New Year's Resolution?

DateLine (12/28/05 – Green Pond, South Carolina)

Christmas is past, people are busy putting away the ornaments and decorations, the candy dish is still full despite a steady sampling, every evening is another college bowl game; it must be time for a New Year’s resolution. The newspaper and TV news will soon be filled with stories of resolutions made to lose weight, quit smoking, become physically fit and other worthwhile endeavors. To be honest New Year’s resolutions have never had much appeal to me. I understand the desire, maybe need, to annually take stock of one’s life for the purpose of identifying what’s going well and areas where personal improvements are in order.

It’s the resolution thing that I struggle with. I suspect that my willingness to join in the spirit of the New Year’s resolution has fell victim to my less than stellar track record of keeping promises made to self. I’ll admit to having purchased a “Y” membership in January, boy was it crowded. I’ll bet the regulars couldn’t wait until the first of February when the “resolvers” started dropping like flies so the crowds would thin out to a reasonable level. I don’t think that my experience is much different than the majority of others; resolutions made and resolutions broken. It just seems to turn into an annual exercise in demonstrating my inability to live up to my own expectations. So why bother?

The concept of a New Year’s Resolution is spot on. I’m going to suggest that the reason so few of us are able to achieve our objective falls at the feet of what the Bible calls sin. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:18 “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” There is nothing wrong with wanting to see change in your life. The problem with the typical New Year’s Resolution is that it is powered by our own determination. Totally inadequate! Paul later cried out to the Lord in v24, “Who will rescue me . . .? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

So how do we tap into this rescuing power that prompted Paul to give thanks to God and bring new meaning to the old practice of resolution making? How can we escape the ineptitude of our own pitiful efforts to self-correct? I’m going to suggest a new approach. Let’s take the best intent of the New Year’s Resolution and combine it with the power to overcome our own sinfulness. You see those things that need correction in our life are a result of sin. God promised in 1 John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins, he . . . will forgive our sins.” He even goes on to say in James 5:16 that there is value in publicly confessing; “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. . . The prayer of a righteous man is powerful.”

So here’s the concept. Instead of trying to work up enough determination to overcome personal issues or challenges, simply confess it to God in prayer. There may even be value in sharing your prayer with a friend for encouragement and support. This is where we trust God for the power to change. Not determination, not will power, but God power. Now to be honest it is not automatic. God sometimes answers our prayers in unusual ways. But we’ll trust that He has our best interest in mind no matter what. That’s it. Let’s call it our New Year’s Confession.

Now for my New Year’s Confession; it’s phone rage. You know, going off on the customer service rep on the other end of a telephone because their company, product, or service has not met my expectation. “Who will rescue me” from this action that is damaging my Christian testimony? “Thanks be to God.”

The Lost Message of Christmas

DateLine (12/21/05 – Green Pond, South Carolina)

Christmas is the mega blockbuster of holidays in our contemporary culture. All of the holiday’s icons are etched into our memory; presents under the Christmas trees, Nativity Scenes, homes adorned with Christmas lights, and a red-suited oversized elf with a white beard riding in an airborne sleigh pulled by flying reindeers. This is the season when wide-eyed children move trancelike through shopping malls having been encouraged to unleash their imaginations while compiling Christmas “wish-lists.” The deeper spiritual and charitable themes that under gird the Christmas season are well known and understood by a majority of Americans; the birth of the savior, symbolic exchange of gifts commemorating the gifts of the magi, and collections for the needy. But it’s not to these high profile elements of the season that I direct my comments but to the “Lost Message of Christmas; Servitude.”

A Jewish rabbi was busy about the routine of his duties in the house of worship. Jehovah God found favor in the sacrificial life of him and his wife Elizabeth and blessed them with a son who would lead the way for the Jewish savior. Zechariah had chosen servitude. “Zechariah, your prayer has been answered.” Luke 1:13

A teenage Israeli girl was caught in a conflict not of her making. Her Superior had asked of her a favor which was a tremendous honor that would end up benefiting untold millions but would be misconceived as a serious moral lapse on her part. Mary chose servitude. Mary said “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1:38.

Joseph had just found out that his fiancée was pregnant and he knew that the baby was not his. Society at the time suggested that Joseph terminate the engagement and turn his future bride over to scorn, ridicule, and possibly death by vigilantes. Joseph chose servitude. “Joseph . . did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Matt. 1:24

Three famous academics temporarily gave up the comfortable confines of their privileged life when their God simultaneously compelled them to take an uncharted religious pilgrimage. They were guided by a strange star which appeared in the eastern sky with only the promise that something important lay at the end of their journey. Wise Men chose servitude. The Magi “saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matt. 2:2

Lucifer was once a mighty angel of Jehovah God. He chose to compete against God to attempt to gain equality. Angels played a role in the first Christmas. Lucifer demonstrates that angels do have choices. The Christmas Angels chose servitude. “The Angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10

A group of Israeli shepherds sacrificed time with family to spend the night in the cool fields surround Bethlehem making sure that nothing happened to the village sheep. It’s quite ironic that the Christmas Angel was directed to announce the arrival of a King, at the pinnacle of society, to shepherds, who existed as the dregs of society. God entrusted the lower cast to announce salvation to the world. Shepherds chose servitude. “They spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” Luke 2:8

God the Son who was a full participant in the creation of everything that we know on earth submitted himself to self-imposed constraints of humanness. The co-creator of the universe would be dependent on an uninitiated Israeli mother to attend to His bodily functions. He would not be able to speak for months until his physical development allowed. The Savior chose servitude. “The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.” John 1:14.

