AN AFTER-CHRISTMAS JESUS
26 December 2004

I. Introduction

-- turn in Bibles to Luke 2

-- well, we finally made it through another Christmas -- and if your homes are anything like ours, the trees that we had so painstakingly decorated and surrounded with presents are now standing bare, with no presents around the base -- there might be a few piles of wrapping paper -- a few presents left to be opened -- but, by and large, Christmas has come and gone
-- and it won't be long before we start taking down the tree and removing all the Christmas decorations that we had so carefully put up -- taking off the lights and the ornaments and carefully putting them in storage until next Christmas rolls around
-- you know that Christmas is really over when you go into the stores and you see "after Christmas" sales all over the place and signs directing people on where to return items that they received for Christmas

-- by next week, Christmas will be just a memory -- the Christmas lights will be taken down around town -- the radio stations will quit playing Christmas music -- and the stores will have moved on to prepare for the next holiday on the calendar -- in fact, I went into one store this weekend, and they had already removed all of their Christmas-themed items and replaced them with spring gardening equipment

-- you know, one of the saddest days of the year for me is when we take down the nativity set at our house and store it until next year -- it always pains me to take each member of the nativity scene -- the wise men -- the shepherds -- the angels -- Mary and Joseph -- even the animals -- and wrap them up and store them back in their box -- but it pains me most of all when I wrap up the baby Jesus and place Him in the box and put the box on a shelf until next Christmas rolls around

-- it always seems like that is just what this world is doing -- in our "after-Christmas culture" there's just no room for Jesus in our lives anymore -- once Christmas day has passed, we just want to put Him up on the shelf and leave Him there until next Christmas or until Easter rolls around

-- I guess that's always been the case -- from the start, the very idea of Jesus made some people uncomfortable, and so they just couldn't find room for Him in their lives

II. No Room in the Inn
-- think back to the first Christmas as recorded in the gospel of Luke -- the same thing happened to the baby Jesus

-- look with me now at Luke 2:1
1. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3. And everyone went to his own town to register.
4. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7. and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

-- when Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem at Caesar's orders they went looking for a place to stay -- the story indicates that Mary was very pregnant at the time -- ready to give birth -- they went from place to place seeking shelter, but the passage tells us that there was no room for them in the inn
-- when Jesus was about to be born, He was turned away by all in that place -- there was no room for Him here, even though He had created Bethlehem with His word and with His will
-- have you ever wondered about the innkeeper -- wondered why he refused to allow Mary and Joseph to stay with them? -- How many of you would turn away a pregnant woman and her husband so close to her time?

-- I've wondered that myself -- I can understand why there weren't any rooms available in the inn on that night -- a lot of strangers were probably in town to be counted as part of Caesar's census -- but, it still doesn't explain why the innkeeper couldn't find a place for Mary and Joseph somewhere in the inn

-- why couldn't he find a place for them by the fire? -- or in a corner of the kitchen? -- why couldn't he give up his own bed for a pregnant woman for just one night? -- we don't know the reasons why, but I wonder if the failure to receive lodging -- the rejection by the innkeeper -- was part of God's heavenly plan for Jesus

-- you see, one thing is obvious from reading about Jesus in the Bible -- the world always rejected Him and despised Him and had no room for Him -- in Isaiah 53:3, Isaiah prophesied that this would happen -- he wrote there that the Messiah would be despised and rejected by all men, that He would be a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering

-- how fitting that on the very night of His birth, He would first be rejected by the very people He came to save?

-- but the rejection of Christ did not end there in a manger next to a full inn on Christmas day -- it was to be a pattern for His life

-- in John 1:10-11 it says "He was in the world and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him -- though He came to that which was His own, His own did not receive Him"

-- 2000 years ago, God stepped down the stairway of Heaven with a baby in His arms -- and that baby -- God clothed in flesh -- the Creator of all -- came to a world that He created -- but the world did not recognize Him -- He came to a people set apart for His purposes -- but His people rejected Him as well

-- think about that for a minute -- think about the impact of that

-- the Creator came to His creation and His creation rejected Him -- we rejected Him -- we rejected Christ
-- we did it on a Christmas night over 2000 years ago as an innkeeper turned a young couple away from his door -- we did it when Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver -- we did it when the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the priests had Jesus arrested -- we did it when Pilate sentenced Jesus to death -- and we do it every time we turn away from Him to follow our own desires and our own wishes instead of His plan for our life

-- Oh, we like Him from time to time -- we especially like the baby Jesus in a manger -- we bring Him out at Christmas -- but then just like an unwanted gift that gets returned to the store, we tend to push Him out of lives -- to put Him on the shelf -- and to only truly call on His name when we are in need or when the next holiday rolls around
-- we're not only living in an after-Christmas world -- we're living in an after-Jesus world -- but that's not what He had in mind when He clothed Himself in flesh -- when He became a man and walked among us -- no, He had bigger things in mind

III. Why Did Jesus Come?
-- have you ever put much thought into what the incarnation meant -- what it meant for God to become a man and to be born through a virgin on Christmas day?
-- I know that we have no real concept of what Heaven may be like -- in our most magnificant and grandest dreams we do not come close to the reality of what life in Heaven is like
-- now think for a moment about what Jesus left behind to come to us -- Jesus lived in Heaven as King of Kings and Lord of Lords -- when He spoke, worlds were created -- when He whispered, stars stood still -- when He passed by, angels would prostrate themselves and worship Him -- He was above all and nothing could even come close to matching the glory and the majesty and the beauty of our Lord

-- but scripture tells us that His heart was grieved because of the sin of man -- He longed for us to be restored to a right relationship with Him -- but He knew that no one -- outside of Himself -- could possibly restore that relationship
-- only the death of a righteous man -- a holy man -- a sinless man -- could satisfy the requirement of the law -- and no human could possibly meet that criteria

-- so, out of love for us, God became man -- out of love for us, God placed Himself in the womb of a young virgin and was born in the world to be our Savior

-- as it says in John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life -- for God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him"

-- do you understand what that means? -- do you catch the implications in those verses? -- Jesus was living in Heaven as God -- He was living in paradise -- but He chose to come to this barren land -- to come to this desert place -- to save us -- His lowly creation

-- let me show this in Scripture -- turn over with me to one more verse
-- Luke 4:1 -- this passage takes place immediately after the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert

-- now I want you to notice something in this verse -- all of the major translations of the Bible -- the NIV, the NRSV, the American Standard Version -- all agree with this verse -- the King James and the New King James have it translated incorrectly I think on this one part
-- listen closely as I read this verse again from the NIV --

1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
-- did you see it? -- Jesus was led by the Spirit IN the desert -- He was not led by the Spirit to the desert -- He was led by the Spirit IN the desert

-- now what does that mean? -- that means that for God -- for Jesus -- this earth is the desert -- this is the barren place -- Jesus came TO the desert when He was born in a stable over 2000 years ago -- but since coming to earth as a man, He was led IN the desert by the Spirit
-- now get what I'm saying here -- I want you to catch the real impact of the passages we've been looking at here -- Jesus left Heaven -- He left His throne and His power and His authority and humbled Himself and became a man just like us -- He came to this barren land -- to this spiritual desert -- to save us from ourselves

-- and what did He get for His troubles? -- He got rejected -- He got despised -- He got crucified
-- and every time we turn our back on Him -- every time we treat Him just like any other unwanted Christmas gift -- every time we rush through Christmas and then say to ourselves, "I'm glad that's over" -- we're rejecting Him just as much as the innkeeper and Judas and the Pharisees, and Pontius Pilate did

