Staying Focused on the One Necessary Thing

FIRST—

Remember Lot’s wife and choose to be more inclined to give your life away than you are to keep it. Jesus said it this way: “Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17: 32-33).

SECOND—

Remember the widow’s mite, keeping in mind that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Jesus said it this way: “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43b-44).

THIRD—

Remember the Pharisees and choose to take your focus off yourself and place it upon others. Jesus said it this way: “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; . . .” (Matthew 23:5a)

FOURTH—

Remember Peter and choose never to think more highly of yourself than you ought. Jesus said it this way: “Truly I say to you that this very night, before the cock crows, you shall deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34).

FIFTH—

Remember the woman with the issue of blood and do not be afraid to leave your comfort zone. Jesus said it this way: “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22a).

SIXTH—

Remember the lad with his five loaves and two fish and be assured that your “little” is “much” when Jesus is in it! Jesus said it this way: “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:16)!

SEVENTH—

Remember the harlot and her “wasted” vial of costly perfume—pure nard—and be encouraged to “waste” your very life out of your love for Jesus. Jesus said it this way: “Your sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:48)!

EIGHTH—

Remember Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and spend lots of time sitting at Jesus’ feet—lots of time. Jesus said it this way: “. . . Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42b).

NINTH—

Remember the Samaritan, who showed compassion to the Jew who had fallen among thieves and been left to die in the ditch, and choose to be a neighbor to your enemy. Jesus said it like this: “Go and do the same” (Luke 10:37).

TENTH—

Finally, remember Peter and never take your eyes off Jesus. Jesus said it like this: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt” (Matthew 14:31b).

Christmas Morning!

Now, do you believe in Santa Clause, or not? Someone told me the other day that if I did not believe in him, I would not get anything, so I decided to renew my belief in him! As you can tell from the picture, I have no proof, as of the writing of this article, because I am waiting for my grandchildren to arrive to open presents. So far, I have seen no evidence of him in my behalf but I am continuing to remain filled with expectation!

Anyway, I hope you are having a great day today, enjoying your children and your grandchildren, if you are so fortunate as to have any.

By the way, have you noticed that Fox News has been airing Rick Warren almost non-stop since last night, maybe even the night before. I am certainly not a Rick Warren fan but I am thankful that Fox is brave enough to take the risk of giving Christianity it rightful place during Christmas (I only wish they had aired John Calvin but one doesn't always get everything he wants!).

Speaking of getting what one wants: I really hope Santa brought you what you really wanted, but even more importantly, I hope you have received from Jesus the greatest of all gifts--His love and forgiveness!

Merry Christmas!
Your Pastor

Merry Christmas!

I want to thank each of you who have so faithfully read my blogs during the past months, and a special thanks to those of you who respond with various comments. I also want to wish each of you a very blessed Christmas Day!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!"

What more can or needs to be said?

Blessings to you!

Mac

Part V and the gift of gifts

Dear Fellow Travelers,

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve 2006, the eve of the day we have set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Interestingly, each of us has our own way of participating in this celebration but for the most part, we will gather as families, eat lots (too much) of food, and open gifts. It is my guess that some will receive gifts that will prove to be very useful; others will wonder, “What do I do with this?” Hopefully, yours will be something that will prove to be very useful, something that you will treasure for years to come.

In any case, I want to offer you something (a gift from Him) that, at least in my opinion, should be treasured and valued above any other gift you might receive, and it is this: Striving to maintain your relationship with God, so that He will not distance Himself from you by breaking fellowship with you, or by severing you from Himself altogether, need no longer be a concern for you because He chose to allow the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant, to be a covenant between Jesus and Himself; albeit, in your behalf, but excluding you from the covenant altogether, as is evidenced by these passages: (1) In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14; emphasis mine); (2) And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it (Hebrews 9:15-16; emphasis mine). In other words, the success of the New Covenant depends upon Jesus, not you. Devotions, solitude, prayer, repentance, confession, et al can be very beneficial, provided, however, that you do not do them in an effort to keep your end of the covenant and to, thereby, help to maintain the relationship. Jesus is your guarantee that this marriage will last eternally! Cease striving and rest in Him.

You know, when this truth dawned upon me, it forever changed my life, and I am trusting that it will do the same for you.

Blessings to you as you celebrate His birth!
Mac

Part IV & The Real Reason for the Season

As you well-know, one week from Sunday is Christmas Eve 2006—one Christmas Eve closer to the coming of Jesus for His Bride. You might be thinking, “It took a rocket scientist to figure that out!”; however, in my mind, it is very pertinent. You see, we celebrate Christmas for a reason—a good reason—and it might not be what most think. To be sure, when we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, BUT we do so with an incredible, anticipatory celebration of the future, namely, His return for the church—an anticipation that pales not only His birth, but also His death, burial, and resurrection! The fact of the matter is this: without His expected return for His Bride, the rest would not really mean very much. Unless there is eternal life in Jesus, we are of all people most to be pitied! So, celebrate Christmas but remember to keep in mind the reason for the celebration—His return for the Church!

