB)  Just as there are dangers in having the house full of sweets for us when we are prone to overeating (Guilty as charged am I!) to surround ourselves with the vices of this world and the negativism of immature believers as well as carnality of non-believers is eternally damaging. 

So what are we to do?  First, be sure our spiritual input is sufficient.  By that statement I mean we must do more than hear a sermon or a Sunday School lesson once a week.  We must take time to ingest the Word of God on a daily basis.  How can we overcome the draw of the world if we do not have sufficient ammunition and energy to resist her temptations?  Secondly, we must rid ourselves of anything which will continually lead us into temptation.  Just as an alcoholic must stay away from any place or person which will tempt him to partake of his vice we must rid ourselves of all things contrary to the Word of God.  Thirdly, we must surround ourselves with godly counsel.  Without the encouragement of godly men and women to spur us on to Christ-like behavior we are prone to complacency and failure.  Scripture speaks of how “iron sharpens iron.”  Surround yourself with holy iron to develop your holy character.  Finally, pray and as you do listen for God to reveal great truths and answers you need.  However, be cautious that you discern God’s voice from any voice which might seek to mislead you.  The true test to ascertain if the direction you are hearing is from God is to see how this word you received lines up with the Bible.  God will never lead us in any direction or ask us to do anything contrary to His proven and Holy Scriptures. 

In closing, just as you don’t want to put on undesired weight this holiday season make sure you don’t clothe yourself with ungodly traits or character.  As we see throughout scripture God calls us to “Be holy, for He is holy.”  Therefore clothe yourself with the character of God.

 

Merry CHRISTMAS,

Pastor Ric

1 Peter 1:16

 

 

Seeing the Lostness of People

The following is a version of a devotional I have written for next years Bike Week Ministry at Daytona.  May God use it to open our eyes.

 

 

In 2009 I had the privilege of attending my first Bike Week in Sturgis.  The following March I joined several friends in Daytona to visit, pray, and explore the options of a Daytona Bike Giveaway similar to Sturgis’ ministry.  Needless to say I was in for culture shock!  This Southern Baptist Preacher had never been anywhere like this in his adult life!  I had been to New Orleans many years before and seen that culture but never so broadly spread and with this many people.  My first reaction was a sense of being overwhelmed at a wide-open lifestyle of party heaven.  Everywhere I turned I saw people with one thing on their mind, party until you drop. 

 

This reminded me of a time years ago as I attended a movie in Tampa along with some good friends and my wife.  As we waited for the movie time to arrive we stepped next door to a coffee shop.  After getting my coffee I stood outside and began to notice the groups of people.  There were some similar to my crew and then there were some dressed completely opposite.  They were of the “Goth” lifestyle complete with black and white make-up, chains, and funny colored hair.  They were rather rowdy and loud using language and having discussions completely foreign to me.  At first I was angered at what I saw.  I thought to myself they were complete derelicts, an abhorrence to society.  Then God spoke to me very clearly that night.  While His voice was not audible, it was very clear.  He reminded me of several facts:  I created them in my image, I love them, and I died for them just like I died for you.  Those words cut to the very core of my arrogant and self-centered heart.  While these students were different than me, they were just like me.  While they looked differently, they acted in many ways just as I have many times before.  Their actions while foreign to me were not any different to God than my actions often times. 

 

He went on to remind me of a passage of scripture in Matthew 9 where He had just completed the Sermon on the Mount and gone about healing many people.  As a result, many people clung to Him out of desperation.  They followed Him wherever He went seeking to gain from Him what they so desperately needed and wanted, love and affection.  They had looked for this in the religion of the day but could not find it.  The religious leaders of the day were ineffective in serving the people because they did not see, nor care to see, the need of the people.  Therefore Matthew writes this incredible statement about the disposition and compassion of Jesus when He looked on the mass of people.  Matthew said, “When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd.” (The Message)  Jesus said very clearly to me that night in Tampa, as well as reminded me in Sturgis and Daytona, that the mass of people are no different than what Jesus saw that day as He moved among the people.  I now must ask myself, “Does my heart break for these people as Jesus does?”  Am I completely moved with compassion to share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ? 

 

Carl F. H. Henry is quoted as saying, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time."  We have the commission to carry the Good News to all mankind regardless of how different they may or may not be from each of us.  In the following verse of Matthew 9 Jesus reminds each of us that “The harvest is abundant; but the workers are few.”  We see the harvest before us each day.  What type of heart will we have when we see the people before us?  Will we be broken hearted at their lostness?  Will we be compelled to share the God-saving Good News of Jesus Christ with them?  May we offer the same reply as Isaiah when God called him to go forth as the voice of the Lord.  May our reply be, “Here am I.  Send Me.”