-- Jesus did not come to earth to be worshiped only as a baby in a manger -- He did not come just to be adored by shepherds and wisemen -- He came to earth to save us from our sins and to be worshiped and adored as our Lord and Savior 365 days a year -- not just on Christmas -- not just on Easter -- and not just on Sunday mornings

-- I want to stop here and play a song called "Adoration" for you -- it's told from the perspective of a shepherd boy, but the feeling that he captures in this song should speak to us on this day after Christmas

-- listen to the words closely as this song is played

III. Closing
-- 2000 years ago God became man and walked on this earth for one purpose -- to save us from our sins and to restore us to a right relationship with Him
-- He came to be adored -- not to be rejected -- He came to be worshiped -- not to be despised
-- Jesus didn't come to earth as a baby to be put in storage until next Christmas -- He didn't come to earth to be put in storage until Easter -- or even until next Sunday
-- He came so that we might have life, and have it to the full -- but we tend to think of Him as just another Christmas gift -- and for the sake of convenience, we put Him aside and don't think of Him -- much less worship or adore Him -- until the next Christmas or Easter or Sunday rolls around

-- I pray this morning, on the first Sunday after Christmas, that you would make a commitment to keep Christ in your hearts this year -- that you would not put Him aside like an unwanted gift -- or put Him in storage like a precious decoration -- but that you would walk with Him in fellowship and adoration and worship every day for this next year

-- We heard a lot this year about keeping Christ in Christmas -- would you commit to keeping Christ with you after Christmas?
-- let's pray

South and Southeast Asia: UMCOR Responds to Catastrophic Disaster

UMCOR has issued an urgent appeal for donations to assist tens of thousands of earthquake survivors in South and Southeast Asia. The death toll has risen above 59,000 according to press reports today, in one of the most devastating earthquakes in a century.

UMCOR will be working with church-related alliances such as Action by Churches Together and Churches Auxiliary for Social Action to provide food, clean water, shelter, and sanitation services in a broadband of nations from Asia to Africa. The areas affected include parts of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and islands such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

The exact extent of the destruction is not immediately known. Waters from tsunamis-the term is Japanese for tidal wave-pushed far inland, and many of the affected regions are remote.
In India CASA has deployed 12 teams to assess needs and assist people in the coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. The organization told UMCOR it expects to work with 50,000 families.

The island nation of Sri Lanka was one of the hardest hit. As many as 10,000 died there. UMCOR assistance there will be coordinated through the National Council of Churches of Sri Lanka. Immediate need is to provide food and housing for displaced people.

Cash gifts will be most meaningful in the initial days and weeks of this response, according to the Rev. Kristin L. Sachen, head of UMCOR's international emergency services. "We have some initial funds to send this week," she said, but noted that long-term support will depend on the offerings local churches receive in response to the disaster. A bulletin insert will be available at umcor.org later this week.

You can get involved through giving to UMCOR Advance #274305, South Asia Emergency. UMCOR is also accepting online donations at http://MethodistRelief.org .

A Time for Prayer

As we have passed through the Christmas season and are facing a New Year in just a few days, please join with me in prayer for our churches, our nation, and our world.  There are many who are suffering today and who need our prayers in this next week and this next year. 

 

Specifically, please join me in prayer for....

 

Our churches -- that revival would sweep this land and this world -- that we would put aside our differences and truly be one in spirit as the Lord Jesus envisioned -- that we would turn from our liberal theological leanings and trust solely in the Word of God

 

Our nation -- that healing would begin following a fractious election year -- that our economy would be made stronger -- that our people would be filled with a desire to follow God and to live our Christ's love in their lives by reaching out to the poor and the widowed and the orphans -- that we would be protected from terrorists who seek to harm us -- and that we would be united as one people once again

 

Our world ...

 

-- for the victims of the earthquake in Indonesia, for their families and for the Governments struggling to deal with the horrific catastrophe -- that God's hand would be seen in the response to this disaster and that many would come to Christ as a result

 

-- for the people of Iraq -- that they would press on to their goal of having free elections on January 30th -- that the terrorists plans for that area would be thwarted and that the elections would happen without further violence -- for protection for our men and women serving there

 

-- for the European Union -- that they would come to recognize the need for God in their lives and build their new union and new constitution around the One who gives them the authority to govern -- for revival in Europe -- for the empty cathedrals and sanctuaries to be filled with joyous worship once again

 

-- for Africa -- for peace to reign in all the countries of this land -- for oppression and conflict and strife to end -- for revival to sweep from one corner to another and for the coming of many to Christ -- strength to the martyrs and courage to those facing persecution for Christ's sake -- for an end to famine and disease

 

 

Update on Methodist Minister Trial

Just a few weeks ago, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church found a Methodist minister, Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud, guilty of violating the Book of Discipline because of her lesbian lifestyle.  As a result of the trial, she lost her ordination credentials and is no longer authorized to perform sacraments in Methodist churches.

 

Rev. Stroud has just announced that she is appealing the results of her trial to the Northeastern Jurisdiction.  She feels that the Book of Discipline allows for diversity within the church.  Since the Northeastern Jurisdiction is a more liberal jurisdiction, there may be a good chance that the ruling by the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference could be overturned, which would lead our denomination into yet another controversy concerning same-sex marriage.

 

First Corinthians 13, the Christmas Version:

 

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just a decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, sing carols in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do no show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

Merry Christmas!

 

News to Watch!

There is a disturbing new trend taking place in Western countries to systematically exclude all Christian images, symbols, thought, and speech from the public arena. We have always seen over-reactions this time of the year as schools and cities banned Christian Christmas symbols in order to appease the ACLU and avoid lawsuits, but this year conditions have gotten even worse.

In Plano, TX, the school system there went so far as to ban the colors red and green from "Holiday" celebrations. All plates, napkins, and cups had to be completely white. Red and green colors were considered Christian and were banned. Other municipalities and schools have banned the word "Christmas" and have banned Christmas trees and nativity scenes and other traditional Christmas symbols. And, of course, we have the infamous Target banning of the Salvation Army bellringers, put forth as an attempt to reduce "solicitation" at their stores.

But, far more alarming are the recent attacks on the freedom of Christians, including preachers, to speak their beliefs. In the Netherlands, pastors can be arrested for "hate speech" if they preach against homosexuality by reading certain passages from the Bible. England recently passed a law limiting the freedom of speech and redefining "hate speech" to include sermons from pastors. And it's not all limited to European countries.

On Oct 10th in Philadelphia, 11 Christians were arrested for demonstrating at a pro-gay rally. The Christians were singing hymns, reading Bible passages, and praying. However, they were arrested, and 4 of the 11 are being prosecuted for "hate speech." The four could receive up to 47 years in prison if convicted.

What has happened to freedom of speech? What has happened to tolerance of other's beliefs? Where does it say in the Constitution that we not only have to tolerate but have to accept and affirm another's beliefs, no matter whether they disagree with our religious understanding or not? This is cause for real concern and should be a matter of prayer for Christians everywhere. If this can happen under the administration of a conservative Christian president, what does the future hold if more liberal administrations are formed?

Salvation Army and Target...Again

Well, now it appears the Salvation Army has enlisted a major ally in the war currently going on with Target. Wal-Mart has pledged to match donations received in Salvation Army kettles outside of their stores to the turn of $1 million dollars. Wal-mart made the announcement in response to Target's decision to ban Salvation Army bellringers and kettles from their store parking lots.

