The last thing, Kutcher wants to do at this point is to appear as someone lacking confidence in his own talent and the resident talent of those writing the scripts. His nonchalant, bring it own attitude is a plus. This may prove to be a good move for CBS and “Two and Half Men”.

     As I was listening to that interview, I thought of the pressure that we Christians often experience when we take on new faith challenges. This sort of pressure is good for us because it pushes us forward in faith. God wants us to grow in Christ and intentionally places new challenges before us.  

     The problem for many of us is not that we necessarily lack confidence in ourselves, but we lack confidence in God, the divine Script Writer. He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). He works all things together for our ultimate good and His own glory (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28). Thus, we can be confident that He is with us in every episode of our lives bringing to completion what He has started (Philippians 1:6). Throughout the Scriptures we see this being played out in lives of God’s children. The life of Joseph is one of my personal favorites. Check it out for yourself (Genesis 37-50).

     God has a script for us all. He is taking us somewhere. How are you doing with the script? Does it frighten you at times? Does it seem impossible at times? Just remember that nothing is impossible for God. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, not your own.

    The hen rushes to pig’s sty with her news. She tells the pig that the farmer and his wife are looking forward to some extra eggs and bacon in the coming weeks. The chicken soon noticed that the pig wasn’t sharing her excitement. So she asked, “What’s wrong pig?” The pig exclaimed, “You just don’t get it do you? For you this is only a contribution, but for me it’s a total commitment.”

      We would all agree that making a contribution is often easier than committing ourselves to something. I understand that there are times when God will lead us to contribute some skill or resource to His work. What a delight it is to do so and watch our contributions being utilized by God.  Still, God wants the bacon.

      When Christ summons us to follow Him, it is an invitation to embark upon a lifelong journey. Throughout the four Gospels we find Jesus inviting people the follow Him. The word “follow” is our English equivalent for the Greek verb akoloutheo, a word used over 60 times in the four gospels. This act of following Jesus demands more of us than an occasional contribution of our time, money or talents. He has paid the “purchase price” for our redemption, a price that we could not pay.  The way I see it. We owe Him everything, even though “our everything” would never be enough.

     So, as you set out to serve Christ this new church year, do so whole heartedly. Contribute as He leads, but find you greatest delight in giving yourself fully to Him.  Seek to satisfy Him, and you will not be ashamed.

I recently preached a message from Colossians 2:20-23 regarding rigorous, religious systems that promote spirituality through self denial or ascetic life.  I spoke of how the Monastic Movement was partly a response to the worldly, self- indulgent practices that were permeating the Church.  Consequently, many chose to separate themselves from the institution in order to pursue a life that would be consistent with Scripture and becoming of Christ.  

     The movement was fueled by verses like Luke 9:23 where Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me”. They argued that Christians were to be different than the world. They would cite the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles which clearly taught that a follower of Christ was to ‘be in the world, but not of it’.  This commonly used expression is not an actual verse, but rather a summary statement regarding Christians and the world. A concept derived from passages like John 15:18-19.

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

      A good analogy for this concept is the “fence analogy”. It is quite simple. Imagine yourself walking along with a fence line to your left. Your aim is stay on the right side of the fence. On the right side of the fence is that path of self denial and righteousness that God desires. On the other side of the fence is the way of the world, the path of self indulgence.

     What happens to many well intentioned Christians is that they begin to glory in what makes them different. They begin to worship the lifestyle that distinguishes them from everyone else. There is a fine line here, one that we must avoid crossing.  The best way to avoid crossing over is to remind yourselves daily that Jesus is the object of your highest affections. Our supreme motivation isn’t to stand out, but to bring Him glory!   

      Sometime ago, a woman stood in her pastor’s office claiming that another woman ‘jumped her’. The pastor asked, “Did she jump from the balcony or from a stairwell?” The angry woman said, “No sir, she jumped me in the hallway!” He said, “Wow, in the hallway! Did she hurt you?” “It hurt a little, but she’ll never do it again”, the woman replied. The Pastor asked, “Why do you say that?” The woman grinned and said, “I just ‘jumped her’ at the grocery store.”

      Although such a story may produce a chuckle or two it has been the experience of many.  People are ‘jumped’ at church, on the job, at the grocery store, at the park, and just about anywhere human beings congregate or come in contact with one another. Unfortunately, some of you have been the ambushed, the ambusher, or both. I hope that in some way you have grown from that experience. I am thankful to God that he can take our wrongful acts and painful wounds and bring good out of it.