A different decision by any of the participants from the first Christmas would have made our Christmas radically different. Wrong decisions by you and me have the same potential to radically affect our future. Will you chose servitude?

Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition

DateLine (12/14/05 – Ponce, Puerto Rico)

A few years ago I happened to tune into a TV program entitled Extreme Makeover. I’ll admit a curiosity with the basic storyline of providing radical cosmetic surgeries to correct physical weaknesses that have contributed to low self images and unmet expectations from life. While I’m sympathetic to the plight of the participants the show seemed pre-occupied with the superficial as the primary focus dealt with surface issues. An “Extreme Team” of surgeons, dentists, hairdressers, personal trainers, and make-up artists were assembled to demonstrate their skills foisted upon the target.

Over it’s history the show seems to be getting more extreme; transitioning from it’s charter to grant relief to the afflicted to providing entertainment that appeals to the twisted interests of the audience. The following scenarios are being recruited for future shows on their web site:

1. An engaged couple who will be married on the show after a double makeover
2. My Fair Lady, where a small town girl will undergo an Audrey Hepburn transformation
3. A dedicated weight loss candidate willing to work off 50 lbs before their makeover
4. Veterans/Firefighters/Police/EMS, etc. who may have been injured in the line of duty

Now contrast the description just given to a spin-off program entitled Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The purpose of this program is to select a nominated family that demonstrates great need to receive a dream house which is constructed in the window of one week while the family vacations away from the area. I’ll admit that this program gives me a warm and fuzzy. I’m drawn to the construction details and it’s quite a blast to see the recipient family react as they take a tour of their dream home for the first time. Often times some corporate sponsor will relieve the family of any obligation for the mortgage, so they move in as owners free and clear.

Extreme change is the common theme to both of the TV shows. Consider for a few minutes about another Extreme Makeover. Mankind has a spiritual deficiency. It’s called sin. It’s genetic. We inherited it from our ancestors. We’re not a lost cause. There is a one who is taking applications for us to receive a correction to the problem. The interesting thing is that everyone who applies will be accepted. The change is so great that the one who performs the makeover will not even remember what we looked like before.

The makeover was planned before we were even born. A team of Three is assembled at all times in order to do the makeovers. The makeover team is very intimate with all aspects of our being. If performed our physical, mental, and spiritual beings will be affected and we’ll receive a satisfaction guaranteed. There is no recovery period, the results are immediate. As recipients our primary obligations are to show our respect for the “Extreme Team” and to guide other people through the application process. I like to call this Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition.

Here’s your invitation to apply. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28 (NIV) If you’ve already received your makeover pass it on to someone else.

It's a Small World

DateLine (12/07/05 – Ponce, Puerto Rico)

It was a hot summer day in Florida during the 1980s and Harriett and I were at the Magic Kingdom® Park, Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida with our two girls. We had already spent enough time at the park on this hot day that we desperately needed a respite from the heat. We stepped into the queue at the closest attraction that presented cool blowing air. That’s when I heard the music.

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears,
It's a world of hopes and a world of fears,
There's so much that we share,
It is time we're aware.
It's a small small world.

It's a small world after all,
It's a small world after all,
There's so much that we share,
It is time we're aware.
It's a small small world

Now normally Disney is known for fast moving queues or at least providing enough entertaining or intriguing distractions so that you don’t notice that you’re idling time away in a park where you’ve spent 100s of dollars to gain admission just to stand in line. I guess it was about the 10th time of hearing the theme song to “It’s a Small World” that I realized that somehow this song had irritated my last nerve. To add insult to injury I soon found that once we had worked our way into the attraction we would board a boat that would cruise us past nearly 300 *Audio- Animatronic(tm)* children from more than 100 different nations singing, dancing, and entertaining us to this same “happy” tune. Now normally I’m not one to be easily agitated but this pushed me past my point of tolerance (OK truth is I can fall victim to agitation given a certain level of stress.)

Ok so what does this have to do with us during this holiday season? A few weeks ago something triggered in my mind the memory of the occasion that I’ve just described on our vacation. I’m sure that Disney was simply trying to remind us through a child’s attraction that we are in fact members of a global family with more in common than not. In fact there is deep political, spiritual, and commercial innuendo in this seemingly “light” message. Indeed to the Christian we have a responsibility to the entire world community, it is called evangelism.

But it’s not to this concept of the global community that I’d like to focus our attention. Some of my special memories of Christmas come from time spent with the small world right around me; family, friends, and church, and it’s my opinion that God is ok with that. For a brief time of the year the pace wanes, the gaiety waxes, and the spirit is renewed.

Almost 2000 years ago a small baby entered into the small world by way of a manger in the small Hebrew village of Bethlehem. A small group of curious bystanders were drawn to His side. During this Christmas season we act out the celebration of this small family with our family. A small event that reverberates down the corridors of time.

And remember:

There's so much that we share,
It is time we're aware.
It's a small small world.