This issue is starting to get some media attention. A boycott of Target is proceeding by some Christians, but probably will not amount to enough to even catch the superstore's attention. However, others have come to the same idea I promoted -- to make a donation to the Salvation Army to help make up what they have lost from Target's decision.

Here's an article from the Christian News on the Wal-mart Decision. You can read the article on-line here: http://www.christianpost.com/article/society/1272/section/salvation.army.receives.%241million-matching.pledge.from.wal-mart/1.htm

Salvation Army Receives $1million-Matching Pledge from Wal-Mart
The Army good news from Wal-Mart after receiving bad news from Target.
Saturday, Dec. 18, 2004 Posted: 2:53:07PM EST

The Salvation Army said Friday it has received a matching pledge from Wal-Mart Stores, which will match up to $1 million its customers’ donations to the red kettles in front of its stores. Wal-Mart’s announcement is a solace to the national ministry after Target banned the Army’s bell ringers from its locations.
Advertisement
“At a time when it was needed the most, Wal-Mart has extended its hand to support a 104-year old tradition that benefits many thousands of people in communities throughout the United States,” said Commissioner W. Todd Bassett, National Commander of The Salvation Army. The matching pledge kicked-off Friday and applies to the Army’s red kettles in front of the Wal-Mart & SAM'S CLUB Foundation’s 3,600 Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUBS through Christmas Eve. According to the Army, the contributions will used for disaster relief efforts, feeding the hungry, and helping needy families in more than 9,000 communities across the country.Said Basset, “Every dollar put into our Red Kettles is used locally, and Wal-Mart’s generosity by matching those dollars will extend our local services to many more needy individuals requiring our assistance far beyond the holiday season.”Last year, bell ringers collected $12 million in front of Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUBS, accounting for more than 10% of the total donations raised through the nationwide Christmas appeal. A spokesman from Wal-Mart told The Christian Post the $1 million will likely be raised. However, the ministry is projecting to suffer a $9 million loss, the amount it raised last year through Red Kettle drives at Target locations. Target received a huge backlash from pro-family groups and its shoppers for kicking out the Salvation Army bell ringers. Pro-family activist groups such as the American Family Association, Christian Defense Coalition, National Clergy Council, Illinois Family Institute, among others, have urged boycotts on Target stores in favor of stores that do allow the red kettles such as Wal-Mart. “The Red Kettles are an enduring symbol of the holiday season and represent people helping people,” said Betsy Reithemeyer, vice president of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.“We hope our customers join us in donating what they can to benefit an organization that does so much in our communities to serve families in need. The Salvation Army Red Kettles and the bell ringers are truly a holiday tradition worth keeping.”Reaching 33 million people last year, the Salvation Army reported it provided food for the hungry, companionship to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, opportunities for underprivileged children, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, and many more services. A online donation to the Army’s Red Kettle drive can also be made through a link on Wal-Mart’s Web site leading to the Salvation Army’s online Kettle donation page, www.1800salarmy.org. People can also call 1- 800-SAL-ARMY to donate.

Why Pray Together?

[From the Sermon Fodder List]
> WHY PRAY TOGETHER?
> By Rev. Oliver W. Price
>
> "Do you pray together?" a member of a church missions committee asked a
> couple who were being examined for possible support. After an awkward
> pause
> the husband replied. "We both pray but we do not pray together." They are
> not alone. Many pastors and veteran missionaries do not pray together.
> Nine
> out of ten Americans say they pray, but only about 14% pray together with
> their family, close friends, or their church. Many do not understand why
> they need to pray together.
>
> An elder who faithfully attended prayer meeting asked his pastor, "Why
> don't
> you just give us a list of prayer requests so we could pray for them at
> home
> instead of coming to prayer meeting?" His question pointed to the weakness
> of our prayer meeting and our church. There is far more to praying
> together
> in one accord than we had realized.
>
> The main reason we must pray together is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ as
> the active almighty Head of the church. All authority and power in heaven
> and earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head over all
> things to His church. The church began in one accord in one place in
> prayer
> (Acts 1:14-15). The Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to fill the church and
> take charge of it as His representative (Acts 2:1-4). The church was so
> strong in the power of their Head that they turned the ancient world
> upside
> down for Christ and His kingdom (Acts 17:6).
>
> Our churches have forgotten the Lord's purpose for united prayer and lost
> His power. A. W. Tozer was right when he wrote an article titled, "The
> Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches". He declared, "All authority
> is
> His in heaven and in earth. In His own proper time He will exert it to the
> full, but during this period in history He allows this authority to be
> challenged or ignored.
>
> And just now it is being challenged by the world and ignored by the
> church."
> "Among the gospel churches Christ is now in fact little more than a
> beloved
> symbol," he added. We sing "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" but we
> treat
> the Lord Jesus like a constitutional monarch who leaves governing his
> kingdom to others. He explained, "Those in actual authority decide the
> moral
> standards of the church, as well as all objectives and all methods
> employed
> to achieve them. Because of long and meticulous organization it is now
> possible for the youngest pastor just out of seminary to have more actual
> authority in a church than Jesus Christ has.
>
> "Not only does Christ have little or no authority; His influence is less
> and
> less. I would not say that He has none, only that it is small and
> diminishing." One sign of His diminishing authority is that many churches
> have for years baptized professing Christians in the name of the Father,
> and
> of the Son and of the Holy Spirit without even asking them to commit
> themselves to learn to obey all that Christ commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
> Consequently Christ's supreme authority is ignored at the entrance into
> the
> membership and fellowship of His church. A disciple is a person who is
> committed to learn to obey all that Christ commanded, but the majority of
> Christians spend a lifetime in church and never even know that they should
> become a disciple.
>
> Communion is observed without a thoughtful reflection on whether any sins
> have crept into our lives that must be confessed and forsaken (I
> Corinthians
> 11:26-32). For many this remembrance of the supreme sacrifice of Christ
> who
> was obedient unto death is an empty ritual with no power of meaning.
> Further, proof of the diminishing authority of Christ in Gospel churches
> is
> evident in the widespread failure to invoke His presence, authority and
> power when sin and conflict arise.
>
> When churches are splitting apart or marriages are headed for divorce why
> is
> it so rare for the leaders to unite couples and congregations in claiming
> the promise of the presence and power of Christ to restore straying
> brothers
> to faith, love, obedience and unity (Matthew 18:15-20)? As we have noted,
> the church began in one accord in one place in prayer. They experienced
> the
> fullness of the Spirit and an amazing unity of love so that they
> spontaneously shared all they had with one another (Acts 2:4, 44-47;
> 4:23-35). Multitudes were converted and baptized because they were
> convinced
> that Christ really did rise from the dead and now occupies the seat of
> supreme power in heaven and earth (Acts 2:36-37). They risked persecution
> and even death when they were baptized.
>
> The authority and power, love and unity Christ gave His praying church has
> not impacted North America in our time. We are experiencing "a form of
> godliness but denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). Should we be surprised
> then that America is following Russia's path to atheism and
> self-destruction, according to Aleksandr Solzhynitsyn. He recalled former
> days when faith was the shaping and unifying force of Russia. That
> changed.
> The church became weak and lost its healthy influence on the morals and
> character of the nation. Out of this moral wilderness came hatred of God
> and
> persecution of the true believers. Why did this happen? His answer was,
> "Men
> have forgotten God." His warning was on target.
>
> The Washington Post reported that "in the past decade or so, many have
> stopped believing so strongly in church. Seven in 10 Americans say they
> can
> be religious without going to one, and every year fewer and fewer do.
> Since
> 1992, church attendance is down 12 percent, according to the Barna Group,
> which tracks religious trends. "Spirituality and religious faith are
> increasingly viewed as individual private matters with few ties to
> congregation and community." (Quoted in The Dallas Morning News, 1/29/00,
> p.
> 1 G). Barna also warned that we are in the midst of spiritual chaos. He
> said
> that for millions of Americans "faith activity is no longer affected by
> church loyalty, respect for clergy, acceptance of absolutes, tolerance of
> Christianity, reverence for God, a desire to strive for personal holiness,
> sensitivity to theological heresy, and appreciation of tradition." (Barna
> Research Online, April 16, 2001).
>
> THE STARTING POINT OF CHANGE What must we do to escape this deadly
> self-centered form of Christianity? What will it take to become a powerful
> church, one that is full of Christ and His love? What does God require for
> us to become more like the church in the book of Acts? We must wake up and
> face the truth! We have forsaken our first love for Christ (Rev. 2:4). We
> have become halfhearted in our obedience to Him. We are lukewarm. We must
> repent and become passionately zealous to love, honor, and obey the Lord
> no
> matter how great the cost (Rev. 3:19). We must give Him preeminence in all
> things. We must love the Lord supremely and demonstrate our love by our
> sacrificial obedience.
>
> We can learn a lesson from Bill McLeod, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church,
> Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He saw the great spiritual need in his
> congregation and devoted himself to prayer. Then he led the congregation
> to
> devote themselves to prayer. Before he preached his sermon he urged his
> people to come to prayer meeting on Wednesday even if they had to miss a
> service on Sunday. He kept that up until the attendance at prayer meeting
> increase from 40 to 120. In addition, there were 40 children meeting for
> prayer.
>
> Next, he invited folks to stay after church for prayer on Sunday evening.
> He
> also started cottage prayer meetings. He enlisted people to pray filling
> up
> 15 minute time slots around the clock. The deacons stayed on Saturday
> nights
> starting at 9:00 p.m. and continuing as long as they felt led to stay.
> After
> two years of intensive prayer the church began a series of meetings with
> Ralph and Lou Sutera on October 13, 1971. God began to work in a powerful
> way reconciling members to one another. The meetings were scheduled to
> last
> 12 days, but there was such a revival of love and obedience that twenty
> churches joined in and the meetings lasted for seven weeks. People who
> could
> not stand one another embraced and asked for forgiveness. So many people
> returned stolen items to stores that the local newspaper reported it on
> the
> front page.
>
> One man drove 60 miles to confess his sin and pay his debt to an insurance
> company that he had defrauded. Out of this experience Canadian Revival
> Fellowship was born. It continues to this day calling Christians to unite
> in
> prayer for spiritual awakening and conducting crusades in Canada and the
> USA.
>
> For further study of the purpose and power of praying together we
> recommend
> The Power Of Praying Together; Experiencing Christ Actively In Charge.
> This
> is a 187 page book by Oliver W. Price with five keys for effective praying
> together.
>
> First Key: Claiming the Presence of Christ
>
> Second Key: The Power and Real Meaning of Praying in Jesus' Name
>
> Third Key: Asking Christ to Take Charge
>
> Fourth Key: Asking Christ to Change Each of Us
>
> Fifth Key: Bringing Us into Harmony with Our Father in Heaven
>
> "If you want to experience the life-changing power of God's glorious
> presence through corporate prayer, then this book is for you."
> Tony Evans
>
> "This book is written with passion, a burning desire God has given Rev.
> Oliver W. Price to rekindle the fire of prayer in our homes and churches."
> Erwin W. Lutzer
>
> "Price has dealt with the greatest need in the church today. I commend
> this
> book to all those desiring to be men or women of prayer."
> Sammy Tippit
>
> Available from Bible Prayer Fellowship. You may order a copy online from
> www.praywithChrist.org or by phoning toll free 1-877-937-7293.
>
> Available in Christian book stores.
>
> Bible Prayer Fellowship was created to challenge and mentor pastors,
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> leaders, and concerned Christians in a strategically focused prayer
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The Importance of Hannukah to Christians

