Missing Christmas

Have you ever heard the term, "hiding in plain sight?" That means that something is right before us or at least in our line of vision, but due to whatever blockages or distractions may exist, we don't see it. We miss it. I don't think that there is anyone or any place that this pertains to more than it does in the spiritual realm. Particularly as it relates to Christ and Christmas.

I don't think anybody expects to "miss" Christmas. Retailers certainly don't. They plan their year around it. Families, especially families with children don't. For them, as Andy Williams sang, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." Churches don't. Most every professing Christian church will be well decorated and even have a "hanging of the greens." Nobody thinks or expects that they will "miss Christmas." Yet I think most of us do, at least to some degree. All of our distractions and blockages pretty much guarantee it. Is it so with you and me?

Nothing new here, it's been so from the beginning. When the heavenly host proclaimed the birth of Christ, only a handful of shepherds were on hand to hear it. Christ the Messiah had come, in plain sight, but He was hidden from almost all even if He was in right there...in a manger....in Bethlehem. The huge difference factor here though is that millions upon millions have now heard that Christ the Savior has come and that Christmas is meant to be about Him. But somehow, they, we, continue to miss this. We continue to miss Christ and the meaning and depth of wonder that is Christmas. Again, our distractions and blockages make it so. We may have all our decorations up, the tree, the presents, the gatherings. We're not missing the surface things. We're just missing Him and the beauty that Christmas is and is to be for us. We celebrate a holiday about a Person we don't really know or know at all. 

Perhaps the greatest illustration I've ever seen of this was a Christmas day more than 30 years ago. I was out for a walk when a car containing a family of three parked in front of the house they were going to. As they got out of their car they were shouting at each other, cursing each other. They did this as they walked to the door, carrying gifts for whoever was inside. They were not missing the day....just the One that the day was all about. They were participating in what they knew as Christmas and completely missing it at the same time. Are we?

I've missed too many Christmases in my life because of those things that I've allowed in my life that keep Him hidden in plain sight. I seek to live so that I would not miss Him again. May that be our resolve and may that be, by His grace, our experience. May we, you and I, not miss Him, not miss Christmas this year....or any year, month, week, or day to come.

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Always Hope

 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!  Psalm 42:11....."You cannot outhope the Living God." A.W. Tozer

One of my favorite scenes from The Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy is in The Two Towers, when Aragorn, the true king of Gondor is leading the defense of Helm's Deep, the fortress of the kingdom of Rohan. They are surrounded by the orc hordes of Saruman. A young boy, filled with despair, says to Aragorn, "The men say we will not survive the night. They say there is no hope." Aragorn asks for his sword, weighs its balance, and pronounces, "This is a good sword." He then hands it back to the boy with the words, "There is always hope." 

I have been in such places as the young boy and King Aragorn, surrounded by a seemingly endless horde of impossibilities. All of them pressing in upon me and all of them stealing my courage and hope. One such time was the Christmas morning of 1989. It was my first Christmas after the breakup of my marriage and having to resign my ministry. I was at the home of my childhood right outside of Pittsburgh. I remember awakening that day with my spirit matching the grey overcast skies above. I felt exactly like that boy, feeling that I too would not survive all that was happening to me. The enemy, through the seemingly impossible circumstances surrounding me, whispered into my heart, "There is no hope." I was on the edge of despair. Yet there was another whispering voice, infinitely stronger, infinitely loving, whispering into my heart and soul, offering infinite hope. It was the Holy Spirit, reminding me in the midst of the horde around me that there was always hope. There is always hope because there is always Him. His Life, His Presence, His Power, and His Love. The hordes of Saruman were routed and defeated. Rohan was saved, victory was secured. So too would be the army of threats, doubts, and fears surrounding and pressing in on me.

God didn't leave me in that grey place of despair. He led me out, rebuilt my life, restored to me what I had feared completely lost, lifting me from the miry clay and setting me firmly upon the Rock that is Jesus Christ. I discovered, as I would time and again yet to come, that He is a Living Hope, and that we can live in that Hope.

I learned then, as I would re-learn time and again, that you cannot every outhope the Living God.

