Resolve to Dissolve

No where in the Bible does it say anything about making New Year's resolutions.  In fact, the celebration of the new year wasn't really much at all in scripture.  The stories and remembrances of events past--especially when they told of the miraculous things God did--were the hallmarks of all important festivals and celebrations.

Thus, the act of making resolutions is often scoffed at or looked down upon.  Many say, "that's the world's way of lifting up self-improvement as the primary path to a better life."  I agree to some degree that it's true.  We often do find ourselves stuck in the ruts of trying to make ourselves better and professing that this year is going to be different, truly believing that the keys to a good life are in our hands.  If God is truly the source of life and our gifts, then it really isn't helpful that we try so hard to be our own source of growth and change.

But, on the other hand, I do think that God intended us to have times and seasons of renewal, of restarting, of setting things in a new direction.  While most of the Jewish festivals are created on the belief that celebrating them helped the religious community remember, keep in touch with their story and their God, and rekindle gratitude, more so than they were to created to change lives and make things different, there are several other events that lead us to understand that renewal is still a sacred and celebratory event in our religious lives.  We need look no further than the baptism of repentance, the practice of communion, the year of jubilee, the birth of a savior, Pentecost, etc.  Things are supposed to be be new within each of these.

So, I say, "go ahead."  Make your resolution, just as you will every year, and perhaps have in the past.  But maybe not quite in the same way as previously.  Lay the self-help, self-improvement, new-you goals aside.  Let God take care of those.  And instead, take up the celebration of the new year as a remembrance and retelling of how God has renewed the earth and God's people over the course of time.  Let it be a time of getting back in touch with what God can do.  Let it be a time of gratitude.

And then, after you have reunited with the source of all goodness, change, growth, and improvement, when you go to set your resolution, let it be to draw nearer to God:  to God's sovereignty, to God's working, to God's miracles, to God's continual love and grace that will ultimately heal, restore joy, lessen your need, and propel you forward into the life and tasks that He is willing desiring you to do.

Dissolve your inclinations to do it on your own, and resolve to draw nearer to the one who can truly do it!


More to come!

Jason <><

My Hope

The day has finally come.  There is no other day, no other time in the seasons of our lives, that we come so close to the miracle, light, and freedom found in Jesus' birth.  Although I'm sure some may be getting tired of hearing me speak so much about the importance of this birth and the ultimate importance of Jesus in this season and in our lives, I simply can't help it.  In fact, I don't know what else to say--broken record or not!

But in addition to the truth of the season, this is what I hope will come from this truth for all of us:

My hope this Christmas is that...

• ...knowing that we do need to slow down, take a breath, and truly be caught up in the present moment, that we each have that sacred interruption in our lives.  Whether we appreciate it or not, whether we perceive it to be "good" or not, my hope is that it is utterly Holy.
  
• ...each us is struck by the utter impossibility, implausibility, incredibility, vitality, and sacredness of Jesus' presence in our life and what this remembrance means to our lives and the world.
  
• ...somehow, some way, each of us is changed for God's glory.  I hope that each of us can wake up in the morning, whether we go to work, are bombarded by children and family, or are crowed by silence and solitude, in a way, with an understanding, with a new insight that will not let us go back to where we were before--that this season will take us a little farther on our walks with Christ.

 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Colossians 3:15

Merry Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Forever!


More to come...


Jason <><

Friday's Sadness, Today's Thoughts

The question when facing tragedies in our communities and world is how much to make it the focus of our lives.  If we sensationalize it, we disrespect those hurting and affected, and we risk reinforcing acts that thrive from the attention.  If we stay silent and shy away from conversations, we run the risk of history repeating and of hurting hearts left questioning.

So as we prepare for another week, and one that no doubt will include further thoughts, reports, and reactions on Friday's events, I offer these simple thoughts:

1. This grief must be felt and lifted up by us all.  We are called to mourn and care for each other (James 5:13-16).  Yet, this grief must not diminish our joy and celebration of Christ's birth.  As Judeo-Christian people, we have always been a people who suffer, survive, and thrive.  Our own God demonstrated this on the cross, which represents our deepest of sorrows in Jesus' death and our greatest of joys in Jesus' eternal triumph over death, both.
   
2. This event must lead us to be even more active in our faith.  Many have and will say that tragedies like this cause us to question, leave, or even reject our faith and our God--based on the inability to conceive of a God who would let these things happen.  Let us all go to those places, let those questions and thoughts be part of our journeys.  But let us not stay there.  Let us realize and recall that the only way we will see to the hope and redemption of this sadness is by our faith and through the mightiness of our God and Savior.  If evil is a darkness always waiting to creep forward into our lives, then let us continue to shed Christ's light that shines through all darkness into our broken world and situations (John 1:4-5).  Let us pour out our love and the good news of the gospel even more.
   