 

During this time of year, we are reminded that our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate another holiday, Hannukah.  I recently read an article about Hannukah and was surprised to learn what this holiday really means to the Jewish people.  I already knew that Hannukah celebrated an event that occurred during the intertestamental times, between the close of the Old Testament and the New Testament.  During this time, the Holy Land was overtaken by the Greeks, led by Antiochus Epiphanes, one of Alexander the Great's generals who received this land after the death of Alexander.  The Greek tradition at that time was to incorporate native religions into Greek tradition, a practice known as syncretism.  So, when the Greeks obtained control of the Holy Land, they attempted to blend the worship of God with the worship of all of their deities.  The big problem for the Jewish people was that the Greek practice of religion was based heavily on idolatory.

 

During this timeframe, a Jewish revolt happened under the leadership of the Maccabees, a Jewish family who took on the military might of Greece.  In the end, the Maccabees defeated the Greeks and drove them from the land.  They went into the temple that had been defiled through Greek idol worship and cleansed and purified the temple.  However, there was only enough oil to burn in the temple for one day, and eight days were needed for full purification.  Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days even though it should have completely run out in one day.  This miraculous feat of God is celebrated in the Festival of Lights or Hannukah.

 

Now, what I learned in this article that I did not know was that Hannukah was considered a call for Jewish people to rededicate their lives and to abandon any and all idols that are drawing them away from the worship of the Lord God Almighty.  I found that highly interesting and very applicable to us Christians.  While we may not be setting up temple gods in our sanctuaries and while we may not have house gods like the Hindus and some of the other eastern religions, we do set up idols in our lives, especially during this time of the year.  Idols are anything that we worship or place in importance more than God.  If you need to look for idols, just look at your local department store this Christmas season.  This holiday is built around idolism now, with idols of materialism, prosperity, Santa Claus, etc. 

 

Perhaps we need to recapture the true meaning of Christmas and to purify this holiday in much the same way as the Maccabees purified the temple.  Our focus this time of the year should not be on presents or food or family, but on the incarnation of Christ, on the birth of a Savior in a manger in Bethlehem, and on the grace of God in making salvation possible for a sinful and fallen world.

