The Christmas extravaganzas are in full bloom.
I can understand commercial hoopla to allure shoppers into stores.
But what makes me cringe is when churches produce musicals that rival something you’d see in Vegas.
Contrast it with what most people in the world have to celebrate the holiday with:
And now consider the lowly birth of Christ – the real historical narrative in all four gospels.
Where would you rather be?
The holidays are here.
And you know what that means.
Family. Drama. Heartache.
Isn’t it extraordinary that the people who should be our closest friends and cheerleaders are usually the ones that have hurt and rejected us the most?
We can thank sin for that.
There isn’t a family on the planet that isn’t plagued with shame or disappointment.
Just look at the families in the Old Testament. 
We see every sin under the sun displayed in all its wretchedness.
Rape. Murder. Incest. Drunkenness. Treachery. Just to name a few of the ones that make headline news.
So why are we so surprised when we see it in our own families?
It’s why we need a Savior.
The beauty of receiving Jesus as our Savior is this: he washes us clean in his atonement and gives us his life in exchange for our filthy ones.
Do you know what that means?
It means our past is gone. Our consciences are wiped clean. And now we belong to a new family – with God as our Father and a whole clan of brothers and sisters who share the same image.
That’s who we truly are.
That’s who we belong to now.
So enjoy Christmas!
Do you have a guilty conscience?
Do you look back on your past and cringe?
What if you really committed some hideous things and you continue to live with remorse and shame?
On top of that, the enemy never forgets and delights in reminding you that you’re no good, God never loved you, and everything you believe in is a lie.
How do you respond to these accusations?
Do you get busier than ever at work? 
Or do you drink more, do more drugs, and entertain your life away hoping this will numb you from the guilt you feel?
Perhaps you’ve doubled up in church attendance, bible studies, and doing good works hoping that these will outweigh your rotten record.
The truth is none of these things is the solution.
There’s only one fix and you know it.
It’s blood of Jesus Christ that blots out all your sin.
Past. Present. Future.
“…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrew 10:22 ESV
If you’re in Christ, all your sins are washed away in his blood.
Your rotten record is now a clean record. It’s Jesus’ record and you own it.
Tell the devil that. Out loud.
Now tell yourself.
And then go out and live like the new person God has made you to be.
“How shall I look up to God? The answer is—In the righteousness of Christ. How shall I have any communion with a holy God in this world? The answer is—In the righteousness of Christ. How shall I find acceptance with God? The answer is—In the righteousness of Christ. How shall I die? The answer is—In the righteousness of Christ. How shall I stand before the judgment seat? The answer is—In the righteousness of Christ. 
“Your sure and only way under all temptations, fears, conflicts, doubts, and disputes, is by faith to remember Christ, and the sufferings of Christ, as your mediator and surety, and say, ‘O Christ! you are my sin—in being made sin for me; and you are my curse—in being made a curse for me. Or rather, I am your sin—and you are my righteousness; I am your curse—and you are my blessing; I am your death—and you are my life; I am the wrath of God to you—and you are the love of God to me; I am your hell—and you are my heaven.’”
– Thomas Brooks
A friend of mine has been asking lately what the difference is between a true Christian and a false one.
My answer is simple. A true Christian is someone who believes in Christ alone, through faith alone, by grace alone.
But my friend continues to ask, “But what about the evidence in his life?”
What of it? 
James says, “Faith without works is dead.” And God says the greatest work is to believe in His Son whom He has sent into the world so all men may be saved.
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” – John 6:28, 29 ESV
So if you believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior who died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, then this is counted as a good work in God’s eyes. In fact it’s the greatest work because without faith it is impossible to please God.
John 15 says, if you are a branch that is united to the vine, then you will show forth good fruit. Have you ever seen a branch huffing and puffing and sweating to produce grapes?
The same is true of you. As a Christian you are doing good works all the time, but most of the time you won’t see them because you’d be tempted to pride. But God sees them and He is pleased with you because you are in Christ. See Romans 6. Ephesians 1 & 2.
And remember, all your works are tainted with sin, even good things like prayer, witnessing, giving to the poor. They all must be mediated by Christ in order for God to accept them.
So I told my friend to stop worrying and start singing.
You do the same.
One was more beautiful than the other.
The palette went from reds, pinks and beige to oranges, yellows and sage greens.
I enjoy walking under the trees and looking up. The experience is so beautiful it hurts. I’m enveloped in color, but it’s more than that. It’s as if the tree itself is apprehending me and all my senses are being acted upon, whispering its message.