3. This danger must be met with prayer.  So many times we respond to these events in every imaginable way:  heightening security, limiting our public activities, practicing super vigilance, increasing our paranoia of others', fighting to make laws more strict, seeking revenge and placing blame upon those "responsible" for the tragedy, etc.  Some of these responses may seem very logical and helpful.  Yet, they all fall into the human-contrived category of methods for solving our own problems.  Instead, we must pray (1 Thess 5:14-22). What we forget is that God is the one who has the capacity to move beyond just offering solutions to problems.  Our God is a God who has the capacity to create entire new realities.  Only by our prayers and our submission to God's power and our powerlessness will be be able to see God's ultimate work and direction in the midst of this, those affected, and those behind the violence.

Lastly, Horizons, like many other careful organizations in Lincoln, will continue safe and diligent practices for protecting our children and all who come to this ministry.  But we will also strive to put God first, before all other agendas and continue to welcome others with Jesus' love, trusting in the Holy Spirit's protection and presence at all times.  Amen.

More to come!

Jason <><

Swift Kicks, Strong Pushes

I'm a firm believer in the Holy Spirit's ability to work and move in our lives.  In fact, I don't know what life would look like for a person of faith if he or she didn't have an acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit. Whether we are consciously aware or not of the spirit's moving, I know that we are each affected daily by it.

But I'm also pretty sure about the other things I'm daily affected by as well.  For two weeks now, I've been teaching on the topic of preparing the way for our celebration of Christ's birth.  Just yesterday I challenged each of us NOT to do anything this season that will consequently take us away from this nearing celebration and the presence of Jesus.  I mentioned it being nearly impossible, but to what degree is yet to be told.

Paul shares in Romans 7:15, "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

This seems to be true in many of our lives.  I know it is in mine at the moment.  I want to step back from the rush of the season and honor the most important things in my life.  I want to let all the "extras" go in light of the "main thing" becoming greater.  I do truly desire these things, and am quite set on getting there.

However, we all know the flip side:  I'll get there AS SOON as I finish...  I know what's most important, but THIS simply cannot be ignored...  I don't really have a choice...  Sometimes, the more we push for what's good in our lives, the more we feel the opposition pushing back.  Sometimes it may even feel like a swift kick from behind that shoves us farther away from where God is wanting us to go.

So what do we do?  What will I do?

Pray more.  Let the Holy Spirit be the strongest pusher.  Let go of my stubbornness.  Trust in God in a way that brings assurance to the things I let go of.  Seek peace over perfection.  Stop making excuses and ultimatums.

After all, we'all far too busy, misguided, and challenged NOT to pray and spend more time in the Spirit's guiding. Is it impossible to do nothing that would take me away from our nearing celebration of Christ's birth from here on out?  I believe it can happen!


More to come!

Jason <><

Content? I Take it all Back!

In the course of a day or week, I'm wondering how many things we end up saying or doing we wish we could take back or do over in a slightly different way.  In most situations in my own life, I tend to live by the thought that we really should only regret our actions and words to the extent that they have hurt others.  In effect then, is the trust that everything we say, do, and experience, whether constructive or harmful is something we can learn and grow from (IF of course, at the end of the day, we are consistently and genuinely striving for righteousness in Christ in our lives).  When we put God into any aspect of our lives, we're sure to find that our paths lead to Him, no matter through which mess that path may first travel.

So, in regard to to above, what exactly is it that I wish to take back this morning??  Nothing.  But, it was a good way to start out my thoughts.

Our three part study on Contentment ("Gratitude and Gravy") that we did in November was one of our most powerful studies yet.  Countless testimonies poured into my e-mail and out of conversations about how each Sunday was really convicting many at Horizons.  I too was convicted by the lessons we learned.  I am thankful for the chance to dig into contentment with such depth and intention.

HOWEVER, this is the other conversation I had with some at Horizons:  am I sure I really wanted to be preaching about being content and comfortable?  Isn't that one of the greatest evils affecting God's church today?  We fall into contentment and thereafter refuse to be moved forward in our faith and relationship with Jesus.  In other words, contentment breads complacency, which ultimately gives way to a dying body of Christ.

This is true.

Here's the twist:  There are two general areas of contentment in our lives:  contentment with what we have from the world, and contentment with where we are in Christ Jesus.  While we must learn to be content in the first, we must refuse to be content in the second.  Let us never give way to complacency in our faith and nearness to our God.

In fact, while it may have been a concern that our conversation on contentment in the world may run over into our contentment with God, the truth is that the only way truly to find contentment with what we have been given in the world is to grow more discontent with our current relationship with Christ.  How else could we expect suddenly to find that we don't have any further needs in the world if we haven't found something greater to replace and satisfy what we once longed for in the world?  Our only option, as I see it, it to shift from seeing all that we lack and want in the world and turn instead to seeing all that we can have, want, and ultimately desire God to fill our lives with.

So, in that case, ultimately, let us NEVER be content with God!  Let us always strive to honor God more, draw nearing in our relationship with Jesus, and grow in our maturity as believers!

And no, I won't take it back.


More to come!

Jason <><