Christmas Time

Over the past few weeks we have taken a journey from “Humbug to Hallelujah”. Toward the end of the story Scrooge is faced with the ultimate consequences of his humbug life. The Ghost of Christmas Future arrives and shows Scrooge his destiny. These are the most frightening scenes in the story—and they often give children quite a scare. But there’s a valid reason for their potency: The encounter with this ghost brings all of us face to face with the reality of life and death. As Scrooge witnesses a series of vignettes that portray the future it becomes clear that they are different responses people have to his own death. The climax brings Scrooge to a church graveyard. He desperately seeks HOPE.

As we recall Scrooge looking at his tombstone, it’s good for us to realize that our Christmas experience is not set in stone. We can make choices that can change the ending of our “Christmas Carol.” He asks the Ghost of Christmas Future, “Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they shadows of the things that may be only?” The ghost only points at Scrooge’s grave. Scrooge continues, “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead. But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!” Scrooge is asking, “If we change the direction of our lives, can our futures be different?” The hope that his future can be different is beginning to transform Scrooge.

Recent studies show a recent sharp decline in hopefulness. According to a Fall 2001 national poll taken by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research: Only one in five report they often feel hopeful about the future. This is a dramatic change from a comparable national survey in 1990, when seven in ten reported they often felt hopeful about the future.

So how does one find the Hope of Christmas? One of the most powerful energizing words in the English language is the word “hope.” Hope is a power that keeps us going in the toughest times of life. It is the power that energizes us with excitement and anticipation as we look forward to the future. Hope gives us a reason to live. It takes obstacles and transforms them into possibilities. Hope gives us the strength and courage we need to make the most out of life. It has been said that a person can live 40 days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope.

Hope is a power that energizes us with life. Hope opens our hearts to the possibility that our lives can be different and give us the power to look forward to the future. When we open our hearts to Christ we are born into a new life with a heavenly inheritance that is wroth far more than anything the world can give. It is a life of faith rooted in love that brings an eternal dimension of hope to all that we do. It enables us to say “Hallelujah!” in the face of life’s humbugs. It enables us to live our earthly lives with a heavenly perspective such that they are transformed. This is what Scrooge is looking for. The chains of gold that Scrooge has forged in his life have done him no good.

He has done nothing with his wealth. He has not grown in love. He has become a smaller--rather than a greater--person, because he has only lived for himself. He is afraid of what the future will bring. His only hope is that it is not too late to change his life from humbug to hallelujah. Suddenly, the Ghost of Christmas Future appears and confronts Scrooge with the future he has built for himself. We never see the face of the Ghost of Christmas Future, because we never know what the future will look like. But Scrooge is given a gift of mercy.

You may be at a point where you want to go home another way. You want a new start. You may wonder if that is possible--either because of mistakes you have made or because of pain you have suffered. I want to encourage you with this affirmation: You can get a new start on life--starting now! Dr. James Dobson tells a story of an elderly woman who was facing the need for a new start.

Stella Thornhope was struggling with her first Christmas alone. Her husband had died just a few months prior through a slowly developing cancer. Now, several days before Christmas, she was almost snowed in by a brutal weather system. She felt terribly alone--so much so that she decided she was not going to decorate for Christmas.

Late that afternoon the doorbell rang, and there was a delivery boy with a box. He said, "Mrs. Thornhope?" She nodded.

He said, "Would you sign here?" She invited him to step inside and closed the door to get away from the cold. She signed the paper and said, "What's in the box?"

The young man laughed and opened the flap, and inside was a little puppy, a Golden Labrador Retriever. The delivery boy picked up the squirming pup and explained, "This is for you, Ma'am. He's six weeks old, completely housebroken." The young puppy began to wiggle in happiness at being released from captivity.

"Who sent this?" Mrs. Thornhope asked.

The young man set the animal down and handed her an envelope and said, "It's all explained here in this envelope, Ma'am. The dog was bought last July while its mother was still pregnant. It was meant to be a Christmas gift to you." The young man then handed her a book, How to Care for Your Labrador Retriever.

In desperation she again asked, "Who sent me this puppy?"

As the young man turned to leave, he said, "Your husband, Ma'am. Merry Christmas."

She opened up the letter from her husband. He had written it three weeks before he died and left it with the kennel owners to be delivered with the puppy as his last Christmas gift to her. The letter was full of love and encouragement and admonishments to be strong. He vowed that he was waiting for the day when she would join him. He had sent her this young animal to keep her company until then.

She wiped away the tears, put the letter down; and then, remembering the puppy at her feet, she picked up that golden furry ball and held it to her neck. Looking out the window at the lights that outlined a neighbor's house, she heard from the kitchen radio the strains of “Joy to the World.” Suddenly, Stella felt an amazing sensation of peace. Her heart felt a joy and wonder greater than the grief and loneliness.