To Meet Such a Man

To Meet Such a Man -----
> >
> > I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of
> > a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The
> > food and the company were both especially good that day.
> >
> > As we talked, my attention was drawn outside,
> > across the street. There, walking into town,
> > was a man who appeared to be carrying
> > all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying,
> > a well-worn sign that read, "I will work
> > for food." My heart sank.
> >
> > I brought him to the attention of my friends and
> > noticed that others around us had stopped
> > eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a
> > mixture of sadness and disbelief.
> >
> > We continued with our meal, but his image
> > lingered in my mind. We finished our meal
> > and went our separate ways I had
> > errands to do and quickly set out to
> > accomplish them.
> >
> > I glanced toward the town square, looking
> > somewhat halfheartedly for
> > the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that
> > seeing him again would call some response.
> > I drove through town and saw nothing
> > of him. I made some purchases at a store
> > and got back in my car.
> >
> > Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking
> > to me: "Don't go back to the office until you've at
> > least driven once more around the square."
> > Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town.
> >
> > As I turned the square's third corner. I saw him.
> > He was standing on the steps of the storefront
> > church, going through his sack.
> >
> > I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to
> > speak to him, yet wanting to drive on.
> > The empty parking space on the corner
> > seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park.
> > I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
> >
> > "Looking for the pastor?" I asked.
> >
> > "Not really," he replied, "just resting."
> >
> > "Have you eaten today?"
> >
> > "Oh, I ate something early this morning."
> >
> > "Would you like to have lunch with me?"
> >
> > "Do you have some work I could do for you?"
> >
> > "No work," I replied. "I commute here to work
> > from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch."
> >
> > "Sure," he replied with a smile.
> >
> > As he began to gather his things, I asked some
> > surface questions.
> >
> > "Where you headed?"
> >
> > "St. Louis."
> >
> > "Where you from?"
> >
> > "Oh, all over; mostly Florida."
> >
> > "How long you been walking?"
> >
> > "Fourteen years," came the reply.
> >
> > I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across
> > from each other in the same restaurant I had left
> > earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond
> > his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he
> > spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He
> > removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, "Jesus
> > is The Never Ending Story."
> >
> > Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen
> > rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong
> > choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen
> > years earlier, while backpacking across the country,
> > he had stopped on the beach in Daytona.
> >
> > He tried to hire on with some men who were putting
> > up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He was
> > hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services,
> > and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life
> > over to God.
> >
> > "Nothing's been the same since," he said, " I
> > felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I
> > did, some 14 years now."
> >
> > "Ever think of stopping?" I asked.
> >
> > "Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the
> > best of me But God has given me this calling.
> > I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I
> > work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out
> > when His Spirit leads."
> >
> > I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless.
> > He was on a mission and lived this way by choice.
> >
> > The question burned inside for a moment and then
> > I asked:
> >
> > "What's it like?"
> >
> > "What?"
> >
> > "To walk into a town carrying all your things on
> > your back and to show your sign?"
> >
> > "Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would
> > stare and make comments. Once someone
> > tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made
> > a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel
> > welcome. But then it became humbling to
> > realize that God was using me to touch liv es and
> > change people's concepts of other folks like me."
> >
> > My concept was changing, too. We finished our
> > dessert and gathered his things. Just outside
> > the door, he paused. He turned to me and said,
> > "Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the
> > kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was
> > hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty
> > you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in."
> >
> > I felt as if we were on holy ground "Could you
> > use another Bible?" I asked.
> > He said he preferred a certain translation. It
> > traveled well and was not too heavy.
> > It was also his personal favorite
> >
> > "I've read through it 14 times," he said.
> >
> > "I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's
> > stop by our church  and see." I was able to
> > find my new friend a Bible that would do well,
> > and he seemed very grateful.
> >
> > "Where are you headed from here?"
> >
> > "Well, I found this little map on the back of
> > this amusement park coupon."
> >
> > "Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?"
> >
> > "No, I just figure I should go there. I figure
> > someone under that star right there needs
> > a Bible, so that's where I'm going next."
> >
> > He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated
> > the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back
> > to the town-square where we'd met two hours
> > earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We
> > parked and unloaded his things.
> >
> > "Would you sign my autograph book?" he asked. "I
> > like to keep messages from folks I meet."
> > < BR>> > I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his
> > calling had touched My life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I
> > left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, "I know the plans
> > I have
> > for you, "declared the Lord, "Plans to prosper
> > you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a
> > Future and a hope."
> >
> > "Thanks, man," he said. "I know we just met and
> > we're really just strangers, but I love you."
> >
> > "I know," I said, "I love you, too."
> >
> > "The Lord is good!"
> >
> > "Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone
> > hugged you?" I asked.
> >
> > "A long time," he replied.
> >
> > And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling
> > rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt
> > deep inside that I had been changed. He put his
> > things on his back, smiled his winning smile and
> > said, "See you in the New Jerusalem."
> >
> > "I'll be there!" was my reply.
> >
> > He began his journey again. He headed away with
> > his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles.
> > He stopped, turned and said, "When you see
> > something that makes you think of me, will you pray
> > for me?"
> >
> > "You bet," I shouted back, "God bless."
> >
> > "God bless." And that was the last I saw of him.
> >
> > Late that evening as I left my office, the wind
> > blew strong. The cold front had settled hard
> > upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car.
> >
> > As I sat back and reached for the emergency
> > brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown
> > work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle.
> > I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered
> > if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
> >
> > Then I remembered his words: "If you see something
> > that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?"
> >
> > Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office.
> > They help me to see the world and its people in a
> > new way, and they help me remember those two hours
> > with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry.
> >
> > "See you in the New Jerusalem," he said.
> > Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
> >
> > If this story touched you, forward it to a
> > friend! "I shall pass this way but once
> > Therefore, any good that I can do or any
> > kindness that I can show, let me do it now,
> > for I shall not pass this way again."
> >
> > My instructions were to send this to four people
> > that I wanted God to bless and I picked you.
> > Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.
> >
> > This prayer is powerful and there is nothing
> > attached. Please do not break this pattern.
> > Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive.
> > There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's
> > continue to pray for one another.
> >
> > God bless and have a nice day!
> >
> > "Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives
> > and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show
> > them a new revelation of your love and power.
> > Holy spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit
> > at this very moment. Where there is pain, give
> > them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a
> > renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name.
> > Amen."
> >
> > I sent this to more than four, but this story is
> > so touching I felt each of you would enjoy it greatly


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'Street Saints'

'Street Saints'

This article from the Houston Chronicle by Richard Vara talks about the emergence of a new kind of Christianity -- a traditional Christianity -- that is taking place all across our land.  This is the Christianity that Jesus taught.  The Christian life played out through our daily lives -- not just talked about in church or discussed in seminary.  It is bringing the love of God to a people hungry for spiritual and physical food.  What will it take for us to finally realize that Christ came and taught and ministered -- not in the church -- but in the world with the people?  What will it take for us to finally realize that we are called to leave our sanctuaries and go forth in His name to minister to others?  I pray that we will finally come to see that church is not a place that we go but the people we are, and that we are never more Christians than when we serve others in His name.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(From the Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/features/2941736)

Faith-based aid transforms belief into action, yet it's often unheralded

By RICHARD VARA
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

In Barbara J. Elliott's eyes, street saints are all around us.

They help the homeless find not only a bed but dignity through employment. They help break the bonds of drug addiction, teach English to new immigrants, shelter battered women, or do something as simple as handing out cookies at an after-school program.

"I want to light fires," said Elliott, the founder and director of the Houston-based Center for Renewal, a resource center for faith-based community and social-service organizations. "I want to be part of what I hope will be a revolution of the heart, (for believers) to take their faith out of the sanctuary and into the streets. I want people to understand that every one of us who is a person of faith has really been charged to go and be an apostle.

"If that were to happen across the country," she said, "we would have a very different country."

Elliott has seen the changes that religious social service and community-renewal programs have made. She highlights the best of them in Street Saints: Renewing America's Cities (Templeton Foundation Press, $24.95).

Several Houston organizations are featured, including The Brookwood Community, a ministry to the physically and mentally handicapped, and No More Victims, a ministry to kids with incarcerated parents.

Her purpose in writing the book "was to raise the visibility of street saints, those people who are doing the remarkably hard work of loving these human beings into wholeness."

Among them are the saints at Open Door Mission, an East End ministry to the homeless.

"This is one of the great examples of an organization that through faith and love is changing the hearts of the people they are dealing with," Elliott said in a quiet classroom at the mission. "The thing that impresses me is that rather than just giving a place for homeless men to stay, which is a virtuous thing, they are also helping them leave homelessness."

Open Door offers a nine-month drug- and alcohol-recovery program that includes Bible study, prayer and daily work. About a third of the 214 residents go through the program, she said, and 72 percent remain drug- and alcohol-free one year after they leave.

Elliott is convinced a religion-inspired love of neighbor can motivate the needed volunteers to enlist in faith-based organizations. Those groups, in turn, can attack poverty, broken families, drug and alcohol addiction and other social maladies.

