Debt Crisis

Today’s America, the land of the free, is populated by citizens enslaved by debt.

According to the Center for American Progress, most Americans owe more than they earn in a year--124% of their after tax income.

In addition, one in seven mortgages is delinquent or in foreclosure. Credit card defaults rose to more than 10% this year.

What that means is the average family is living on the edge of financial disaster. It now takes two incomes to provide what one income provided 30 years ago. If one loses a job, there’s no back-up plan. Not only has household savings plummeted, it’s now a negative number!

Our crisis is reminiscent of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song “16 Tons.” In it a coal miner says, “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t you call me ‘cause I can’t go—I owe my soul to the company store!”

Like that coal miner, many Americans can’t afford to die!

What could be worse than being that deep in debt? --No hope of ever paying it back. And that’s the exact situation we’re in when we face God.

“Now hold on just a minute! What does our personal debt crisis have to do with God?”

The Bible says we owe a debt to God we cannot pay. Failing to keep the Ten Commandments is just the beginning. Who has kept all their promises to God? Who has showed him the gratitude he deserves for the many blessings we have received from him?

And just feeling sorry about all that doesn’t begin to compensate God for our failure.

God says that the wages of sin is death. That our disobedience and outright rebellion against him have put each of us in a position where we owe him more than we can ever repay.

What if I told you that your debt to God could be paid in full today by a generous donor? Wouldn’t you jump at the chance?

The good news is that God is a God of new beginnings and fresh starts. All you must do is admit you can never earn enough through good works to pay him back on your own. And you must believe that God accepts Jesus’ payment, his death, on your behalf.

The Bible tells us that through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, God offers to cancel, to forgive, your debt and mine. To mark it “Paid In Full!”

Many people have a hard time forgiving themselves. We know how bad we really are. But God offers unconditional forgiveness to all who will come to him and trust him.

Like many Americans you may find yourself in a debt crisis, owing more than you’re able to pay. You may think, “I haven’t got a prayer!”

But the good news is that Jesus Christ has cancelled your spiritual debt. Will you accept his free offer? Not only will he forgive your sin, he promises to provide for all your needs. All you need to do is talk to him. The day you trust in him is the day you become his child.

Never forget that, with God, we always have a prayer, because he hears us when we pray.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Manger Matters

Does it matter if Jesus was really born in a manger?

What about the other stories of Jesus’ life? Does it matter if he really performed miracles and lived a perfect life? Or that he died in our place and rose from the dead?

All these are pertinent questions as we celebrate Christmas. Why? Because if the stories in the Bible are just stories, nice legends, it doesn’t matter if they’re true or not.

“Now hold on just a minute! What are you saying? Why should it make any difference?”

Because in most religions it doesn’t matter whether the stories of the founder’s lives are true. Why? Because those stories serve only as examples of how we ought to live our lives. And in those religions your relationship with God is based completely on your own performance.

Whether or not a particular story about Buddha is true doesn’t determine if the 8-fold path to enlightenment works or not. But if the historic events of Jesus’ life—his virgin birth, the miracles, his resurrection from the dead—didn’t happen, then Christianity doesn’t “work.”

The Gospel is that Jesus saves us by what he—Jesus—did. If that’s the case, the story of the Gospel “works”—it saves us—only if it really happened. In fact the Bible goes so far as to say that if Jesus' death and resurrection didn't really happen, we are still in our sins.

So if none of it happened, then faith in Jesus Christ is no different than believing in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. It can’t change your life. All it can do is encourage you to live a sacrificial life of service. To work harder and hope God grades on a curve!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a radically different kind of relationship with God? One in which you didn’t have to earn your way into God’s favor? A relationship where you’re accepted—not on the basis of what you have done, but on the basis of what Jesus has done?

Then he actually has to have done it! If the stories of Jesus in the Gospels are just nice stories, then they’re only examples to follow and just one more set of moral laws to destroy you.

You might look at the stories of Jesus and say, “How nice. I’m going to try to live like that.” But if you do, you’ll be crushed. You only like the idea because you haven’t thought about it. If you tried to live like Jesus you’d see it’s impossible unless you’re the divine Son of God.

But if Jesus actually came and fulfilled the requirements of God’s Law—if he actually did those things for us in history—then there’s at least the possibility of him living the life we should have lived and dying the death we should have died for our sin.

