Suffering produces character...good read

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Christ in Christmas

Brothers,

I came across this article online today and was very pleasantly surprised at its very direct, truthful and theologically sound tone. Printed in a Los Angeles newspaper (of all places) this seemed timely for the close of the Christmas season as well as a great (and focused) reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and the gift of our Savior...

Culture has forgotten that Christ is Christmas

By The Rev. Paul Viggiano

"Bumping into a good friend at Cookin' Stuff in Torrance, she conveyed a frustration she was experiencing this Christmas season - she couldn't find any Christmas cards.

There were plenty of cards out there. Greeting card companies aren't going to miss out on the grand capitalistic opportunity that apexes this time of year. But the cards weren't specifically about Christmas.

She found cards mentioning the holidays but not which 'holy' day. Cards abound where she was greeted by the season with no mention of why the season existed or what made it a season at all. Plain and simple, it was her experience that the first syllable in the word Christmas was evaporating.

I took a poll. I began asking people about the meaning of Christmas - I felt like Charlie Brown. Answers ranged from 'it's a time for family' to 'it's when we give gifts to one another' or a very generic 'it's a holiday.'

Christ is being systemically removed from Christmas. It's as if we're comfortable with any greeting so long as Jesus is excluded.

Even at the lighting of the White House Christmas tree we heard a redefinition of what it all means. President Barack Obama announced that, 'It represents a tradition that we celebrate as a country - a tradition that has come to represent more than any one holiday or religion, but a season of brotherhood and generosity to our fellow citizens.'

Brotherhood and generosity are admirable, but Christmas represents the birth of Christ- specifically.

So why the headlong pursuit to remove Jesus from Christmas? Even references to God are acceptable, just not Jesus. There seems to be something about the name Jesus that upsets people. As I sit here in Starbucks I can imagine mentioning God in normal conversations with people without making them getting uncomfortable with me. Mentioning Jesus is almost always followed by termination language - 'Well, have a good day.'

God can be so harmless when undefined. There are all sorts of gods out there who are happy to be enjoyed or ignored. But Jesus taught that we're either for Him or against Him. He is not to be ignored. When people start talking about Jesus you know they have a specific God in mind. God is not a wax nose we can twist to our liking but the God who has a rightful claim to our very lives. This Jesus becomes inconvenient to an increasingly secular society desiring undefined leadership. This Jesus has to go, and this holiday which bears His name is a pesky hurdle.

Twenty-first century America is trying to accomplish just the opposite of what Constantine accomplished in the fourth century when he turned pagan holidays into Christian holidays. Constantine believed the most effective way to Christianize a society was to create seasons or holidays that would be observed on a regular basis; these events would then be absorbed into the very fabric of the culture. As an emperor, Constantine didn't have to be subtle; he simply made it the law.

The approach used to extricate Christ from Christmas is much more subtle - insidious might be a better word. Just seize the language and make it mean something different - 'These are not the droids you're looking for.'

How are Christians to respond to this cultural effort to evacuate Christ from the building?

For one, there needs to be a continual reminder of what the birth of Christ stands for. The eternal Son of God became flesh and blood to save sinners.

The Father provided a body for the Son to do the Father's will, which was to die on a cross to pay the price for sin and delivers souls from death. This is what the Bible calls the Gospel, or the good news. It does seem sad how hard people work to eradicate good news; perhaps nothing testifies more deeply to the corrupt nature of the human heart.

Secondly, the church needs to recognize that it is not the primary responsibility of the culture to contend for the faith; it is the church's responsibility. Strictly speaking, the only true holiday for Christians is the Lord's Day or a weekly Sabbath where God's people gather to worship.

The Gospel is to be faithfully presented in these settings as a message of hope and joy.

It is when churches are set aflame with the hope of Christ - of Immanuel (God with us); that a genuine godly prosperity will begin to set its dew upon cultures surrounding those churches. When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God foretold the response of the surrounding nations: "For what nation is there that has God so near to it - what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law?

Is Jesus the reason for the season? He's the reason for any season."

The Rev. Paul Viggiano is pastor of the Branch of Hope Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Torrance

-NG

Meeting Summary anyone?

Brothers,
I would love to read an update of this morning's gathering if one of you could post that. I just got back into town last night after being in TN for several days... was too lazy and didn't get myself out of bed this a.m....

- Matt

Where are we?

Do we want to spend more time in Chapter 2, or are we ready to move on to (the very short) Chapter 3?

Rivvers

This is good news !!!

God Gives the Equipment and Makes It SuccessfulOctober 12, 2009 By: John Piper Category: Commentary
What does the blood of the eternal covenant secure for us? It secures both God’s equipping of us and the successful use of that equipment to make our lives pleasing to God.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

* equip you with everything good that you may do his will,
* working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,

through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
Christ shed the blood of the eternal covenant. By this successful redemption, he obtained the blessing of resurrection from the dead. He is now our living Lord and Shepherd.

And because of all that, God does two things:

1. He equips us with everything good that we may do his will.
2. He works in us that which is pleasing in his sight.

The “eternal covenant,” secured by the blood of Christ, is the new covenant. And the new covenant promise is this: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

Therefore, the blood of this covenant not only secures God’s equipping us to do his will, but also secures God working in us to make that equipment successful. The will of God is not just written on stone or paper as a means of grace. It is worked in us. And the effect is: We feel and think and act in ways more pleasing to God.

We are still commanded to use the equipment he gives: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” But more importantly we are told why: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

If we are able to please God—if we do his good pleasure—it is because the blood-bought grace of God has moved from mere equipping, to omnipotent transforming.

Legalism/Cross/Obedience

We'll see if I can get this to post correctly or not.

Attempting to fine tune my thinking on Legalism/Cross/Obedience...I have found the following very helpful. And it's not from Octavius.

Here are a couple posts from Tony Reinke that I found very helpful:

"The way I see it, the most delicate balance of the Christian life is in maintaining a Cross-centered perspective and pursuing personal obedience. Push a little too hard on the one side, I fall into self-righteousness and legalism thinking God’s acceptance of me is rooted in personal obedience. This is spiritual suicide. Or I fall on the other side in thinking the Cross demotes personal obedience to the status of “minor importance.” This too is wrong." TR

Read the rest here:
http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2007/08/16/cross-centered-life-obedience/

"Legalism is the lie that God will find more pleasure in me because my obedience is greater than others or that God looks at me with disgust because I am not living up to His expectations. It is the failure to remember that God’s pleasure in us comes outside of us (in the finished work of Christ). Legalism causes the heart to forget that God sings over us because of the work He has done, not because of what we have done (Zeph. 3:15-17)."

Read the rest here:
http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2008/12/03/what-is-legalism-2/

Thanks brother Greenlee for setting up the blog this AM.

“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.”
Richard Sibbes

MK

In the works...

"Comrades",

We mentioned continuing the conversation (so to speak) through e-mail, so a blog seems like the natural thing to do. Here, we can post a vast array of thoughts, ideas, Scripture, commentary or encouraging words to assist and exhort one another on a daily basis or as often as we choose.

We have discussed that the only thing in this world that we will leave behind to stand the test of time will be our legacy in Christ. As we aim to be godly leaders in our homes, our workplaces and the Church, let us always keep this understanding in the forefront of our minds.

So, to get the conversation going on the legacy of godly leadership and remembering those who have guided us along the way...

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their faith. Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever." -Hebrews 13:7-8

What is the outcome of our faith? Who first spoke the word to you? If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (and He is), then how must we change to align ourselves with Him and in Him?

Some food for thought...

-Nick