Give More Than We Can Spare: Fourth Friday of Advent

Charity - giving to the poor - is an essential part of Christian morality.... I do not believe on can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p86

It's interesting to note that in American culture, the more money you earn, the smaller percentage you give to charity. Basically, the working middle class is more generous with their money then the rich. The rich might give more money to charity, but it's a fraction of a percentage of their wealth.

The average American gives about 2% of their wealth away to charity. If you are a regular church-goer, the average goes up to almost 3%, and if you are not a church goer, it drops to under 2%. Then there are those Christians who tithe, who give ten percent of their income (before taxes) to their church and charity. Some Christians increase their tithe by one percent a year.

This means that a struggling working class family of four or five that makes about thirty-thousand a year might give away about a thousand dollars during the year to their church or charity. An ambitious middle class couple making a combined ninety-thousand a year might give a little over a thousand in a year, maybe closer to two. This trend results in the poor being generous to one another, and the well-off being generous to themselves.

Christmastime has traditionally been a time when the wealthy are extra-generous to the poor in their communities. With the festivities and feasts, it was an important time for the rich to give away food and money and gifts to those that earned little for their labor. Christmastime brought the rich and poor together in a special way, especially for Christians.

For God so loved the world that he gave his One and Only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3v16

At Christmas time we remember how the great God of the Universe, out of tremendously generous love, became one of us, gave himself to us. God's sacrificial giving to us is a model for how we ought to give sacrificially to those in need around us. Closing our eyes to those in need will not be acceptable to God. Clucking our tongue at our perceived laziness of the poor will not be acceptable to our Lord. We give, not in judgment, but in joy; out of obedience, not observing who is worthy.

It's been said that about two to five percent of Christians tithe. It's been observed that if every Christian in America tithed, we'd have enough money to end global poverty in a year. Every child could have clean water and a good education. Every family in the world could have a roof over their head and enough food in their belly. Charity from Christians could change the world. 


Charity is an important part of Christian morality. 

Bring Religion Into Everything: Fourth Thursday of Advent

Just a hurried line...to tell a story which puts the contrast between our feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly "Xmas" racket at its lowest. My brother heard a woman on a bus say, as the bus passed a church with a Crib outside it, "Oh Lor'! They bring religion into everything. Look - they're dragging it even into Christmas now!"
~ C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, Dec. 29, 1958, p80

It's hard to imagine how this British woman could have gone her whole adult life without seeing a Crib in front of a church. What kind of world did she grow up in that had sheltered her from the religious heart of Christmas? Her response is very illuminating: it assumes that Christmas is an obviously secular event, and that the church's involvement in it is a disturbing development.

What is the problem with bringing religion into everything? What's behind this woman's comment? Maybe it's because the church enters into an issue with too much authoritarianism and not enough servanthood? Maybe the church has developed an attitude of superiority instead of an attitude of helpfulness? Maybe the church has developed a reputation for being irrelevant instead of a reputation of healing?

By bringing religion into everything, we're not talking about lots of traditional rules and legalistic proclamations. What we're really talking about is bringing God into everything. But even then, it's with an attitude of joy and hopefulness, not judgment and condemnation.

When we bring God into everything, we raise both our expectations for what is possible, as well as bring expectations of how our lives can be ordered and expressed. God gives good gifts generously, but he is also at work to form our character and shape our ethics towards goodness and love and truth. True religion focuses on caring for widows and orphans, as well as living unpolluted in the world.

This Christmas, bring as much of God into it as you can. Not in a preachy, protesting kind of way. Rather, let everything you do be done to the glory of God. Everything you say, everything you think, everything you decide, everything you buy, everything you watch, everything you serve, everything you participate in can be done to the glory of God.

God's already present. God's already giving good gifts. God's already loving you with a tremendously generous big heart. God's always at work in your world. God knows you. God loves you. God wants the best for you. And God does everything His way.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1Corinthians 10v31 (NIV)

If Christians are going to insist on keeping Christ in Christmas, on making the holiday a true "holy day", on bringing religion into the celebrations, it ought to be done in joy, not judgment. By remembering Saint Nicholas, we are bringing religion into the character of Santa Claus. By remembering the Magi, we are bringing religion into the tradition of gift giving. By remembering the Nativity story, we are bringing religion into the family event of putting a star on top of the Christmas tree.

Bring true religion into everything. Bring a generous God into everything. Bring love into everything. Bring truth into everything. Bring thankfulness into everything. Bring joy into everything. Bring holiness into the holidays. Bring Christ into Christmas.

Campaign of Sabotage: Fourth Wednesday of Advent

Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed...and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p46

Christmas is an attempt at sabotage? We get so up in arms over keeping Christ in Christmas that we miss the real intent of the event. The distraction disables us from engaging the real objective of Christmas: a king entered the realm and initiated a campaign of recovery.

The story of Christmas is the tale of the coming of a king. As outlandish or mythic as it may seem, that is the origins. Advent means coming: we believe that in Christmas the rightful king of the land re-entered his realm to take it back from those that were wreaking havoc. The sabotage campaign resulted in a recruitment operation: setting up a subversive organization that would undermine the work of those that exploit and enslave.

The Church is a rebel organization! Makes you laugh - a pretty incredulous statement, isn't it? But the head of the church, who happens to be the king of the world, initiated a campaign of sabotage. The Gospel is a subversive message rooted in switching of allegiances, freedom from oppression, power to love, and relentless insistence on the truth. God is in the work of destroying the works of the evil ones who spread darkness and death. We are to rebel against the devil and his minions in the finance industry, the prison-industrial complex, the military-industrial complex, the agribusiness monopolies, and so on.

The messages you hear on a Sunday ought to be potentially explosive pieces of truth. When the Gospel is proclaimed, when the teachings of Jesus are unpacked, when the truth of Scripture is unveiled, it ought to provoke in you a spirit of rebellion. It ought to spark a movement to take up arms against our oppressors. The revolution that was sparked at Christmas ought to result in a movement against the prevailing powers of our day.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
Ephesians 6v10-11 (NIV)

There is no room for violence in the campaign of sabotage. Our weapons are truth and grace, spoken and lived with conviction and clarity. We subvert the powers that be through our obstinate refusal to deny Jesus as our King, through our work to answer the prayers of the poor, through our enduring effort to forgive those that sin against us.

We undermine the power of sin in others when we help them figure out how to receive forgiveness of their sins through the work of Jesus; and in this we help them figure out how to forgive those that sin against them.

Be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty sabotaging power.
Merry Christmas!

Very Many Thanks: Fourth Tuesday of Advent

Once more, very many thanks to all your great goodness to me and mine: and with all best wishes for a happy Christmas.
~ C.S. Lewis, from Letter to Dr. Warfield Firor, Nov. 6, 1948, Lewis' Collected Letters, II, p889

When was the last time you wrote a note to someone thanking them for their life? Who are some of the people over the years who have made a difference in you? Even though you've thanked them in the past, maybe it'd be worth it to write another letter during this Advent season expressing your gratitude. Everyone benefits from remembering good deeds in the past, from hearing you say "Thanks!" one more time.

As you recollect the great goodness that has been part of your past - whether in abundance or scarcity - what role do you think God had in those gifts? Christians over the generations have believed that everything good comes from God. We remember those times when good came our way unexpected, undeserved, unannounced, at just the right time, in just the right way. Sometimes we start taking for granted the good gifts God give us. They start adding up, all these little gifts that make a big difference, and we forget to direct our gratitude to God and the givers he gives through.

