​       “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”  Micah 5:2
       Mary is pregnant, not just a little pregnant but it-could-happen-at-any-moment pregnant.  She and Joseph are living in Nazareth, but scripture says the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem some 70 miles away.  For us that doesn’t sound like a difficult trip, even if we had to walk it.  But remember the roads were not paved and not altogether safe.  They had to travel through Samaria which meant they may or may not find housing for the evening since Jews and Samaritans didn’t get along.  And yes, Mary is great with child.  Would Joseph just on a whim pack his pregnant wife up and hike 70 miles to Bethlehem just for a holiday?  Probably not. 
         But as the old saying (not scripture) says “God moves in mysterious ways.”  Caesar Augustus had called a census, and the workers don’t come to you, you must go to your hometown.  So Joseph heads to his hometown.  If you have looked at Jesus’ genealogy you know that he was a descendent of David, and so was Mary.  So off to David’s hometown they go, Bethlehem.  I’m sure Caesar wasn’t thinking about helping God fulfill prophesy, but he wasn’t the one in charge.  God has a plan and purpose for us, and while we may not recognize how the events of our lives are in his control, God is.  In the birth of Jesus, we see God moving to carry out his will, that is just one of the lessons that the Christmas has to teach us.  

     Don
 

   Well November is here which means Turkey Day isn’t far off.  That was my way of referring to Thanksgiving when I was much younger and to be honest that was a big part of the meaning of Thanksgiving.  I loved the excitement and getting together with family, but I really loved the food.  I knew we were to be thankful for everything, but turkey stood out most in my mind.  I guess my reasons for giving thanks were limited to the events of the day.  As I’ve gotten older my reasons for being thankful have grown along with my waistline.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m still grateful for turkey but family and friends are even more exciting.  The blessings I count go beyond one day and there are many reasons to give thanks.
   One of my favorite images from scripture is found in the first few verses of Philippians:  “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 1:3-6
   I love the image of the Apostle Paul, sitting in house arrest with guards stationed around him and yet there is a smile on his face as he begins to write a letter to the church in Philippi.  The memories of his time and ministry with them was sweet and for a moment his current situation was of no great concern to him.  He had a reason to be thankful and a reason for joy and even a reason to hope.  It wasn’t just the memory of his time in Philippi which was a mixed bag of wonderful memories and some pretty harsh ones (being beaten and thrown in jail).  His reason for thanks was their partnership in the gospel, these folks were held in his heart.  You might say that Paul was counting his blessings.
   Too often we give a wink and a nod to Thanksgiving.  We know we should be thankful and we are but don’t ask us for much in the way of details.  We are blessed and have so much, but maybe not as much as we would like, and not anywhere near as much as our neighbor down the street.  We hurry through the thanks part so we can get into the turkey and on to the football game.  So I’m suggesting we give a “reasoned thanks” this year.  Slow down for a few minutes, think for a few minutes and come up with some reasons for your thankfulness.  After that you can devour the turkey and fixin’s, then on to the game and the food induced coma we call a nap.
By the way, I’m thankful for ya’ll and our partnership in Carthage.  Happy Thanksgiving!
​
   Don
 

            No matter your political views, your view of the pandemic or climate change, one thing is for sure Bob Dylan was right, “The times they are a changing.”  Dylan wrote that song in 1963, and those were times when it seemed life as it had been being turned upside down.  And today we find a lot of truth and anxiety in the repeat of history.  But there has always been times of great upheaval and life taking off in different directions.  Our parents and grandparents felt that a hundred years ago.  Our society went from being mainly rural to a great flight of folks moving to cities.  War seemed around every corner with the feeling that life as we knew it could soon be over.  Yet out of those times came the greatest growth our country has seen. 
   The disciples themselves faced uncertainty and change.  One of the greatest challenges they faced was seeing Jesus, their Lord, crucified.  They believed that he would be here, if not forever, at least for a long time.  They believed he would lead a great revolt against Rome and restore the greatness of Israel.  Yet here he was hanging on a cross, dying.  The evening before, in the upper room, Jesus had shared with them all of this and his plan for getting them through.  They would receive another helper, the Holy Spirit, and he would be with them and guide them through all of this.  At the time they didn’t understand and the next day I’m sure his words never crossed their minds.  But over the next few weeks, as he appeared to them and reminded them, the message began to sink in.  On the day of Pentecost they stood before the very people who had yelled “Crucify him” and proclaimed the gospel message.   They then went on to preach their message across the known world.
   Things may feel out of control these days, but don’t fear, God is still in control.  His Spirit is still active today, leading us and strengthening us even in days of uncertainty.
Don
 

