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What’s hanging on your wall?

Posted January 25, 2013 by Gary Combs & filed under Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).

When I was a senior in college I led a men’s Bible study group with Campus Crusade for Christ. During the Fall semester we had several new Freshman in our group. One of them was named Rick.

Every week in our group we would close by asking the guys for their prayer requests, and every week, Rick’s request was the same.

“Hey guys. Keep praying for my problem with lust. I’m still struggling with it.” He’d say with a nervous laugh and wrinkled brow.

And so we would pray for Rick’s problem with the sin of sexual lust and ours too, since it really is every man’s battle.

After a few weeks into the semester, Rick stopped showing up for group, so me and a friend of mine decided to go and check on him. Climbing the steps to the third floor of the freshman dorm, we heard music blaring from Rick’s room.

After banging and banging on the door, it finally swung open to the sound of Rick’s voice yelling, “What the blank do you want?”

Seeing us standing there, the goofy grin left his face and he amended his remark with, “Sorry dudes, I figured it was the guys down the hall, not you. Come on in.”

Sitting on the corner of his unmade bed, I looked around Rick’s room. Every wall was plastered with posters of naked girls. Stacks of “girly” magazines were strewn about. I couldn’t find a place to rest my eyes that they weren’t assaulted with temptation, so I tried to focus them on Rick.

“Rick, we’ve been missing you in Bible study buddy, so we thought we’d come see what’s up.” I said, trying to keep things light.

“Yeah, I’ve been kinda busy. I guess I just don’t have time for the whole weekly group thing now that the semester has gotten going, what with tests to take and papers to write and all..” He half-heartedly muttered in reply.

“I hear you. A lot of freshman have a hard time adjusting to college life at first. But that’s why we need other Christians for fellowship and Bible study. It’s hard enough living for Christ while in college, but it’s near impossible to do alone.” I told him, mustering all the concern in my voice for him that I could, in spite of his flippant attitude.

“Yeah, well I guess I’m doing alright.” He said.

“Well, what about the lust thing? Remember how you’ve been asking us to pray about that? How’s that going?” I asked.

“Well, it’s still kinda a struggle.” He admitted, with that familiar nervous giggle.

“I’m not surprised.” I said. “Since you’ve told us that you’re a believer and therefore our brother in Christ, I want to be honest with you. If I had to sit in this room much longer, I’d be struggling with lust too! Why don’t you tear down these porn posters, throw these girly mags in a garbage bag and let’s have a bonfire?”

“What… these?” He asked, gesturing at the wall dismissively with his hand. “They’re just something I’ve been collecting since I was 13. I’ve got every issue and pin-up since 1969. They’re just a collector’s hobby. That’s all. No big deal.” He finished with a matter-of-fact tone.

“No. Actually, they are a big deal and they are hurting your testimony and hindering your Christian growth. Rick, you’ve got to get serious about following Jesus. You can’t say you believe and then live like this. Let us help you dude. We can have a bonfire tonight!” I told him, my voice cracking with real concern and emotion.

“Nah… that’s OK… I’ll think about it, but I’m kinda busy tonight. Anyway, thanks for coming by guys, I’ve gotta get a shower and head to my … my next thing, so..” He replied, while getting up and motioning us towards the door.

As we left Rick’s room, I said, “Rick, we really miss you friend. And we’re gonna keep you in our prayers.”

“Yeah, thanks. See ya around.” He replied, while closing the door.

I still sometimes think about Rick. We did see him around campus after that, but never at another Bible study. His brand of Christianity was of a kind that doesn’t affect behavior. It was a kind of passive believing that never really affects behavior. His kind of believing didn’t even affect what hung on his walls.

Should what you believe affect how you behave? Should following Christ make any difference in how you live?

What’s hanging on your walls?

Who studies the Bible these days?

Posted January 18, 2013 by Gary Combs & filed under Discipleship, Religion.

“Jesus replied, ‘Your problem is that you don’t know the Scriptures…'” (Matthew 22:29 NLT).

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

There was a time not too long ago in the English speaking world that to be considered educated, one had to know at least two books well. What were they? The King James Bible and the works of Shakespeare. And even Shakespeare was dependent on the KJV, so really the Bible stood alone in its importance as the foundational book that shaped the Western world.