I call it a porthole to heaven, a sample of what’s to come. And it creates a longing for more.
The experience lasts and gains strength, even as I reflect back later on. I am gripped by it. It wrenches me away from myself. It forces me to pay attention to the clues all around me that point to another place, just beyond my reach.
What clues can you see all around you today?
In his book, God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis is asked the following question:
Will you please say how you would define a practicing Christian? Are there any other varieties?
Lewis’ answer is brilliant. He said, 
“Certainly there are a great many other varieties. It depends, of course, on what you mean by ‘practicing Christian’. If you mean one who has practiced Christianity in every respect at every moment of his life, then there is only One on record – Christ Himself. In that sense there are no practicing Christians, but only Christians who, in varying degrees, try to practice it and fail in varying degrees and then start again. A perfect practice of Christianity would, of course, consist in a perfect imitation of the life of Christ – I mean, in so far as it was applicable to one’s own particular circumstances.”
We love his answer. That describes us and every Christian we know.
Thank God he has given us his Son’s perfect record at the moment we believed.
If it wasn’t for his immense grace, we, of all people, would be most miserable. But, as Christians, we share in the likeness of our Savior, and his life is now ours by virtue of our union with him for an eternity.
Soak your soul in that!
For those of you who would like a handy reminder of the truths contained in this blog, you can buy it as an eBook on Amazon:
After you’ve read it, send us your comments. We promise to respond!
There’s a new advertising campaign grabbing my eyeballs in the subway station these days.
Everywhere I look the walls are covered with large posters asking, “Is your digital life worth saving?”
Clearly for this tech company the answer is yes.
Tech companies have been designing our digital lives for quite a while. And now they want to save them.
But tech companies aren’t the only ones that believe your life is important, digital or otherwise.
ER doctors believe your life is worth saving.
Paramedics and rescue workers believe it, too.
So how come you don’t believe it?
“What do you mean? I’m always saving my life.
I’m up on the latest cure, the most up-to-date therapy, and the most exciting lifestyle I can buy.
What’s wrong with that?”
Nothing, except it’s only skin deep. 
What if you’re missing what’s really important?
What about your soul?
“I’ve got that covered,” you say.
“I go to church on Easter and Christmas, I recycle, I rescue orphaned animals, and I don’t cheat on my taxes. Doesn’t that count for something?”
Sure. You get kudos with the relatives, and you’re not arrested by the IRS. But will doing good things save your soul?
“Well, if that won’t, what will?”
We will never be good enough to save our own soul. Sin has marred our lives and keeps us from a relationship with God. That’s why God has made a way for your sins to be forgiven. And you don’t have to cross oceans or change your lifestyle to get it.
He offers it to you right now in the Person of his Son, Jesus.
Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” – John 6:28-29 ESV
By receiving God’s gift, he draws you into relationship with himself.
Jesus is God’s plan for saving your life.
Now and forever, without a contract or fees.
Want to find out more about saving your life?
Send me a message.
Have you read some online resumes lately?
The candidates sound like they walk on water.
By the time they’re 25, they have a Master’s degree and a PhD, with work experience since kindergarten. 
And let’s not overlook the myriad of tech certificates that make them eligible for the most exciting jobs out there.
Have you ever read a resume that included a person’s failures? Of course not. That would be suicide.
Everybody wants to be perfect.
Some people want it so badly they’re willing to lie and cheat to appear that way.
In today’s competitive job market, unless you dazzle and out-perform your competitors, you could end up on the street before you even get a chance to start.
In case you’re thinking this is only true for recent college graduates seeking employment, the truth is all of us are crafting our resumes internally so we look our best.
The fact is we’re addicted to perfection.
You and I know we can’t be perfect, but we try anyway. We labor for a verdict of approval from all who matter in life.
Except there’s a huge problem with that.
Our mothers might give us high marks because they love us no matter what, but if we look to God, who is the ultimate approval giver, his verdict is not so good.
In fact the verdict stinks.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” – Romans 3:10-12 ESV
We’re in deep weeds and no amount of charitable deeds is going to convince God otherwise.
The truth is we were made to live with God’s acceptance.
“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God…” – Psalm 146:5 NKJV
Who you are in Jesus defines you.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…” – Ephesians 1:3 NKJV
By accepting God’s provision for sin in Jesus,
God smiles on you.
God welcomes you.
And Jesus’ perfect record becomes yours.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a winning deal to me.
Messy Christians 