Reminders of Betrayal

I learned yesterday that in days gone by churches often put weather vanes with roosters on top of their steeples. My church still has one in fact. I thought it was just a quaint country look. But apparently, the rooster was deliberate, meant to remind the congregation to live publicly what they confessed privately. The allusion of course was to the rooster which crowed after Peter denied Christ on the night of His arrest.

Of all the disciples, Peter was the one who had confessed Jesus as the Messiah--at least when the group was alone. He "got it" when the others were just tagging along. Yet when the opportunity came to acknowledge Him publicly, Peter hesitated. Well, actually, he failed and outright denied that he even knew Him. The good news is that Jesus forgave Peter--as He is ready to forgive all of us--and within two months Peter was publicly proclaiming Jesus to thousands of people. He went on to write several books of the Bible. He was the rock upon which Christ built the church.

I imagine that for the rest of his life every time he heard a rooster crow--perhaps as often as every morning--Peter remembered his failure. At first it was probably with a sinking heart, but after awhile maybe the cock's crow became more of an inspiration. Almost a battle cry. Perhaps he thought, "One more day. I've been given one more day to live publicly what I believe privately. One more day to speak out."

Now, I see this reminder of potential betrayal all the time. In fact, I think I have about five roosters in my kitchen alone (not real of course--just decorative). When I see them each morning I'm going to let them remind me that today is an opportunity to live publicly what I have confessed privately.

Peter's betrayal and his dramatic turnaround are not bad things to think about as we head into this Passion Week. And how about on Easter morning--when we gag over all those brightly colored marshmallow chicks? They can serve as a reminder of the potential for betrayal just waiting to grow in all of us and a reminder that with His resurrection power we can actually live up to the opportunities presented to speak His name.

One Necessary Thing During the Holidays

In the spirit of slimming down that to-do list and making time for the one necessary thing during the holidays, here are ideas from Mary DeMuth and Crosswalk.com for slowing down this season: Five Tips to Slow Down and Simplify the Holidays.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work myself? Tell her to help me! " "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42

New Year's Clean-Up

For me, the first few weeks of January are all about cleaning up. As soon as New Year’s Day fades, the Christmas stuff must be cleared away. Each year, I notice that the Christmas stuff with which I deal falls roughly into three categories:

• There are things that will rot, spoil and become downright dangerous if left unattended. Things like that last piece of cheesecake I pushed to the back of the fridge or the dried up Christmas tree dangerously close to the fireplace.

• Then there are things that if not immediately tossed will lead me in the opposite direction of where I want to head. Half eaten boxes of nuts, candy canes and leftover Christmas cookies.

• And finally, there are things that, while appropriate for Christmas, begin to be somewhat inconvenient by mid-January. There’s nothing really wrong with them-- but maintaining them interferes with moving on to other things. The Christmas cards on the mantle keep me from dusting and distract me as I reread each one. The wreath on the front door drops needles that must be swept up every time I step out the door. And, of course, the outdoor lights are beginning to look a little silly.

I tackled all these things wholeheartedly the first couple weeks of January, determined to get my house in order. But it occurs to me that my life could use some determined post-Christmas New Year's clean-up too. Afterall, my life is post Christmas--Christ has entered my life just as He once entered the world--and it is now not just a new year but a whole new life. So what needs to be tossed out so I can move on?

• What is the truly dangerous stuff that must go immediately? Are there sins that I toy with? Certain daydreams? A tendency to lie? To gossip?

• And what are the things that, while not inherently sinful, always seem to head me off in the wrong direction and prevent me from growing? A particular set of friends? Some of the books and magazines I read?

• Finally, what are the things that still hang on from an old way of life? Things that slow me down and aren’t really becoming to a new blood-bought life? The amount of money I spend on clothes? The amount of time I spend obsessing about my body? A goal at work?

Got your list? I’ve got mine. Here’s to the New Year!

Holiday Crush

You can see from the infrequency of my posting this month that I am already feeling the rush of the holidays. What I want to know is, how many years do you have to do the family's Thanksgiving dinner before it becomes routine?

If you are as busy as I am, you probably don't have time to read blogs anyway, but if you find yourself with time on your hands you might want to check out the November 2005 archives for Mary and Martha's Entertainment Survival Guide: 5 Ways to Stay Sane Through the Holidays. It's all about focusing on that one necessary thing that might not even have made your "to do" list yet.

Antidote to the Christmas Treadmill #4

Here are some thoughts from John Fischer in response to repeated cries all around us to put Christ back into Christmas:

Here's how you put Christ back into Christmas: you celebrate Him as Lord of your life and ruler of your heart, and you love even those who want to take Christmas out of the Holiday equation. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17).... It's never been us against them; it's us for them. We mustn't forget that Jesus came to die for the very people who are trying to secularize our country....

