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

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isaiah 9:2 ESV)

If you’ve ever waited through a sleepless night, you know the welcome joy of dawn. If you’ve ever watched your child suffer through pain that intensified in the night, the light of day seemed to provide instant healing. If you’ve ever stumbled through the darkness of the valley of the shadow of death, you know the heaviness of dark grief. Darkness makes good things seem less than good. Darkness makes hard things seem impossible.

Israel staggered through the darkness of their own sin. They turned to their own devices and came up short–way short. Assyria devastated the north. Babylon would eventually destroy Jerusalem, ransack the temple, and carry the best and brightest of Jerusalem’s young people into exile.

However God had not forgotten them. He never forgets his own. He pledges his undying love in Isaiah 49:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:15-16 ESV)

Jesus is living proof of God’s unwavering love for his people. Into the land of darkness, the light of life came shining. Into the gloom of sin and rebellion, grace and truth appeared. He pitched his tent among us, became a baby, grew up to be a man, lived among the commoners, died a criminal’s death, and lay in a borrowed tomb. Then he resurrected!

This Christmas, be reminded that God has not forgotten you. He is the Oriens, the Dayspring, the Great Light.

I promise you, that if you come to the light, joy will replace fear, light will dispel darkness, hope will displace hopelessness. God may not change your circumstances, but He will change you!

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6-7

We typically do not think of babies are reigning. Crying maybe; unable to take care of themselves; cute and cuddly, but by no means in charge of anything. What then makes the baby in Isaiah 9 any different? What baby could handle the responsibility of ruling any government on the face of the earth? A typical child can only cry and let their parents know they need something… But not this baby. Although this child was born on this earth with needs as most children have, he was ultimately born to supply our needs. This baby would be birthed into this world crying as most children do, but this child would ultimately cry from a wooden cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” and “It is finished.” This child was born into a world of turmoil and moral decay, but one day he will rid the world of sin and establish a new kingdom of perfection for all of His followers to dwell with Him. This child was born to be king. He was born to reign forever. This baby who was born had several attributes Isaiah wanted us to know about.

Wonderful counselor. Everything that comes from this child’s mouth is true and can ultimately be trusted. Trust Jesus to give you His perfect wisdom. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Mighty God. There is nothing this king cannot do. He is able, He is capable, and He rules with unparalleled power and might. This king will fight your battles. Psalm 24:8 “Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!”

Everlasting Father. This is a comforting attribute. This king is our daddy, forever. Despite lies from the enemy, God is always there for you. John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Prince of Peace. The king’s reign will bring peace. Revelation 21:4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” That’s a kingdom we all long for.

This child born is JESUS!

As you think of Him this Christmas season, praise the Lord of Heaven, the king who reigns forever. Allow the words of Philippians 2:9-11 to ring true for you: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”