Carly Simon was right about mankind, our culture and, unfortunately, the church when she wrote “You’re So Vain”.  We do think the song is about us, don’t we?

God is wonderful and humans are depraved.  Any other worldview, to whatever degree it departs from this, moves away from fundamental reality.  The Church is supposed to be God’s means of sharing truth with the world.  It is tragically unfortunate that we think His song is about us.

Carly’s song always puzzled me because it was obvious it had enough specifics to be about someone or even more than one.  Wouldn’t they recognize themselves?  Would that be vanity?  I got to thinking about God’s love as manifested in what we call the Gospel.  He loved us (though we have no merit or value except what He assigns to us) and sent his Son to die for us.  When we acknowledge the truth of our need for a savior (we have no merit) and accept His sacrifice as a substitution to pay for our sin, we receive His salvation.  It is entirely a gift (free) of His great love and grace.  We do nothing but receive.  There is nothing we can do; we are powerless to deal with who we are.  All we can do is recognize Him and receive what He has done.

Since God has done it all, you’d think we would understand that the Gospel and in fact all of life is about Him.  It is for His glory.  It doesn’t take us long, however, to usurp the central place for ourselves.  We think that since God said it was about us, that it is about us (insert song here).  Wrong we are.  God’s love and grace extended to us is an indication of how great, loving and gracious He is.  Our unworthiness (further illustrated by our usurpation of the central place) is proof of His greatness.

Like spoiled children, we expect His good gifts and even demand them.  The greater tragedy is that many churches have made this vanity a part of their teaching.  The truth is God is not there for us, we are here for Him.  We are unworthy, and any blessing or gift is a token of His great grace.  We have attempted to lure people to God by telling them lies about themselves.  The realization of who He is, who we are and what He has done is the only thing that can set us free from the vanity of life.  Once free, we humbly give all glory to the Lord, expecting nothing in return.

When it is about us, it is not about Him!  Carly was right, but truth can set us free.

“If the women can’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.”  That is a quote from the famous philosopher Red Green of Possum Lodge fame.  One of the shows I remember was called, “The Big Thing”.   All the activity of that misguided and testosterone-driven cabal was centered on the oversize load they heard was going to be passing near the town.  No one wanted to miss the big thing even though they didn’t know what it was or exactly when it would come.  They had a tailgate party along the highway in anticipation of seeing something larger than normal.  They were usually disappointed and frankly, I can’t remember how it ends.  Doesn’t matter to me or especially to them … they were in it for the hunt.

Here in the midst of winter drudgery, it is easy to fall into discouragement and depression, especially if we are waiting on a big thing.  Have you noticed that normal things don’t make the news?  You never see a tabloid with the headline, “Man Goes to Work” or “Mother Finally Gets Kids to Bed”.  In fact, you can do a million things well and no one notices; forget to yield the right of way and you’ll get your name in the paper.  Win the lottery and you’ll make the headlines; lose the ticket and you’ll make even larger news.

One of the writers I take like medicine is Oswald Chambers.  His daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, is good for the soul.  Here is what Chambers has to say, “The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we look for big things to do.  ‘Jesus took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.’ ”  Jesus did the ordinary slave thing.  It was done that day thousands of times by thousands of ordinary slaves.  He was sent here to serve, he was a servant, and he was only doing the natural thing.  Chambers also says this, “If I do my duty, not for duty’s sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.”

Most of us will never see a big thing; but in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is purpose and meaningful endeavor all around us.  His life has made this so, and we thank Him.

Keep your stick on the ice!

If a drunken man drives his car into a tree, we do not fail to tend to him in kindness though we may attribute his negative condition to his actions.

If an angry and rebellious man shakes his fist in defiance at God and while doing so is struck by lightning, we would likewise tend to him and make note that railing at the Almighty is perhaps not the wisest thing to do.

It is not unkind to make such judgments.  In fact, it would be unwise and foolish not to observe, draw conclusions and learn from the ill-conceived actions and thoughts of others.  Let us not be unwise without being unkind.  At the same time, let not others naysay our kindness because we recognize their foolishness.