    “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.  I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”  Psalm 77:11,12
   “Everyone meditates.  Really?  Yes.  Our minds are constantly dwelling on something.  Sadly, many of us allow our minds to wander dangerously into the realm of alluring thoughts, discouraging thoughts, distracting thoughts, worrying thoughts, etc.  What we really need is biblical meditation whereby we fix our restless minds on God’s Word so that it governs our lives.”  Stephen Yuille, Vice President of Academics at Heritage College & Seminary, Cambridge, Ontario and Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
   Bro. Yuille goes on to say, “Biblical meditation isn’t merely reading or studying God’s Word but musing and mulling over God’s Word whereby it grips our heart.  In other words, its goal isn’t to fill the head but improve the heart.”
   Musing and mulling?  Too often we come to reading the Bible as either a chore or a sprint.  We mindlessly plod through as many verses as we can make ourselves do, without much thought.  Or we read through several verses quickly barely paying attention to the words we are reading, let alone the meaning.  So, to muse and to mull may sound strange but it simply means thinking about what we are reading and then thinking about how it applies to our lives.  Psalms has several references to doing just that, to really thinking about God and all that he has done for us.  In reading the Psalms, most of which were written by David, we see the words and thoughts of a man who spent a great deal of time considering life, God, and our whole relationship to him. 
   We often look on meditation with suspicion but in reality, it is simply a tool.  To hear God, we need to quiet all the noise in our own heads.  If you’ve ever talked to someone who wouldn’t stop talking so you could get a word in edgewise you may know a little bit of what God feels trying to talk to most of us.  We go on and on about our thoughts, say Amen and then we’re done.  God is saying “Wait a minute, don’t you want to hear what I have to say?”  One of the sure ways to let God speak is to meditate on the Bible.  As we read a passage its O.K. to ask ourselves, “What do I think this means?”, but I also need to say a prayer and then be quiet and let God bring to mind thoughts and ideas on His Word.
   So, meditation is a tool to quiet our minds and let God have a word in edgewise.  Basic practice is very simple.  We need to get into a comfortable position, take some deep breaths and focus on a single thought.  To meditate on Jesus is to take some teaching or example from Jesus and to muse and mull over it, to quiet our mind of other thoughts and let God speak to us.  I will be posting to our Facebook page a recorded lesson on this, and hopefully follow up each week with a new meditation on Jesus.  So be looking for that and give it a try even if you don’t think meditation, is your thing.

​       Don
 

 