She said her conviction is shared by President George W. Bush, who established a White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives early in his first term. He successfully promoted federal legislation to allow faith-based groups to bid to provide social-service programs.

Open Door Mission is not funded by the government, however, because it is "a faith-saturated program," she said. "Faith is the substance of what they do; it is not just an add-on.

"Federal money may not be used for religious instruction or religious materials," said Elliott, who once worked in the White House Office of Public Liaison in the Reagan administration, and was the first director of legislative information for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Federal funds may go toward secular goals such as GED preparation, homeless shelters and meals for the hungry.

Another program Elliott praises is InnerChange Freedom Initiative, sponsored by Prison Fellowship International. Launched in Texas in 1997, it provides Bible study, counseling, prayer and Christian education for inmates. After their release, former prisoners are assigned a mentor and a home church to help with jobs and other needs.

Elliott cites research that found only 8 percent of program graduates return to prison, in contrast to 20 percent recidivism among a group of inmates who did not participate.

It is important for the religious community to participate in social work, she said.

"This is the job of the church. This is the job of the individual people in their own community to be the connective tissue, to be that presence of transforming love.

"It is not just about doing social service, it is about loving people," she said. "The churches that are involved with this kind of work find they are attracting people without even attempting to."

Elliott's own involvement in helping others began in 1989 while she was living in Germany and after having worked as a correspondent for the Public Broadcasting Service. She took stock of her spiritual life and found it wanting.

"I had done a lot of things the world called important, but I had never asked God what he wanted me to do," said Elliott, who was raised in the Episcopal Church but is now a Roman Catholic. The divine answer came quickly when Eastern European refugees poured into West Germany and she became involved in helping them with shelter, food and other necessities.

She listened as refugees talked of how their spiritual and religious convictions helped them survive and defeat communism. She collected their stories for her first book, Candles Behind the Wall, which brought invitations to speak at universities, congressional committees and East European legislatures.

"I was convinced that the disproportionate effect that people of spirit had in Eastern Europe had a counterpart in the inner cities of America," she said.

Returning to the States, she worked for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty and directed an awards program for faith-based, nonprofits around the country. After moving to Houston in 1997 because of her husband's job, Elliott founded the center to help faith-based groups with expertise and education.

"The object of the game is not to get to receive government money," Elliott said. "The object is to get them to the resources of the community at large to do the important work they are doing that one one else can do.

"The people who are working at the grass roots are reaching a place the government cannot touch and even the large social service institutions cannot touch."

richard.vara@chron.com

Famous Atheist Converts Based on Science

An AP News Story located on MSNBC  (you can read the article at this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6688917/) announces that a well-known atheist, Dr. Antony Flew, has finally concluded that there is a God.  While a conversion from atheism to Christianity or even just general spirituality is not headline news, what makes Dr. Flew's case exceptional was the fact that it was science that finally convinced him of the presence of a creator.

 

While looking at the intricacies of DNA and the complexity of life, Dr. Flew came to accept the fact that such complex characteristics could not have been derived simply by chance.  As stated in the article, "Yet biologists' investigation of DNA "has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce [life], that intelligence must have been involved," Flew says in the new video, "Has Science Discovered God?""

 

For too long, Christians have been told that our faith is not compatible with science.  That to be a Christian, you must discount science in order to believe.  But, as shown by the conversion of Dr. Flew, that is simply not the case.  Without getting into a discussion of intelligent design (creationism) principles versus Darwinian evolution, it is obvious to most who observe nature and the complexity of life without bias that there is a creator. 

 

The facts of nature fit better with a biblical world view.  Originally, when God created life, it was created perfect (And God saw that it was good).  But, as a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden, imperfection entered into life.  People began to live shorter and shorter lives as sickness and disease and parasites came in and as their original genetic makeup deteriorated.  Animals did the same, changing from perfection in the garden to deteriorating examples, radiating out into other similar species (ex.  wolves to foxes and coyotes and dogs), and shortening their life through diseases and parasites and genetic deterioration.  The presence of endangered species is not an example of evolution and the survival of the fittest.  It is an example of degradation following the fall.

 

But, the bottom line is that an unbiased look at science and at our natural world will always lead one to a Creator, just as it did Dr. Flew.

The Ethics of Stem Cells and War

 

The following is the result of ongoing discussions I have had with a coworker on stem cell research.

 

The italicized section below is an excerpt from an e-mail from my coworker to myself.  My response follows.

 

What I have been trying to get across to you by sending you articles (from scholarly publications I might add) is that, yes, adult stem cells can be used for a lot of things that we are just now learning about.   But the truth is that there are certain things that embryonic stem cells can do that no other stem cells can.

 

As far as the ethical question goes,  the lives that you are saving are people that are conscious of their bodies and the world around them.  They know to fear pain and have families that know and love them.   A fetus is not conscious of what is going on outside its mother's belly.   Up to a certain point, they function on levels similar to my cats.  But only crazy people argue against killing animals, right?!! 

 

What about the Iraqi civilians that we kill everyday????   Or any other person involved in the war, for that matter!   Are we not killing them to save ourselves?? 

 

This is a complex issue, especially when you try to explore the ethical components involved.  It's easier to pigeon-hole the discussion into embryonic stem cells vs. war, but, you are right, the overall ethical dilemmas persist throughout.

 

Here's what I believe in regards to stem cell research:

 

1.  I believe there are benefits that can be gained from stem cell research, both adult and embryonic.  That is a scientific fact.  However, I believe the claims from both sides of the issue are a little extravagent.  We will never develop every potential cure or treatment from just using adult stem cells.  It just won't happen.  On the other side, embryonic stem cells are not better than sliced bread.  While there is promise in scientific gain from using them, to date there are very, very few actual cures/treatments that have been derived from embryonic stem cell research when compared to adult stem cell research.  So, in a world totally freed from ethical constraints, the ideal situation would be to use both lines of stem cells in scientific research.

 

2.  I believe in the sanctity of life.  I find it reprehensible that someone would be willing to sacrifice a human embryo -- whether derived from cloning or embryo harvest (including the frozen embryos) -- to improve the health of another person.  Based on my beliefs, an embryo is a person.  There will never be another person completely identical to that embryo -- genetically, environmentally, or behaviorally (not to mention spiritually).  Even a clone of the embryo will not be 100% identical in those three aspects.  While the genetics may be similar, the environment in which the embryo is developed will never be the same, even in the laboratory.  Minute changes in temperature and humidity, contamination from equipment, light from microscopes, the breath of a scientist, etc. may result in genetic expressions that are different from the original clone.  Bottom line -- I think it is wrong to kill another person to benefit another (see #3 for more rambling thoughts).

 

3.  I think it is wrong to kill another person to benefit another.  This is, of course, a bold statement that has the potential to be picked apart by circumstances. 

 

a.  In regards to medical research, I strongly oppose the destruction of human life, regardless of age, simply to further scientific knowledge or to produce nebulous health benefits for others, no matter how large those benefits might be in the long run.  In my opinion, there is no difference between killing an embryo for the collection of stem cells versus killing an adult to harvest organs for another person.  Would there be a benefit to harvesting organs from live persons?  Of course -- that is why we have organ donor programs.  But there is a difference between the voluntary donation of organs from brain-dead persons versus the killing of viable living organisms to obtain them.