From poetry to politics, the Bible was the common language from which we were once able to understand the extended metaphors of Milton, the biblical allusions of Melville, and the speeches of Lincoln. Today, who would recognize that one of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speeches was actually borrowed from the words of Jesus found in Mark 3:25:

“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”

Yet, in Lincoln’s day, his habit of peppering his speeches with Scriptural allusions gave them both power and immediate understanding with his audience. Since the Bible was both well known and well believed, using it in his speeches was a stroke of genius.

It’s difficult today for a president or a preacher to find a common language with his audience. Should he refer to Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, or Star Trek? To choose the wrong one (my list of three obviously dates me) is to cause one’s listeners to either dismiss you as irrelevant, or misunderstand you completely.

That our culture has lost a common foundation for understanding is a great loss, but an even greater one is that those who call themselves Christian are nearly as biblically illiterate as those who don’t. It’s ironic that our grandparents had only one version of the Bible and perhaps only one copy in their house (a large family Bible with births, marriages, and deaths recorded inside) and yet, they knew their Bible. Whereas today, we have dozens of modern English translations offered in every type cover from paper to leather, and in every type medium from written to audio to digital, and yet, we don’t know Samson from Solomon nor Moses from Matthew.

Speaking of digital and audio versions of the Bible, I read in this month’s edition ofChristianity Today that digital versions of the Bible are breaking through barriers that once prevented people from having access to a Bible. According to the article, the most read and listened to translation of the Bible after English is Arabic.

“The fastest-growing areas for digital Bible reading are where access is restricted. This is especially true in traditional Muslim countries where the average listener listens three to four hours at a time– far more than the average three to four minutes in developed countries” (Christianity Today, Jan/Feb 2013, p. 15).

Perhaps if we had fewer Bibles and less access to biblical teaching, we would spend more time in the reading and study of God’s Word.

Developing a discipleship profile

Posted January 11, 2013 by Gary Combs & filed under Church growth, Discipleship, Religion.

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV).

In my blog over the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing the importance of discipleship and what it means to be one. This coming Sunday we’re launching a 5-week sermon series entitled Healthy for Life. It will be focused on discipleship and how to grow up to be healthy and mature Christ-followers.

In preparing for this sermon series, I’ve been evaluating how we might develop a better disciple-making culture at WCC. It seems to me, that in order to do this, we may need a clear description of what a mature Christ-follower looks like. What if we developed a kind of “discipleship profile?”

In other fields, experts have developed personality profiles and marriage readiness profiles. Some businesses even utilize profiles that supposedly predict your honesty (or lack thereof) in their hiring process. People find these profiles helpful in evaluating aptitude, readiness, and fit.

But what if there were a discipleship profile?

A discipleship profile might help the individual evaluate themselves and plan how they could grow in their Christian walk. It might also help a church evaluate how their systems are doing at making disciples and aid them in doing a better job of giving disciples what they really need to grow.

Using the Four “B”s that we discussed in our last blog entry, here are some questions that a discipleship profile might contain:

Believing (Do you have assurance of salvation? Are you certain of what you believe and know how to support your beliefs from God’s Word? Have you read the entire Bible? Do you have a daily Bible reading habit? Do you memorize Scripture for application in your daily life? Have you taken a course in biblical doctrine? Are you a serious student of the Bible?)

Behaving (Are you growing in self-control over your appetites and emotions? Are there addictions that you have yet to overcome? Do you have control over anger? Do you have control of your tongue, the kind of language you use? Have you developed certain spiritual habits, such as sacrificial giving, tithing, witnessing, fasting, and prayer? Are you acting more like Jesus?)

Becoming (Considering the nine attributes of the Fruit of the Spirit, are you seeing an ever-increasing expression of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in your character? Which of these would others see in you? Which one(s) would others say you are lacking? Is your life marked by a sense of hope? Is your character growing more like the character of Christ?)

Belonging (Do you know your identity as a child of God? Do you understand your rights and privileges as a member of God’s family? Do you relate to God as Father? Are you connected to God’s family, the church? Are you a member of a church? Do you participate in a small group? Do you have relationships with other believers who know you well and that you’ve given the freedom to hold you accountable? Are your reconciled to everyone (as far as is up to you) in your life?)

These are a few of the questions we might use to develop a discipleship profile. We might also have a kind of checklist of studies, habits, and programs that a serious student might consider for growth in such a profile.

What do you think? Would this be helpful?

How’s your discipleship?