This Christmas - whether it's full of stress and hardship, or whether it is chock full of health and wholeness - make a point to remember and write out your thankfulness. Get specific on the great goodness that has come your way from God through others. You probably need the reminders. They probably need the reminders. God would enjoy the reminders. Your church would benefit from you and them and God getting the reminders. Your friends would benefit from a more thankful you! :)

You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
Psalm 118v28 (NIV)

Peace on Earth: Fourth Monday of Advent

There! They're at it again. "'Ark, the errol hygel sings".... Boxing Day [December 26] is only two and a half weeks [away]; then perhaps we shall have a little quiet in which to remember the birth of Christ.
~ C.S. Lewis, "Delinquints in the Snow," God in the Dock, p310

It seems that Lewis was annoyed by a caroler with a thick Cockney accent. Even the best of intention can grate on someone's nerves during the holidays. With a couple more weeks of carolers, it seems that Lewis will have to put with the Welsh singers, at least until after Boxing Day. Here's a great description of what Boxing Day is all about - this comes from the devotional that we have been basing this series on:

The day in which the English give their gifts is Boxing Day, a public holiday that falls on the first weekday after Christmas. In the past, the English exchanged gifts among equals on Christmas Day, and gave gifts to those "socially inferior" on the day after, probably wrapped in boxes; hence, the name "Boxing Day." It is also known in England as St. Stephen's Day, named after the first Christian martyr. (pg25)

For us, many of the celebrations that have been tagged onto the Christmas season have the good intention of making the holidays more merry and festive. But they can also make the schedule more busy, the noise more annoying, and the peace and quiet more elusive. It may be a bit ironic, but the key to a more celebrative Christmas may include less noise and events, not more. I suppose it depends on your schedule and attitude - if you can only observe Christmas with noise and events, then you may be missing the peace that is at the heart of the "holy day."

If you want peace on earth, it won't come to you because all noise and busyness and conflict has been muffled. You must find a way to choose peace in the midst of turmoil and disruption. You must choose a place and a time where you will experience peace. And you must learn to discipline your mind so that you can keep at bay all the frothing emotions that get ramped up with expectations and disappointments. Peace on earth is a gift because it is so rare; but it's a gift that is received through choices we make with the trouble we have.

Jesus was born into turmoil, he grew up in a land rampant with revolutionary ideals and violent suppressions. He walked the land as a rabbi, fostering accusations of blasphemy, sedition, and whoremongering. Amidst all the hubbub, the crowds, the expectations, and the family disappointments, Jesus made a point to make peace on earth. He didn't have peace in his heart because he had no problems to contend with, but rather because he focused his energies on his Father. We have the same Father in Heaven who is present with us and always ready to help us experience peace amidst conflict.

This Christmas may be conflict-free for you. No problems for you. But you have friends and family who have their share of burdens, and they need you to help carry them. With your situation, your strengths, you have the opportunity to help them find peace on earth. And if you are the one in the midst of hardships, in the midst of craving peace on earth, pray that God would send you friends to help. And if he has sent those friends, let them help. And if they are helping, continue to be thankful for the answered prayers of peace.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given....
And he will be called...Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9v6 (NIV)

Peace is a difficult choice, but it is the better one. The Same Spirit of Christ that brought peace on earth all those years ago, it's the Same Spirit open to you today. May the peace of Christ be confidently chosen by you.

Christ above you,
Christ below you,
Christ before you,
Christ behind you,
Christ around you,
Christ within you.

Jesus Saves: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Most of my books are evangelistic, addressed to [those outside the faith].
~ C.S. Lewis, from "Rejoinder to Dr. Pittenger," God in the Dock, p181

The world is grateful for the writings of C.S. Lewis. His novels, his writings on the Christian faith, his memoirs of falling in love, of marriage, and of grief over the death of his beloved wife - these all are a true gift to humanity. For Lewis, he intended for his words to point to the Good News of Jesus.

He believed that through Jesus we could receive forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness from God was a crucial gift - it both inspired us and enabled us to forgive those who sin against us. Lewis wrote that we might better grasp the good news of the life and teachings of Jesus for our modern life. We are a better world for it.

Lewis wrote about much more than the role of forgiveness in our world and with God. But his focus on Jesus as Savior of the world is a pertinent one for our Advent series. Jesus' name means: God saves. God saves us from our own sins, from the sins of others, from the sins of the world.

God saves us to Himself, to a new kind of relationship with Himself, a restored relationship with others, a renewed relationship with the world. That's what we believe when we remember that Jesus saves - it's from sin and all that it entails, and it's to God and all that it entails.

Most people don't believe in Jesus. This is why Lewis felt compelled to make so many of his writings evangelistic. The word evangelistic means: Good News - the good news about the work of God in the world through Jesus to save us from our sins and to a new relationship with God and each other and the world. Most people don't actively reject believing in Jesus, its more of a passive rejection. And it usually stems from to many of the Christians that they know who don't ever really ever say or do anything that flows out of this Good News.

This Christmas, as you consider the year you're wrapping up, and as you consider the year ahead, consider the ways Jesus could be a gift to you. Do you need help in forgiving those who have sinned against you? Do you hang on to the bitterness, the wounds, the fear that comes from being abused, neglected, and sinned against? May this Christmas present you with a new opportunity: to have your sins forgiven in a new way. Not only have your own sins forgiven, but to give you the courage and strength to forgive those who have sinned against you.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...
And he will be called Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

The Good News includes the gift of freedom: freedom to let go of the past, freedom to embrace a new future with a God who cares deeply about you and wants to use you to bless the world, in the name of Jesus.

Any Point In Going On?: Third Saturday of Advent

[The Queen of Narnia] "isn't a real queen at all," answered Lucy. "She is a horrible White Witch.... She has made an enchantment over the whole country so that it is always winter here and never Christmas."
"I wonder if there's any point in going on," said Susan.... "What about just going home?"
~ C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, p56

With some scenarios in your life, it can be too easy to succumb to the temptation of giving up. Why go on when the odds seem stacked against you? Is there any point in going on when the trouble ahead seems so terribly overwhelming? Sometimes you may feel like Susan when observing the plight of others - their problems leave you feeling like there is no hope for them.

Narnia they had been accursed for a hundred years by the White Witch. Everyone new that when Aslan returned, the country would be free from her oppression. But when would Aslan return? His decades of absence resulted in a land where it was always winter and never Christmas. All that the Fauns and Foxes, Beavers and Birds had to go on was that someday Aslan would set things right. And when Lucy showed up, that was the clue that Aslan was on the move.

Do you ever think of yourself as a Lucy? She was a daughter of Eve, and according to the prophecy, when someone like her showed up, the promise was about to be fulfilled. Lucy and her siblings were an answer to prayer. How would you like to be an answer to prayer? Are you a son of Adam? Are you a daughter of Eve? Do you know anyone with whom their soul is "always winter here and never Christmas?"

People believe that God is love, that God is everywhere, that God can do anything, that God knows what is going on within everybody's life, everybody's home, everybody's heart. But if that is the case, why does it seem like it is "always winter here and never Christmas" for so many people? Why does God not seem to answer prayers? Why does God seem far away, absent, not listening, indifferent? Maybe one reason is because the Lucy and Susan's, the Peter and Edmund's don't fully understand what is possible when they show up?

God is always on the move, his Spirit is always at work in the world. The Same Spirit that was on Jesus is the Same Spirit unleashed into the world through the Church. When members of the Church, when Christians, when followers of Jesus love their neighbor, prayers get answered. When the Church listens, when Christians care, when followers of Jesus get involved, God seems near. And when the Church gets self-absorbed, afraid, and mean - well the curse gets stronger on everyone. The grip of Winter only feels tighter.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise.... He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2Peter 3v9 (NIV)

Why hasn't God returned yet? Why does Jesus delay? When will we hear rumors that "Aslan is on the move!" We don't know. But what will we do in the meantime? We know that one of the best definitions of love is: patience. The second is: kindness. While we wait, we love. While we wait with others, we serve. When we hear prayers, we act. When we come across those in whom their hearts and homes it is "always winter here and never Christmas" we get involved in the story.