 

b.  Protection of Self.  Now, what about this question in light of the issue of war or crime.  I have stated that it is wrong to kill another person to benefit another.  But, isn't war a situation where we benefit from the death of our enemies?  If someone breaks into your home and threatens a loved one with death or bodily harm, wouldn't you attempt to stop them, resulting in a benefit to you (your loved one doesn't get hurt or killed) at a cost to the other person?  The answer, to both questions, is...of course.  But, when you are addressing issues of war or crime or violence, you must consider other factors.  There is a concept of "just war" that has been developed in the Christian church over the course of the centuries.  This was first postulated by Augustine, but was picked up on and discussed by others.  This concept can also be applied to individual issues as well.  According to this concept, a nation can go to war with another nation for just causes.  A just war can only be fought to redress a wrong suffered, whether that is an attack on another nation or the repression of peoples.  The goal of a just war is to re-establish peace, and there must be a reasonable hope for success.  Finally, care must be taken to only engage enemy combatants and not civilians.  So, is it wrong to kill another person to benefit another?  Yes and no.  It depends.  In the case of a just war, it is permissible to kill some in order to right wrongs and benefit society and restore peace.  Is the death of an innocent civilian in Iraq the same as the death of an embryo for stem cell research?  No.  The goals of the two actions that resulted in the deaths are different.  In the first case, the innocent civilian was not the target of attack but was an unavoidable victim of an attack against enemy combatants.  In war, the innocent sometimes die.  Soldiers sometimes die.  But their death is not in vain -- it is for the greater good of correcting social injustice and the restoration of peace and a result of the overall conflict.  On the other hand, the death of an embryo is just that.  It was a premeditated attack on another living being without provocation.  It is not the byproduct of a just war -- it can actually be termed an unjust attack on another living being without their permission.  It is a wrong that needs to be redressed.  In my humble opinion, there is no difference between Saddam Hussein cruelly persecuting and torturing and killing his own people versus the killing of innocent embryos, either for stem cell research or for abortion.  Both cases are morally reprehensible.

 

4.  Back to Stem Cell Research.  So, to sum it all up, I would prefer to see stem cell research limited to adult stem cells and to existing embryonic cell lines where the embryo has already been destroyed.  Scientific gain without the introduction of additional death and destruction.  Will it produce the same results as unrestricted embryonic stem cell research?  No.  But, since there are viable research avenues outside of embryonic stem cell research that may produce results, then I am in favor of using them to the maximum extent possible.  We must always keep in mind that the ends do not justify the means.  You cannot destroy life now because the promise of future health benefits is great.

Target targets Salvation Army

By now most of you have probably seen the news and recoiled in horror -- the department store chain Target has refused to allow Salvation Army bellringers to take up posts outside their stores this year.  Other stores have followed Target's lead and banned the Salvation Army as well.

 

Oh, the horror!  Oh, the outrage!  You've seen it in the news.  You've heard it from conservative and evangelical talk shows and news sites.  The Christian nation is in an uproar.  This was the final straw in the relentless attack on traditional Christianity in what is our second-most holy holiday (please don't ask what the first-most holy holiday is -- you should know!).  News releases by major Christian organizations.  Messages from pastors.  News reports decrying this attack.

 

Now, here's the real question.  What are YOU doing about it?  Are you joining the throng complaining to God and all?  If so, why?  Didn't Jesus tell us to expect persecution?  Didn't Jesus tell us to expect the world to hate us and to not understand us?  But, what did He tell us to do in response?  Did He say send angry e-mails to Target?  Did he say write letters to our local papers?  Did He tell us to boycott those stores and those people who disagree with our message.  No.  He told us to love those who persecute us and to show love in all our responses.

 

Now, I'm not saying that we should rush out in a Christian love-fest and make all our Christmas purchases from Target and other stores that are discriminating against the Salvation Army.  But, there is something we can do in a more tangible way.  We can channel all of our energy, all of our anger, at helping the Salvation Army in their mission.  We can make a better statement to Target and the other stores by writing checks instead of e-mails and making up the difference in funds that the Salvation Army would have received from bell-ringers at Target.

 

If you are angry about the situation, then make a difference.  Ask your friends and family for donations for the Salvation Army.  And send them a check, along with a note telling them that you are sending this because of the persecution they have endured from Target and the other stores.  Better yet, make a donation in Target's name and send Target a note telling them that you have made a donation to the Salvation Army on their behalf.  Perhaps an outpouring of generosity, rather than angry e-mails and letters, will have a greater impact on the controversy than any other thing we can do.

 

Remember, we are called to be salt in this world.  Salt can be used in two ways.  It can season and add flavor to an otherwise bland dish.  Or, it can be rubbed into a wound to irritate and cause further pain.  Which use of salt do you think Christ was referring to in His Word?  Your actions will determine your saltiness this Christmas season.

An Island in a Sea of Liberalism

Recent news from around the world have confirmed what I have suspected for some time.  Despite a rising tide of liberalism in certain areas of our country -- read "blue states" here -- the United States still maintains a fairly conservative approach to social issues and Christianity.  Several other nations, most notably South Korea, could also fit in this category.

 

However, in an evolving, post-modern world, we find ourselves becoming islands of sanity in a sea of liberalism, both social liberalism and theological liberalism.  The latest case in point is our neighbors to the north.  While we were noisily debating the issue of same-sex marriages here in the United States during the last election, Canada was quietly moving forward with state approval for the same.  Yesterday, the Canadian Supreme Court approved same-sex marriage on a national level, pending action by legislators, following similar actions by the Netherlands and other ultra-liberal countries.

 

What will be the end result of this?  Will we hold fast to our traditional Judeo-Christian values and ethics in this country or will we be overtaken by a tide of liberalism that threatens not only our culture and our way of life but also our very spirituality?  Time will tell. 

Random Thoughts

This was posted in The Times (http://www.thetimeswire.com/index.php?ID=177), a newspaper in south Mississippi.

Nothing else needs to be said.  This editorial says it all.

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Random Thoughts

By Matt Shackelford

What ever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.

That line stuck in my head the other morning when I attended the early mass at Sacred Heart. I had a friend going through a special ceremony, so my wife and I were there to show our support.

I'm not an overly vocal person about my religious beliefs. I am a firm believer that people who go around talking all their church nonsense and about what they've done are nothing but self promoters. What I do with God is between me and the Creator. I say that because the following event struck me as very odd.

I'd never attended a morning mass there opting mostly to attend the evening service instead. The format was the same, but there was a little more pageantry involved.

There was a choir, and there were by far more people dressed in their finest Sunday clothes as I used to call them.

I was just enjoying watching the people get ready when I noticed a sight I'd never seen, a homeless man sitting in church. He was unshaven and had long unwashed hair. His clothes looked to be falling apart, but despite it all he was smiling. I'd imagine he was just happy to be warm and dry in the church because he wasn't bothering a soul staring at his feet.

My attention wandered to the front where people were coming in so I turned away from the man. It wasn't but a few minutes later when  I saw a police officer walk up to the fellow and ask him to leave. The smile was gone now as he gathered up his meager belongings and slowly trudged out the door. People around him simply looked away, I guess seeing that man in their church bothered them.

That stuck with me through out the entire service as the line I opened this column with came to mind. This man was hurting no one, and for all we know was there to worship. I can see making him go if he was being offensive or harassing people, but he was just sitting there staring at his feet. Why did he have to go, or could he have sit in the back of the church?

Being a Christian organization I would have expected someone to help him, but they didn't. Most just sat there and ignored this man that had more to deal with in his life than most of the others sitting around. Suddenly, needing to get the car fixed or whether or not Auburn would make it to the national championship didn't matter.