Posted January 4, 2013 by Gary Combs & filed under Discipleship, Religion.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 18:19-20 NIV84).

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52 NIV84).

The command to “go and make disciples” is not just for pastors and missionaries, it’s for every believer. This commission is to all who would call themselves Christ-followers. It’s the Great Commission, and one of the main purposes of the Church.

At the beginning of a new year, it seems appropriate to look at how we’re doing at obeying Christ’s disciple-making command. As a pastor, this line of thinking causes me to look in two places. Of course, I think about how we’re doing as a church, but I also have to consider how I’m doing as an individual.

As a church, we want WCC to be like a discipleship “factory.” A widget factory is concerned about production, how many widgets they’re making, but they’re also focused on quality control. They want each widget to meet certain minimum specs. Likewise, WCC’s “disciple-making factory” is concerned about both quantity and quality. We want to grow both deep and wide.

Desiring to grow “deep” disciples, there are four areas in which we endeavor to lead and feed our flock. These four areas are similar to the four ways that Jesus grew in Luke 2:52. Our four areas or four “B”s of discipleship are (not necessarily in this order):

Believing – Jesus grew in wisdom, in what He knew. We desire to lead people into a saving faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We desire to teach the whole Bible. We want our members to be biblically literate and trained in good doctrine. We have ten essentials or foundations of the faith that we seek unity of belief on.

Behaving – Jesus grew in stature. He grew physically. We desire that our members grow in physical disciplines and self-control. We teach believers about financial stewardship, parenting, marriage and other life-skills. We teach them about the spiritual disciplines, like how to have a daily quiet time, about Bible study, witnessing, worship, prayer, fasting, sacrificial giving and more.

Becoming – Jesus grew in favor with God. He grew spiritually. We desire that our members grow spiritually too. This is about the inner life, one’s character. We believe that the nine character traits of the fruit of the Spirit, like “love, joy, peace…” and so on, found in Galatians 5:22-23 are good indicators of growing in the character of Jesus. Adding the trait of “hope,” we seek to train members to yield to the Lord and grow in these ten character traits.

Belonging – Jesus grew in favor with men. He grew socially. We desire to lead believers to have assurance of salvation, so that they know that they belong to God and to God’s family. We lead them to make commitments to join together with other believers in Celebrating God’s Son in worship, Connecting to God’s People in fellowship, and Contributing to God’s Kingdom together in service. We want WCC to be live as the family of God.

As a church we desire to build disciples that are growing in these four areas to be more like Jesus, but admittedly, we can only offer these things. To reword an old cliche, “we can lead our sheep to water, but we can’t make them drink.” As individuals, we have to take personal responsibility for our own discipleship. The church can only offer an environment for growth. We each have to personally desire this growth.

Do you want to grow more like Jesus? Are you taking advantage of the opportunities for growth that your church offers? Are you yielding to God’s work in you?

How’s your discipleship?

Growing more like Jesus in 2013

Posted December 28, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52 NIV84).

For many years I have made it a habit to spend the last week of the year in prayer, meditation and Scripture study. I call it my annual study break. It’s also a time to evaluate how I am living life. I want to be intentional about how I live. It’s so easy to let the urgent and the maintenance stuff of life fill up my days. I want to know that I have focused on the important.

I have developed a tool for setting annual goals and for self-evaluation that I call my “Luke 2:52 Goals.” Reading a description of how Jesus grew in Luke 2:52 motivatied me to want to grow in those same ways. If Jesus grew, than I want to be like Jesus. I want to grow too.

Notice that Jesus grew in four areas. He grew in wisdom, stature, in favor with God and in favor with men. For the benefit of my goal sheet, I list these four growth areas as follows:

Mental.
Physical.
Spiritual.
Social.

Under each category I list several items of which I believe God wants me to focus or where I want to grow for personal reasons. I try not to list too many things. I keep the total list small enough so that it fits on a single page. I usually post it in my church office and home study, so that I can see it every day.

