2nd Week of Advent - Love

This week we celebrate the second week of advent.  Advent is from the Latin word for “coming”, or “to come”  Each of the four Sundays in Advent are assigned one special focus or application:  Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.  In this second week of advent we look at Love.  

The Bible tells us that God is Love.   It isn’t just that He has love or shows us how to love, while this also may be true.   When we say God is love we also acknowledge that it was love that both created the universe, our earth and mankind but also provided the atonement through Christ as God loved us.   While most people immediately recognize John 3:16, here is another verse that tells of the love of God.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12.)

At Christmas we are reminded by the Christ child of how accessible God has made himself to us.  A baby is born in Bethlehem.  This is no ordinary birth nor ordinary child for this is a the promised Messiah, the Emmanuel or “God with us”.

Love was born in Bethlehem.  It is out the capacity of God’s love that mankind is redeemed and set free.   The message of Christmas is love.  In fact, the entire gospel including the prophecies of His birth, to the nativity, to the cross, to the resurrection, to the establishment of the Church and to his second coming is all and entirely about love.

In our ministry as Pastors and Christian leaders, we must continually teach that love is not only the end goal, it is also the very beginning of a relationship with God.  Love is given but at the same time, God receives, deserves and demands our love. 

1st Week of Advent - Hope

This week, many Christians around the world will be celebrating the first week of advent.  The word “Advent” means coming or arrival.  

During this time, we celebrate the arrival of the Christ child, the Nativity of the Son of God, in Bethlehem.  At the same time we are looking forward to His second coming.   Each of the four Sundays in Advent are assigned one special focus or application:  Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

In this first week of advent we look at Hope.  It is very fitting to start with Hope as it was the hope of the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah that filled the hearts of the angels, shepherds and wise men with joy.

Just as importantly, we have what the Bible tells us is the Blessed Hope of the Second Coming of Jesus.   Paul tells us that the grace of God enables us “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”  (Titus 2:12-13)

The blessed hope of every Christian is the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior.  This hope is not uncertain, but an assurance that Jesus will return just has Jesus said he would return.    By the blessed hope we look forward to an event called the rapture.  This word rapture The word “rapture” was from the Latin “rapio” meaning to be “caught up” used in 1st Thessalonians 4:17. 

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (NIV)

 This same event is also described in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

This event called the rapture is eminent, meaning there are no prerequisites before Jesus  is to return.  The ancient church was convinced that Jesus was going to return and I believe it is exactly the way every Christian generation should live.  While there are no prerequisites to the second coming of Jesus, the prophets tell of certain events that will happen including the gathering of the dispersed people of Israel and their return to Jerusalem, the holy city.  Jesus also promised in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

So this week, the First Week of Advent we celebrate Hope. 

There’s a song by Chris Tomlin that speaks of this blessed hope.  It’s called “I will Rise”  

Here’s a portion: 

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

Are You Still Thankful?

The turkey is stored in plastic,

the gravy gelling on a cold plate.

The dinner was really fantastic

And heads were all bowed for grace.

Are we still thankful

today for family and for friends?

Or do we again become bashful

no remembering God to make amends?

Are we not today still blessed

while out shopping for gifts and clothing?

Is heaven at all impressed

Since hands are no longer folding?

God has given his most precious gift

His son, Jesus has died for you

So remember today to be thankful

For Jesus, our health and family too.

"Are You Still Thankful" © Kenneth A. Behr

The Fool Says, "There is no God"

The Book of Psalms in the Bible is a collection or anthology of 150 individual hymns, laments, warnings and benedictions.   In Psalm 14, there is definition and characterization of the fool that says, ”There Is No God”

Here are the first four verses of Psalm 14:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

    there is none who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

    to see if there are any who understand,

    who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

    there is none who does good,

    not even one.

Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

    who eat up my people as they eat bread

    and do not call upon the LORD?

It has been documented that there are more and more fools today.  Likely more than ever before.  It’s unfortunate but one of the prophesied signs of the end-times.

The Apostle Paul in writing to the Thessalonians about the coming of the Lord states, “Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (2 Thes 2:3)

This word ‘rebellion’ is often translated ‘turning or falling away’. This is the Greek word “Apostasea' and means a departure from the truth.

While many local churches are growing, there is also a documented wholesale departure here in the United States and throughout the developed world. One way of looking at it is that many are departing from the churches affiliated with mainline denominations that long ago have departed from the truth. I saw this first hand in Europe.  I had the opportunity to travel and work in places like England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland,  and my interest in the history of Christianity brought me to tour many of the great cathedrals in the capitals and major cities of these countries.  Sadly, most of these once great cathedrals are not much more than museums today.  What was once the center of Christianity and the birthplace of the Reformation nearly 500 years ago has today become cosmopolitan centers not of devoted Christians but of those that say, "there is no God." 

