“Mom, Alex ran up to me at the end of school and said a rumor is going around fifth grade that I don’t like gay people,” said Pierce, Gabe’s son.

Needing more information about this latest chapter of public school life in New York City, Rebekah said, ‘What happened?'”

“During last period, Alisha told me that she had a crush on another girl in our class. I was like, “That’s not good. That’s wrong.'”

“Really? And what did she say?”

“She was like, ‘Why don’t you like gay people?’ So I told her, ‘I never said that, but I think it’s against God’s laws.'”

Uh-oh, Rebekah thought. “You really said that? Out loud?”

Pierce had just violated the second principle of the new moral code: Thou shalt not criticize another person’s life choices or behavior. Gabe continues:

After my plane touched down in Dallas, I got Rebekah’s text message. From the tarmac, I called to get the story. Rebekah gave me a summary, and then she put Pierce on the phone.

“Pierce, what happened?”

Sheepish, Pierce told me his story. “I just know it’s not right. In the moment, the words just came out. I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Oh, son don’t be sorry. You lived out what you believe, and that’s all I can ask for.”

After more encouragement, I hung up. But I knew I needed to take it further. So I sat down and wrote a letter to Pierce not only to affirm him but also to teach him through what could be a really tough day at school the next day. It read:

Pierce,

Son, I’m so very proud of you.

FIRST. Today you showed conviction and boldness to state your opinion on how God uniquely designed boys and girls differently. You can’t expect that all the other kids will feel the same way. In fact, many of them have been told by their parents that boys liking boys and girls liking girls is okay, even to be celebrated. When you say, “Being gay is wrong,” they are very offended because they’ve been taught to believe anyone who thinks being gay is wrong is a bad person. Remember how we’ve talked about this world being upside down? What’s right is often thought to be wrong. What’s wrong is made to seem right. This is a perfect example of that happening. It’s okay though. Part of being a Christian is recognizing that we live by different rules than many other people around us. We trust God’s words in the Bible and the life of Jesus even if they don’t make sense to others.

Now, when you hear people say their opinions–even if you disagree with them–you must always respect them. Jesus says that the first and the greatest commandment is “to love God with all your heart” and the second is “to love thy neighbor as thyself.”  You scored a 100 percent on the first commandment and maybe a 75 percent on the second. Which brings me to the next important point.

SECOND. As a Christian, showing love to all people, even if you disagree with their opinion, is critical for you, Pierce. Loving your neighbor means being a good friend even when they say something with which you disagree. Otherwise they will think you don’t care about them or that you think you are better than them.

TOMORROW, when you go to school, friends may approach you. If someone says to you, “Why don’t you like gay people, Pierce?” You could respond by sharing your heart the way you did with me tonight. 

“I never said I don’t like gay people. I love all people. I believe God made our world so that boys would like girls and girls would like boys. I know you may disagree, and I respect that. But that is my honest opinion.”

Pierce, be prepared that not only students but even teachers may disagree with you. And that’s okay. Jesus tells us that people who don’t know him will be confused about what is good. You need to understand this is an example of a spiritual battle you are facing. It requires courage to follow Jesus in a culture that does not. You can trust that God’s Word is true.

I wish I could be with you and give you a huge hug right now. Instead, I’ll pray courage for you tonight as you drift off to sleep. God is with you. He loves you and all your friends at school so much. Sometimes it feels lonely to stand up for what you believe, but you are not alone.

I love you. 

Dad

From Good Faith, by Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman

In their book, Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons trace the path America has taken toward a new moral code: “the morality of self-fulfillment.” The new moral code comes with six guiding principles:

1. To find yourself, look within yourself.
2. People should not criticize someone else’s life choices.
3. To be fulfilled in life, pursue the things you desire most.
4. Enjoying yourself is the highest goal of life.
5. People can believe whatever they want as long as those beliefs don’t affect society.
6. Any kind of sexual expression between two consenting adults is fine.

Today’s decree, later changed to a directive (because decrees are usually handed down by God and someone must have clued in the overreaching Department of Justice that they might be using a word with religious overtones…which of course isn’t tolerated today) that all public schools must give equal access to bathrooms to transgender people is the government enacting these six guiding principles.

Russell Moore stated in his blog today:

The state here wishes to use its coercive power not simply to stop mistreatment of people but to rescript the most basic human intuitions about humanity as male and female. How, after all, does one win a culture war against one of the most basic facts of science and life: that there are two sexes? One does so by withholding the funds and recognition necessary to operate in public space, unless institutions get in line. Children, then, become pawns of the state for the state to teach what is ultimately a theological lesson, not a scientific one.

According to the state (and Hollywood, ESPN, Zuckerberg from Facebook and a host of other media elites), one’s gender is determined by looking within, not by the biological standards of male and female anatomy. Anyone who disagrees is considered an intolerant bigot. Since people should do what they desire most and enjoying life is the highest goal, individual assessment of one’s own gender takes precedence over safety of others, scientific evidence and basic discretion.