 

Seeking an Opportunity to Share,

 

Pastor Ric  

Living a Holy Life in the Fast Lane

Last Saturday I was able to finally redeem a birthday present my family gave me last February.  The gift was the experience of driving a NASCAR at Talladega Super Speedway.  When we arrived at the track there were the normal formalities of forms to sign, briefings, and the fitting for the flame-retardant race suit and helmet.  After going through all of the initial boring things, then we had to wait.  Since there were approximately 45 to 50 individuals to drive during our session we were put into groups for each of the eight cars which would be on the track at one time.  Somehow I got confused (This is not a good thing to do when you are about to drive upward of 170 MPH on a track with seven other cars) and thought I had a lot of time before they called my name. As I sat keeping up with the football games on my phone waiting my turn I suddenly heard my name.  Immediately I went into overdrive trying to get myself ready by handing off my phone, zipping up the jumpsuit, and grabbing my helmet to head to the #47 car which was to be my ride for the next several laps.  Within a matter of minutes I was photographed, strapped into the seat, told to depress the clutch pedal, and then my instructor said, “Let’s go!”  All along I am thinking to myself that this can’t be happening.  Everything did not go by in slow motion.  Instead, it seemed as though time moved at warp speed and we hadn’t even moved the racecar one inch.

 

After taking a deep breath we began and the car glided out onto the track.  As we got up to speed the laps went by faster each time.  Some asked if I was nervous, but the truth of the matter is I was concentrating too intensely on doing what my instructor told me to do.  Before I realized what was going on I had completed my allotted laps and saw the checkered flag waving from the perch high atop the safety fencing at the start/finish line.  When we arrived back at the pits I began to reflect on how quickly everything went by during my experience.  Now please don’t mistake that last statement for meaning how fast I drove but how short the time was from when they called my name until the time I returned to the pits.  The time went by extremely quick.  I hardly had time to get nervous or even relish in the moments.  It all happened so fast.  (I suppose that’s why it is a racecar!)

 

When I take time to process this experience there are several verses of scripture which captivated me several years ago that come to mind.  In Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul gives a great piece of advice to the early church in Ephesus.  Listen to his words.  “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil.  So don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.”  In the context of this passage we find Paul admonishing the early Christians to realize that their time on earth is limited.  In addition, there are dangers looming ever so close to distract us and devour us, just like at any moment I could have made a mistake and put the racecar into the wall.  As I listened to my race instructor we should listen closely to our Heavenly Instructor, the Holy Spirit, who will guide us in the proper way.  We should make the most of the time we have been given for we will have to give an account to our Heavenly Father for how we used it.  We must not waste the time we have been given with trivial matters that will not matter in eternity.  Instead we must concentrate on doing the work to which Jesus commissioned us before ascending into heaven.  The essence of that work is to love God and love people by making disciples for His kingdom.

 

Throughout the previous chapter and this one Paul is trying to share with the church the importance of living this life by the standards of our new nature in Christ.  I have to remind myself that just as the time in that racecar went by quickly this life will also go by quickly.  I must be cautious of how I use my time, how I live my life, how I serve the Father, and how I treat other people.  I have to remind myself that life is about more than what Ric wants.  It is about serving a holy God by living a holy life.  This only comes when we are willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus daily.  (Mt. 16:24)  This is the will of our Father as Paul alluded to it in the later part of Eph. 5:17.

 

Praying God’s blessings on you today,

 

Pastor Ric

 

 

Loving When I Don't Want to Love

One of the most prominent preachers and missionaries of the 20^th Century was a man by the name of Stephen Olford.  In one of his books, The Grace of Giving, Olford tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution by the name of Peter Miller who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.  Also in the same city was a man by the name of Michael Wittman who sought at every viable opportunity to belittle, oppose, and humiliate Pastor Miller.  Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die for his crimes but Pastor Miller could not stand by idle.  Since Miller had a special friendship with President George Washington, he decided to travel by foot the seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the Wittman.  Upon hearing Miller’s plea for the life of Wittman, Pres. Washington replied, "I cannot grant you the life of your friend."  Immediately the minister proclaimed "My friend?  He's the bitterest enemy I have."  This response so shocked Washington that he granted the pardon based on Miller walking seventy miles to save the life of an enemy. Afterwards Peter Miller and Michael Wittman returned to Ephrata--no longer enemies but now a friends.

This is the epitome of what Jesus was describing in the Sermon on the Mount.  We read in Matthew 5:43-47,

"You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?   And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary?  Don't even the Gentiles do the same?”