America is also changing. While it remains likely one of the most Christian and devoted groupings of people, there are more and more that identify themselves as having no belief.  These are the ‘nones’ that have been identified and characterized by Christian prognosticators.   Many of the ‘nones’ are young, many have a Christian heritage and all have dismissed Christianity as being irrelevant based on their desire for meaning, success and happiness.   God calls these people fools.

By definition, those that declare there is no God are either atheists or agnostic.  The agnostics are the larger group as they haven’t developed an informed view or philosophy about God and prefer to remain relatively neutral. God calls them fools.

The other type that is becoming more and more common are the theoretical atheists who affirm their non-belief in God often vocally and militantly.  These are those that follow the musings and blogs of people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens.  They like to challenge pastors, Christian theologians and teachers by asking them ‘gotcha questions’ just like the Pharisees would try on Jesus.

“Jesus, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

“Jesus, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”

"Jesus, and who is my neighbor?"

Jesus was able to easily answer these ‘gotcha’ questions.   After all, these people were fools.

As believers, our mission is not only to develop a personal and relevant faith.  I believe that our mission is also to reach those that have legitimate questions and to have the wisdom to be able to answer those with the ‘gotcha’ questions.

The Bible gives us our marching orders:

The Apostle Peter commanded Christians: ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.’ (1 Peter 3:15)

Jude’s inspired epistle said: ‘I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.’ (Jude v. 3)

The Apostle Paul said: ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

This branch of theology or the science of answering questions about the faith is called Christian Apologetics.

The term ‘Christian apologetics’ doesn’t refer to apologizing (or saying ‘sorry’) for being a Christian. It comes from the Greek word “apologia” meaning defense. 

For those of us that know we should be ‘always prepared’ and for those that are willing to ‘demolish arguments’ there are a few well known and capable Chrisian apologists that have made their teachings widely available on the web including many videos on Youtube.  Here are three to get started

ALWAYSBEREADY.COM (Charlie Campbell)

CROSSEXAMINED.ORG (Frank Turek)

RZIM.ORG (Ravi Zacharis)

You'll find by watching these learned Christian Apologists that most of the challenges to a belief in God in general and Christianity specifically fall into just a few categories.  Knowing how to answer and being prepared can quickly turn the conversation around, provide an opportunity to articulate a witness to the truth and sow the seeds of the Gospel. 

Be prepared.  Be willing to share, and always be kind. 

Hiring The Right Person

I think perhaps there has been too much emphasis on hiring the right person for the job.   From my perspective, the problem hasn’t been on being too intentional about the hiring process; intentionality is good.  However, the problem started with an over emphasis on creating detailed job descriptions for candidates, likely a result of new electronic career sites that instantly bombard the company with hundreds if not thousands of applicants. 

These very detailed job descriptions had two unintended consequences.  The first unintended consequence was that they immediately disqualified someone who easily had the capacity to learn the job but lacked the actual experience.   The second unintended consequence was that this over emphasis on matching the job description point-by-point led to hiring candidates based on their ‘past experience’ rather than their “future potential.”

My recommendation may seem a bit unorthodox but I’d recommend that we shouldn’t be hiring the right person for the job but simply hiring the right person.   If we focus on the person, we’ll build the organization.  By focusing on the job, we can often fill the job but miss out on bringing in the best people for the future.

Here are four things to look for in hiring the right person

1. Look for Cultural Fit

Cultural is not just important in a healthy organization, it’s ALL important.  The company culture is defined by the people not by a corporate document or advertising.  Culture is not what you do but how you do it.  It’s the glue that holds the organization together.   Leaders that seek to create a culture in their organizations that inspires, motivates and perpetuates their values and core principles need to hire people that have the same cultural fit.

2. Focus on soft skills.

Although the right skills are definitely an important factor in hiring the right person, particularly for high-skilled jobs, the truth is that all skills are acquired and most on-the-job skills are learned on-the-job.  Soft skills are ‘people skills’ like communication and organizational skills, empathy, diplomacy and creativity.  The right people have the soft skills that make them useful for the present and for the future. Technical skills can be acquired but personalities cannot.

3. Integrity matters

Warren Buffet was quoted as saying, “When looking for someone to hire, look for these qualities: Integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you”.  Integrity in the workplace can be described as behavior that is fully consistent with stated company policies, principles, desired outcomes and values.  Integrity isn’t just a matter of checking a box on the application form that states there are no warrants outstanding.  It has more to do with attitudes than background checks.   Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is watching.  Hiring managers often put integrity as one of the most desirable characteristics.  Ask open-ended questions about success and failures as well as challenges and keep an ear open for ‘doing the right thing.’   Integrity will keep your company out of the newspapers and encourage clients to come back and recommend you to others.

4. Hire Natural Leaders

In the world of venture capital, it’s often said that a venture capitalist is much more likely to invest in a company based on their leadership team than their business plan.  The reason is simple, business plans often need to be overhauled and great leaders can and will make the necessary adjustments.