"Little fella," she said to the dog, "It's just you and me. But you know what? There's a box down in the basement I'll bet you'd like. It's got a little Christmas tree in it and some decorations and some lights that are going to impress you. And there's a manger scene down there. Let's go get it."

God has a way of sending a signal of light to remind us life is stronger than death. Light is more powerful than darkness. God is more powerful than Satan. Good will overcome evil.

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light," the prophet said. "On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned" (Matt. 4:16).

The hope of Christmas is that God can change us. We can be different people. By faith in Christ, we can write a new ending, a very happy ending to our “Christmas Carol,” and to our entire lives. We need to express to God that we have often been caught up in selfish pursuits, ignoring the needs of others and living as if God didn’t exist. Let us alter our lives on the altar of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. We need to alter our lives through the power of your Holy Spirit, so that we will pay attention to God’s working, and start life anew. Through the Scriptures and through A Christmas Carol we've seen that good endings can be written to our own “Christmas Carol” by choosing to replace "humbug" with "hallelujah," "rubbish" with "rejoice." Thank you, Father, that's it's not too late to change the outcome of our holiday experience. By the time Christmas arrives in a few days, may our spirits be singing a personal "Hallelujah Chorus."

When the Fasten Seatbelt Light Comes On

The sermon series I have been sharing the last month, "When the Fasten Seatbelt Light Comes On", has been very encouraging to me. I know that all of us go through times when we feel like we are going through "turbulence". In fact, as Christians we are promised that we will go through tribulation. Jesus said it explicitly - "in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." There are four things that we should do When the Fasten Seatbelt Light Comes On":

Pray - It seems obvious that we should pray, but the real key to "praying" is to ask God for "His will" to be done. We often ask God to direct us "around" the turbulence or to have the turbulence "go away". However, we are to pray and ask God to help us through the turbulence. It is not wrong to ask God to do those things, but we must not neglect asking God to give us "wisdom". James tells us that when we do that He will give to all men liberally. It also tells us that he will not "upbraid" us (or get aggravated with us) for asking. Step two - we should

Remember - We certainly need to Pray and then we need to remember. Over and over in Scripture we see that we should "remember" what the Lord has done for us. We know that the last thing Jesus did with his disciples was share with them the "Lord's Supper", and he told us to take the bread and cup in "remembrance" of Him. Throughout the O.T. we see the nation of Israel being told to "remember" how the Lord lead them out of Egypt. Moses stated that it is "vital" that the nation of Israel "not forget" how God had led them out of the promised land. We need to "remember" what God has done throughout Scripture and what He has done for us personally. Step three - we should

Seek - To "seek" we need to make an effort to really "take note" of our priorities. This was the emphasis of the "Sermon on the Mount". In Matthew 6, we are told not to "worry" as the Lord takes care of the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. He also made it clear that worry cannot even add an "inch" to your height. Step four - we should

Follow - The fourth step is that we are to "follow". As we progress through the steps of Prayer, Remembering, and Seeking, we become "proactive" by "taking up our cross and following" Christ. As we "focus" on Christ and trust Him through the turbulence we can reflect His "peace" and "joy".

Life is hard, but God is good!

Pastor Mike

Fall is Here!

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A Day at George Tiller's Office

The recent murder of Dr. George Tiller has brought to memory a visit I had with Dr. Tiller a number of years ago and the impact it made on my understanding of how someone could perform abortions on so many women. The abortion issue is certainly the question of our time as we ask “When should we protect life?” Years previously the thought was that the baby in the womb was just a “mass of tissue” – it certainly wasn’t “life” or “human life”. Yet, as we have pondered the question, most reasonable people must ask, if the baby in the womb is not “life” then what is it (after all it is growing – it is certainly moving and evolving)? If it is not “human”, then what would we call this “life”?

I was very much involved in the “Summer of Mercy” in 2001 and I was actually arrested in 2001 when I stood in front of Dr. Tiller’s office and was told that I was trespassing. When the State Representative for our district, Dale Swenson, contacted me and issued an invitation to visit Dr. Tiller’s Clinic (He was trying to lobby the Kansas Legislature for a law that would be beneficial to his clinic), I accepted.

I remember going into the clinic (which he had closed for the day) and going through the security, which was very similar to what we see in courthouses today. I remember going into the lobby where what was first noticed was a large picture of Dr. Tiller shaking hands with President Clinton. I also remember that all around the lobby were framed letters that patients of Dr. Tiller wrote thanking him for his services. I remember thinking how unsettling that scene was. It seemed that Dr. Tiller was trying too hard to find solace in the letters posted there.

