Day One of Creation

Genesis 1: 1 - 5 (NIV): 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. 

    How can we believe the Bible is true if we do not believe the very first verse? How are we not calling God a liar if we believe that we arrived on this planet through natural forces when God said he created us? How can we believe that Jesus raised people from the dead -- and that he himself rose from the dead if we do not believe these verses too?

    Ancient stories of creation were wild and full of legendary embellishments, but this account is orderly and logical. God states that he was before time. He spoke the universe into existence. He created light, then began to separate the elements and put them into place. Call it the big bang, but it was God speaking.

    Einstein said "either everything is a miracle or nothing is." I totally agree. Clearly everything is a miracle. Everything is supernatural. The more I have studied this the more I see that the only way life makes any sense is if it was set in place as it is. Cells are irreducibly complex and so are whole eco-systems and human organ systems. Nothing would work if it were any "simpler". Life clearly did not evolve from some, more simple, form. That's impossible. A woodpecker could never have survived without the cushion that allows it to peck the side of a tree and without the hollow bones and amazing feathers that allow it to fly. These so called adaptations are design features that couldn't have happened by accident. Someone had to write the DNA code.
    Yes, some things appear to be ancient, but God had to create everything with the appearance of age. This isn't deception, but a necessity. Adam was grown when he was created so he appeared to be much older than he was when he was first created. Why not the entire universe? When The Bible says it, I believe it. And logic is on my side.

Jesus is Baptized

Matthew 3: 13 - 17 (NIV): 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

    Why did Jesus need to be baptized? Was he a sinner who needed to repent? After all, that was John the Baptist's message. No, Jesus was without sin. But he showed that he was one of us by this act. God never asks us to do anything he isn't willing to do himself. Here, Jesus set the example for us that we need to be baptized. He was also showing that he approved of John the Baptist and his message.

    At Pentecost, Peter told the crowd to "repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) Jesus told us to baptize all believers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So baptism is important. Baptism is our entry into the church which is critical for spiritual growth. Baptism tells the world what has happened inside of us. God has cleansed us and we have been born again. Paul says we are buried with Christ in baptism and raised to walk a new life in him. So the water is symbolic of our being covered by the grace of God.

    Different denominations baptize by different methods and at different times in a person's spiritual journey. To me, what is important is that you have been baptized and that you are comfortable with where you stand with God.

Epiphany 2014

Matthew 2: 10-12 (NIV): 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

    This is the part of the Christmas story about the mysterious Magi who came and worshiped Jesus and presented him with gifts. Many churches tell this story on "Epiphany Sunday", which falls around the 12th-day of Christmas. This is a centuries-old tradition that dates back to at least 350 A.D.

    An Epiphany is a revelation. It is when a person sees something, as though a light were shining on it to reveal it to him. It's an "Oh, I see" moment. Since we are not sure who the Magi were, they represent the peoples of the earth. Matthew tells us they were from the east and from another country. That's all we know for sure. I personally believe they were Jews who had remained in Babylon after the exile, but I can't completely prove this. Because they came from a distant land to worship the Christ, we celebrate the epiphany that God's gift of salvation is for all people.

    So, have you seen the light? Have you had the epiphany that God loves you and wants to save you?

    And they worshiped Jesus when they found him. That should be our response as well. They bowed to him and presented him with gifts -- gifts that reveal who he was: gold is a gift for a king, incense is a gift for a God, and myrrh is a gift for a Savior. Myrrh was used to anoint a dead person and would have been a strange gift to give anyone other than a person who came to die for us. True worship always involves sacrifice and they understood this.

    We see in this story that evil was at work to thwart God's plans, but evil did not prevail. God is in control and his plans are always fulfilled. Now it's up to us to see the light and understand this.

Sing a New Song to the Lord

Psalm 33: 1 - 1 (NIV): 1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 

    There is power in the spoken word. God spoke the universe into existence with the word of his mouth. And we have the privilege of praising him with ours. But our praise should extend beyond what we say or sing, it should be a part of who we are. This psalm says to "play skillfully", to give God our best in church and out. I encourage you to give God your best this new year. Don't just phone in your worship, put your heart into it. After all, he has been so good to us. He created us and sustains us by his power. He is faithful to watch over us.