Jesus is impressing on those listening as He teaches this introductory series that our outward actions must be preempted by an inward change.  He was not listing a set of regulations, but giving a rendering of how one’s heart should appear.  In talking about the passage Warren Wiersbe says that when we follow this model we exhibit three things in our lives.  First, we display spiritual maturity.  We show we have moved from the old nature, which would seek vengeance and restitution to forgiveness and love.  Secondly, we show that we are modeling our life after Jesus Christ, who displayed love toward His enemies, you and me, to win us back into a right relationship with Him.  (Ro. 5:10)  Then third, we will bear witness to a lost world that we are children of God.  In following this command of Jesus, He tells us to love them and pray for them.  This added element, to pray for them, is the avenue to loving them.  When we begin praying for our enemies then God will begin to transform our vengeful hearts to one of love.

In closing let me ask you to take a challenge for the next seven days.  Think of three people who you might consider an enemy or someone who has/is hurt/hurting you or someone close to you.  Instead of fuming over their actions why not take time to pray God’s richest blessings on them.  Don’t pray superficially or vaguely instead pray specifically.  Ask God to pour His greatest blessings on them as if you were asking Him to do it unto you.  While some may think this practice to be antiquated the truth is it is still needed greatly in our world.  The practice I am referring to is the Golden Rule which states, “…Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them…” (Mt. 7:12)  John said in 1 John 4:8 “… let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Church Family, I do love you!

 

Pastor Ric

 

Doubts and Despair

Last week while I was reading during my devotional time a passage which I had read many times before came to life in a new way.  In fact, there was one phrase in this passage which leapt off of the page as I read it.  The story comes from Mark 9 and follows the time when Jesus and three of the disciples came down from the mountain where they had experienced the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Elijah and Moses.  Several translations state that immediately Jesus and the three disciples were met with a crowd of people along with the remainder of the disciples.  Jesus realized there was an argument taking place between the religious leaders of the day and the disciples.  After inquiring about the reason for the argument Jesus is met by the father of a young boy who had been experiencing seizures.  The father pleads, actually begs with tears, for Jesus to heal his son.  At that point the father chooses an interesting phrase to ask Jesus for help.    He said, “If you can do anything have compassion on us and help us.”  What we see is a father’s desperation for help in a situation beyond his control.  Apparently, the father had exhausted all measures to find a cure for his son.  The father was willing to do anything for his son’s life to be preserved.

Something of great interest takes place in the next few sentences.  The father realizes this is not an ordinary man to whom he is speaking when Jesus replies to him, “If you (Jesus) can?  Everything is possible to the one who believes.”  At that moment we see a change begin to take place in the father.  There is a glimmer of hope being held out to him.  The father recognizes that Jesus not only has the desire but the ability to help his son.  The next phrase is the one which I find so astonishing, “I do believe! help my unbelief.”  I find that this simple statement sums up the life of so many of us.  We do believe!  But we need Jesus to cast out the unbelief in our hearts and minds.  We believe in Jesus but we doubt because of our weakness.  We doubt because of the enemies deception which is so ever-present around us.  We doubt because we don’t see how God would care about someone as insignificant as us. 

When one does a word study of the word help in verse 24 he would find that the verb is an active one that implies a continual action.  In other words the father is asking Jesus to not just help him this one time but keep on helping me so he will not lose his belief/faith.  How many times have I needed this same type of help?  Each day I continue to need Jesus to boost my faith.  Each day I am attacked by the enemy’s arrows of doubt and defeat.  However, I do not have to stay in that position.  Oh Satan would love for me to remain mired in my self-doubt and pity, but God has called us to experience much more than a self-defeated life cast down in despair.  God has called us to a life of victory in Him.  What we must do is respond as this father.  We must come to Jesus with an honest approach saying, “I do believe!  But please help me, and continue helping me, in my times of weakness, my times of unbelief.” 

Maybe you are facing a mountainous obstacle at this time in your life which causes your faith to waiver.  Remember the cry of the father “Help my unbelief.”  Maybe you have exhausted all of your resources trying to deal with a difficult or trying situation.  Remember the words of the father “Help my unbelief.”  Maybe you are mired in the muck of self-doubt, self-defeat, and self-destruction thinking no one, not even Jesus, cares.  Remember the words of the father “Help my unbelief.”  While the enemy has many weapons to assault the children of God, his power is limited and he will not succeed in defeating a child of God who summons the assistance of the victorious Jesus Christ.  Cry out today “Help me in the times of my unbelief.” 

Claiming the Promises of God,

 

Pastor Ric

“Immediately the father of the boy cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief." Mark 9:24