A day or so ago, I read a Facebook post from a church staff member encouraging everyone to invite Christ to be present in their family gatherings this Christmas.  He then tied that word of wisdom to a reminder about his church’s next service.  The direct connection was that Jesus was at the service and you encountered Him by bringing your family there to where He is.

The thinking Christian knows Jesus doesn’t live in a church, nor does he show up at predetermined times.  Jesus isn’t in a building unless we bring Him in with us.  He no longer sleeps in a cow feeder, or stays with Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  Today, if we ask Him, He dwells within us.  The greater part of the incarnation (God with us) is not that He was born in a stable, but that He, resurrected and glorified, comes to dwell in us.

Please do invite Him into your family gatherings, there where you are all gathered.  Then by faith acknowledge His presence for He will surely be there.

May you and those you love experience the real miracle of  the incarnation.

It’s Thanksgiving eve and many folks are planning their Black Friday excursions and getting ready for meals and family on Thursday.  We live in a blessed land that has been filled with opportunities and freedom.

I’ve heard a lot of the normal-for-the-season thank speak.   Folks are grateful for their families, homes, health and all the good things this great free country has allowed them to experience.  That is all well and good.  However, I never hear anyone say to whom they are thankful.  Folks say how glad they are to have some good thing; but there is nothing more than an awareness of possessions, certainly not an acknowledgement of a personal God from whom comes every good and perfect gift.  There is no humility; and, of course, there is no responsibility.

Real thankfulness carries responsibility to the Giver.  I think that is one of the reasons we want a generic Thanksgiving that allows us to celebrate just how pious we are in recognizing we have nice circumstances.  Sorry, that doesn’t cut it.  We have been blessed, and God is the Giver of the blessings.  It is to Him we owe (that’s right … owe) our thanks, and it is to Him we will be accountable as stewards of all that we have received.

1 Timothy 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Marlene and I would like to thank you all for the special gift during Pastor Appreciation Month.

We are grateful the Lord has allowed us to labor alongside such generous and faithful people who love Him and want to serve Him. Thanks for being there for 10 years and for your willingness to question unprofitable conventions. It has been a joy to serve Him with you.

May the Lord bless you and those you love,

Pastor Jess

It is the little things that get us into the biggest trouble.  We live in a broken world, and we are broken ourselves.  The little things grow into big problems because this world and all that is in it is not improving; rather, it is degenerating.  This is happening because it is all broken.  Adam and Eve broke it, and it will remain broken until God is finally done and all is brought back under His authority

Many years ago, I read this in a book, “Nearly a century ago, a French sociologist wrote that every institution’s first goal is to survive and grow, not to undertake the mission it has nominally staked out for itself.”  When I read that, it helped me to understand what I saw going on around me in the Christian organization I was involved with.  Regardless of the lofty and altruistic goals of any organization, without constant restraint and discipline from people, the people will end up serving the organization rather than the organization serving the people.  It happens so often we no longer take note, but it is wrong and it happens because everything is broken.

The book of Judges tells the story of the Israelites living in their land, serving God in their families and tribes and trusting Him for their leadership.  This individual reliance upon God when shared by all produced a culture of reliance upon God that covered the land.  But they too were broken.  Their individual trust turned to individual sin and reliance upon things other than God.  Soon God allowed them to be oppressed by neighbors.  Then they repented, then God would raise up a deliverer and they would live in peace and security, then the whole cycle would start again.

In Samuel, the people cry to God for a king.  It seems they wanted to be like other nations.  God warns them about the weaknesses of kings and kingdoms, but they persist.  When God tells Samuel to anoint their king, he comforts the broken-hearted prophet by telling him that it was not he they have rejected, but God himself.

The small thing is our independent reliance upon God and no one else, every man, woman and child trusting in and being accountable to God.  This idea is so slippery; and because we are broken and lazy, we give our loyalty, our authority, to others who promise in their brokenness to help us with our responsibilities.  Every organization, be it government, labor union, service club or church, must be ruled by the independent, God-reliant people who created it, lest it rule them and destroy them.

We can do it; it’s just a little thing.