       There are times when an individual needs to be brought down from their high horse, but we Christians should leave such matters with God. God says, “Vengeance is mine”. In Acts 9, we find God bringing Saul of Tarsus down from his high horse. Saul was a mean dude, especially towards Christians. His encounter with the risen Christ changed everything. It changed his mission, his message, and it changed the man. God didn’t send his people out to kill Saul of Tarsus. No, rather He sent his Son to save Him!

      Retaliation is not the answer, getting even or settling the score is not your duty or mine. How can we glorify our Savior, when we allow such vices to control our thoughts, actions and words?  You may not be able to prevent being ambushed, but you can sure say “NO!” to the temptation to set traps or lie in wait for an opportunity to pounce upon someone you don’t particular like, agree with, or who has made your life somewhat difficult. We Christians must strive to live in peace, understanding that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

       The older son agreed with his mom, but he wasn’t willing to be like Jesus at the breakfast table. In his estimation, his little brother should give up the pancake. It’s like a chief executive who believes that all the lowly, service oriented tasks belong to those on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. He’s playing the seniority card.

     Being Christ-like is not as easy as many would have you to believe, because it involves putting the interests of others before your own. If that sounds familiar, you may remember reading it in Philippians 2.  Later in the epistle, the Apostle Paul says, “Imitate me, as I imitate Christ”.  God has given us the ultimate pattern in Christ and similar patterns in His followers. This prompts two questions. First, how important are these patterns to us? Second, what sort of patterns are we setting for those who are looking to us for spiritual leadership?

    I came across a story of a sculptor who had a big piece of marble.  He was just chipping away on that marble.  A passerby came up to him and said, “What are you doing?” He said, “Oh, I’m making a statue of a horse.”   The pedestrian looked at that marble and said, “Man, that doesn’t look like a horse to me.  How are you turning that into a horse?”The sculptor said, “It’s really rather simple.  I just chip away everything that doesn’t look like a horse.” 

      Patterns are crucial, but the pattern alone will not produce Christ-likeness. We also need the “good hand of the Lord’. I am talking about the holy, sovereign hands that are responsible for our creation, our spiritual regeneration, and skillfully shaping us into the likeness of Christ. For those of us who aspire to be like Christ, we must understand that we cannot make it happen on our own. We need both the good hand of God and the discipline of a true, born again Christ follower.

       One of the hilarious things about watching children playing T-ball is that they have a hard time playing assigned positions. Here are few things that I have noticed from the spectator side of the sport. For one thing, some of the players struggle with staying focused on what’s going on at home plate. The coach is constantly saying things like, “watch the batter” or “pay attention”.  There are also those players that tend to play catch with their gloves, or even lie on the ground in the outfield.  I understand that there is little action in the outfield, but be ready anyway. The most hilarious thing of all is to watch the aggressive players go after the ball. It’s like a mad dash. At times, it even resembles a football game. Our daughter has found herself at the bottom of that pile up on at least two occasions. I’m going to be honest; it felt good to see her rise up with the ball. Now, she just needs to learn what to do with it next.

      There is plenty of excitement for the spectator who invests time and emotional energy in the children, and actually engages the game.  Here’s a word from my heart to yours. When the game starts, close the book, put the Blackberry away, turn off the Kindle or Ipod. Do whatever you have to do to let children know that you are there to watch them.  You don’t want to communicate to them that your book or electronic device is more important than their game. Nor do you want to communicate that you’re just passing away the time. In many ways that’s about as bad as the parent or grandparent whos says I’ll be there, but never shows up.  

     As Mother’s Day and Father’s Day approach, I pray that we would give our sons and daughters reasons to be glad that we are their moms and dads. Not to mention, creating for them pure motivations for honoring us every day. The same goes for grandparents.

      I must add one other thing that I have noticed from the sidelines and bleachers. I have seen the way children light up when their grandparents come to their games. Praise God for those grandparents who are able to invest this sort of time and energy in the lives of their grandchildren.

       Dressing for Success

      In Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul uses the Roman soldier’s gear to illustrate for us the spiritual items that are necessary for living the Christian life. These articles of armor point to spiritual realities that every believer needs to arm himself for spiritual warfare. God provides the equipment we need to fight the good fight of faith, and to be more than conquerors. Once armed, a Christian can stand firm against the evil that is sure to come his way. Paul compares such evil to fiery darts or arrows. The originator of this evil is the devil himself, the diabolical enemy of Christ and all who love Him.

      One of these days we are going to lay our armor and weapons down for we’ll be in heaven with God free from such warfare. But until that day comes we can consider ourselves in a spiritual war zone, as Christ followers. So it’s paramount that we put on the gospel armor and put on each piece with prayer, knowing that “greater is He that is in us, than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

      Satan and God are not equals struggling out in some cosmic war. The Bible tells us that Satan is a defeated foe. Christ has subdued him, and we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

      The dress for success organization is helping many people, but they are unable to help everyone. In fact, they have to turn applicants away because of a lack of resources. The demand is greater than the supply. Things like time, space, and clothing are limited.