   We touched on this idea Sunday, July 25th, that our faith should inform our culture, but in reality our culture often shapes our faith.  Our culture is the environment we are raised in from the food we eat to the music we listen to.  It encompasses our values and how we think things should be done.  And the way that we are raised to us seems to be the right way to go about living life.   So, our faith in Jesus, his culture and ideas, should shape how we live here in East Texas in 2021, but in reality the way we understand what Jesus said some 2,000 years ago is seen through the lens of our culture today.
   I was listening to a podcast and the host was telling about a time he went to hear John Kiper speak.  Mr. Kiper is a leading speaker in Christianity today.  The person introducing Mr. Kiper said that one of the things he admired most about him was that he didn’t let culture or current events cloud his understanding of the scripture.  A friend of the host who was attending the meeting with him leaned over and made the comment, “So is John Kiper going to speak to us in Greek?”  To truly be free of the effect of culture he would have to use the same language as the writers, and in the case of the New Testament that would be Greek.  Well of course Mr. Kiper spoke English and read from an English Bible, after all that is his language, his culture.  Even in the words we use and the way we speak is a product of our culture and shapes how we think and understand what we are reading.
    We are all products of when and where we live.  For us more mature (I won’t use the word old) folks this causes us concern when attending a contemporary service.  Our culture favors hymns and reading from the King James Bible, anything else just seems wrong.  For younger folks they just laugh at us for being afraid to use debit cards or thinking that a suit and tie is the only way to dress for church (we have successfully gotten past that).  The issues that we think are most important from the Bible usually have as much or more to do with what is going on around us in our culture than with how much the Bible talks about it.  In the early 1900’s prohibition was a central theme of many preachers and movements within the church.  Today not too many advocate for total removal of alcohol but we still have our favorite themes and this is often reflected in what the church is focused on.  And it’s not that we are wrong, but often it leads to an overemphasis on one area to the exclusion of something that is as important or even more important. 
   Jesus pointed this out to the Pharisees in Matthew 23: 23- “You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” 
   In the culture of the Pharisees strict adherence to the letter of the law was very important.  The problem was they were often blind to greater matters.  
   We can’t help but be products of our culture, how we are raised.  I still put an “R” in wash, evidently that is a common pronunciation mistake for the area I was raised in, so warsh just comes out of my mouth.  Part of understanding Jesus and scripture isn’t to eliminate culture, but to see how the culture of his day influenced both him and his followers.  We need to understand scripture in light of its environment.  Next, we need to understand how we can take the principles of Jesus and live them in our culture today.  Most of us are happy not to run around in togas and live as they did in Jesus’ culture.
  However, the way Jesus looked at people, the way he treated people is still valid today, just as it was in his time.  The truths that he taught us about justice, mercy and faithfulness have never gone out of style.  Our culture needs Jesus just as much as the first century and so we need to be Jesus today.  We may not look like he did, speak the language he did or eat the foods he did, but we need to love the way he did.  We need to preach the good news that he brought.  We need to heal the sick, feed the hungry and minister to our culture the way he did to his. 
​
   Don
 

 

      When we think of freedom what comes to mind?  For a child it might mean not having to eat their green beans and being able to eat all the ice cream they want.   As we get older being able to drive a car or set our own curfew sounds like freedom.  Over the past year many claimed that they didn’t have to follow guidelines by the CDC or the government because they were free from such regulations.  Our definition of freedom all too often is a rather selfish definition, “I should get to do what I want to do and you can’t tell me otherwise.”  We even see this attitude in the church.   Christ has set us free by his grace therefore you can’t tell me what to do.  It was both amusing and alarming to see many folks state they didn’t have to follow guidelines because that was infringing on their religious freedom, and Jesus said they didn’t have to follow the rules.  Generally the ones making this claim were also the ones looking for any excuse to just do what they wanted in the first place.
   Is such a claim credible for a Christian to make?  Are we in fact being more faithful when we take such a viewpoint?  Let’s consider some verses on freedom:
   John 8:31-32 “to the Jews who had believed him Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  After some objected that they have never been slaves to anyone, Jesus adds “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. . . if the Son sets you free you are free indeed.”  What does Jesus free us from?  He frees us from our sin.  He frees us from ourselves.  The person outside of Christ is focused on their own needs and wants.  The person set free by Christ is now free from worrying about their own needs and can focus on Christ and serving others.
   I Peter 2:16-17  “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.  Show proper respect to everyone:  Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”  Peter addresses the problem of selfishness.   Too often our claim of freedom is just so we can find an excuse for sinful behavior.  I am free, but l am free to choose to live as a servant, to put others first.  Can we really say that much of our selfish use of freedom brings honor to God?
   Galatians 5:13-14 “You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.   The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  The goal of being free is to serve and put others first.  That doesn’t sound free does it, but it shouldn’t surprise us that God takes our wisdom and turns it on its head.  The person who thinks only of himself is actually a prisoner in a very small prison.   In faith we trust that God really is going to take care of us.  He has freed us from the consequences of sin, not so we can sin more, but so we are free to look beyond ourselves. 
   When we use our “freedom” to ignore the needs of others that does not reflect a Christian viewpoint.  When we invoke the name of Jesus to justify our sinful attitudes and actions that does not bring honor and glory to him.  Yes, we are free.  In America we are even more free than most other countries.  Jesus, Peter and Paul would ask us, “How are you using all of this freedom for Christ?”