The life of faith will take us to places like Helm's Deep. We will come to be surrounded by impossible circumstances. The enemy of our soul will whisper his lies into our hearts. Hear instead the whisper of His heart that is louder and stronger than all the fear and danger of hell. There is always hope because there is always Him. You may be going through hell, but don't stop. Keep pressing on. Keep walking, believing, trusting, and overcoming. The "orcs" of fear, anxiety, pain, and hardship will all fall before the One who sits on the throne. There is always hope my friend. There is always hope.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Tamed

As a small child, I loved Christmas. I loved everything about it, the tree, the lights, the decorations that were everywhere in our house. I especially loved Santa Claus. When it came to him, I was all in. As my mother often said, I was a "true believer" when it came to Santa.

One of my earliest Christmas memories was a Christmas Eve when, going to bed, my grandmother said to me, "Make sure you listen for his sleigh bells when he lands on the roof." I tried, lying awake for as long as I could. I fell asleep, but I did so with full belief that what my grandmother had said would happen. She'd told me so, and she wouldn't lie. I knew he'd come, reindeer, sleigh, bells, and all.

I can smile at all that now. Why would Santa land on the roof, since we had no chimney? How would he get down if he did? Those thoughts never entered my 5 year old mind. I believed. With all my heart, I believed. Children find it easy to believe the impossible. Everything about Santa, his covering the entire earth in one night, his knowing exactly where each child was and what they wanted and how they'd been behaving, was an impossibility. But it wasn't an impossibility to a child who was simply willing to believe in him.

Heidi Baker is a woman ministering mostly in Africa and South America. She and her husband have detailed countless miracles of salvation and healing. She once said, "All children believe God can do miracles until some adult tells them He can't." In the places where she and her husband ministered, the people He sent her were not too "sophisticated," too educated, or too logical to believe in a miracle-working God. The Bakers simply told them of a God of miracles and they, gasp, BELIEVED in Him.

We all come to the place where we realize Santa Claus isn't real. At some point, someone tells us this reality. Has someone done the same when it comes to the miracle working God of the Bible? Has someone convinced us that He just doesn't move in that way anymore? That He no longer makes the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise. Not literally anyway. 

In His Word He says, "I am the God who heals you." Yet who is it we first turn to in sickness? The Father or the Doctor? In His Word we read how Jesus fed 5000 with just a few loaves and fishes, yet how much sleep have we lost, how many anxiety driven days have we had where we were consumed with how we would make it through the week? Perhaps we once believed in a God who could do anything, would do anything, just as He promised, but somehow, other voices started to be listened to. We needed to be more realistic in our faith lives. Yes, He did work like that in New Testament times, but we shouldn't expect such works now. He's taken on a more reserved role. We don't so much say that as we live it. We have domesticated, tamed, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Have you still the faith of a child, or has your faith been tamed? Have you somehow "caged" the Lion that is Jesus Christ? Are you ready for Him, along with your faith, to be unleashed once more? Are you ready to be a child again in your faith, living for a God who has no limitations? He has told us that He is such a Father, that Christ is such a Savior, that the Holy Spirit is such a mighty presence. He has told us. Why don't we believe Him? Will we believe Him now?

Blessings,

Pastor O 

Offended

 John the Baptist was a fascinating man and more than a little frightening. A hermit more than anything else, he wandered in from the desert wearing animal skins and eating locusts. He was bold, fearless, and powerfully spoke against the religious hypocrisy of his day and of the sin of those who professed to follow God but proved otherwise by the conduct of their lives. He was a mighty man of God and Jesus Himself said that among men, none were greater than John. We see in him the heart of a warrior and hero, but there's something more, not so evident but there nonetheless. In his great heart there was also present what resides in ours as well.

In Matthew 11, John is in prison. His great heart, courage, and boldness were what got him there. He knew he was staring death in the face, and likely also suspected that he would never leave that cell. A great man, and a very human one. From his prison he sends a message to Jesus. The same Jesus that he had said of not long before, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The man who declared that now asks this Jesus, "Are You really the Messiah we've been looking for, or should we keep looking for someone else?"

John had been the first to see who Christ really was, but now in the lonely darkness of his prison cell, wondered if what he believed he'd seen was really what he'd seen? That's where John in his circumstances was. Have you ever been there? Are you there now? Have the rock solid beliefs you've had about Jesus Christ now, because of the complete upheaval of your current life situation, brought this same question to you? Can you still trust Him, believe Him? Or, should you look for someone or something else?

Jesus loved John and surely was brokenhearted over his situation, but He didn't act on his behalf. John remained in prison. The prison where he would soon be beheaded. He sent this reply, "Go back and tell John what you've heard and seen, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, God blesses those who are not offended by Me." 