We may be tempted to walk away, to ask if there is any point in going on. But then we remember, Christmas has come once, and we walk on and into the story. If Christmas has come once, it will come again. Christ came once as an infant King to provide forgiveness of sins for anyone in the world who was convicted of their wickedness and willing to come to repentance. This kind of involvement set in motion a new kind of story, a new kind of opportunity for families and communities.

Someday Christ will come again, this time as a powerful King who will judge the wicked and restore the broken, to set everything right. Someday our winters will end. Someday we will never wonder whether there is any point in going on.

And so we wait. And love.

Christmas Shopping: Third Friday of Advent

From the waist upwards he was like a man, but his legs were shaped like a goat's.... One of his hands...held an umbrella: in the other arm he carried several brown paper parcels. What with the parcels and the snow it looked just as if he had been doing his Christmas shopping. He was a Faun. And when he saw Lucy he gave such a start of surprise that he dropped all his parcels.
~ C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, p8

Do you enjoy Christmas shopping? What's your favorite part? Are you more of an online shopper or do you prefer to walk the aisles to get an idea? Does it take you a long time to decide what to buy someone, or do you usually make your decision quickly? These days we have more options to choose from when purchasing a gift - so the variety is good. But the options can also paralyze us - out of the bazillion objects to choose from, which ones will be the best?

There was a day when people didn't go shopping at Christmas. It's only been in the past two hundred years that gift-giving as we know it has been a tradition. Just think about how affordable and hassle free Christmas used to be! It used to be that the poor working class and peasants would go door to door of their landowners and other wealthy merchants asking for ale and bread and meats. There was a time where the story of St. Nicholas spurred members of the church to collect items for the poor who would struggle to survive during the long winter season.

When you go about your shopping, be sure to include some purchases for some of the people in your life who have some ongoing needs. Be sure to share some gifts with them that will help them through the long winter months. And when you shop, don't confuse expressions of love with the expensiveness of the gift. Costly gifts which increase unaffordable debt are no comparison to the thought-full gifts that are reminders of your ongoing kindness and patience, loyalty and joy.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.
Ephesians 1v4 (NIV)

God did not go shopping for you! God doesn't need to shop around for good gifts for us. He knows what we need before we do!  He generously gives us all that we need - when we need it, and when we want what he has to give us. He's chooses to love us, to give good gifts to us every day. It's almost like with God everyday is Christmas day - a day of new beginnings, a day of good gifts, a day of being surprised by how He shows up in our life.

A Gift To You For Others: Third Thursday of Advent

"Hadn't we better take what we want and get out again?" said Edmund.
"We must take the Gifts," said Peter.
For long ago at a Christmas in Narnia he and Susan and Lucy had been given certain presents which they valued more than their whole kingdom.... They all agreed...and there, sure enough, the gifts were still hanging. Lucy's was the smallest for it was only a little bottle.
~ C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, p23

It's pretty common for Christmas gift-giving to fall into familiar categories: the practical gifts like socks and underwear; the outrageously expensive gifts like an iPad or diamond earrings; the asked for gifts like that favorite book or album. But there's also some better categories: the thought-full gifts that reveal how much the giver knows and loves you; the enduring gifts that empower you to help others.

The gifts that Jesus received were for him, but they were also for others. The gold was for Jesus - an appropriate gift for a king. The Magi knew who this baby was, that he was born to rule, they knew what to give him. The gold empowered Jesus to care for his impoverished family. Within a few years they would need to flee their homeland and become refugees in Africa. The frankincense was for Jesus - it's what you give someone who's life will be a sacrifice. The ancient priests of Israel would burn incense along with the burnt offering of cowflesh to atone for the sins of the people. Jesus would become a gift that atones for our sins. The myrrh is what you give for someone who need to prepare for death. When the body is prepared for burial, myrrh is the powerful spice used to mask the decay and honor the dead.

The gifts that Father Christmas handed to Peter, Susan and Lucy were meant for them. But the gifts were also meant to empower them to help others. Peter and Susan were given gifts through which they could defend and protect others. They were given the tools that enabled them to stand strong in the face of adversity, to drive back those who would enslave and oppress, to set free those who were overpowered and burdened. Lucy was given a gift through which she could heal and revive the wounded. She was empowered to give new life and restored bodies back to families and friends.

The best gifts that our Father of the Heavens and Earth have given you empower you to love others deeply like Christ, forgive each other often, share generously, and find joy in each day for as long as you shall live. Sometimes what God gives us is the strength to stand up for others, to use our wit and words to push back those people and ideas that would burden and enslave. And God also gives us the ability to help other hearts heal, to walk with those whose bodies and souls are broken, to listen and to rehabilitate.

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful...
1Corinthians 12:4-7 (The Message)

To those that believe, God gives us the Same Spirit of Jesus - a gift for us to enjoy, but mostly a gift through which He loves the world. This Christmas: Will you believe? Will you receive? Will you give? Will you love?

A-Z Reasons to Stop Viewing Porn

from XXXCHURCH, by Jay Dennis

26 Destructive Consequences Porn Viewing Has on a Man

The following destructive consequences are the result of a Christian man viewing pornography.
The A to Z format covers the wide range of negative results that porn has on a man who is a follower of Jesus.

Alienates You From God. You no longer feel close to God. You don’t experience the power of God. You no longer have the joy of your salvation.

Blinds You To The Consequences. It temporarily turns off your walk with God, your relationships with your wife, your children, and others. It blinds you to what is going to happen to you spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, vocationally, and relationally.

Creates Unrealistic Expectations. Men begin to think this is what every woman should look like and that this is what your relationships with your wife is to be like.

Distorts Your View Of Sex. It makes you believe that sex is solely for the pleasure of a man and that women are simply objects to be used rather than God’s creations to be honored and respected.

Enough Is Never Enough. Pornography has an escalating effect. Like a drug you need more and more to satisfy the lust. It takes you further down a destructive path and further away from peace, joy, and healthy relationships.

Freedom Over What You Think And Do Is Lost. You become enslaved to your sinful thoughts which lead to sinful actions.

Guilt Comes Upon You After You Look At Porn, But The Guilt Is Not Enough To Prevent You From Doing It The Next Time.

Healthy Sexuality Is Numbed Through Porn. Healthy sex is married sex only that includes regular sex, unselfish sex, and loving sex.

Isolates You And Makes You Feel You Are All Alone And Are The Only One Who Struggles With Porn And Lust.

Jeopardizes Your Relationship With Your Wife Or Future Wife (if you are single), Your Witness For Jesus Christ, And Everything In Your Life That Is Important To You. You Put It All On The Line For Pornography.

Keeps You In A Cycle Of Self Destructive Behavior. It may appear to medicate the pain in your life, but it only adds to the pain with more pain. Porn leads you to do things you never thought you would do. Sin will take you further than you want to go. It will keep you longer than you want to stay. And it will cost you more than you want to pay (Unknown Author).

Lust—Sexual Sinful Lust—Leads To Sexual Sinful Actions. Porn put in your mind is like putting fuel on the fire of wrong sexual desire resulting in destructive thoughts and actions.

Masks The Real Wound You Are Seeking To Heal And Makes Things Worse.

Never A Neutral Experience. You cannot look at porn and not be affected by it. That experience is always inconsistent with God’s Word.