    Don
 

   
 

   We either hear or say (often both) “How are you?” a hundred times a day.  And most often the response from ourselves and others is, “fine”.  Our newest daughter, Peta, usually answers “fantastic”.  You have to listen for the inflection in her voice to know how to take it, as “Yes, things are really good.” or “No things aren’t going well.”  So when I ask you, “How are you doing ?” I really want to know, and I will try to really listen.  There is so much going on these days as we move back into normal, that it certainly doesn’t feel normal, at least not yet.
   Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:2 that we are to “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.”  So just asking someone how they are and then rushing on, assuming they are going to say “fine” doesn’t fit the picture that Paul gives us here.   Building a relationship takes time and listening to someone is an effort, but it is also an amazing gift.  In counseling we talk a lot about reflective listening.  Reflective listening is when I can tell you what you just told me.  I don’t have to use the exact words (I’m not a tape recorder), but to convey to the person what I heard them say.  Now I may get it right or I may get it wrong.  It doesn’t really matter, because I’m giving you the chance to correct me if I’m wrong.  The goal is for me to know what it is you want to say.  So much of the misunderstanding between people comes from miscommunication, and sometimes we misrepresent what others think and say.  That doesn’t come from the spirit of Christ.  One thing we see time and time again in the gospels is Jesus connecting with an individual one-on-one. 
   In Matthew 8 we read the story of the faith of the Centurion.  He comes to Jesus to heal his servant.   Jesus listens to him and agrees to go.  The centurion then shows that he too has been listening.  He has been paying attention to who Jesus is, this isn’t just a show, he knows that Jesus is the real deal, so he says “All you have to do is speak the word and my servant will be healed.”  This man understood Jesus better than his own disciples did at that moment.  Jesus was amazed at his faith and his insight. 
   In John 8 the Pharisees drag a woman caught in the act of adultery before Jesus demanding an answer to should we stone her.  We know his famous statement to the accusers, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”  To the woman, after the men leave, he simples asks, “Where are they?  Has no one condemned you?”  And then he says, “Neither do I, go and sin no more” (or leave your life of sin).  It is a brief interaction, yet I think she probably felt heard by Jesus.  He understood and showed mercy to her.  Sometimes making connections doesn’t require a long time and effort.  Sometimes it just takes a moment to really see the other person, where they are and make a connection with them.
   So the next time you ask someone how they are slow down, look them in the eye and let them know you actually want to know the answer. 
​
   Don
 

 
             Have you had the experience in which you have this image of yourself, an idea of how you look, and then you pass by a mirror only to realize you don’t really look that way (I’m always shocked to realize I don’t really have that much hair anymore)?  As Christians we are to live according to Christ, it is his image that we are to represent.  Many of us probably think that while not perfect, we’re doing a pretty good job of living a Christlike life.  And then we take a good hard look at ourselves in the spiritual mirror and realize that too often the image we project is not that of Christ.  James tells us in James 1:22- 24    “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.   Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” 
          What does it mean for us to live the image of Christ?  First of all this isn’t some makeup we put on to cover up the ugly underneath, it is who we truly are in Christ.  Paul told the Galatian church “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20   We are to be living the life that is ours to live.  And since Christ is the one living in me, his thoughts, values and attitudes are to be mine, and to guide me, in other words we are to have the mind of Christ.  I need to be willing to check my ideas against what I see in Christ as revealed in scripture.  There are many things done by people in the name of Christ that I am sure Christ wouldn’t do.  Also there are many things Christ did while on this earth that I don’t  see the church today as involved in.  All of this comes from the fact that not only are we to have the mind of Christ, but we must have his heart as well.
         There is a lot of talk out there today about what God hates, and by extension Christ and therefore what we should hate.  Many will quote I John 2:15, “Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”  If I am to have the heart and mind of Christ then, to be in his image, I need to hate the world.  Is that what John means here, after all John is also the one who recorded the words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. . .” John 3:16.  Many would have us to believe that hating what God hates gives us the right to hate anyone who doesn’t fall into our view of a Christian or who we would call the “world”.  John goes on in I John to describe what he means there by hating the world.  “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”  It is the mindset, the attitudes and values of the world that we are to hate.  When the church values power more than it does mercy and grace we are reflecting the image of the world, not Christ.  For the church and individual Christians to reflect the image of Christ we must honestly look into God’s mirror and see our heart, mind and actions in his image, not the image we want to see.