In ancient Israel worshipers were forgiven based on the death of a perfect, unblemished lamb. The Bible tells us that Jesus was “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He was the perfect substitute (lamb) to die in our place.

Only Christianity offers us a relationship with God based on Jesus’ righteous life. It tells us that God is willing to accept Jesus’ perfect life in place of our failings. So if Jesus did it for us, then forgiveness of sin and salvation through faith in his name is actually possible.

Would you like to have a relationship with God based on that kind of grace? For God to accept you in spite of all the things you’ve done?

The good news of the gospel is that you can have the relationship you long for. To receive it, all you must do is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The Bible adds, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

So you see, it really does matter that Jesus was born in a manger. Celebrate that!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

iFaith

In this modern savvy iPod era, how do you decide what to believe about God?

Maybe you’ve noticed the iPods and iPhones that are so popular. The touch screen versions are really pocket-sized computers. One is also a cell phone. Both run applications or computer programs that entertain and organize your life.

Why the lowercase letter “i” at the beginning of the name? Because it’s all about self! Me, myself and I. Life is easier and more fun when it’s all about me and what I want.

You can even customize your experience with this type of gadget in many different ways. They become an extension of your personality. Some you can load up with thousands of your favorite songs, creating your own personal playlist.

That reminds me of the way many people approach matters of faith.

“Now hold on for just a minute! What does an iPod or iPhone have to do with belief?”

In the latest Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, researchers found that, when it comes to religion, many Americans prefer a mix-and-match, build-your-own approach. In fact many people seem to have no problem blending Christianity with Eastern and new Age beliefs.

Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion said the results illustrate what he calls the “playlist effect” in contemporary American religious practice. “The way we personalize our iPhones, we also personalize our religious lives,” he said.

As Americans, our belief systems could really be called “iFaith.” Because what we believe is all about what we want. Amazingly the Bible predicted just such a religious state of mind!

“For the time will come,” the Bible says, “when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

Are you a truth seeker? Do you tire of the old clichés and empty platitudes of most religious systems? Then listen to Jesus. He revealed a God who loved us enough to suffer in our place.

If you pursue an “iFaith” instead, picking and choosing what you like as if you were at a buffet, you end up with an imaginary god. One of your own design.

Wouldn’t you rather have a God that you can know personally? With whom you could have a living, loving relationship? If you do, then the God of the Bible is your only alternative.

Someone will say, “But I don’t agree with everything the Bible says!”

Fair enough. But that’s how you know Jesus is a real, personal God. If you want a personal relationship with someone, the other person has to be able to challenge and correct you. Or say things that bother you. Otherwise, all you have is a robot that can never disagree with you.

In his book, “The Reason for God,” Timothy Keller writes, “Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know you have gotten hold of a real God and not a figment of your imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the pre-condition for it.”

So when Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” and “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” – we would do well to listen to him, find out what he taught and then obey him.

If we will do that, then Jesus said “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So the choice is between “iFaith” or “I follow Jesus.” Will you follow him? It’s your call.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Strange Light

Last week I saw a strange light out of the corner of my eye.

My wife and I were driving to a nearby city to do some Christmas shopping. It was early in the evening but still quite dark.

At first I thought the light was an airplane, but it wasn’t moving. Next I thought it might be a radio tower. When I glanced at it again, it appeared to have a number of flashing lights like an ambulance—white and red. Towers usually have flashing red lights.

The light was so high and yet near to the road that I didn’t think it was on a mountain. But it was dark and I could’ve been wrong. It sure was mysterious!

One thing I know—it caught and held our attention as long as we could see it. And it did so even though lights in the sky are a fairly common occurrence in our world.

As I thought more about it the next morning, it reminded me of Christmas.

“Now hold on just a minute! What’s does a strange light have to do with Christmas?”

Think about it. How did God get the attention of the Wise Men who brought gifts to Jesus and his family? If you know the Christmas story, you know he used a light in the sky.

The Bible says, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’”

Was it a comet they saw? A UFO or a supernatural phenomenon? We don’t know. It was mysterious. But it got their attention and somehow they knew a king had been born!

What would it take for God to get your attention?