Objectifies Women. It makes them a sexual object. Porn hijacks a man’s ability to see an older woman as a mother figure, a same-aged woman as a sister figure, and a younger woman as a daughter figure.

Porn Initially Brings A Very Short-Lived Pleasure, Followed By Pain And More Pain

Quitting Becomes The Struggle Of A Lifetime. Once you allow porn in, there is a raging battle with Satan and your old nature to keep looking. Once you have allowed porn into your life, there will always be a battle. It is a winnable battle, but a daily battle.

Remains Imbedded In Your Mind Forever. Satan uses that image to replay in your mind to create a cycle of sinful lust again and to drive you back to looking at porn. You become bound to an image and a not a person.

Shame Enters Your Life. Guilt is feeling badly for something you have done, shame, however, is based on feeling badly about who you are. Pornography brings shame. God never brings shame. Satan always brings shame.

Trust Is Broken With The People You Love And Respect The Most.

Unlocks The Door To Every Sexual Sin. Porn is a portal, a gateway that leads to nothing good and everything painful such as compulsive masturbation, affairs, dangerous sexual practices, visiting adult-oriented businesses, paying for sex, perverted sexual practices and sexual abuse.

Violates Women. How? You are putting your stamp of approval on an industry that degrades and dehumanizes women.

Wandering Eyes Toward Other Women are Invited .

Xtinguishes Truth. Pornography promotes lying. You lie to others, you lie to God, and you lie to yourself. You lie more to cover up past lies. You become a living lie.

Yokes You To An Image. You become bound and attached to the image instead of your wife or future wife if you are single.