Natural leaders are flexible; they know how to adjust to situations, market conditions and challenges when necessary.  Natural leaders are continually investing in people around them. They understand that that training and empowerment creates more leaders and a company can never have too many leaders.   Natural leaders also have tenacity, they know how to persevere and put in the additional effort when necessary.  Finally, natural leaders are servant leaders.  They serve their company and those around them and are not aloof or indifferent to the concerns of those around them and particularly the people that work for them.

Hiring the right person is extremely important.  It’s important for the company as well as the employee.  Hiring mistakes cost the company money.  Beyond the obvious costs of the time in interviewing, relocating and training there are also the ancillary costs of how the bad hire will impact the rest of the employees.   The wrong hires that are eventually weeded out and either quit or are terminated are expensive but not as expensive as those that stay for the long-term.

Get into the boat

Many have read these account in all four gospels of Jesus feeing the 5,000.   For the benefit of our more contemporary culture, the 5,000 count was of the men.  Many theologians and theologians would guess that there were 13,000 to 15,000 including women and children. 

In three of the gospels, the account that immediately follows the feeding of the 5,000 is the disciples in the storm.   Here is the account in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6 verses 16-21.

"When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going."

These two gospel accounts, the feeding of the 5,000 and the disciples in the storm are connected, not just by proximity but also in purpose.     This same account in Matthew gives us a connection.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. (Matthew 14:22) 

I had read this verse a number of times before but I finally I understood the
connection.  Note that it is Jesus that told the disciples to go into the boat and push off into what was going to be a storm.  The Bible describes the storm as being “contrary.”    Contrary would be one way to describe the storm, the other way would be huge, gale force winds, being buffeted and battered.  The disciples would be rowing against it and doing everything in their power but would be helpless and be making no progress. 

Yet it was Jesus that told them to get into the boat.   

Let that sink in for a moment because this connection between these accounts in the Bible and the application for our life can be huge. 

Likely, you have faced a similar storm.  It may not involve a boat or water but the feeling would be the same.   The storm would be ‘contrary.”   Life sometimes pushes and batters us into submission.  We strain to do everything we can to make some progress to no avail.

During these times, we often wonder where God is.  We wonder if he sees us in the storm. We are often told by well-meaning friends that the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.   The only problem with this saying is that it doesn’t feel during the storm to be true. 

Note however in the account given in Mark that Jesus does indeed see.  

Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Mark" and he, saw them.  (Mark 6:47&48)

The disciples felt alone, they thought Jesus should have come but they didn’t see him, didn’t see anything because of the darkness BUT JESUS SAW THEM,  but the reality was they were never alone.

Let this illustration encourage you.  Regardless of your circumstances or difficulties in your particular storm,  Jesus sees you.   In addition, when you feel God calling you, leading you, speaking to you through the scriptures or through other means, be sure to get into the boat.

Being in the boat, in the center of God’s will may not be the safest place, but it is the right place.

A Time of Trouble

Every person ultimately faces a time of trouble. Many of us watch as loved ones, family members, and friends face sickness and death.  Often, we see those that are treated poorly or accused unfairly. The causes and times of trouble are numerous.  It’s unfortunate that when catastrophe occurs they are often called “acts of God.” 

These times are rarely 'acts of God." Birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural process of life.  Victims of discrimination, false accusations, unjust treatment and harassment are typically the targets of people motivated by sin and have no idea of what it means to be a good neighbor.

However, there will be a time when God initiates the “Time of Trouble”  

At that time Michael shall stand up,

The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;

And there shall be a time of trouble,

Such as never was since there was a nation,

Even to that time. (Daniel 12:1)

The Old Testament prophets saw this coming time.  Jeremiah calls it the time of “Jacobs trouble” (Jeremiah 30:4-6).  Ezekiel wrote about it in Ezekiel 22 and 26 as a time when Israel is “refined like gold.”  Isaiah speaks of a time when God turns against His enemies and redeems Israel. (Isaiah 1:24-27)  Zechariah compares this time as a ‘refiners fire’ that purifies the remnant of Israel.  (Zechariah 13:9)

There will be a time of trouble unlike any that has happened before or ever will be in the future.   This time of judgement, refining, purging, and redemption precedes the establishment of God’s Kingdom and the fulfillment of prophecy.   

This is why we work while there is still time to work.  We are called to bring the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ to all people.   Knowing that the time is short and that judgement awaits, we should feel a sense of urgency.    The time will come when only judgement remains.  For the believer it will be a time of rejoicing.  For the unbeliever however, it will be a time of dismay.   The day of judgement is when idle talk and speculation ceases and Biblical truth becomes the ultimate reality. 

In Revelation 22, we are told that Jesus is coming soon.  Both His reward and His judgement will be accomplished.  

Amen, come Lord Jesus