I remember the tour and having the opportunity to ask questions of the staff. They seemed kind and conscientious and I wondered how they were able to cope working in such a place. I remember when I had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Tiller and I asked him when he thought “life” began. His response was that it wasn’t “his responsibility” to make that decision, that the legislature makes those decisions, and until they state differently he will continue to perform his “service”. I asked, "What is the difference between life immediately after birth to those babies aborted other than time?" Again his response was that that was not his “responsibility” to determine. As we continued our discussion I sensed that he had really “convinced” himself that he was doing a service and he did not think about the actual babies he was terminating. In fact, he bragged that he would baptize the aborted babies if the families wished. He described that he thought partial birth abortion was wrong and described the process of how he would “terminate” the babies in the womb and then they would be delivered.

He was clearly intelligent and articulate and I felt sad that a man with so much potential for good had taken such a horrible path. I wondered how he could find peace. Obviously he was involved in church, and while I cannot speak to the thoughts of the church, it was certainly not appropriate for one who was involved in such sin to be a “member in good standing”. I left that clinic with a feeling of profound sadness for the entire process: the babies, the mothers, the staff, and even Dr. Tiller.

After returning home I wrote Dr. Tiller a letter expressing my concern for him and what he is doing. I said I would pray for him (which I have often done since that day) and hope that he would find real peace. I never heard back from him, and often wondered what he might have thought about my response.

I remember when I heard at the end of our Sunday morning service that Dr. Tiller had been shot and killed in the foyer of the church he attended that I once again felt that profound sadness. I feel sad for Dr. Tiller’s family being brought into the violent end to his life. I feel for the church, while I disagree with their allowing Dr. Tiller to be a part of their church family, in having such violence happen in their church building. What a tragic situation.

We do not know how this will impact the entire abortion question, but we have recently seen some change in how Americans view the issue (for the first time, more Americans describe themselves as pro-life). It is my prayer that we will see an end to abortion in my lifetime.

Get -Togethers

May is the time for fellowship; it is a very busy time for “get-togethers”. I had the privilege of speaking at the “Sunflower Fellowship Meeting” on May 5th at Buffalo Ridge Camp Ground near Ottawa, Kansas. What a relaxing camp ground. I have spent a couple of nights there over the last few months. The man who runs the campground, Sam Renfro, asked me to speak to preachers concerning the issue of preaching on finances. It was a wonderful day as a number of preachers were able to attend the conference and then enjoy some “Buffalo Burgers” (I hear they are very healthy). After the meeting Tyler, his girlfriend, and I attended a Kansas City Royals game at the “new” Kaufman Stadium. It is a beautiful facility, and we really enjoyed the game.
From May 11th – 15th I was able to enjoy “Fellowship Week” at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. There was good preaching and fellowship. We do need to pray for the college; it is going through some difficult times (both financially and in attendance). I was able to spend time with the first pastor I worked for and his wife, Ralph & Darlyn DeVore. They are very special friends and I am grateful for their investment in my life. Ralph has pastored in Siloam Springs, Arkansas for a number of years. His wife, Darlyn, is in poor health and I’m praying that God works a real miracle in her life. The graduation speaker at B.B.C. was my friend Jack Eggar, who is President of AWANA. He challenged the graduates to make a difference in the lives of others. He showed a video of the work at AWANA in Angola Prison in Louisiana. They had put a program together for fathers who were incarcerated to visit their children and share with them their desire for their children to not “follow in their footsteps” and to get involved in AWANA in their neighborhood.

Friend Day Finale

We had a wonderful day for Friend Day ’09. I was a little nervous since we had a number of our regular workers out of town, but I want to especially thank Stephanie & Andrew Albritton for their work in putting many of the details together. We had to arrange for feeding close to 200 people. I was pleased to have a good number of folks from Kelly Elementary. We had many more folks than last year, and we hope that we will continue to see our relationship grow with the school. During the service Principal Huffman made the “Good Apple” presentations to our workers. We also made a presentation to Principal Huffman from the church. I was also pleased to have some guests that I invited to attend our services present. My high school football coach, Jim Culberston, was present in our services. When I was preparing the message I thought of coaches who impacted my life and I thought of Coach Culbertson. I hadn’t really spoken to him in years, but I was able to find him over the internet and made a phone call and he was gracious in saying that he would attend. I was also pleased to have Wichita Eagle columnist and radio personality Bob Lutz as my guest. I love sports and often call in to the “Sports Daily” radio program where I am known as “Pastor Mike”, and we had others who listen to the station present as well.

After services and our lunch of hot dogs and chips we went roller skating and that went very well. After all of our counting it was clear that we had close to 300 in our services (counting all of the kids, etc.)! We hope to be able to make contact with many of those folks and see them come again and worship with us in the near future.