Something for Nothing

We have witnessed far too many scams to believe you can receive great benefits without a catch. We've either seen people who have been ripped off or have experienced it on a personal level. The old expression has proven correct, "If sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

I think this is why we struggle with the idea of grace. God's willingness to give us a gift we do not deserve leaves us doubtful of His motives. Even as a Christ follower, I think there is a struggle to continue attempting to earn what God is giving away. We are programmed to believe nothing of value is given away for free and keep waiting for the fine print to catch up to us at some point. That's why God's grace has been described as scandalous and wasteful. It defies all our worldly systems to think about a magnificent gift given abundantly to anyone who asks for it.

Christmas Theology

Christmas is a time when we celebrate and sing about joy to the world, peace on earth, and good will towards mankind. This isn't just a fond wish or a comforting thought, but a revelation of what the gift of Christ means to us all. We sit in hopeful expectation of what God has brought, but I believe it's more than that. I feel that it's also an expression of what we should seek to share with the rest of the world.

If we truly place our hope in this gift of Christ then it's also our responsibility to share joy and peace through our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions. We do this because of the strength of these gifts that first flowed from Christ. It's only in His humble sacrifice for us that we can find the courage to be ambassadors of the true meaning of Christmas.

Not Permitted

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

In another parallel to dealing with spiritual attacks (see yesterday's blog), I recently compared the enemy to a childhood punk who steals our lunch. He takes the very best things out of our lunchbox and leaves us with nothing worthwhile. He is the hooligan who always takes our Hostess cupcake and leaves the celery sticks behind. He doesn't want us to have anything to find joy in, but aims to leave us feeling short-changed and disappointed. 

I don't mean to diminish the attacks of the enemy (or those that love celery sticks) with my illustration. I simply want to draw attention to the discouragement that can be used against us. We have to recognize that our enemy, the thief, has come to steal from us. He isn't interested in our well-being or our happiness, but only wants to make us miserable by taking our focus off of God. If we want to fight back we've got to grasp the full life that God offers and refuse to allow anything to dissuade us from that path. 

The truth is the best gifts come from God and the enemy can't take those from us if we don't give him permission.

Gifted

The Gift and the One who gave the Gift are the same. You cannot have one without the other. The Gift and the Gift-giver are a package deal. 

Limitless Life, Derwin Gray

You can't expect to receive all that God has to offer without accepting Him as well. We might see portions of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and purpose without having a relationship with Him. We won't ever fully experience the beauty and power of what God offers if we won't commit to following Him though. It won't be a personal journey then, but merely a secondary spirituality that only comes into contact with the purity of God through other people. That's not the depth of commitment that interests God and it's less than appealing to us. All of God's gifts are illusions without Him at the center of them. 

Fulfillment and contentment are found in all of who God is.

Peace in the Pain

Music speaks to us in ways that go beyond a catchy tune. There are times when the lyrics are exactly what we need to hear and are soothing to our soul.

As I think about the people I know that are struggling through life's difficulties, I often wish that I could provide them a solution. I know that God is ultimately what they need in those moments and it is not just healing that He brings. So many times it is the peace that He brings us as we journey through difficulties that is His greatest gift. A song by the Aaron Pelsue band describes this gift in more eloquent words than I ever could. I pray it reveals the peace we are most desperate to receive from God.

There are days when, I don’t feel like, I can get out of bed

There are moments, when I fear that, all of my dreams are dead

Then Your Spirit comes and it wakes me up, gives me the strength to fight

You remind me of, Your great power to give every dead thing life

You’re my joy when I have none

You’re my hope when I’m undone

You’re the love that over comes when I’m afraid

You’re the peace in the pain

When my heart is fully broken and I can barely breathe

When my world is a stormy ocean, crushing me in deep

Then Your Spirit breathes and You promise to me, the most amazing things

You remind me of Your great power to calm all my raging seas

You’re my joy when I have none

You’re my hope when I’m undone

You’re the love that over comes when I’m afraid

You’re the peace in the pain

Peace that passes understanding

Holds me up when I feel like I could die

Peace that passes understanding

You’re the source and I’ve never felt so alive