DEVELOP-MEN-T

The church of Jesus Christ has grown from a little mustard seed of 12 apostles and a few hundred followers in the city of Jerusalem, to a flourishing plant that shadows the globe today 2000 years later.  Over 2,000,000,000 believers in Jesus Christ are present in just about every country of the world.

A part of the reason for this spread is that God calls pastors and missionaries to lead the expansion of the work of the Kingdom, to keep the gospel of Jesus Christ alive and growing.  Each generation has seen God’s call on men and women.  CCC is no exception.  Many of our young people are serving the Lord in full time ministry positions around the world.

One of our core commitments as a church is to develop our young pastoral leadership.  We are blessed to have four godly, committed and gifted young men on our pastoral team.  As we look to the future we want to help them develop the gifts and passions God has given them to prepare them for their next steps in church ministry.  One of the areas we are committed to helping them develop is preaching.  So throughout 2013 each will preach on Sunday morning at least twice throughout this year.  They are the next generation that will be advancing the Kingdom of God and we are so blessed to have them at CCC.  Pray for them, that their heart and skills will continue to be shaped by God.  I know God will use them to bless us.

LIVING WITH YOUR GUARD UP

Though I’m not an advocate of boxing there is a good principle attached to it.  Keep your guard up!  It keeps you from getting hit by your adversary who is always looking for a way to deliver a knockout punch.  In addition we have all heard the adage, “act in haste, repent in leisure”.  Combine these two and you realize their value.  In a day and age where we can get so tied up with activity, stressed out with demands, pressure build up, and running on empty, we may find ourselves letting our guard down.  It takes the form of a careless word or an inappropriate action and can cause an ugly turn in our lives.  A harsh, condemning word that injures a friend or gets us fired from a job.  An action that hurts, disappoints and creates pain in a valued relationship.  All too quickly spoken or done unguarded moments lead to consequences that allow plenty of time to repent, think and regret.  We realize there is no “undo” button that allows us a do over.  We can find forgiveness from the Lord, but the consequences still remain.  Damage has been done.  How well guarded is your tongue, are your actions?  If we don’t keep our guard up we can find ourselves with plenty of time to repent in leisure.  Let’s keep our guards up!!

LATE CHRISTMAS/HAPPY NEW YEAR

I had a late Christmas with my North Carolina family this past weekend.  My twin grandboys, Luke and Sam, got another round of presents.  One of them was a cool kit of Lego blocks in a plastic container.  The 15 blocks could be made into 4 farm animals.  I thought the contents of the container were incredibly cool and loved putting the sheep, chicken(especially cool), pig and cow together.  Sam, however, saw no value in the contents.  He was absorbed in the plastic container.  He played endlessly with it, waving it around, folding it shut and then pulling it open.  “Sam”, I said, “Look at the cool animals we can make”.  No interest.  He only had eyes for the container.

It seems to happen that way with kids.  So often the package is valued more than the contents.  The box has more intrigue than what’s inside.  That’s okay when you’re a kid.  People think it’s cute that you’d rather play with the box instead of the present, but you get to an age where that would no longer be cute, it would be concerning.  Have we gotten to that age with God’s gift of Jesus?  Hopefully we’ve moved past valuing the “packaging” more than the gift.  Jesus gets wrapped up with a lot of stuff each Christmas, wrappings which are decorative, tasty and delightful.   But the substance of value is Jesus.

I like that Christmas is Dec 25^th.  It lets us end the year being reminded of the incredible, invaluable gift of God’s Son.  That in turn lets us begin the new year embracing that gift and having it enrich and direct our lives.  Have we come of age?  Happy New Year!

THE JOY OF GIVING

We have just had another wonderful Christmas season.  The joy of Christmas has played itself out in home after home.  But for some, Christmas can be a hard time.

One of the things that excites me is to see the incredible heart of generosity that lives in the people of CCC.  Christmas is a time of giving, and many community families experienced the unconditional love of our people when gift cards were dropped off to them so they could shop for their kids.  Extra food was also provided so families could have a more exciting Christmas dinner.  Presents were purchased for Angel Tree kids.  Add to that the 100 or so shoe boxes filled with precious wonders for kids around the world and you have a lot of blessed lives.  What impresses me and I know pleases God is that the Christmas spirit exists in our people all year long.  What a thrill it is to see people blessed by a timely gift that takes the growing financial pressure off.   Many families and single parents live with little or no margin.  The unexpected car repair puts them behind the financial 8 ball and now choices have to be made.  Do I pay the rent and forget the utilities?  