Now, having said that, I know that many get more-than-somewhat-anxious when His return is mentioned because of their unfounded fear of the JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD, you know, the “wide screen show” that everyone will see; consequently, they are most content keeping the focus of the season on the birthday party and want no mention of His return.

If you are one of these, I have a wonderful gift for you (part 4 of my present series) and it is this: Facing God at the Great White Throne Judgment and having Him reveal to everyone the secrets of your life need no longer be a concern for you because He has chosen not to give you what you deserve, but to set you free from all judgment and condemnation, as is evidenced by this: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2; emphasis, added). Not to mention that He chose never to remember your sins again, as is evidenced by this: And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17; emphasis, added).

In other words, God chose to provide a scapegoat for you and for your sins in the person of Jesus; He gave Jesus what you deserved and gave you what Jesus deserved. Amazingly, Jesus took your record (your certificate of debt) upon Himself, and, even more amazingly, He gave you His record—His spotless, blemish-less, perfect, righteous record. Go figure! I do not understand it, either.

Anyway, as a result, God, being the just God that He is, has already judged Jesus guilty for your sins AND (again, being the just God that He is) He has judged you “righteous!” In my mind, this is GRACE LAVISHED! What an incredible gift!

What does this mean for you when you stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment? It means that the only record that will be revealed is Jesus’ record! Yours is separated from Him as far as the East is from the West—never to be remembered again! His word to you will be—WELCOME HOME, NO CONTINGENCIES!

So, go ahead and celebrate Jesus’ birth and do it gusto, BUT remember why you are doing so—HE IS COMING AGAIN and THAT is what THIS is about! There is much more to this than merely swapping materialistic presents, placing colored lights in windows and upon trees, playing Santa Clause, and feeding the hungry at the soup kitchen! Folks, JESUS IS COMING AGAIN—SOON—AND YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AFRAID; well, you do not if you belong to Him, and I, certainly, hope you do!

The Benefits & Blessings of Being a Participant of the New Covenant Part 3

I trust that you have finished all of your Christmas shopping and are now resting in the glory of the birth of Jesus—no more commercialization, no more materialism, no more over-the-limit credit cards, no more fussing over what to buy, no more standing in long lines to pay, and no more sweating over who you might have forgotten! Shucks, I will go so far as to hope that you have already nailed down where you will spend Christmas day, and really are looking forward to it.

For some reason, I have been wondering of late why we get so discombobulated over Christmas; it is as if we somehow think our going to Heaven depends upon how much we enter into the fray! I cannot think of any other reason that would explain why we become so, well so discombobulated. I mean people are standing in line all night just to buy that absolutely necessary, cannot-get-along-without-it, end-of-the-world-will-come-if-I-don’t-get-it toy, even killing one another in order to get of all things a play station (whatever that is). Listen, common, ordinary people are stressed to the max in an effort to make all the office parties, and party-parties, and whatever-else-kind-of-parties they have had scheduled for them. I mean life is intense, to put it mildly! Surely, at least getting to Heaven is at stake!

Well, listen up because I do have some good news for you (part 3 of my series on the benefits and blessings of being a New Covenant participant): Striving to get to Heaven need no longer be a concern for you because God has chosen to give you a seat on the same return flight that Jesus took when He ascended back to Heaven, as is evidenced by this: But God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6; emphasis mine). In other words, you are already in Heaven and comfortably seated at God’s right hand in Jesus (notice the verb tenses), even better than a front-row seat!

Now, I know that many of you have been hoping just to make it into Heaven on a shoestring, and maybe, just maybe, not have to sit in the epistaxis (nosebleed) section; however, you can rest now. Stop! Get off the treadmill of performance! No longer be driven by guilt! It is now party time and Someone else has done ALL the work and you are already at the party—dressed in completely appropriate attire—and there is no “nosebleed section,” only “front and center seats.” Every invitee is seated at the feet of the Birthday Boy and you are one of them! The rush is over, so stop scurrying so! Get out of the long lines because everything needed (and then some) has already been purchased! Forget about your lists because everyone who is supposed to be invited is already at the party and they have been given the gift-of-all-gifts, one mere money cannot buy! Throw away your credit cards, even your checkbook, because all the bills have already been paid in full! LOOK! Can’t you see it? It is party time! Look at the myriad of balloons and that humongous birthday cake and that ocean-sized bowl of punch. LISTEN! I think I can hear the music and everyone beginning to sing, “Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday Dear Jesus, Happy Birthday to You!”

Wow! Do you realize how easy it would have been for you to have missed this, had He not chosen to give you a seat on the same “flight” that Jesus took when He ascended HOME? The truth is some of your would have missed it anyway (had I not reminded you of where you are) because you have been too busy trying to pull off what He has already accomplished!

There really does remain a Sabbath rest for the people of God and this is probably a very good time for you to cease from your labors and join the party. I dare you to join the ranks of the remnant, those who are more-than-satisfied to CELEBRATE JESUS!