Under “Mental” I might list: 1) Read a book a month, 2) Learn to play the banjo, 3) Take a course in Latin, 4) Attend a leadership conference, 5) Organize my blogs into book format, 6) Get finances in order…

For “Physical” my list might be: 1) Lose 20 pounds to weigh 185, 2) Workout at the Y three days a week, 3) Get a physical…

The “Spiritual” category might have items like: 1) Read the One Year Bible every day and post a comment about it on facebook, 2) Memorize the Sermon on the Mount, 3) Take a Sabbath day weekly to recharge and reflect, 4) Take two days quarterly and one week annually to reflect and study what God wants of me…

“Social” might include: 1) Take Robin out on a date weekly (Friday night), 2) Be active in a WCC Community Group, 3) Spend quality time with my family (Sunday lunches and Combs family vacation in September), 4) Reach out to and pray for my neighbors (I name them specifically)…

I know that it is God’s job to cause me to grow more like Jesus. He is the One who will accomplish it. But I want to cooperate. I want to yield to the Spirit’s pull.

I want to grow more like Jesus in 2013. Don’t you?

(This article is an edited reprint of a previous garycombs.org entry.)

Love Came Down At Christmas

Posted December 21, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9 ESV).

My wife, the mother of my children and grandmother of my children’s children, has begun her annual ritual of converting our kitchen into a Christmas bakery and confectionery extraordinaire. During this time, I, the master of my house, must humbly request admittance before entering this sanctuary of sweets from the maker, who is busily buzzing about from cookie to cake leaving a cloud of flour and sugar in her wake.

“What?” She asks, with a perturbed look on her face, when she catches a glimpse of my entrance in her periphery.

“Uhh… I was just wondering how long you were staying up. I mean, it’s uhh… nearly 11:00 P.M. Aren’t you coming to bed?” I mumble, carefully staying out of her path as she carries a sheet of peppermint chocolate bark to the counter. I’ve learned after 33 years of marriage to this woman that she is not to be interrupted without consequence during this time of year.

“Bed? Do you realize how much I have to do before Christmas? I’ve made the cookies that Finny likes. I’ve started the peppermint bark that Binzy requested. I’ve got the second batch of fudge on the stove for your oldest son, because he already ate the first batch. And I still have to make the peanut butter pinwheels, the chocolate logs, the ginger snaps, the maple…” She goes on and on from here, while wiping a stray hair from her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving a white streak of confectionery sugar behind.

I must admit I can’t remember everything she said. My mind fogged over a bit as I sneaked a taste of one of the white chocolate covered cookies on the counter nearest me. Which was quickly followed by slap of my hand and my wife’s exclamation:

“I told you those were for Finny!”

As I hurriedly left the kitchen, grabbing another of “Finny’s” cookies as I made my escape, I thought of how much my wife loves her children. And I reminisced about how most of the items in her kitchen are Christmas recipes that have come down from my mother and from hers. Each of these are like gifts of love coming down from mother to daughter to us.

My wife loves to cook for us. She loves to make things that she knows each of us like best. She knows each family member’s favorites. Her cooking for us is an expression of her love.

Just don’t get in her way while she’s doing it!

Don’t try getting in God’s way either. There was no stopping Him from sending His only begotten Son to us that first Christmas. Believe me, Satan and King Herod tried. Yet, God’s love came down and was made visible for all to see in the person of Jesus. And God wasn’t finished, having given His only begotten Son to us, He offered Him as a propitiation for our sins, atoning for us, so that we might have eternal life through Him.

As the poet, Christina Rossetti, wrote:

“Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine,

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.”

God is the source of love and Jesus is the greatest manifestation of that love. We receive this gift of love from God at Christmas when we receive His Son, Jesus Christ.

Now, I’ve gotta go… I think I smell a red velvet cake that needs tasting…

Christian hope and the Mayan calendar

Posted December 14, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“’The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’” (Lamentations 3:24 ESV).

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:36-37 NIV84).

Have you been following this news about the Mayan calendar? Since the 5,000 year old calendar runs out on December 21, 2012, many people are concerned that the world is coming to an end.

This apocalyptic mania has spread across the globe. In Russia, a company is selling an “Apocalypse Kit” that contains food, medicine and a bottle of vodka. In France, authorities have temporarily closed the road to the Pyrenees to prevent throngs from fleeing to the hills in fear of the end times.

I don’t understand the panic. The Norman Rockwell calendar that I get free from the drugstore most years is down to the last page, but I’m not worried. Hopefully, they’ll send me another one for 2013.