Pastor Kevin DeYoung, in a letter to the Michigan State Board of Education stated:

The current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) includes gender dysphoria, labeled as gender identity disorder until 2013, as a recognized condition when accompanied by distress over one’s biological sex. While some parents may encourage their children to embrace their chosen gender identity, whether it matches their biological sex or not, many other parents will see gender confusion as a natural part of passing through puberty and will encourage their children to embrace their biological sex. It is not the place of the schools to undermine what is taught in the home.

We are experiencing a tsunami of cultural change. Underneath the tsunami lies the earthquake that created it: the morality of self-fulfillment. Moore states well, “We must bear witness to the goodness of what it means to live as creatures, not as self-defining gods and goddesses.”

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever–not to glorify self and enjoy self forever.

Wendy and I are sitting here anticipating another surgery. Earlier this morning, Jeff Domingus text me Psalm 24. As I read it, I couldn’t help sharing it with you. Wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, your 3 word prayer can (and should) be, “Come on in.”

David opens the Psalm by acknowledging God’s rightful ownership of everything:

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (Psalm 24:1-2 ESV)

Before he says, “Come on in,” he asks, “How can I come in?”

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah (Psalm 24:3-6 ESV)

More than once David had ascended God’s hill (Jerusalem) and stood in his holy place (the temple). The prerequisites: clean hands, pure hearts, undivided worship, honest dealings. The reward: blessing and righteousness. Interesting that David got the reality that God provides the righteous requirement for entry into God’s presence.  But how did he receive that: by seeking God. God seeks us, we seek him. God pursues us, we pursue him. God longs for us, we long for him.

While Wendy and I definitely want a successful surgery today, we want God more. Why? David continues.

Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah (Psalm 24:7-10 ESV)

Jerusalem had gates–12 of them to be exact! When a dignitary arrived, the gates would swing open wide, the city would be astir, the red carpet rolled out. Jerusalem, that ancient holy city, was only significant because of who reigned there. If the King of glory didn’t enter, then ascending the hill and standing in the holy place had little value.

In just a few hours, Trent will be rolled back (like so many times before) through doors that Wendy and I will not walk through. We will wait while the doctors do what they do. Our hope, our peace, our comfort is that the King of glory is there. Don’t miss who He is. He is the LORD, strong and mighty. When our strength ends, His is only beginning. When our strength fails, His sustains. When our strength wanes, His grows.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts–in other words–the one who fights for us. Every time we come to this point, we feel powerless and helpless. But the King of glory is the ultimate warrior, the determined general, the consummate commander.

Selah (pause…and think about it)

When Jesus came into this world, when he invaded planet earth, he came crying…like all babies do. His first cry was the cry of a baby. When he was hungry, he cried. When he was thirsty, he cried. When he needed his diaper changed, he cried. God became a baby. Divinity wrapped in dependence. Heaven held in his mother’s arms. Max Lucado says:

He looks anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

He grew up like other Jewish children. Little is known of his childhood. Luke records a few details…a visit to the temple when he was 12. He begins his ministry, feeds the hungry, heals the sick, preaches the kingdom. Through all of it, he “set his face toward Jerusalem.” Jesus came to die. His second cry was the cry of a criminal.  In despair, he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The sins of the world weighed on his shoulders.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

If that is Jesus’s last cry, we are of all people “most to be pitied.” (2 Cor. 15:19) But those weren’t Jesus’s final words. Three days later, he came out of the tomb. Three days later, he arose! And in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul records Jesus’s 3rd cry:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. (1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV)

When Jesus returns, his cry will be the cry of a King.  It will not be the cry of dependence–He depends on no one! It will not be the cry of despair–It is finished! It will be the cry of deliverance!

And so we will always be with the Lord.

Has anyone ever wondered why trees grow straight up? They seem to defy gravity because they grow towards light (the Sun).

Light is a key piece in the process of photosynthesis. I’m not going to lecture you on botany, but it does raise some cool thoughts.

This morning when I woke up, the trees were white because of the ice that had overtaken them. Many of the trees were slumped over because the weight of the ice was too much for them to hold up.

As the Sun came out, the warmth began to hit the trees. Ice began to slowly melt away and fall to the ground. With every drop, the trees began to stand back up. It was amazing to watch this transformation take place.

We are like trees in that we get bogged down by too much weight. This weight is sin. This sin comes in many forms.

This sin keeps us from growing straight up to point to where the Son is.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV)

Our help comes from the Lord. He is our Light. Just like the Sun is to trees, the Son is to us. Our goal is to live like Christ. Sin prohibits us.