John, like us, despite knowing the risks, wasn't fully prepared to deal with the consequences and unanswered questions of the catastrophe that had befallen him. Neither are we, especially when we, like John, have been faithful, and doing the work He's called us to. With our "why" and "how" comes the question John asked. "Jesus, are you really who we've believed You to be? Are you really all that you've promised You are, and if You are, why am I here?" To us He speaks just as He did to John. "In the midst of your darkness, look at who I have been, what I have done, and what I'm continuing to be and do....and trust Me!" He asks John if, even before your executioner, will you trust Me? Will he refuse to allow the unfairness of his situation to sway him from his steadfast trust and belief in his Lord? In John's darkness, he did. Can we in ours?

Where does He offend you today? Are you in an unfair place, a place you never thought you'd be, or that He would allow? Surrounded by darkness and filled with questions? He may not bring you out of there because He has deeper purposes at work, but He does send word. He remains who He's always said He is. Nothing about Him has changed. Your changing circumstances cannot change Him. Look not to another, look to Him. Trust Him. He calls us to trust Him. Even unto death, trust Him. Everything in this life is passing. He is forever. He will not fail you. He will not let you go. He never will.

Blessings,
Pastor O

The Watchtower

One of the beautiful things about the Bible is that the humans in it are just that. Human. Very human. For instance, there is Habakkuk. In him I think we can see a great deal of ourselves. 

Habakkuk was an Old Testament prophet living in during the time of Babylon's rise to a world power. A time when the Babylonians would conquer Israel and take them into captivity. Habakkuk saw this coming. He was also aware of the spiritual state of the people of Israel. He saw the corruption, lawlessness, and evil that permeated every part of Israelite society. In the midst of it all, he wondered where God was. He then does something very human. He complains...loudly. Not just once, but twice in the first chapter alone. The book of Habakkuk is only 3 chapters long and the first is comprised almost entirely of his complaining. I think that's very much like what much of our own prayers to Him may be.

In verse 2, he says, "How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But You don't listen! Violence I cry, but You don't come to save." God's responds saying, "Watch and be astounded at what I will do. For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if I told you about it." For Habakkuk, who was very human, that wasn't enough. God was saying, "Trust Me!" Habakkuk wanted details and since he wasn't getting them, he complained some more. He asks, "Is it Your plan to wipe us out?" I've asked those kinds of blunt questions myself. I expect you have too. What Habakkuk does next though is something not many of us will do, for doing it will completely change our perspective. It's a lot easier to complain, accuse, and accept defeat. That's where we end up living.

In chapter 2, Habakkuk says, "I will climb up into my watchtower now, and wait to see what the Lord will say to me, and how He will answer my complaint. He would not stay down at ground level where his understanding and sight would be very limited. He wouldn't stay on the ground level of darkness, despair, and defeat. He would not just look at what was going on around him. He would fix his eyes upon his God.  He would watch for Him, but to do so he had to get above the sightline of the ground. He decided he would look above and beyond his circumstances and look to the promises and presence of God. He would climb the watchtower of His Word, His character, and His faithfulness. He would do so, and whether he immediately "saw" what God was doing or hear what he was saying, he would remain there and believe that he would hear from his Lord. He would come. He wouldn't fail him. He would keep His word. Habakkuk believed that. Can we?

While he was on the watchtower, he heard Him speak these words in 2:3, ".....Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place, it will not be delayed." He was still on the watchtower in 3:3 when he cried out, "I see God, the Holy One, moving across the desert from Edom and Mt. Paran. His  brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with His praise." This is what Habakkuk heard and what he saw....from the watchtower. So will we....if we refuse to live at ground level, and refuse to be controlled by our circumstances and limited sight. They're real, but He is more real. He's the greatest reality of all, but if we're to know that, see that, we must climb our own watchtowers, all the while looking to and for Him. He will come, as He promised, and our circumstances, needs, and seemingly hopeless situation will fall to the One who "rides the heavens." 

Yes, it's very human to be overwhelmed by our circumstances, but He calls us to a life that rises above our human weakness and fear of those circumstances and our human weakness. We will find that life on our watchtower, as we fix our eyes on Him, Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our salvation."