Zips Your Lips To Praising God, Speaking About Your Faith, And Telling Others How They Can Experience God.

~~~~~

I found this article online and wanted to repost it here. If you know of a man who knows he ought to give up porn, send him this article. And if your friend is willing, I'd be glad to meet with him to talk through his next steps for giving up porn. ~ Tim

To Glorify and Enjoy: Third Wednesday of Advent

The Scotch catechism says that man's end is 'to glorify God and enjoy Him forever'. But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy him.
~ C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, p97

Glorify just isn't a word we use much anymore. Who's glorious in your life? Do you ever hear husbands glorifying their wives? Do you hear moms glorifying their children? Do you hear voters glorifying their senators? What would prompt you to describe some one as glorious? That they are beautiful? Iridescent? Gifted? Capable of great and good achievements?

To describe God as glorious is to move into abstract thinking. We have to use our imagination, and even then we're on weak ground. Who do we compare God to? We read stories in the Scriptures, but even then there is a disconnect.

We're not the pious, observant Jews of the first century who grew up with great reverence for Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. We're cynical post-moderns who question everything.  Are we even capable of describing any person, including God, as glorious?

C.S. Lewis makes the connection between what we enjoy and what we glorify. It may be that our appetite for enjoyment is too base, too low-class to connect the word glory to our pleasures. But the good that we enjoy in others ought to elicit a response akin to glory. At a simple level, when my Mum lathers icing on her shortbread cookies and gives a dozen of them to me for Christmas, I give her glory. I enjoy those cookies very much, and I enjoy the pleasure my Mum gets from me enjoying those cookies. I give glory to my Mum for shortbread cookies!

At a more profound level, I ought to give glory to my wife when she forgives me. I ought to give glory to my friend Don when he listens to me. I ought to give glory to my children when they are good to each other. I am thankful and enjoy all those activities, and thus give glory to the ones who are involved. And so for God, when I can see his activities in the world, when I can recount his activities in my life, and my response is joy - that is my way of giving God glory.

I suppose we could substitute the word "thank" for the word "glory" - there are similarities. Except that we probably don't think highly enough of being thankful, and thus we'll still miss the great act of giving glory. But humble thankfulness that is sincere and glad - that is getting closer to giving glory. Giving this kind of thankfulness in a public way is also crucial to giving glory. You can give glory to God in your prayers of thankfulness, but there's more joy when you glorify God amongst your friends.

Christmas has a way of bringing out the best and worst of us. The best of us wants to be generous, loving, hospitable, funny, and full of energy. The worst of us get jealous, envious, greedy, busy, cranky and tired. It doesn't help that advertisers purposefully fuel our discontent in order to prompt us to make that next purchase. It doesn't help that our culture fosters overindulgence when it comes to giving gifts - overspending and going in unaffordable-debt is not a recipe for joy.

This Christmas you may want to take some moments by your tree, after the kids are in bed, and reflect on what you are thankful for in your life. What are the gifts God has given you this year? In what ways has God been good to you? How has God made you smile amidst the hardships of life? As you pull together your thoughts, your response of gratitude is a form of glory. The next step would be to write it down, to share with your children and family, to share with some friends.

Enjoyment is meant to be shared; glory is meant to be public. You give glory to God when you share with your friends and family the ways that you are thankful for His work in and through you. It doesn't have to be preachy, just authentic. Your sincere appreciation for God's involvement in your life ought to provoke a story to share that points back to God and the people he worked through to help you.

At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises:
Glory to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
Luke 2v13-14 (The Message)

Greatness Comes In Smallness: Third Tuesday of Advent

"It seems, then", said Tirian..."that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places."
"Yes," said the Lord Digory. "Its inside is bigger than its outside."
"Yes," said Queen Lucy. "In our world too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."
~ C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle, p141

You've heard this phrase, Never judge a stable by its manger. No? Maybe you've heard the more popular version: Never judge a gift by its size. Or this one: Never judge a book by its cover. Whichever one of these you are familiar with, you get the point - outward appearances can't reveal everything. Sometimes a small object is the source of great influence.

In our culture today there is a developing stream of thought that revolves around this idea: small is the new big. As we get more cynical towards bigger governments, more powerful global corporations, towards athletes and CEO's with million dollar salaries, we get more disgusted with big. There is a movement towards people building small houses, driving small cars, eating smaller portions of food, wanting to get their kids in smaller schools.

We are still attracted to big, but we are also realizing the power of small. We are interested in worshipping the God of the Universe, but we are coming to understand the impact of his becoming one of us as an infant. Big and gigantic and enormous and huge can be too much for one people, or even a community. Small can be relatable, personal, appreciated, connected to, more easily enjoyed. Greatness comes in smallness.

For God to be born in an old small stable reminds us of how God works. Greatness comes in smallness. A cow-stall was chosen over a palace. The little town of Bethlehem was chosen over the strong-walled city of Jerusalem. Young Mary of Nazareth was chosen over the ruling elite of Judea. An embryo was the starting place for salvation of a people. Greatness comes in smallness.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Micah 5v2 (NIV)

When you let Jesus into your life, it can seem like a small decision. It can be laced with doubt and uncertainty. But faith as small as a mustard seed carries within it great potential. The Jesus that you accept as your Lord and Saviour is initially a small King. How can you realize how mighty and powerful and glorious is Jesus when you first let him into your life? Jesus comes to you small.

This Christmas, don't get caught up in the trap of bigger and better, flashier and fancier, overindulgence and blown-budgets. Don't fool yourself into thinking that this is what Christmas is all about, that this is the best way to express love. Great love comes in small gifts. Greatness comes in smallness.

Our great God initiated Christmas in a barn - one that seemed small on the outside but big on the inside. Let this Christmas be the one where God initiates a change in your heart - it may stay small on the outside, but it becomes great huge bigger on the inside. Greatness comes in smallness.

To Tell His Story: Third Monday of Advent

My brother and I took a day off last week, put sandwiches in our pockets, and tramped sixteen miles..from Dorchester Abbey to Oxford.... You would be surprised if you could see the unspoilt beauty and charm which can still be found.... I hope to send you the autographed children's book by Christmas, but will probably know more about its progress this afternoon, as I am going out to lunch with my publisher.
~ C.S. Lewis, "Letter to Miss Vera Mathews," September 20, 1950, Lewis' Collected Letters, III, p54

Is there a better gift to give a friend at Christmas than a book? I love giving and receiving books for Christmas! One of my most favorite books I've ever read at Christmas was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - which is the one referenced in the quote above by C.S. Lewis. It's a great story that points back to the Great Story, the Nativity Story, the true Christmas story.

C.S. Lewis was a gifted writer, a master wordsmith. More than half a century later his writings are still very popular, still influential, still capturing our imagination. Almost two millennia later we are still reading Luke and Matthew's masterful accounts of the Christmas Story. In the past century we have learned more details about the culture, customs and nuances of first century palestine than ever! We know more about the context of the Christmas story then any other generation of Christians.

We learn through reading. Good writing can change our minds, shape our hearts, and influence our will. Gifted writers are a vital part of our culture, to speak truth to power, to point to beauty, to remind us of what we have already learned about community and creation. God understands this, and so has given us many stories by through which we can come to know Him. We learn about Jesus through gifted writers, through masterful writing. Words are the gateway to believing in Jesus.

These [words] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.
John 20v31 (NIV)

To tell His story, God put himself into the middle of it - being born in first century Palestine amidst a powerful Roman Empire's rule. Jesus was born and died in poverty, working as a stonemason and never owning his own home. He became estranged from his family and religious leaders. His wandering around the countryside for the final years of his life attracted all sorts of misfits, outcasts and beggars. Yet this was God's plan to turn Israel around, to express his love to the world, and to set in motion a new way of intervening in the lives of people for millennia to come.

The Scriptures are a fascinating story about God at work in the world. It takes work to grasp the words, their meaning and context and implications. The wrestling with the ideas and the cultures and the truths are part of what makes the Bible still so compelling today. It's easy to dismiss it, to live your life without really reading it or trying to understand it. But for those who give it an honest, courageous, enduring effort - there is much reward for this life and the one to come.

His Name in This World: Third Sunday of Advent

Dear Hida (is that right?) Newman,
Thank you so much for your lovely letter and pictures.... As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in the world who (1.) arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the Great Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb.... Don't you really know His name in this world? Think it over and let me know your answer.
~ C.S. Lewis, from "Letter to Hila Newman," June 3, 1953, Lewis' Collected Letters, III, p.334

Depending on how you tell it, the Christmas story can be very compelling. Often times, though, it gets told with a knowing familiarity - as if retelling it once a year makes one an expert. It's the details that make a person and a story fascinating. Understanding the characters in the story, identifying with their hopes and fears, admiring their courage and endurance - this draws us in. Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Herod, Simeon, Anna - these are all riveting characters. They are more than just names in an old myth. Behind each of their names is another compelling story.

You have a story. When someone says your name, they are summing up in two or three words a lifetime of experiences, drama, crisis, accomplishments, failures, loves, hates, hopes and fears. Your name matters, your life matters, and your story matters.