Being a newcomer to the church I sat there and thought about what had just happened. My entire life I've heard about Christian love and help, but I guess that only applies to people dressed neatly and not clearly in need. Help those who are in good shape and forget about the rest. Sometimes so called religious people really make me sick.

As the service progressed, I couldn't help but think about the man. I told myself I should have gotten up and maybe talked with him or bought him some coffee and breakfast. Who knows, but I know it was a moment lost.

When Father Pat got up for his homely, he wasn't his normal, cheerful self. He was almost stoic in his attitude as he talked about stewardship. It wasn't until he closed that he made mention of them homeless man. I could tell he he was ashamed of what happened because he didn't call the cops. Someone in the congregation had called the police to escort the man out. He did not condone this action, and said it should not have been done.

Again I thought of that line, what ever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.

A few days later I saw the man walking down the street. I couldn't help but wonder what he thought about being thrown out of a church. What was his perception of Christians and their beliefs?

Working Christmas Day

Working Christmas Day
By Victoria Schlintz

It was an unusually quiet day in the emergency room on December
twenty-fifth. Quiet, that is, except for the nurses who were standing
around the nurses' station grumbling about having to work Christmas
Day.

I was triage nurse that day and had just been out to the waiting room
to clean up. Since there were no patients waiting to be seen at the
time, I came back to the nurses' station for a cup of hot cider from
the crockpot someone had brought in for Christmas. Just then an
admitting clerk came back and told me I had five patients waiting to
be evaluated.

I whined, "Five, how did I get five? I was just out there and no one
was in the waiting room."

"Well, there are five signed in." So I went straight out and called
the first name. Five bodies showed up at my triage desk, a pale
petite woman and four small children in somewhat rumpled clothing.

"Are you all sick?" I asked suspiciously.

"Yes," she said weakly, and lowered her head.

"Okay," I replied, unconvinced, "who's first?" One by one they sat
down, and I asked the usual preliminary questions. When it came to
descriptions of their presenting problems, things got a little vague.
Two of the children had headaches, but the headaches weren't
accompanied by the normal body language of holding the head or trying
to keep it still or squinting or grimacing. Two children had
earaches, but only one could tell me which ear was affected. The
mother complained of a cough, but seemed to work to produce it.

Something was wrong with the picture. Our hospital policy, however,
was not to turn away any patient, so we would see them. When I
explained to the mother that it might be a little while before a
doctor saw her because, even though the waiting room was empty,
ambulances had brought in several, more critical patients, in the
back, she responded, "Take your time, it's warm in here." She turned
and, with a smile, guided her brood into the waiting room.

On a hunch (call it nursing judgment), I checked the chart after the
admitting clerk had finished registering the family. No address -
they were homeless. The waiting room was warm.

I looked out at the family huddled by the Christmas tree. The
littlest one was pointing at the television and exclaiming something
to her mother. The oldest one was looking at her reflection in an
ornament on the Christmas tree.

I went back to the nurses station and mentioned we had a homeless
family in the waiting room - a mother and four children between four
and ten years of age. The nurses, grumbling about working Christmas,
turned to compassion for a family just trying to get warm on
Christmas. The team went into action, much as we do when there's a
medical emergency. But this one was a Christmas emergency.

We were all offered a free meal in the hospital cafeteria on
Christmas Day, so we claimed that meal and prepared a banquet for our
Christmas guests.

We needed presents. We put together oranges and apples in a basket
one of our vendors had brought the department for Christmas. We made
little goodie bags of stickers we borrowed from the X-ray department,
candy that one of the doctors had brought the nurses, crayons the
hospital had from a recent coloring contest, nurse bear buttons the
hospital had given the nurses at annual training day and little fuzzy
bears that nurses clipped onto their stethoscopes. We also found a
mug, a package of powdered cocoa, and a few other odds and ends. We
pulled ribbon and wrapping paper and bells off the department's
decorations that we had all contributed to. As seriously as we met
physical needs of the patients that came to us that day, our team
worked to meet the needs, and exceed the expectations, of a family
who just wanted to be warm on Christmas Day.

We took turns joining the Christmas party in the waiting room. Each
nurse took his or her lunch break with the family, choosing to spend
their "off duty" time with these people whose laughter and delightful
chatter became quite contagious.

When it was my turn, I sat with them at the little banquet table we
had created in the waiting room. We talked for a while about dreams.
The four children were telling me about what they would like to be
when they grow up. The six-year-old started the conversation. "I want
to be a nurse and help people," she declared.

After the four children had shared their dreams, I looked at the Mom.
She smiled and said, "I just want my family to be safe, warm and
content - just like they are right now."

The "party" lasted most of the shift, before we were able to locate a
shelter that would take the family in on Christmas Day. The mother
had asked that their charts be pulled, so these patients were not
seen that day in the emergency department. But they were treated.

As they walked to the door to leave, the four-year-old came running
back, gave me a hug and whispered, "Thanks for being our angels
today." As she ran back to join her family, they all waved one more
time before the door closed. I turned around slowly to get back to
work, a little embarrassed for the tears in my eyes. There stood a
group of my coworkers, one with a box of tissues, which she passed
around to each nurse who worked a Christmas Day she will never forget.

Greg and Kim Lee
gwlee2@bellsouth.net
http://onlyimagine.blogspot.com

 

 

Care for our Troops!

The following is part of an e-mail that I received with links to sites where you can send care packages and other form of help to our troops overseas!

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I've had many Funnies readers ask me for other outlets to send letters and packages to US troops overseas. I'd highly recommend that you contact the following lady--an awesome person, a Marine mom, and recently featured in People magazine for her work:
tiggersmomma@yahoo.com

Better yet, join her Yahoo Group that works on an ongoing basis to get good stuff to the guys and gals over there:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Smiles4Troops/

Other projects:
http://www.anysoldier.us/
http://www.4thetroops.net/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/operationquietcomfort/
http://www.emailourmilitary.org/
http://www.operationwoundedsoldiers.org/
http://www.projectyellowribbon.com/

Thanks!
Mikey

Greg and Kim Lee
gwlee2@bellsouth.net
http://onlyimagine.blogspot.com

 

 

Emerging Trends In Christianity

I have noticed several articles in recent Christian publications talking about the emergence of a new type of Christianity expressed through churches called "The Emergent Church." 

 

From what I've read about these new congregations, they seem to be a blend of the old and the new, with an emphasis on the restoration of fundamental evangelical theology but with less concern about church structure and hiearchy.  The main emphasis of these churches is two-fold:  1)  Evangelism; and, 2) Holiness expressed through spirituality or mysticism. 

 

Members of these churches refuse to get caught up in the burning issues of other main-line evangelical churches, such as same-sex marriages and political issues that have entangled the theology of main-line evangelicals.  Instead, their main focus is missional, seeking to bring others into the fold of Christianity.  They also express a deep concern for spiritual practices and put an emphasis on spiritual formation.

 

It appears that this emerging church movement is an outgrowth of the non-denominational movement/Vineyard movement that has been very attractive over the past 20 years or so.  These churches also focused on spirituality and the expression of charismatic gifts.  It will be interesting to see if the emergent church survives in this post-modern era, or if it is merely a new fad in church life, similar to the fads we've seen in recent years revolving around the "Prayer of Jabez," the "Purpose-Driven Life," and contemporary services.  In those cases, we watched the church reorganize and shift programs and emphases, just to change them when something new came along.  Regardless of the success of this church in the long term, I think we can celebrate the emergent church as a new vessel through which God is speaking, and support the efforts of these churches by being more involved in evangelism in our own lives and our own churches.