    As Christians, we can rejoice and be thankful to God for the limitless resources that He has at his disposal. We can be equally thankful for the distribution of such amazing armor and weaponry. When we put on Christ, we will be clothed and armed for the kind of sucess that matters most.

     The Bird Impact Test Facility at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee is responsible for making sure that the windshield of a plane can withstand a collision with a bird. The task of this facility is to simulate such an impact. Researchers have found that the easiest way to do such a test is to accelerate a bird and have it hit a stationary windshield. They simply place a 4-lb chicken carcass in a 60’ cannon and fire at a test windshield. There is some science involved, but it is not that technical. You wouldn’t want to try this at home, nor would you ever use a frozen chicken.  That would be like using a cannon ball. That’s about all you need to know or want to know about the ‘chicken canon’.  Like the windshield on a plane our lives are sure to collide with potentially destructive forces. God in His infinite wisdom is aware of this, so He conditions us along the way.

  The questions we humans raise, from time to time are:  Why, God? Why me? Why now? We can agree that He would not allow such things for sheer entertainment.  I would hope that we can agree that whatever He allows, He does so with purpose. We must never forget that God is molding and shaping us, preparing us for every good work. God is going to finish what He started, and that requires testing from time to time. Just know it is for your good, your growth, and ultimately for His glory.

     The tests are designed to make us stronger and better equipped Christians.  Sure, the impact may be sudden and deep at times, but God is there to help us. There are many biblical examples of these principles throughout the Scriptures. Among them is the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50). Joseph sums it up best when he tells his brothers (who sold him into slavery) “What you meant for evil, God meant for good (Genesis 50:20).” It seems only right to thank God for the manifold grace He sends along with the manifold trials.

     In the Gospel of John, we learn some amazing things about Jesus. One of the great things we learn of Him is the permanency of His love for His people. It is written of Him, “having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1). The love of Jesus is an eternal, enduring love. Thanks to this verse and others I am convinced that Jesus Christ will never cease loving those who belong to Him.

       A motivational speaker started off a seminar by holding up a $20 bill. “Who would like this $20 bill?” he asked. Hands started going up throughout the audience. Then he said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” The same hands went up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” Then he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, all crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Again, hands went into the air.

     “You have all learned a valuable lesson,” the speaker said. “No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. The speaker wanted his audience to see that no matter what has happened or will happened their worth has not diminished.

     Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and stepped upon by the unfortunate things that have happened to us. As a result, we may feel that our value has been diminishing. But listen, no matter what has happened or will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are treasured by Him.” We are His eternal valentines!

     Can you recall passing out Valentine Cards to your classmates with the simple question, “Will you be my Valentine?” I cannot recall them having any check “yes” or “no” boxes. It just seemed like a given back in elementary school. We were all valentines! Of course, it didn’t stay that way long; for, as we got older, we began adding those little boxes and consequently got our heart crushed a few times. Isn’t it great to know that God will never crush our hearts in that way? So it is by faith that we come to know and experience a love that we never have to question or second guess. Let the redeemed joyfully celebrate this Divine love that is inescapable, inseparable, and everlasting.

     This life-bearing, time-enduring, wave-riding seed illustrates a basic spiritual principle. God’s plans may include extended times of waiting for Him to act on our behalf. This was true of Noah, who endured ridicule while spending 120 years building a ship; of Abraham, who waited for the fulfillment of God’s promise that he would have a son in his old age; and of David, who chose to wait for God’s timing rather than take the life of envious King Saul.

    You’re probably not waiting upon a catastrophic downpour, or a child in you senior years, or even to rule a nation. However, most of you are holding on to some dream or promise that God has given you. This may be the year that you see that come to fruition.  Then again, it may not. Still, God is not slack concerning His promises. Like the sea heart, you must trust the currents of divine providence to get you where God wants you.

      As 2011 approaches, let us not be overwhelmed by the possibility of another recession, or any of the other unknowns that may be lurking in the shadows. Rather, let us patiently anchor our trust in the One who is over all things, and able to keep every promise that He has made. Therefore, be encouraged in what the Apostle Peter had to say about our Lord’ promises (2 Peter 3:8-9):

⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

     Did you catch the end of that? God’s top priority is to bring lost and saved sinners repentance. Honestly, apart from such a thing we cannot produce the fruits that honor Him. Like many other churches, we want to be that breakout church that becomes more relevant and God honoring.  Patience, trust and repentance will definitely play a key role.

Happy New Year,

Pastor Charles