When you retell your story - is it with embarrassed haste or vain over-interest or knowing familiarity? People have a story of their own life that they hold in their head - and this story shapes the rest of their life. For a lot of people, they need a new story for their life. They need a new name.

In the story of Jesus' birth, he was given several different names - each of them captured a different element of what people expected out of him. Emmanuel means "God with us." Jesus means "God saves." Son of the Most High means "God's Son." Savior means "one who rescues." Messiah means "anointed one." Lord means "one who rules." In C.S. Lewis' story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Jesus is known as Aslan, which is a play off of another name for Jesus - "Lion of the tribe of Judah."

Jesus has many names - and when you discover his names, become familiar with his names, when you let yourself become part of His story, his name becomes part of your name - which means your story becomes part of His story. This means that the story you tell yourself can have a better ending, it can have a new chapter, it can have new characters, a richer plot, a dramatic ending where the hero prevails.

This Christmas, as you reread the story, as you search out rich details to help the story come alive to you - consider how you fit into it. What's the connection between the name of Jesus and your name? How closely associated are the two names? Which of his names do you need in your story these days? What's the story you tell yourself that needs rewritten?

There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4v12 (NIV)

The name of Jesus is powerful yet today. It keeps alive the Christmas story, it keeps alive hope and redemption for your story. Jesus still rescues people from darkness. Jesus still gives people compassion and healing. Jesus still calls people to sacrifice and love. Jesus is still rewriting stories for yearning souls.

Discover the names of Jesus. Let them shape the next chapters of your story.

Excitement of a Child: Second Saturday of Advent

I have read [your book] Treasure on Earth and I don't believe you have any notion how good it is.... I've never seen the hushed internal excitement of a child on Christmas Eve better done. That is something we can all recognize.
~ C.S. Lewis, from "Letter to Mrs. Phyllis Sandeman", Dec. 10, 1952, Lewis' Collected Letters, III, pp261ff

The excitement of a child on Christmas Eve is a pretty special experience. The gleaming eyes, the bouncing body, the incessant chattering, the great restrainment of not touching the gifts tucked in under the tree - it's all part of what makes Christmas so memorable for kids. Unless, of course, the kids are spoiled brats. Whiny kids, self-aborbed kids, greedy kids, unthankful kids have a way of ruining the excitement of Christmas Eve. Same goes for grown ups.

Here's the a quote from Mrs. Sandeman's book about herself as a little child in 1906 on early Christmas morning that Lewis referred to in his letter to her:

"There was not long to wait now before the drama would begin - the curtain was trembling to its rise. The twilight of the early winter morning, the piercing sweetness of the voices rising in the still air, the tune and the words she loved so well, 'Christians, awake, salute the happy morn!' The heaven would open."

We don't talk like that anymore - and I doubt any of us reflect back on our childhood Christmas mornings with this kind of hushed reverence. It's rare that Christmas morning is a holy moment for our kids, let alone us. Even if we read the Christmas story on Christmas morning as a prelude to opening gifts, there is a disconnect between the poverty of the manger scene and the obscene amount of gifts piled up under our tree.

Simeon was a poor old man who got to hold the week-old infant Christ-child. He gets to be part of the Christmas story because he could clearly see who this baby was - and would become. The excitement of a child, the thrill of holding this newborn baby - Simeon smiled not just for this, but because of what God had given Israel through this gift. Salvation, rescue, forgiveness, new beginnings, hope, mercy, love - this is what God was giving Simeon and his people through Jesus.

My eyes have seen your salvation.
Luke 2v30 (NIV)

It's a challenge - whether you have lots of presents this year or a few or none - to keep our eyes focused on what God is doing in the world through Christmas. We recover that holy moment on Christmas morning when we resolve everyday to be God's gift to our friends and family. Not in an arrogant, self-absorbed way, but in a child-like, loving way. Be the gift.

Test of Greatness: Second Friday of Advent

[The great French writer] Montaigne became kittenish with his kitten but [it] never talked philosophy to him. Everywhere the great enters the little - its power to do so is almost the test of its greatness.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p147

The story of Christmas is about a lot of things, but one of them is about how "the God of the Universe, He became one of us...." The great and mighty YHWH of Israel, their Creator and King, entered our world through a peasant girls womb.

Christmas is about how true greatness pays attention to the small ones of the world. Not just "pay attention" in a dismissive or patronizing way, but "pay attention" in the sacrificial  and loyal sort of way.

You have great power in your life, the ability to influence and affect others. Through your actions you can shape how well the day goes for someone in your home or at work. You may not think much about the consequences of your attitude or actions, but there is great power there.

Just because you ignore it or fail to pay adequate attention to it doesn't mean that you have no power over others. You have great power over others, and the Christmas story reveals to us how we ought to use that power.

The test of your greatness comes in how you treat people that rely on you, who need you, who look up to you. Do you take them for granted? Do you give them little thought? Do you consider their needs only after taking care of yourself? Do you value them? Are they better off because of you?

Does your attitude and actions result in a richer life for them? Or is everything pretty much about you? Do you use your greatness, your power, your influence to lift up others and add good to their life? That's what Christmas is about, that's what God did with his greatness.

Will you let God enter into your life? Are you so great that you do not need his intervention and influence? Do you think that God overlooks your littleness or seeming insignificance?

So [the sheep herders] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. Luke 2v16 (NIV)

Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem, he grew up in insignificant Nazareth, wandered Galilee and Judea homeless as a grown man. It's in these kind of situations that God in Jesus rubbed shoulders with the overlooked, the marginalized, the unnoticed, the small people of the world. They were God's neighbors, his fellow wanderers.

To those that let God in, great things happened. Keep letting the great God into your small life.

Just Like Your Father: Second Thursday of Advent

The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the Sons of God. We do not know...how things would have worked if the human race had never rebelled against God and joined the enemy.... You and I are concerned with the way things work now.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p178

Wouldn't it be great if the best compliment you could give a friend was, "You are just like your father." Unfortunately these days, if you remark that someone is just like their father, it's a derogatory comment. For several reasons, dads overall aren't doing a very good job of demonstrating strong moral character to their sons and daughters. Children are becoming like their parents - but it's resulting in ethically weak, relationally confused, small-minded adults.

But the implication for the Incarnation for us is that we would know God as our Father in a new way. Jesus as the Son of God became one of us that we might become sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. Christmas is about the beginning of a new kind of relationship with God and others through Jesus. When we consider our own lives, our moral deficiencies, our sinful attitudes, our addictions and weaknesses, we accept our need for help. We need help in the form of imitation - a new model to pattern our lives after, but also help in the form of influence - we need a new power to move us in the right direction.

Ideally for us, our Dads become a powerful model to imitate. Through their presence in our lives, through their demonstration of integrity and capability in the midst of complex situations, in observing their maturing moral character (which means they can say "I'm sorry" and can forgive you), we gain a influential picture of our own future. We become like our parents, or else we react against them (which creates new ways in which we subtly become like our parents...). So what would it take to become like our Dad in Heaven?

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.... No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John 1v12,18 (NIV)

To trust the words of Jesus, to believe in his works, to have faith that his way is the wisest of all - this is core to becoming like our Father in Heaven. Jesus is our model for becoming a Son of God, he is also the one who makes it possible. Our letting Jesus teach us to forgive, to repent, to serve, to lead, to love, to give sacrificially, to be wise, to be courageous, to be truthful, to be strong, to be weak - all we learn from Jesus the Son of God helps us become like God our Father. Why wouldn't you want this?

For some of you, one of your great fears is to become like your father. You are ashamed of your father, embarrassed by him, full of disgust for him. Others of you have become indifferent to your father, ignoring his presence, moving on without him. Or you now have to put up with a dad you don't really respect, you don't really know what to do with, and yet he's still there. Let God the Father do some renewing and healing work in you this Christmas towards your flawed dad.

The Son of God became a human to enable men and women to become Sons and Daughters of God. The expectation is that people would remark about us, "You are just like your Father!" And when they do, they will be referring to your acts of forgiveness and reconciliation, of repentance and healing, of servanthood and leadership, of sacrifice and love.

What We Can Understand: Second Wednesday of Advent

We cannot conceive how the Divine Spirit dwelled within the created and human spirit of Jesus.... What we can understand...is that our own...existence is...but a faint image of the Divine Incarnation itself - the same theme in a very minor key.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p147

The Incarnation is a mysterious paradox. We believe that Jesus if fully God and fully human. We believe that the Divine Spirit dwells completely within the Human Spirit of Jesus. How can this be?

It's stuff like this that causes skeptical or scientifically minded men and women to turn away from Christianity. These claims get labeled as fantastic, as religious fantasy, as a mythological legend. There are plenty of stories of the ancient gods who have a human mother and divine father. Stories abound of men who were attributed the title of divinity. So isn't Jesus of Nazareth just another one of those kind of events?

C.S. Lewis made the transition from atheist and skeptic to believer and follower of Jesus. A brilliant thinker and writer, Lewis wrestled with many of the difficult faith issues of his day. His engagement in hard to understand ideas didn't lead him away from faith in God, but towards Him. You may not understand everything about the Incarnation or Christianity, but your doubts don't have to undermine your faith.