Like the ice, sin weighs us down. Here are a few applications:

1. Self Evaluation – Where are you spiritually? Do you feel as you are growing towards God, or is sin pulling you away?
2. Prayer – If you are growing in your faith, pray that God continues to nourish you. If you are being pulled away by sin, ask God to “melt the ice” away.
3. Do Not Be Discouraged – If you know you are being pulled away from God, do not allow be discouraged. Instead, have comfort in knowing that God loves you enough to not leave you where you are at.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 ESV)

Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4 ESV)

Nineveh was known for its wickedness. The capital of Assyria, Nineveh boasted of expansive walls, insurmountable boundaries and extensive victories. Here is what Nahum said about Nineveh:

Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder— no end to the prey! The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms. (Nahum 3:1-4 ESV)

This begs the question. Why didn’t God immediately destroy such wicked people? Why didn’t Jonah preach, “Yet forty minutes and Nineveh will be overthrown?” Why did God give them forty days?

Forty is a significant number in the Bible. Moses was on the mountain forty days (on two occasions) receiving God’s laws. Because of their rebellion against God, Israel wandered in the wilderness forty years. Jesus spent forty days and nights in the wilderness being tested. And here God gives the Ninevites forty days.

Forty days of grace. Forty days for Nineveh to get the message and repent. Forty days for the bloody, lying, plundering, murderous, heinous, horrific, corpse-laden city to repent. Forty days for the prostitute of Mesopotamia to turn from “her whorings.”

Some of you are in your forty days. God has called. Will you answer?

Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)

Others of you won’t give someone 40 seconds to make things right, let alone 40 years.

If you had to summarize your life in six words, what would they be? Several years ago an online magazine asked that question. It was inspired by a possibly legendary challenge posed to Ernest Hemingway to write a six-word story that resulted in the classic “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The magazine was flooded with so many responses that the site almost crashed, and the responses were eventually turned into a book. Not Quite What I Was Planning is filled with six-word memoirs by writers “famous and obscure.” Here are some of the memoirs that range from funny to ironic to inspiring to heartbreaking:

• “One tooth, one cavity; life’s cruel.”
• “Savior complex makes for many disappointments.”
• “Cursed with cancer. Blessed with friends.” (This one was written by a nine-year-old boy with cancer).
• “The psychic said I’d be richer.”
• This one was only five words: “One long train to darkness.”
• “Tombstone won’t say: ‘Had health insurance.'”
• “Not a good Christian, but trying.”
• “Thought I would have more impact.”

The challenge of the six-word limitation is its demand to focus on what matters most, to capture briefly something of significance. How would you summarize your life, or just last year, or maybe this upcoming year, in six words? (from preachingtoday.com)

Share yours.

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in and through you in 2016!

In 2016 I hope I…

1. Text less. Talk more.
2. Watch less. Read more.
3. Talk less. Listen more.
4. Spend less.  Give more.
5. Eat less. Exercise more.
6. Judge less. Love more.
7. Worry less. Pray more.
8. Work less. Parent more.
9. Surf less. Porch sit more.
10. Doubt less. Believe more.
11. Waste less. Invest more.
12. Work less. Date (Wendy of course!) more.
13. Hesitate less. Share the Gospel more.
14. Wander less. Focus more.
15. Stress less. Trust (God) more.
16. Forget less. Memorize (God’s Word) more.

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The very fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem is telling of how God decided to reveal the Savior. Micah 5:2 tells us about Bethlehem: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.“

Like today, people in the 1st century weren’t expecting a hero to come from no name parents, born in a no name town. Heroes are supposed to be strong, charismatic, and visibly powerful. One of my favorite characters in all movies is Batman. Batman is a billionaire by day, and come nighttime he turns into a powerful caped hero who saves the city of Gotham by his mere strength, technology, and shear power. When the city of Gotham is in trouble they expect Batman to rise to the occasion and save them.

First century Israel was looking for someone to sweep in and take over the Roman Empire, and establish an earthly kingdom. They were expecting you could say, a hero like Batman. One who could come to destroy their enemies. What they didn’t know is that the child born in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger did come to destroy their enemy, just not the Romans. The enemy this child came to defeat was humanity’s greatest enemy, sin and death. Jesus was born in an unexpected town to unexpected parents for a seemingly unexpected mission. Like first century Israel, people in the 21st century seem to expect their savior to be something other than a baby born in a lowly manger.

That baby who is Christ the Lord is the only true hero of the universe. The only place we can look for hope in our hopelessness, Christ The Lord… When our battles seem unbeatable, we trust Christ The Lord… When loneliness sets in, we know we have a friend in Christ The Lord… The fears in life often cause anxiety, but there is peace in Christ The Lord… Pain and suffering is a present reality, but those will one day forever be no more in Christ The Lord!

On this Christmas day, celebrate the unexpected King, Christ The Lord!

Merry Christmas