We have arrived at the end of Christmas in 25 Minutes.  For the last 25 days I have been on a journey through Christmas- its past, its traditions, its sights, and its sounds.  And while I feel like a journey is coming to an end, it really is just beginning. The Mindful Minute will return as I bring a weekly look at the problems, struggles, and insights that God lays on my heart. I will also, be starting a new segment of my blog called Life: Minute by Minute.  This will be a time where I offer my experiences as  a husband, a father, a teacher, a pastor, and a general child of the one true King. I want to take this time to thank all of the people who have taken time out of their day to read these articles. I have to admit, my purpose for writing this blog is to write for an audience of one, our Lord and Savior; but I can’t help but enjoy the fact that people are actually interested in what I have to write about. Thank you for your support. I thank you for sharing my links on Facebook and Twitter, and I thank you for the words of encouragement that you have given me over the past month. I plan to take a couple days off from writing, but I will debut Life: Minute by Minute later this week.

Now, many of your are asking, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, my final post doesn’t really come from me. It comes from another author. I wanted to end this segment with the Christmas story, and there is no one that tells this story better than the physician that was close friends with Paul…..Luke. Some may say that this is a cop out on my part, that I cheated on the last one- eh that’s ok. As an author, I know my limitations and I certainly know when someone tells a story much better than I can. So, I hope that you have enjoyed your Christmas day with your family and I hope that you have enjoyed being on this journey with me during the Christmas Season. May God richly bless you this upcoming year and Merry Christmas:

The Birth of Jesus Christ

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:1-21 ESV)

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

What’s in a name? For some it denotes family heritage.  Like me for example.  My middle name is Sevier.  I’m not named after the county (at least directly). My middle name comes from a long, historical line of family members. I’ve traced that ancestry back to Valentine Sevier, the immigrant. Valentine had several children. Two of his boys are important- one is important to me and the other is important to history. Both boys fought in the American Revolution and had both survived the Battle of King’s Mountain, both would have likely gone into politics. As it was, Robert Sevier was wounded at the battle and died nine days later on the trip back to Sycamore Shoals in present day Elizabethton, TN. The other son, went on to serve with the likes of George Washington, get into a near duel with Andrew Jackson, and oh yeah, became the first Governor of Tennessee. His name was John.  Before Robert died, however, he already had a passel of children and if you follow the lineage down the line, you will come to my son Michael, the 13th generation with a middle or last name of Sevier.  Michael’s middle name is Sevier, as is mine, my dad’s, and my great grandad’s before us, and on up the line. Needless to say, to this historian, the name Sevier is important.

For Christians, the name of God is important. In Exodus 20, the third commandment teaches us not to take the Lord our God’s name in vein. We should not swear by it. Why you may ask? What’s the big deal? To invoke God’s name to a promise or swear that something shall be done in His name, is to take the risk of human error smudging that name. It’s more than a name. It’s the name above all names. As I sit here typing this, the clock on my computer says it’s 11:14 on Christmas eve. My boys are asleep, my wife is wrapping last minute presents, and I am reflecting on the next 45 minutes. Soon, midnight strikes and then 24 hours of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior will begin. I think about the troubled world I live in and how there are times I wish Christ would go ahead and come get us. I think about how badly we need a king.  I am also reminded how Isaiah prophesied a King to come. A King, unlike Ahaz.  A King that would rule, unending from the throne of David. Isaiah gives a description of the King to come when he prophesied the very night Jesus would be born into this world:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The Alpha and the Omega.  He was called Wonderful Counselor, imparting heavenly wisdom in leading His people. He was called Mighty God, a powerful warrior. We sometimes forget that in the midst of our loving Savior, He was a force to be reckoned with and when He returns, it will not be to love the world to Salvation, but in stark contrast, He will come to judge the world and no force will stand in His way. He was called Everlasting Father. Christ will lead us like a father leads His household, compassionately caring for and disciplining His children. He was called the Prince of Peace.  Every knee of every nation will bow and confess Jesus as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Theses names only serve to fulfill prophesy of the ultimate name of Jesus. This name is incarnate of why Jesus came and who He was through and through. Matthew 2:23 says “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means God With Us).”