The Incarnation - God taking on flesh - is a belief that stretches our imagination. But there are other stories of Scripture which carry this same seed of belief. In the beginning, God created man and woman and breathed life into them - put his Spirit in them, made them in His image. As Lewis says, we are "a faint image of the Divine Incarnation itself - the same theme in a very minor key." It takes faith to accept this as true, it takes work to understand.

Jesus said: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14v9, NIV). Paul said that the Church is the body of Christ. If we believe in the Incarnation, if we believe that our own existence is but a faint image of the Divine Incarnation, then we believe in the high value of humanity, the sacredness of life, and the sacrificial and servant nature of the church. What we believe matters, it undergirds all our actions. How well do we understand this?

Can you make a connection between your belief in the Incarnation and your work in the world?

God Shatters: Second Tuesday of Advent

My idea of God is not a divine idea. It has to be shattered time after time. He shatters it Himself. He is the great iconoclast. Could we not almost say that this shattering is one of the marks of His presence? the Incarnation is the supreme example; it leaves all previous ideas of the Messiah in ruins. And most are "offended" by the iconoclasm; and blessed are those who are not. But the same thing happens in our private prayers.
~ C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed, p78

We have certain expectations for God. Those expectations are revealed mostly when life is not turning out the way we expected. If we turn to God in prayer during those moments of great difficulty, we often find ourselves disappointed in the way God intervened on our behalf. Usually we conclude that God didn't intervene. And so our image of God sours, and our heart for him shrivels.

An iconoclast is someone who destroys religious images, someone who attacks cherished beliefs. When considering the impact of the Incarnation, one can conclude that God is an Iconoclast. In Jesus, God shatters the old beliefs developed about YHWH. If the devout and pious Jews of ancient Israel struggled to come to terms with God, no wonder that we still do today.

The Jews of the first century had their difficulties, hardships which continually prompted them to seek God's intervention. When Jesus showed up and essentially announced that he was the answer to their prayers for God's intervention in the world - well this shattered a lot of assumptions about God. It may be that your assumptions about God need shattered.

For those who have grown up in the church and still have affection for God - the Incarnation is an opportunity to embrace anew God's idea of Himself. For those who have grown up in the church and have become indifferent to the LORD - or even loathe the idea of Him - the Incarnation is that moment when all your incomplete ideas of God can be shattered. And for those who have not grown up in the church and yet have their own understanding of God - the Incarnation can be a starting point for something real and wise.

My kingdom is not of this world.
John 18v36 (NIV)

Jesus continues to shatter everyone's image of God and the Kingdom. In the midst of our difficulties we may turn to God for help - and when he does, we are forced to deal with Him on his terms. This is where our image of God often shatters - God always deals with us on His terms. And yet the Incarnation reveals the great depths God will go to Be With Us and Be For Us.

As our expectations of God become shattered, may Jesus become the answer to our prayers of intervention amidst our hardships.

The Gift of Judgment: Second Monday of Advent

Judgment is at hand, promise of judgment and threat of judgment.... It is the same sort of ambivalence which Christians have been taught to recognize in the season of Advent.
~ C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams, The Arthurian Torso, p157

The promise and threat of judgment are typical themes for our modern Christmas tunes. But judgment is a gift to us, and it is part of the Advent season. Judgment is a gift in which reality is disclosed, the consequences of our actions are discerned and announced and put into motion.

In a courtroom scene, if I am the one that has been sinned against, I am thankful for the judgment that results in justice and truth. If I am the one that sinned against my neighbor, then I am duty bound to accept the consequences and face reality. That's a crucial kind of gift.

Jesus of Nazareth became the Christ of Israel and the Earth - he came as light bringing hope and truth and grace. But Jesus has promised to come again - and to some it is a threat: he will bring justice and make everything all right. The Advent of Christmas will be followed by an Advent of the Kingdom. 

Judgment will come with the King, and to some degree that makes us uncomfortable because we know what's true of our hearts. For all the good that we have done, for all the good that we have received, for all the good that is in us - there is also much that is dark, that is prideful, that is angry, that is envious, that is wicked.

When light shines on a dark land, those that prospered in the dark will cringe and protest. But those that were being taken advantage of in the shadows will welcome the light.

When you bring truth into a situation that was laced with lies, when you bring grace into a relationship that was built on bigotry, when you bring hope into a place that was burdened with despair - you are bringing light and judgment. That's a difficult gift to bear, but it is crucial for them to receive.

For the day of the LORD is near.
Joel 3v14 (NIV)

When the ancient prophets of Israel proclaimed the coming of the Day of the LORD, they anticipated a time when YHWH would make everything all right. The corrupt rich would be judged, the pious poor would be lifted up; the belligerent enemies of Israel would be humbled, and the righteous rulers would be empowered and honored.

As some of the Jews of the first century looked back on the life of Jesus, they discerned that he was who he said he was: the Incarnated God, the Emmanuel: God with us! The LORD had come, his day had arrived - and gone again.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised to return just as he had come. He promised that he would always be with us - even while he was out of sight. To some this may be a threat. But to those of us that welcome the Advent of Christ season, we are eager for the Advent of the Kingdom. 

We are eager for everything to be restored. We are also humbly aware that we are participating agents of the corruption of the earth. Yet it is this humility and acceptance of God's rule in our life that enables our misdeeds to be redeemed, for our own lives to be used in the renewal of all things.

May you accept the Advent of Judgment as a promise and a threat. May you embrace the Advent of Christ as a gift of grace and truth. May you anticipate the Advent of the Kingdom when everything will be made all right. And may you live now in the light of what is to come...

Quest for Peace: Second Sunday of Advent

When the year dies in preparation for the birth
Of other seasons, not the same, on the same earth,
Then saving and calamity go together make
The Advent gospel, telling how the heart will break.
Therefore it was in Advent that the Quest began...
~ C.S. Lewis, "Launcelot", Narrative Poems, p95

The season of Advent can often be a time of searching. It's common for many of us to search for the true meaning of Christmas amidst the assault of consumerism and hectic schedules. We may find ourselves searching for a friend or a companion to ward off the loneliness and regrets that creep in during the holidays.

As Christians, we are given an opportunity to renew our search for Christ during Advent - not that we lost him, or that he lost us. But our attention and affection can dissipate, focus can diffuse, or we can become indifferent to Him. Advent is the right time for a Quest, for a search to begin again.

The Magi of the East are remembered during the Advent season for their Quest. We don't know how many of them sojourned to Bethlehem - there were probably more than three of them. Their three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh held powerful symbolism - appropriate for a man who was to be a king, whose life would be an offering, and in need of burial spices.

And they weren't kings, rather they were kingmakers - holding power within the vestiges of the Persian kingdom to appoint the next ruler. Magi were wise, scientifically-oriented, famous for their "magic", watchers of the sky, politically influential, and religious. And they went searching for a king of the Jews who they believed was to come and bring peace on earth and good will towards men.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
~ Matthew 2v1-2 (NIV)

The financial debts that burden your thoughts, the quarreling family that breaks your peace; the ailing health, the uncertain future of employment and stability and happiness...it all makes for an unsettling season. The Advent gospel tells how the heart will break; how saving and calamity make.

Do you need to renew your search for Christ this Christmas? In this world your heart will break - but through the calamity will there be any saving?  To sojourn for Jesus in the midst of any of this is an act of wisdom and humility - it is a step forward in the quest for peace on earth, peace in your home, peace through your life. 

God & Life In You: First Saturday of Advent

No woman ever conceived a child, no mare a foal, without Him. But once, and for a special purpose, He dispensed with that long line which is His instrument: once His life-giving finger touched a woman without passing through the ages of interlocked events.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p182

Every birth seems like a miracle. It's only been in the last century that infant mortality rates have drastically dropped. Still, in some parts of the world, to be born - and survive infancy, is stilled considered a miracle. With all the scientific discoveries and medical advances made, it seems to only magnify the miracle of birth. Maybe after delivering a thousand babies in a hospital room, the sense of miracle wears off. But for everyone else, there is still something tender and beautiful and amazing and miraculous about a new born baby.

It's not a big step of faith to believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. It is a step of faith, built upon the belief that God is always at work in the world, that his power upholds the forces of Nature. Science does compelling work in describing the forces at work in our world, but it can't explain their origins, it can't adequately answer "why" - they only have theories. That God miraculously placed a seed in Mary's womb, a divine conception of Jesus - it is a step of faith to accept this, but then every birth is a miracle of sorts, isn't it?

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
~ Luke 1:35 (NIV)

God initiated an opportunity for Mary - become part of a miracle, become part of the Way to save the world. God initiates an opportunity with you - to become part of a miracle. The Same Spirit that made new life conceive in Mary can conceive new life in you. The new life that Jesus represents, that Jesus taught us, that Jesus offers to us - it flows out of this Same Spirit.

If you need a new beginning, if you need to be "born again" or need another chance - God is ready, if you are. In fact, God is the one that planted the seed of change in your heart... He is the one that initiated this opportunity...

The Weakness was the Strength: First Friday of Advent

The Incarnation was God's 'weak moment': when Omnipotence becomes a baby in a manger has 'weakened' itself.... The temptation...is precisely a temptation to evade the self-imposed weaknesses, to be strong, omnipotent, again - to make stones into bread, to be emperor of the world, to do 'levitations'. The weakness was the strength.