To receive a financial boost at a time when every penny counts is such a blessing to people.  How fun it is to be the hands and feet of Jesus in peoples’ lives.  The glory of God shines brightly when we give from a heart of love to bless others.  2 Cor 8:9.  “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”  We have all received the grace and generosity of God.  Let’s keep passing it on.

REFLECTIONS

Last Friday morning tragedy struck families in Newtown CT, as a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 children and 6 adults.  The joy that rises with the Christmas season was significantly dampened by this event.  The pain, the grief, the disbelief all linger.  The whole incident has been brought under the national microscope.  Questions are asked and discussions are held.  Solutions to keep this from happening again are searched for.  I trust that in any equation for success, God and His wise life principles are not ignored.  As we get closer to Christmas we see the effort of God to intersect our lives with love and hope.  In the midst of life’s ongoing tragedies, which in this sin fallen world will never end by human effort, God offers hope in the form of His Son who came to earth.  Let us never forget the messages attached to His birth.  To Joseph - You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.  To Mary - He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  To the shepherds - For behold I bring you Good News of great joy, which shall be for all people.  For today in the city of David a Savior has been born for you, who is Christ the Lord. 

Jesus came to earth as the precious gift of God.  In Him we find Hope, Joy, Peace, Love and Life.  He is the answer to a whole lot of questions.  Thank God for His indescribable Gift.

CHRISTMAS

A week ago Saturday, a number of people gathered to run a 5K.  What brought them together was a common love and friendship for Scott Middleton, a 50 year old friend who died suddenly while working out on his treadmill.  As I did my three miles I reflected back on the years I’d known Scott and realized that relationships truly are the richest and most meaningful substance of life.  As we grow up we love having friends, people to do things with, explore new experiences with, be encouraged by, draw strength from, laugh with, eat with, cry with, cheer for.  As we mature we recognize that many of our relationships have grown so deep that we can’t imagine life without them.  Marriages are that way.  Our children produce those feelings.  

But then something happens and a loss occurs.  The relationship is over and we feel the pain.  Christmas can intensify that feeling.  The losses become vivid again.  The “missing them” rises to the surface.  But though the pain of loss is real, we would rather live with our pain than never have had the joy of the relationship.   I can’t imagine adopting the philosophy of Simon and Garfunkel, who in their song, “I Am a Rock”, penned these words.  “Hiding in my room, I’m safe within my womb.  I touch no one and no one touches me.”  Or these, lamenting the fact that a relationship didn’t work out, “Don't talk of love. I've heard the words before.  They’re sleeping in my memory. I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. If I never loved I never would have cried.” 

All that seems so empty.  Relationships might be risky.  Hurt may come from them.  Grief may be your experience.  But the value and joy of them far surpasses all risk.  God entered into relationship with mankind through Jesus Christ.  He knew the joy of relationships, his love for friends.  His heart felt deeply for them.  He wept when Lazarus died.  And he didn’t care what the cost, whatever it takes, He wants a relationship with us.  That’s Christmas.

WHAT MAKES CHRISTMAS SO INCREDIBLY SPECIAL

I love Christmas!  There is no other time of the year like it.  So why do I get so excited about this particular season?  It starts with Jesus.  Without his birth there would be no death.  Without His death there would be no life.  Without His life there would be no hope.  

God became flesh and dwelt among us.  He became our Savior, our Christ, our Lord.  

That spells JOY as far as I’m concerned.  When your heart is that full of joy in what He has done, you just want to celebrate big time.  So we decorate, bakerate, and cookerate .  We love to shop and buy gifts, plan family gatherings, invite people over to our homes to drink wassail, eggnog, and eat special Christmas goodies.   We savor Graeter’s special Christmas ice creams.  We sing Christmas carols and pull out the much loved Christmas CDs and DVDs.  We have special Christmas candles.  A treasure trove of lights adorn the outside and inside of houses.  The Christmas tree is looked at admiringly every time we pass by.  We hang the wreaths.  We just enjoy the season.

So I say, feel the joy of Jesus’ birth and let that joy explode on the Christmas scene for all its worth.  The angels felt it when they chorused, “Glory to God in the Highest.  For behold I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable Gift.