What About Santa Claus?

Posted on by

How do Christians feel about ________?  Regardless of how you fill in the blank, the answer will depend on which Christian you ask.  I just want to poll the audience on this one: What does your family do with Santa Claus?

The cartoons below express radically different viewpoints.  In one, Santa is portrayed almost as an enemy of Jesus.  In the other, he bows his head and worships.  Is there anything left of Saint Nicolas in our modern Santa?

…

There is a third option.  Some families watch Christmas specials that feature Santa Claus and celebrate “that special feeling of the holidays” and also read the Bible and honor the birth of Jesus.  You could hang stockings and put up a manger scene.  You could light a Christmas tree and light the candles of an Advent wreath.  Is celebrating with the culture while keeping the faith an offense to both?

UPDATE: I held my piece for a few days and tried to give everyone a chance.  Here is my response.

Happy Monday

Posted on by

…

Okay, my wife didn’t go shopping and I didn’t watch any football.  But we did drive 600 miles each way to eat too much turkey and pie. Continue reading →

Advent: Week One

Posted on by

UPDATE: There are five Sundays in December this year, four of them before Christmas.  Sunday, December 2nd will be the first Sunday of Advent.

Reposted from November 27, 2011

Advent is a season of waiting and preparation for the nativity of Jesus Christ.  I have been pleased to see many friends doing the “30 days of Thanksgiving” thing on Facebook.  I’m more encouraged by 30 days of Thanksgiving than by 60 or even 90 days of Christmas.  If you watch some classic movies, from say the 40’s or 50’s, you’ll see Dad bringing home a tree on Christmas Eve!  The family decorates the tree, hang their stockings, then celebrate Christmas the very next day.  Part of the beauty of Christmas is waiting for it to arrive. Continue reading →

To Whom Are We Giving Thanks?

Posted on by

I was reading a blog post debunking several historical myths about Thanksgiving (original link no longer available).  At one point he has this to say about George Washington:

“George Washington, as the first American president, declared November 26, 1789 as a national day of thanksgiving and prayer, and a few months after his inauguration issued his famous ‘Proclamation Number One’ stating that it was a ‘duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God.’”

But the last “myth” he identifies is Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, and he reasons this way:

“While some would like to believe that the Thanksgiving holiday is religious, and George Washington did issue a proclamation bringing God into the picture, this is not only an invented holiday, but its correlation with football and rescheduling to enable better economic performance for merchants makes it clear that Thanksgiving is a secular holiday.”

Then who are you giving thanks to?

It has become a tradition at this time of year to list things we are thankful for, but we sort of read off the list without directing our thankfulness in any particular direction.  Perhaps families go around the table and each member takes a turn, which forces children to think about the things they have and teaches a lesson about being thankful.  It is no doubt safer in our politically correct culture for elected officials, public school teachers and others to say “we should be thankful” than to make a religious statement.  But seriously, who are we thanking when we list the things we are thankful for?

George Washington didn’t bring God into the picture.  It is God’s picture, and we should be thankful he included us.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
(Psalm 115:1 ESV)

Happy Monday

Posted on by

…

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
(Psalm 136:1-3 ESV) Continue reading →

God’s Will

Posted on by

Psalm 115:3 says “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”  I actually read an argument from an unbeliever last week who quoted that verse and 2 Peter 3:9 about “God’s will that no one should perish.”  His argument was that one or the other must be true, or else this is a case of the Bible contradicting itself.

This is a perfect example of what happens when a verse is snagged from its context.  Read all of Psalm 115.  Verse 3 says that God is in heaven and does all that he pleases.  Verse 16 says “The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.”  God has given us the liberty to do his will or choose our own.  Most reject God.  Look at the example Jesus gave his followers when he taught them to pray: “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  He later himself prayed “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.”  Jesus prayed for God’s will and taught his followers to do the same.  We seek God’s will, and ask for his will to be done.  But on this world, affected by sin and the curse, his will is most often not done.

Why pray for God’s will to be done on earth it it’s not going to be anyway?  God has given the earth to the children of men for now.  Jesus also prayed “your kingdom come.”  When the Kingdom of God has fully come, and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, God’s will will be done.

The Read and Share File

Posted on by

I normally share a few links with a few comments.  Here’s a few links and a short sermon.

When we confess Jesus as Lord, via The Gospel Coalition.  This is one of those posts I wish I had written.

Here is a whole collection of verses and quotes on Thanksgiving.  Christians should be all about Thanksgiving.

Harvey Turner at The Resurgence writes You Are Not Jesus.  He claims that the gospel is good news, and news must be proclaimed.  You cannot, therefore, live the gospel or be the gospel, a premise which troubles me greatly.

Yes, the gospel is good news.  But when we are transformed by his redeeming power old things pass away and we become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).  It is no longer we that live but he lives in us (Gal 2:20).  Our goal is to conform to the image of Christ, who himself was the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15).  We are filled with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and are commissioned to carry the gospel to a lost and dying world.  I am not Jesus, but if I give a cup of water to the least of his children Jesus says it’s as if I gave water to him.  We, the church, are the body of Christ and he becomes the head of the body.  Jesus says his believers become one with him just as he and the Father are one.  We are grafted into the family of God through a glorious adoption. Continue reading →

Who God Uses, Part II

Posted on by

Look at Who God Uses lists several characters from Bible history, pointing out the characters flaws and shortcomings of each one.  The original post points out that God uses the small, the weak and the broken to do his will and work, but does nothing to explain why.

Consider the nation of Israel.  By the time of Moses, the tribes of Israel were slaves serving the Egyptians.  God brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, demonstrating his power by allowing Israel to plunder the wealth of Egypt and destroying Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea.  He led them to the land of Canaan, providing their needs and defeating their enemies for them.  Israel went from serving Egypt to building an empire of their own.  And all they could say about it was “look what God did for us.”

Ultimately Israel forsook God and worshiped the idols of others nations.  They rejected God and his Law, and as he promised the land was taken from them and given to others.  Our health, our strength, our prosperity, all that we have is a gift from God.  We are responsible for what we do with it, making us stewards of what is God’s rather than the owners of what is ours.  

No one used by God to do great things can really say “Look what I did.”  While I didn’t mean for this to be a Thanksgiving post, it is the perfect opportunity to say “Look what God has done.”  Christ humbled himself on the cross so that God could lift him up.  What greater example could be given?