Blessings,

Pastor O 

The Conversation

 "My heart has heard You say, 'Come and talk with Me.' And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.' " Psalm 27:8....."When He says, 'Come and talk with Me,' He actually wants heart to heart interaction. And we have nothing to fear by giving it to Him. " Chris Tiegreen

In our day to day relationships we've likely said to someone at some point, "We need to have a heart to heart talk." When's the last time that we said that to Him? More, when was the last time He was able to say it to us? I've no doubt He has and likely more recently than we want to think. Could it be that our hearts are too dull and hard for us to hear and respond?

I think when the Lord calls us to come and talk with Him He's also calling us to come out of the place or places where we've been hiding from Him, running from Him. Places where we've been holding onto things, people, and practices that we know are harmful to us but that we cannot let go of. He would talk to us of these, not condemning us, but simply seeking for us to see the harm they're doing to us, and the wall they place between He and us. We've been hiding in dark places, and He calls us to come out of them and into His Light, bringing what we cling to with us.

I have been in dark places, clutching things, people, and relationships, and attitudes that were hurting me but that I could not release. In my heart, I knew it was so, but I held onto them anyway. In some cases, I didn't think I could go on without them. I am so thankful that His grace and mercy didn't leave me alone. He continued to call me, inviting me to come to Him. His grace and mercy drew me out, but oh, the pain I would not have had to endure had I only come to Him sooner.

A heart to heart conversation with Jesus Christ, if we enter into it fully, will result in two things. We will go more deeply into His heart and He will enter more deeply into ours. Every word that Christ speaks to us contains life changing power. Power that brings freedom, healing, and renewal. No one can encounter Him and remain unchanged. No one can talk with Him and walk away as the same person they were beforehand.

Where in your life is He calling to your heart? Where have you been hiding and to what have you been running to? What are you clinging to that in your heart you know is destroying you? His heart calls to yours, bidding you to come, to come with all of it and....speak with Him. Listen to Him, be made whole, new, and free in Him. 

Jesus has no fear of our questions, our anger and bitterness, or whatever sins we have committed. He just calls us to come to Him with all of it and.....reason together with Him. To talk with Him. The old hymn has the lyric, "Burdens are lifted at Calvary." At the cross. Come meet with Him at the foot of the cross. Bring all your burdens with you. Hear His voice and heart and share yours with Him as well. One thing I know; nothing will ever be the same again. All you need to do....is to come.

Blessings,
Pastor O

Fresh Oil

I recently heard Pastor and author Samuel Rodriguez speak about the life of King David of Israel. Beginning with his confrontation of and fight with the Philistine giant Goliath, down through his persecution by King Saul, to his being told by the Jebusites that he would never breach the walls of their city, he was consistently told that he was "not enough" to prevail in any of it. David knew that he was enough. Not in himself. He was enough, more than enough in Christ.

Rodriguez then pointed to the above verse, Psalm 92:10 as to why he was. David, who wrote the song of praise to the Father, said, "I have been anointed with fresh oil." Oil in the Bible is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. David is saying that he had received a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon his life. An outpouring that enabled Him to meet and overcome any and all obstacles the enemy or life's circumstances would place in his way, be they giants, strongholds, or powerful entities. David knew he wasn't equal to the task of slaying Goliath, overcoming city walls, or defeating Saul, but he knew that he was more than equal to doing all of it so long as the anointing and fullness of His Holy Spirit was filling him and flowing out of his life. Today, like never before, we must know that as well. We must know that our need for the fresh oil of His Holy Spirit is deeper than we have ever known.

All of us will be or are right now facing impossible situations. Situations where the enemy mocks us and tells us that we can't possibly prevail in this place. We face giants, strongholds with impenetrable walls, and people and situations far more powerful than we are. They will crush us....UNLESS we too are bathed in an abundance of the fresh oil of His Holy Spirit. Because David was, he slew Goliath, conquered the city, and took the kingship from Saul. He was more than a conqueror because he lived his life bathed in, immersed in, the fresh oil of His Holy Spirit. We can be as well. We must be as well.

Whatever you face today, wherever the enemy whispers to you that you're not enough, don't argue the point. You're not. But you may answer that within you lives the One who is and always will be more than enough. Seek His fresh oil. Be bathed in it. Step into His promise that in Christ, we are more than conquerors. His promise is that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We can because He freely pours out His fresh oil upon us. Where you are, where we are right now, may we receive that oil, and to the full.

Blessings,

Pastor O