God did a lot to get the world’s attention before the first Christmas. Centuries in advance he sent prophets to announce the place of his son’s birth and the manner of his death. Then there was the star and Wise Men from the east that confirmed the time of the Messiah’s birth.

But God had a lot of competition for attention when Jesus was born. There had been a worldwide census for the entire Roman Empire—plus all the political intrigue of the day. The world was too busy to pay attention to a baby born to peasants in a small town.

It’s no different today. Even with a national holiday in America that remembers his birth, Jesus has a lot of competition from retailers, revelers and relatives. But to find the true “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” we must set aside the demands of the season and find Jesus.

The Bible calls Jesus “The true light that gives light to every man.” God said, “Listen to him.”

Jesus claimed, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” From this and other scriptures it is clear that Jesus is speaking of spiritual truth. In fact those who discover God’s truth often say, “It was like a light came on”!

Did you ever think about why people put special lights up at Christmastime? Maybe it’s to remind us of Jesus, the Light of the World.

So the next time you see Christmas lights, let them remind you that God sent light into our world so we might see Jesus, the Son of God. And seeing, we might believe in him and receive God’s free gift of eternal life through Christ’s death on the cross.

In fact the stated purpose of the New Testament Gospel of John is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [Messiah], the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”

What about that strange light we saw? We’ll probably never know what it was. But Jesus and his love for you is something you can know for sure. I hope you find him this Christmas.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Advent-tageous

How do you prepare for Christmas? Some put up Christmas lights the day after Halloween.

Long-range planners began shopping for Christmas last January during the post-Christmas sales. Others waited until July. But what many prepare for is a holiday that could be called ‘Giftmas,’ the tradition of exchanging gifts. In many homes it’s all about the presents.

For an increasing number of Americans the Christmas traditions center on putting up pretty lights, a tree and then worrying about what gifts to put under the tree. But if a gift exchange is the only point of Christmas, we’ve settled for second best.

“Now hold on just a minute! Are you trying to ruin family Christmas celebrations?”

No--just the opposite. I’m suggesting that, to improve your family’s Christmas celebration, it might be advantageous to add a new tradition. Would you consider that?

If something is ‘advantageous’ it’s for your benefit. It’s beneficial, valuable or profitable. So if you’d like to use the next three weeks to improve your Christmas, make them Advent-tageous.

What’s Advent? Last Sunday began the season of ‘Advent.’ It’s a time when many Christians and churches intentionally focus on a 2,000-year-old event--an event that divided history and unites Christians.

Of course I’m speaking of the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth divides time into B.C. (“Before Christ) and A.D. (“Anno Domini” – Latin for “in the year of our Lord”). And Christ’s birth unites Christians because all agree it’s the defining moment in history.

‘Advent’ means the arrival of something. So Advent is a four-week period preparing to celebrate the arrival of Jesus 2,000 years ago.

Once Thanksgiving is over, most people remark about how fast the year is going and how “Christmas will be here before you know it.” Well celebrating Advent is a way to get ready and think about what happened when Christ was born. Why his birth was important.

Without Christ, Christmas celebrations become about us--the decorations, the food and the gifts we like. Advent helps keep Christmas about Christ.

But even if you focus your Christmas celebration on the birth of Jesus, you won’t necessarily have Christmas joy. Why not?

Well, why do we celebrate the birth of someone who lived 2000 years ago? We don’t celebrate the births of Plato, Aristotle or even Socrates. So why celebrate Jesus’ birthday?

Because Christmas is the day “God moved into our neighborhood.” That’s significant.

Jesus came to show us what God is like and what he wants—a relationship with us. And he not only showed us, his life and death made it possible. Possible for the sin that separates us from God to be forgiven. Possible for us to become children of God.

So Jesus’ birthday is significant to you if your faith and trust are in him as your Savior. Otherwise, why bother celebrating Christmas? Until Christ has changed your life, his birthday is no different than other day. But as a child of God you want to celebrate—because he’s family!

Now I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just thinking about how Christmas can be more of a benefit to us than just increasing our stash of stuff. One way is to make it Advent-tageous.

Here’s a suggestion: Attend a church that celebrates Advent and introduces people to Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Then give yourself to Christ and become God’s child. When you do, you won’t believe the joy you’ll have at Christmas!

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!