    Sing a new song to him. Introduce new songs into our worship services, sure, but also realize that our relationship with God is alive and active. We don't just remember a good man and give him our respects, we have fellowship with a Savior who is central to our lives. We worship a God whose mercies are new every morning. I like listening to Christian radio stations to see if I can hear a new song that expresses how I feel and how much I love God. 

    This passage also reminds us that God's will is always done. He is God and he gets his way. He allows us freedom to choose and live our lives, but ultimately, his will is done. Only a powerful God could do this, and our God is a powerful God. This new year, give him your best and tell him how you feel about him so he will know, and so the whole world will know.

The Prince of Peace

Luke 2: 8 - 14 (NIV): 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

    We think of peace as the absence of conflict or the absence of stress. We say our country is at peace if we are not at war. We think of being at peace if all is well and we are not stressed. How has your Christmas season been so far? Stress free? How could Jesus bring us peace if the holiday celebrating his birth brings so much stress, strife and conflict?
    There must be more to peace than just the absence of conflict. Jesus said (Matthew 10:34) “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This sounds like a contradiction. Jesus was proclaimed the "Prince of Peace" and he said he was bringing a sword instead. What gives?

    Peace means more than the absence of conflict or stress, it means wholeness. It means we have found what we are looking for. It means we are now complete because we have found God and are no longer in conflict with him. We each have a "God shaped hole" in our hearts and we have now filled it. Our search for meaning and purpose is over and that gives us a peace that the world cannot give. Even when we are in conflict; even when we are stressed, we are satisfied because we have found rest for our souls.

    But there's more, we couldn't have peace with God without Jesus because Jesus satisfied God's wrath toward our sinful rebellion (Ephesians 2: 3-5). We will still experience conflict, stress and yes, even war, but because of the Prince of Peace, we are at peace with God, we are at peace within our souls, and we can have peace with one another.

Advent – God’s Good News is for All People

Luke 2: 4 – 11 (NIV): 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

    8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

    The people in this story are celebrities today, but not at the time. They were witness to the most joyful event in history, but it wasn't easy. Mary had the privilege of holding the infant Jesus in her arms. Think of the joy he brought. But she had to suffer through the pains of childbirth to receive that joy. Often the suffering we experience today is preparing us for a future blessing. And she would not have been chosen as the mother of the Christ if she had not been righteous. May we never forget that God seeks clean vessels to use for his most blessed purposes.

    Joseph also received the joyful gift, but only after showing tremendous faith. He believed the angel's report about Mary and her miraculous pregnancy. It is impossible to receive God's full blessings if we do not trust and obey him. Joseph is a great example of that.

    The shepherds received the joy of seeing Jesus, but only after being terribly afraid. Often we are frightened when God intervenes in our lives, but God always brings good news and great joy. The shepherds were the first to hear the good news, yet they were in such a low class of society, they were not allowed in the temple. God's good news is for all people.

    This passage ends with the people of Bethlehem hearing the good news and being amazed. Yes, they received the joy too, but only because the shepherds told them what happened. The only way our community is going to hear the good news is if we share it.

Prepare the Way

Luke 1: 76 - 80 (NIV):  76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

    This passage is the second half of "Zechariah's Song", which Zechariah said after the miraculous birth of his son, John the Baptist. Yes, John's birth was a miracle, but so is every birth. God, and only God, gives life and we should recognize this. And John was born with a purpose: to prepare the way for the Lord.

    We, too, are born with a purpose. John the Baptist helped prepare the way for Jesus' first coming, but we are preparing for his second. We do so the same way John did, by calling people to repentance and preaching that God will fulfill his prophecies and promises.

    The Bible had foretold that a light would dawn on people living in darkness (Isaiah 9:2). God would shine his light of hope and love, guidance and salvation on people living in distress. We can take comfort that God fulfilled this promise. Jesus was born just where the prophet Micah said he would be, then he grew up and began his ministry in Galilee, where Isaiah said he would. Jesus brought light to all who believed. He brought salvation through his sacrifice. He brought hope to the world. And he brings peace – with God, with each other, and within ourselves. Now, it is our privilege to prepare the way for his return. And we begin by preparing our hearts this Advent Season.