People are more likely to be set on the road to salvation by loving, caring believers who are secure in the hope of the real Christ living in their lives, and whose faith is brighter than any Christmas tree....

Let's not get so taken up with fighting to save a name that we forget to live out the reality of the hope of Christ to the world. If people end up encountering the real Christ of Christmas, it will matter little what we end up calling the holiday itself.

You can read John's full devotional at PurposeDrivenLife.com.

Antidote to the Christmas Treadmill #3

Here are some words from Dr. Charles Stanley's In Touch devotional that brought my treadmill to a screeching stop for a few minutes today:

"We cannot allow ourselves to drift into a materialistic view of Christmas along with the rest of the world. In a month of colored lights and glowing candles, we should be burning brighter than ever as His lights to the world."

Hmmm...What can I do to shine as His light during this season already overcrowded with distracting, blinking little lights? There are a couple verses in Philippians that come immediately to mind--verses that show us how to shine like stars this Christmas. They're not what you would expect; they're not specifically about turkey drives, shoeboxes, caroling at nursing homes or sending out Christmas cards with manger scenes. They're not about shopping, cooking a feast or running to the post office for the 15th time in two weeks. Instead these verses tell us how we should go about doing all those Christmas things we need to do. I suspect, if we did as these verses suggest, our lights would shine very bright, dimming all the other lights of the season by comparison. Actually, all these verses tell us to do this Christmas is to do everything without complaining and arguing.

Did you ever notice that Christmas is a season of complaining and arguing? It is--perhaps more than any other time of the year. We complain that lines are too long, parking lots are too full, prices too high and we have too many obligations. We may argue with our spouses about spending and with extended family members about who is visiting whom and when they will be arriving. What if we made a decision not to complain this Christmas and not to argue about anything it became our responsibility to do? I have a feeling that the Christmas treadmill would become a lot more fun. It might disappear altogether. And we would certainly shine like stars among our fellow shoppers at the mall. As you feel the treadmill ramp up over the next few days, think about these verses:

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life." Philippians 2:14-16.

Antidote to the Christmas Treadmill #2

I’ve been mulling over Rick Warren’s words about all of us wanting to get off the Christmas treadmill but not quite knowing how. Here’s one thing to try during the coming week: listen to the Christmas story being told all around you. “What?” you say. “This is 2005. We’re not even allowed to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in public. The Christmas story has been buried this year.”

I don’t think so. I think God is speaking in the still, small voice same as He ever was. For example, this season millions of Americans will see a story of freedom from bondage accomplished through sacrifice (in fact the good news of Christmas) when they rush to catch “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”—and they will happily pay to do it, thinking it is great holiday outing for the family! Another striking example: my daughter’s “Winter Concert” last night. In the public school’s effort at political correctness, the kids sang songs from around the globe. Thus, my daughter sung Alleluia to the birth of Christ in the language of Ghana, but praise is praise and God is apparently still using the mouths of babes where adults won’t speak about Him. My daughter’s group then sang “Hatikva” in Hebrew which a student translated for us, telling us that we will find our ultimate home and comfort in Zion. Amen. Best of all, another choir sang a “traditional Israeli text” in Hebrew which the conductor read in English for us before the song began: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news—the news of salvation.” What could be more appropriate for Christmas? And who would have suspected that a public school teacher would read to us about the real meaning of Christmas—the good news of a Savior?

It strikes me that this quiet telling of the story is not really all that different from the way the news was broken on the first Christmas. The original message was not a government-sanctioned announcement. In fact, the government, in the form of King Herod, did would it could to silence the news. Luke 2 had not yet been written and no one erected manger scenes in the public square. (Well, acually, they probably did but only for animals to eat out of.) Yet the news was there for seekers—-in the miraculous star for the intellectuals of the day and in the words of the angels to a small group of working class people.

Listening to that “Winter Concert” got me off the holiday treadmill as I reflected on the way God gets His message out and His obvious presence despite the public school’s efforts not to acknowledge it. I did not know whether to laugh or to shed tears of thankfulness. So try to listen for the still, small voice steadily making the real Christmas message available to anyone who wants to listen this week. It’s sure to get you off the treadmill for a few minutes at least.

Antidote to the Christmas Treadmill #1

Words to think about this Christmas from Rick Warren:

Most of us know that the key to the "best Christmas ever" is not buying more or doing more, the problem is--we just don't know how to get off the treadmill. How do you stay focused on the things that are important and get un-focused from the things of little significance?