It’s not that I don’t believe in end times. I do. It’s just that I believe what Jesus said about it. He told His disciples that they should always be ready because He would return some day, but he also told them that no one would know the exact time. Jesus gave us signs of the end times… an increase of wars, earthquakes, famines, persecution of believers, false prophets, an increase of wickedness and a decrease in love, as the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24). He said that the gospel would be preached in the whole world so that every nation had heard and then the end would come (Matthew 24:14).

Jesus said that it is as if the world itself is in labor with birth pangs as the end approaches. Just as young Mary labored to give birth to baby Jesus, so the earth itself labors until His return. And He will return.

Just as Jesus came 2000 years ago at the very first Christmas, so He is coming again. He has already fulfilled the Messianic prophecies of His birth, satisfying the hopes of seekers and believers of old, like the Magi and old Simeon who saw him with their own eyes.

He will return just as He said. But when? Well, only the Father knows.

In the meantime, ours is to watch and wait, while telling others about our hope in Christ. Because we have not placed our hopes in a calendar, but in a Person, the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our hope.

By the way, I like this cartoonist’s explanation of the Mayan calendar. Don’t you?

Whatever happened to peace on earth?

Posted December 7, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14 KJV).

“’Peace, peace’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 8:11 NIV).

Some 20 centuries ago the angel announced to the shepherds the birth of the Christ child in the city of Bethlehem and the inauguration of peace on earth. Yet, 2,000 Christmases later there is no peace on earth. Sure, there are periods of cease-fire, but no real peace.

Whatever happened to this promise of peace on earth?

Frenchman, Gustave Valbert, in his day reported that “From the year 1496 BC to AD 1861 in 3,358 years there were 227 years of peace and 3,130 years of war, or 13 years of war to every year of peace. There were 286 wars in Europe from 1550 to 1850. From 1500 BC to 1860 AD more than 8000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. They averaged remaining in force two years.”

Valbert’s averages would only be multiplied by the last 150 years of failed peace. There has been an increase of wars, including many that have touched the entire planet. Wars to “end all wars” have been fought, only to be followed by wars even more bloody and costly.

The last part of the 20th century was marked by the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. And while I suppose a cold war is preferable to a warm one, it still kept much of the world in fear of nuclear holocaust. The thawing of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 gave only a brief reprieve of fear and was replaced by, in some ways, an even more chilling anxiety: terrorism.

Since a car bomb exploded in the basement garage of the World Trade Center in 1993, American’s brief respite from Cold War fears have been transferred from a Russian face to the face of the militant Islamist. The last 20 years have been marked by this war of terror.

Why haven’t we experienced the promise of peace on earth? Instead of peace, we have been living in an ever-increasing state of war.

I think it’s because we’ve misunderstood the meaning of peace. Peace is more than the cessation of hostilities. It is what the Hebrews of the Old Testament called shalom. This shalom is an expression of health and well-being, safety, good relations between peoples and nations, quiet tranquility and contentment, friendship, wholeness, soundness, and completeness. Shalom is a state of the human heart that has been touched by God. The only true source of shalom is God’s Son, the Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6).

There will be no peace on earth until human hearts are changed. Wars on earth begin as wars within us.

“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them” (James 4:1-2 NLT).

The only way we will see peace on earth is by facing this problem of the human heart. In the meantime, Jesus warned us that before peace would come, there would be an increase of war. When His disciples asked Him about this, He replied,

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:4-8 ESV).

It’s as if the earth itself is having birth pains, laboring to give birth to peace, it experiences an ever-increasing amount of warfare.

How should we respond? Jesus says, “See that you are not alarmed.” Don’t be afraid or surprised. Instead, discover true peace, true shalom for your hearts by coming to Christ. Then, spend the rest of your life on planet earth being peacemakers and peace ambassodors, sharing the peace of Christ one heart at a time.

What’s so “Merry” about Christmas?

Posted November 29, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“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. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord'” (Luke 2:10-11 ESV).

Do you ever wonder why we say “Merry Christmas?” Why not say, “Happy Christmas” or some other thing?

The 16th century English carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” probably promoted the greeting and the commercial printing of Christmas cards in 1843 in London may have spread its usage. But most credit the continuing popularity of Charles Dicken’s, A Christmas Carol, and the Victorian era Christmas traditions it typifies with really popularizing the phrase. First published in 1843, ironically the same year as the first commercial Christmas cards, it became the preferred Christmas greeting in the English speaking world even until this day.