              Don
 

    March 14th is a day I look forward to all year (well at least since last November) because that is when daylight saving time begins.  Yes I miss my hour of sleep, but I really enjoy the longer evenings.  It just feels like I have so much more time.  The question is what am I doing with that time?  Paul told the Ephesians to “redeem the time because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:15, 16.  The New International Version states it this way, “make the most of every opportunity.”  Just because I have more time, doesn’t mean I’m managing it wisely.
    There are any number of “things” I could be doing with my time.  Some of these “things” will be productive, some may be relaxing, too many are just simply a waste of time.  How do I know which category my schedule is falling into?  Paul goes on to say that we shouldn’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  So the primary measure of how I use my time needs to be the will of God.  Jesus understood this even at a young age.  At the age of twelve when he had stayed behind in Jerusalem and worried his parents, his answer to why he had done this was, “I have to be about my father’s business.”  So as I look at how I am using the time God has given me, I need to see his mark.  The question from that is how do I know what God’s will is?  In the case of this we look at what Paul told the Romans about offering themselves as a living sacrifice to God and allow God to transform their minds (Romans 12:1,2).  Then we will know what his will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. 
   In other words, to redeem the time for God we have to give him time.  We need to be in the Word.  We need to mediate on his Word.  “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3.  It is tempting when we spend time in the Word to read as much as we can so that we can say to ourselves and others, I read ten chapters today.  But what have you gained from it?  What lesson or knowledge did you take away from it about knowing God’s will or improving your life?  Meditating on God’s Word means to slow down and really think about what God is teaching you or revealing to you.  It would be a better use of your time to really meditate on a few verses and understand them, then to read pages that never sink in.   So, what will you do with the time God has given you?
​
Don
 

      In Revelation 21 the Apostle John sees a new heaven and new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.  He was looking ahead to a new day, a day many of us are longing for.  Life has a way for wearing on us and wearing us down.  We just finished up a year that for most of us will be remembered as one of the most difficult years we have had to face.  We faced the fear of a virus that we hadn’t seen before and we really didn’t know what to think of it.  The unthinkable of shutting down almost all of our economy not only became thinkable, it was a reality.  People were without jobs, food and toilet paper.  Our nation was more divided then since the 60’s.  When January 1st came we were ready to turn a page in our calendars and in our lives.  We were looking for a new day.
     One question we need to be willing to ask ourselves, “What am I going to do with the blessing of a new day?”  Why do we want that new day?  Is it for us to have a chance to redo the things we came up short on?  Will we use it to be more selfish and self-centered?  Will we seek out new ways to live for others and do God’s will?  People often say they wish they could do this or that over.  If I had the chance to go to college I would take it this time.  I would know to eat better and spend less.  If I just had another chance I would have married that girl, or wouldn’t have walked away from that marriage.  A better question would be, “What good would God have me do, how could I be more like Christ to my neighbor?”  Would we really use that time in a better way, or would we end up making the same ol’ mistakes we made the first time through?
     Well, when you woke up today God gave you a new day.  It may not be that perfect day as eternity begins that John saw, but it is another opportunity to live for God and let Christ live through you.  Paul tells us that we need to redeem the time.  Each day is not owed to me, it is a gift given to me by God’s grace.  How am I going to redeem it?  Will I waste it on seeking my own desires?  Will this day just be one more in a long list of days I end up regretting?  Or will this be the new day I’ve been looking for when I truly begin to let Christ have his way in me?
​
    Don