~ C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters III, p 409ff

It's not very often that you find yourself in the presence of a man or woman who is content with their weakness. Either you find someone embarrassed by their weakness, ashamed of it, seeking to hide it,  hoping no one talks about it, OR they use it as a crutch, they use it to get attention, they flaunt it. The writer and blogger Julia Clawson recently addressed this from a personal point of view - having been born with half her arm missing below her elbow. She doesn't want you to feel sorry for her, nor does she feel compelled to hide her elbow.

Jesus walking through the dusty alleys of Capernaum, having healed crowds of neighbors, was a walking paradox: God made himself weak by taking on human flesh - BUT Jesus was born strong being filled with the Spirit of God. Upon reflection, there would have been no strength for Jesus to offer had he not first embraced the weakness of Advent, of coming to the manger of Bethlehem. The self-imposed weakness by God in the flesh made possible the gift of strength to those that believed a new beginning was possible.

My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.
~ 2Corinthians 12v9 (NIV)

This is the story of Jesus, it's also the story of St. Paul, and it can be the story of you. For when you are weak, you are in need of grace. And it is when you are weak that you are in a position to receive grace. And it is these moments that allow you to become strong. This enables you to someday to be able to give grace when you are strong.

"For when I am weak, then I am strong." That's what Paul says, but that's not what we always think. When you apologize due to a weakness, you strengthen the bonds that tie you together. When you are vulnerable and thus feel weak, you strengthen the core of your relationship. When you lean on and rely on and accept help - which may cause you to see yourself as weak - you are strengthening the community of friendship around you.

So do you need to apologize to someone this Advent season? Is there a "I'm sorry" that ought to be coming from your mouth, from your heart? Or do you need to ask for help? Or do you need to give grace?

May you spend these holidays and Advent "weaks" considering that God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine... especially when we are weak. This is the story of the Incarnation, this is central to the true meaning of Christmas.

Starting Anew: First Thursday of Advent

In this descent and reascent everyone will recognize a familiar pattern: a thing written all over the world. It is the pattern of all vegetable life. It must belittle itself into some thing hard, small and deathlike, it must fall into the ground: thence the new life reascends. It is the pattern of all animal generation too.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p148

From the breath of God the first human received life. Humanity flourished and migrated across the globe. But along with this progress comes a darkside: pride, anger, envy, lust and greed. The world became inhabited by a humanity full of God's image and spirit, but corrupted and spewing out deathly vices. Death wasn't the point of creation, life was - so what was God to do next?

Built into the cycle of our existence - including plants, animals, and humans - is that of seeds. A seed is sent out, it is embedded, it dies, and from it comes something beautiful, necessary, and full of life. And also the capacity to reproduce more seeds. Jesus, so to say, is the second breath of God into humanity.

God comes into our world, Jesus being a second seed of sorts - he is embedded into our world. The Incarnation is a story of Jesus literally coming into existence on our planet through a divine seed. A divine seed that develops into a human being just like us, through the womb of peasant girl Mary of Galilee.

The Incarnation of Jesus was eventually followed by the Resurrection. When we let God plant his divine seed of truth and grace in us, we let him make the Resurrection possible for us. When we trust God, we let God breath into us a new kind of life. When we follow the way of Jesus, we let God begin a new kind of Incarnation in us.


A new seed is embedded in us, so that when we die, a new kind of life can emerge. And not only for us, but for all those around us who benefitted from the life God planted within us. The seed God puts in us is intended to result in more seeds in others: more truth, more grace, more trust, more life.

Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.

If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you'll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment's notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.
~ John 12v24-26 (The Message)

What part of you needs to die?
What ground in your soul needs turned up and prepared for a new kind of seed, a new kind of beginning, a new kind of life?

Let God plant in you the seeds of truth, grace, and trust.
Let the old you die, that the new you may be born this Christmas morn.

Miracles Today: First Wednesday of Advent

Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature's total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p143

Do you believe in miracles? Jesus did. He purposefully initiated miracles throughout his ministry in the villages and winding roads of Judea. The first miracle of Jesus recorded by the Apostle John is at the wedding in the village of Cana, where he turned water into wine. The effect of this miracle on the disciples was astounding - the glory of God shone through this act, and the men and women who witnessed it put their faith in Jesus. That's the power of a miracle.

"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did.

When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, "Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!"

This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
John 2v8-11 (The Message)

The Incarnation is a miracle. So much of the life of Jesus is a miracle. Why shouldn't it be? God is entering the world to do a new work - that in itself is a miracle. According to C.S. Lewis, a miracle is when "God breaks into Nature with a new sequence of events." The Incarnation - God taking on flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth - is the greatest miracle of all. Every miracle of God is connected this one Grand Miracle.

Does God still do miracles? Sure he does. Just because they don't make it to the 6 o'clock news doesn't mean they don't happen. It takes eyes of faith to see a miracle. And it takes a humble heart to receive a miracle. For those with hard hearts and proud eyes, miracles are few and far between. To receive a miracle is not like being the recipient of a magic trick. The point of miracles was to point to our Father in Heaven - grace and forgiveness and healing and hope were why Jesus intervened in a person's life.

What do miracles look like today? Well, since Jesus isn't walking around the countryside, miracles are not as obvious as they used to be! But the Church is supposed to be the Hands and Feet of Christ - so do miracles occur through the Words and Works of Christians? Sure they do. Grace is a miracle. Forgiveness is a miracle. Life Transformation is a miracle. Love is a miracle. Healing of souls and hearts is a miracle. Enough food for the hungry is a miracle. Helpful hands to the diseased and disabled is a miracle. Welcoming hearts to the disgusting is a miracle.

Too many times miracles get pigeon-holed to great signs and wonders, confusing events that are hard to explain. They lead to arguments and doubt and desires for God to do the fantastic. Jesus refused to do miracles in order to make for a good show. His miracles flowed out of his mission, his identity - he was born out of a miracle, his life was a miracle, and he intended to be a blessing and a sign to everyone he touched. His miracles revealed the glory of God, it prompted people to discover God to be trustworthy, believable, worth putting their faith in.

When the family discovered the need for more wine, they didn't expect a miracle. You rarely get a miracle when you plan for it. Miracles are a gift. From God. Through us. Be open to God. Become a generous gifter. Follow the way of Jesus in loving the unlovable and untouched. It's this kind of life that is able to see and accept miracles.

Stoop to Lift: First Tuesday of Advent

He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.
~ C.S. Lewis, Miracles, p148

In our world, what goes up must come down. But in God's way of doing things, what goes down will go up. Or, as St. Peter observed: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."  

The way of Jesus was to humble himself in order to meet us in our humiliating condition of sin and pain, wandering and hopelessness, striving and surviving and ambition and war. The way of God to lift us up out of our humiliation was to have Jesus join us there. Since God lifts up those who humble themselves, Jesus becomes our hope for being lifted up out of our mess.

Jesus is both the one who lifts us up, and he is the model of how to meet others in their humiliation, and lift them up. If we will be humbly honest about our condition, we will be prepared for Jesus to lift up our chin, to lift up our hearts, to lift our souls. If we will be humbly loyal to Jesus, we will be used by him to lift up the chins, hearts, and homes of those in our city, our neighbors, our fellow believers.

Jesus became one of us to show us how to live, and he became one of us that he might bring us back up to him. The two go together. We know that we will want to be with Jesus in heaven when we want to be used by Him to help lift others up out of their sin, their poverty, their mess.

When we seek to exalt ourselves, we will be pressed down. When we follow the example of Jesus and humble ourselves - even to the point of death, in order to help lift up others, we will be exalted. We walk the way of humility out of obedience, but also out of imitation. And we walk under the burden of humiliation knowing it is the true path to exaltation - and it will be an apt reward we are prepared to receive and properly enjoy.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
~ Philippians 2v9-11 (NIV)

Who has God placed in your path that needs lifted up out of sin? Lifted up out of poverty? Lifted up out of a mess?

Are you too proud to stoop?

If not, what have been the rewards of humbling yourself?

Who Needs Rescued: First Monday of Advent

The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a baby, and before that a fetus inside a Woman's body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p179

We're so used to the idea of God entering the world as a baby that we often forget to pause and ponder it. God of the universe becomes a fetus. The Creator of galaxies nourished by an umbilical cord. It's hard to grasp the idea since we've never been a deity, and we can't remember our own conception. But maybe we can entertain the idea of becoming a slug or a crab!

What's the value of a slug or a crab? To what lengths would someone go to rescue them? The Hermit Crabs that live in the Gulf of Mexico need rescued - and there are plenty of scientists and volunteers who are jumping in to help. Slugs and crabs are amazing creatures, gifts from the Creator, an important part of our ecosystem. Humans are made in the image of God, the crown of creation, the gifted stewards of the Earth. And we need rescued. Desperately.

It may be difficult to fathom why God entered the world via a womb. It may be impossible to fully understand what it was like for the Eternal Being to become like one of us. But we needed it.
We still need him.

Who in your life needs rescued? Who do you need to go to to help?

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
~ Philippians 2v6-7 (NIV)