Of course, not everyone believes in saying, “Merry Christmas.” Some prefer “Happy Christmas” because of the unwholesome stigma they attach to the word “merry.” At least that seems to be where the change in preference began, as the word “merry” was understood to include the idea of public insobriety, as in “making merry.” The strong Methodist influence in the United Kingdom during the 19th century probably made “Happy Christmas” the UK preference. Queen Elizabeth II is said to prefer the “Happy” version.

Today in America, there doesn’t seem to be as much resistance to the word “merry” as to the word “Christmas.” As our culture becomes more and more secular, there is a kind of cultural war against saying anything religious in the public square. The generic sounding “Happy Holidays” is preferred by today’s politically correct. They would no doubt have no trouble with sayng “merry,” but I suppose it doesn’t have the alliterative ring that “happy” does.

So we can see that Dicken’s Ebenezer Scrooge isn’t the only one who has had trouble with saying “Merry Christmas.” The cynical Scrooge rudely deflected the friendly greeting and brooded on the foolishness of those who uttered it.

“If I could work my will,” said Scrooge, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding.”

If you’re suffering from the spirit of Scrooge this Christmas, you aren’t alone. According to psychologists, Americans miss more work, and complain of a myriad of more health problems that really relate to clinical depression. America, the land where the “pursuit of happiness” is guaranteed by our Constitution, is filled with depressed people. Americans are increasingly unhappy, especially at Christmas. Why are so many Americans “un-merry?”

Perhaps it’s because we’ve misunderstood the message of Christmas. It’s not about whether we say “merry” or “happy.” The angel who announced the very first Christmas said that it was news of “great joy!”

And joy is better than happiness. Happiness depends upon happenings. It comes from the word “hap” which means “luck, happenstance.” Happiness is based on circumstances and when they change we’re not happy anymore.

But this “great joy” that the angel promised is based on knowing and receiving the true gift of Christmas which is Christ Himself. Happiness is based on chance, but joy is based on choice. As Christian, we can choose joy.

Fortunately, after the Spirits of Christmas effected his transformation, Scrooge was able to heartily exchange the wish with all he met, saying, “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody!”

After which Scrooge learned to laugh again. As Dickens described it, “It was a splendid laugh, a most illustrious laugh. The father of a long, long line of brilliant laughs!”

When was the last time that you laughed like that?

Stop worrying about being merry or happy. Decide to have a “Joyful Christmas!”

No more empty seats at the table

Posted November 21, 2012 by Gary Combs & filed under Current Affairs, Religion, Uncategorized, Weblogs.

“’O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:55-58).

For the past 21 years, we’ve had a special service on the Sunday evening before Thanksgiving that we call our Thanksgiving Praise Service. It has become a tradition at WCC.

We sing worship songs, we hear Scripture readings, we watch video highlights of the year’s events and these past few years we’ve been finishing the service by preparing gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. It’s a powerful look back on what God has done in our lives during the year, as well as a hopeful look forward to what He will do next.

I can get pretty emotional at these services. Worshiping together with my fellow Christ followers, I look around to notice the new members, those who came to Christ that year and were baptized. Also, I notice all the new babies in the arms of our young mothers. I’m filled with overwhelming joy as I consider all the new life that God is bringing into our church family.

I also take note of the empty seats. Who are the ones that we have lost this year? We’ve had some wonderful births and baptisms, yet how many failures and funerals have we experienced in the last year? How many have stumbled and fallen into sin? How many loved ones have passed away?

This mixture of emotion follows me home from church and into my own house. As we celebrate Thanksgiving at our house this year, we’re thankful for our new baby granddaughter, Addison. But we’re also still grieving the loss of our grandson, Conner.

Sitting at the table on Thanksgiving Day, I know I’ll be looking at all the young and beautiful faces of my kids and grandkids. I know that I will swell with gratitude. Yet, I also know that I will think about all the previous Thanksgiving Day meals that I have enjoyed in the past and all the loved ones that are no longer sitting at the table with us.

How can we be truly thankful with this mixture of life and death in our lives?

The apostle Paul says that we can give thanks to God because He has given us the victory over death and sin through Christ! He says that we can “abound” in doing good because nothing we do for Christ is in vain. We can be thankful, because in Christ, nothing good is ever lost!

We can remain “steadfast” and “immovable” in our thanks to God because there’s a Day of thanksgiving coming someday soon when there will be no empty seats at the table!