I believe you answer that question by applying a purpose-driven approach to Christmas - balancing your holiday around the five biblical purposes of fellowship, character growth, service, missions and worship. God created you to live with this balance and that's why, when you're out of balance, you begin to feel stress.

Let me put it this way: To maintain your physical health, you need regular check-ups with a doctor who can assess your vital signs - blood pressure, temperature, weight, and so on. For your spiritual health, particularly during the hectic holiday season, you need to check the five vital signs of fellowship, character, service, missions and worship. The ancient writer, Jeremiah, once advised, "Let's take a good look at the way we're living and reorder our lives under God." (Lamentations 3:40, The Message)

You can read Rick's full article, which tells us how to check each of the vital signs, at PurposeDrivenLife.com

Surviving Holiday Entertaining: Epilogue

Phew! Thanksgiving is over and we all survived! But before we move on, one last lesson may be helpful--especially since Christmas entertaining is less than four weeks away! So, Lesson #5: remember the miracles that sat around your table on Thursday.

After entertaining it's sometimes easy to dwell on the new stain on the couch, that special piece of china that broke or the thoughtlessness of some of your guests. This year, take another page from Mary and Martha's entertaining survival guide and think for a moment about the miracles evidenced by your guest list.

That second dinner--the one where Martha served without complaint while Mary worshipped--was held at the house of a man named Simon the Leper. Now you know that lepers can't host dinners. In fact, at the time Mary and Martha lived, they were socially ostracized and forced to live away from family and friends until they died, disfigured and alone. Simon, however, had not died. God had apparently healed him of the terrible, terminal illness. Also seated around the table that day was Mary and Martha's brother, Lazarus. Lazarus actually had died from whatever illness he suffered. Yet there he was, enjoying Martha's dinner, because Jesus had miraculously raised him from the dead. Peter was at that dinner too, perhaps looking at Simon and Lazarus and thinking about his mother-in-law whom Jesus had cured of fever.

This year I sat down to celebrate Thanksgiving with my own mother-in-law. She has been cured of melanoma. My father was also at the table. He not only was healed of polio in a miraculous way as a child but also survived double bypass surgery this time last year. And my son was there--the son who has been saved from choking to death more than once.

What miracles were evidenced at your Thanksgiving dinner this year? Does the new stain on the carpet and the fact that no one helped you much really matter? You have a lasting treasure in the people with whom you celebrated and an even greater eternal treasure waiting for you in heaven.

"You...joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven." Hebrews 10:34

Surviving Holiday Entertaining: Lesson #4

Lesson #4 from Mary and Martha's Holiday Survival Guide: Make it your goal to facilitate other people’s worship this season, even if it is only by quietly doing your job without complaint. I find it interesting that at the second dinner where we meet Mary and Martha (John 12:1-3), the only thing the Bible tells us about Martha is that she served—-no details, no discussion. It seems that this time Martha served without worry, without drawing attention to herself and without caring that certain others were not helping her.

At this second dinner, Martha’s sister Mary was once again not helping in the kitchen. But apparently this time Martha didn’t complain and didn’t try to force Mary into doing some work. Martha’s restraint left Mary free to engage in an extraordinary act of worship. Martha’s willingness to serve the dinner without Mary’s help actually facilitated Mary’s worship. Interesting to think that Martha’s complaining could have wrecked the spirit of worship created by Mary. Instead, her background presence in the kitchen enhanced it.

My goal this Thanksgiving is to create an atmosphere that allows others to worship more fully. I’m not quite sure how I can affirmatively do that but, at minimum, I know that complaining about being in the kitchen is NOT the way to go about it. I know it is easy during the holidays to begin to feel that you are doing all the work while others have all the fun, but it may help to realize that your quiet service, your lack of complaint, and your peaceful spirit may actually enhance others' worship during the holidays. Have you been praying for a spouse, a parent or a child to somehow enter in to a deeper relationship with Christ during these holidays? Your attitude during the hubbub this Thursday may be a key to how your loved one responds to Christ this season--and here you thought all you held in your hands was an oven mitt and a bowl of mashed potatoes!

How good and pleasant it is when brothers [and sisters, parents, children, in-laws, aunts and uncles] live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head....Psalm 133:1-2

Surviving Holiday Entertaining: Lesson #3

Back to Mary and Martha's Holiday Entertaining Survival Guide. Lesson #3 comes from the second dinner in the New Testament where we meet Mary and Martha found in John 12:1-3. At this particular dinner, Martha served while Mary came to the table and poured expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, wiping His feet with her hair in a lavish display of worship. The house was filled with the aroma of the perfume.

