Christian Living

As Christians, our focus should not be on the many negatives that this broken world offers (and there are plenty if that is what you are looking for). The psalmist aptly states, “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee” (Psalms 39:7). This Christmas let’s reflect on where our hope should be placed.

The story is told of a struggling community who called an open town meeting to discuss their financial straits. Included in the group of a couple dozen people at the meeting was a stranger. No one knew him, and no one paid him any attention. In fact, once when he tried to speak up, he was interrupted as the townspeople continued to hash out possible solutions. Soon the stranger left.

I remember as a teen hearing a preacher preach that we should never ask God “why?” I wish I could say that I clearly remember the text and context of the message he preached, but I don’t. One thing I can say is that I remember his drilling that central point home in my mind.

Did He choose leave Heaven’s glory, choose to become man through the virgin birth just so there would be a Christmas Day? Did He decide to come to earth to give us a holiday? A season of overspending and celebration? Did He want the human race to have a few days off work, have some fun in early winter?

It’s strange that the very time of year we celebrate “peace on earth” is one of the most frazzled and hectic. But Christmastime or not, many of us grind through our days with a heart empty of peace. The world is filled with overload of all kinds. But God’s children have been offered the peace that passes understanding.

To the actors in the original Christmas drama, Christmas was something far larger than a story. When Gabriel first saluted Mary with the glad tidings that she was selected to give birth to the Messiah, it was not only a dream come true; it was a complete life change.

In case you haven’t already noticed, December is a busy month. Whether or not you are a pastor, your schedule is surely more filled this month than is comfortable. As a pastor, December is literally the most challenging month of the year for me. There are three specifics I pray for (and ask others to pray for on my behalf) this month:

God is always working behind the scenes to provide for His children. Since He knows what tomorrow holds, one would think that trusting the Lord would be the only option in daily living. Have you ever wondered why God directed the wise men to bring expensive gifts to the Saviour when He was obviously too young to make use of them?

There’s nothing like a hospital room to condense your thoughts into the truly important. Something about the tubes, monitors, hoses, gloves, gowns, and even the smell all serve to rivet your mind on the eternal. During a recent visit to a hospital bedside, I read Psalm 34 with the family gathered in the room. As I read, several key truths—truths that really matter when you’re in the hospital—spoke to me:

Sermon outline: This is an abbreviated outline with the complete sermon downloadable at the bottom of the post. Every road has two dangers; two ditches. One ditch is a lazy worker. The other is a workaholic. Which ditch do you want to be in? Neither! I want to be on the main road. Let’s read Colossians 3:22–25.

As the results of the recent election became clear, I became concerned, not because of party or political issues, but for spiritual reasons. Those who elected our nation’s leaders reflect the hearts of our nation’s citizens. When a political party jeers at the name of God, rejects God’s plan for marriage, and endorses the killing of preborn children—and America elects those who hold these positions—we are in a difficult situation.

America’s Thanksgiving tradition is a time to focus on God and His blessings on us and on our nation. In a year that has provided America with hardships and economic challenges, perhaps it is even more important to focus on God this Thanksgiving and on the good things He has provided in the midst of our difficulties.

I recently returned from a week out of the office. My week away was not a vacation, missions trip, or preaching meeting. It was actually a time to get away from my daily routine of office, ministry, and work. It was a time to reflect, pray, think, read, and prepare for the future.

I recently read a classic little book called How to Read a Book. That may sound like an odd title; after all, how could somebody read a book unless they already knew how to read a book? And if they didn’t know how to read, how could they even read it at all? But How to Read a Book turned out to be one of the most important books I have ever read.

Did you ever have to eat your words? Pull a stuck foot out of your mouth? It’s too bad that the part of us that most often gets us into trouble is the part that is most often the quickest to respond—the tongue. No wonder James 1:19 admonishes, “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

The Word of God states, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12). We must not forget that God is the sustaining power of our republic.

People do not trust Christ as their Saviour by reading our critiques of evangelism strategies. Nor do they get saved in response to discussions about our busy schedules.

The lament of Romans 7:24 is the cry of no less than the great Apostle Paul, who groans, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” He says that his situation makes him “wretched,” and sadly many Christians live in this condition day after day, and even year after year.

As our nation is engaged in a time of getting ready to once again vote for our nation’s leader, it is important to remind ourselves what a blessed privilege it is to be able to let our voices be heard. We have the honor and the biblical responsibility to stand for what the Scriptures command.

Pride is the number one reason that Christians quit serving the Lord, and it is the number one reason that spiritual leaders fall out of the ministry. Pride can produce an angry spirit, immorality, secret sin, marital strife, excessive debt, and a host of other “surface reasons” that people stop serving the Lord.