Lesson # 3: This Thanksgiving, fill your house with the fragrance of worship. There are so many great smells that will waft through our homes this Thursday--the roasting turkey, the hot apple cider, the fire crackling in the fireplace, and the pumpkin pie baking in the oven. When I was a kid, I just thought of these scents as an automatic and natural part of the holidays. As an adult, I realize that they are all created by someone's thought and hard work--often mine! But there's another part of the atmosphere I want to concentrate on creating this year--one that will seem natural to the holidays as my kids look back on them in future years. Like a fragrance, the aura of worship, the attitude of praise, and the actual giving of thanks, can permeate the house and the celebration.

"Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3

Surviving Holiday Entertaining: Lesson #2

When you feel yourself getting worried and upset by the “many things,” bring your focus back to the one thing that is necessary.

For those few of you who are faithful blog readers, you know I've talked about this one necessary thing before. Unfortuantely, I need to keep reminding myself about it! My Bible practically falls open to the first dinner where we meet Mary and Martha. If you remember, Martha was busily preparing dinner while Mary was, in Martha's opinion, lazily sitting at Jesus' feet. Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen to spend her time more wisely. (You can read the story at Luke 10:38-42.)

I always felt a bit sorry for Martha. I mean, after all, someone has to make the dinner, right? But as I read the story more closely I get the impression that the problem was not that Martha was making dinner. The problem was that Martha, in Jesus’ words, was “worried and upset by many things,” forgetting that only one thing was really needed. She lost track of what was truly important that day.

I believe it is possible for each of us to serve a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving dinner to a house full of guests without becoming worried and upset by many things. But it will only be possible if we remember that just one thing is actually necessary in our guests' lives (as well as our own). And it will only be possible if we remember that the one necessary thing is not going to be on the table or in the centerpiece or freshly organized coat closet no matter how hard we try to make those things perfect. The one necessary thing will be Jesus and He will be there no matter what else is served. So this year, when I begin to feel distracted and distressed by the many things on my Thanksgiving "to do" list, I'm going to take a deep breath and try to focus back for a moment or two on the one thing that is truly necessary.

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her." Luke 10:41-42

Surviving Holiday Entertaining: Lesson #1

Thanksgiving is a little more than a week away and I have to admit that what is foremost in my mind is all that I have to do between now and then to get dinner for 14 on the table. I mean, much as I enjoy it--or maybe because I enjoy it--I get totally ridiculous about entertaining. I will think about the big day almost every waking moment throughout the next week. I have lists on top of lists: every item of food that will be served, every serving dish that will be needed, the non-perishable grocery list, the perishable grocery list, the cleaning that I will do this weekend, the tablecloths to press, etc. In years past I’ve found it’s pretty hard to keep God at the top of my “to do” list as the holidays approach.

This year, however, I’m going to try harder to keep the holidays in perspective and God as my priority. My plan of attack is to keep in mind some key lessons from two New Testament stories about hosting dinner. You can read about the two dinners in Luke 10:38-42 and John 12:1-3.

The first dinner was at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Martha scrambled to get dinner ready and, predictably, became frustrated and freaked out by all the preparations. Mary, by contrast, sat at Jesus’ feet and drank in everything He was saying. Jesus commented that Mary had made the better choice that day. The second dinner was nearby at the home of a man called Simon the Leper. John tells us that Lazarus was a guest and Martha served the dinner. During dinner, Mary came in and poured expensive perfume on Jesus, filling the house with the aroma of this lavish act of worship. You can probably draw about a hundred lessons of your own from these two simple stories, but here is one I’m going to try to concentrate on throughout the holiday season:

Even as feast preparations ramp up, keep sitting at the feet of Jesus. I don’t know about you, but when I get busy, daily Bible reading and a quiet prayer time alone with God--in other words, the way we sit at Jesus’ feet today--are two of the first things I jettison in order to make time for all the extra grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning. I don’t do it intentionally--somehow it just happens as other things crowd Jesus out. But I'm going to try to remember that, as between Martha ignoring Jesus so she could prepare dinner and Mary ignoring dinner so she could spend time with Jesus, Jesus said Mary made the better choice.

So, lesson #1: this holiday season I am going find a quiet place to read and pray at least once a day, every day, no matter what. I’m going to make it a priority to keep sitting at the feet of Jesus even if a few little household tasks don’t get done and the cranberry sauce is not homemade this year. No one, except of course Jesus, will notice this little interruption in my usual busyness. And after all, the kids still like Boston Market—-or for that matter, a can of Spaghettios—-better than my most lavish and complicated holiday feast.