When you read this, it will be Christmas. As you go through your day, will you celebrate that name? Will we celebrate the name above all names? Will we live each and every day keeping that name on our lips? Immanuel, God with us? WOW!!! How fortunate are we that we get to call out the name of our Lord God almighty? How awesome of a privilege is it to worship a God among us, a God that is not dead.  That name, Immanuel, sets Christianity apart from every other religion. We serve a God that is living and living among us, first as the son, then as the Holy Spirit, and always as our Father? What’s in a name? Salvation came in the form of a baby, salvation is found in the name of Jesus.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Merry Christmas!!!!

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

Here it is, December 23 and we are staring at Christmas Day less than 48 hours away. We are anticipating this day in different ways. For instance, to my seven year old son, Christmas is still miles away. The anxious anticipation of the coming of Christmas and the potential for gifts abound in his little mind. Now, don’t get me wrong, we explain what the emphasis of Christmas should be on, but let’s be honest, he’s seven. As for me and my wife, we have gone over the list 432,000 times making sure all the gifts are bought, I am going in to the office tomorrow to get some things done before the Christmas Eve Service, and Jan has some business in Knoxville to attend to. To others, it’s a very lonely time. My Mother-in-law, her sister, and her brother will be spending their first Christmas without their mother.  Others will struggle to provide for families and countless people no longer have families to go to.  Still yet, there are people counting down to what they believe is the celebration of the single greatest event in human history- the birth of our Savior.

This is an interesting argument (debate) that if you have been a pastor for any amount of time have probably had to answer: which is the greatest even in human history? The birth of Christ or the resurrection of Christ?  On the one hand, people say that Easter is the greatest event and that without it, we would not have salvation and redemption from hell. In which the other side replies, that without the birth of Jesus there would be no Easter to celebrate.  So, in the spirit of decisiveness and consistency with scripture, I will once and for all decide this issue (ok- I realize that I’m not important enough to say that, but it sounded good) and by once and for all I mean I will humbly give you my opinion. So, the answer- which is greater, Christmas or Easter………….wait for it.. ………..Yes!!!!!!

Now, before you start accusing me of being political and playing it safe (too late right), let me give you my perspective on this. I am confused as to why there is such a distinction between the two events. I mean let’s take a look at the differences,  One happens in December, the other in March or April. One celebrates the birth of Christ, the other celebrates the death and resurrection. One celebrates the coming of a savior, the other celebrates the promise that He will again return one day. Somewhat vast differences during two different times 33 years apart. I think, however, the biggest mistake that we make as Christians is seeing these as two separate events to be compared, when in all actuality, it is one event. One constant plan by God the Father to save His broken, sinful people. We should celebrate non-stop. The birth of our Christ means that He was sent to die. He was sent to redeem. He was sent to save. The death of Christ means that we are cleansed, we are blood bought, and Christ is coming back. Revelation 1:8 reminds us that. “I am the alpha and the omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” To me, that is not separate incidents or events, to me that sounds like Christ is still in the midst of His plan, a plan that was continuous since before the birth, to today. John 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Word is Jesus, Revelation 19 identifies it as his name as He returns riding the white horse. Since the beginning, through now, and on into the future when He returns, this has been one solitary event. I say solitary because only He could pull this off.

When we celebrate Christmas, we are also celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus. This spring, when we celebrate Easter, we are reminded of the lowly entry into the world by our Savior and how when He returns, He will leave no doubt. So, again I say, which is the greatest event- Christmas or Easter? I answer with a resounding YES!!!!!!

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

Imagine that I tell you that you are going to be a part of the biggest event in world history. Naturally your first question is, “What is it?” Now imagine that, in response, I hand you a single piece of a puzzle (say a 1000 piece puzzle).  The only thing you see is a picture of yourself. It looks like you are looking at something and the background looks like a an outdoor scene, maybe an outdoor pavilion at night, but that is all you make out. I tell you that you are very important piece of this puzzle and you need to show up at a certain place at a certain time to take you place as a part of the biggest event in World History- then…..I leave. Naturally you have questions and you are extremely hesitant to even show up, not knowing what to expect. So, you go…………..

Isn’t that kind of like God sometimes? Sometimes, your life seems like one big cliffhanger. We think that we have a good idea of where God is taking us only to have God tell us to turn.  This is something that I like to do with my youth. We periodically have an event called destination unknown. This is where we hop into the van and we go and they have no idea where we are going. Every time I make a turn, they begin guessing where we are going, only for me to take a turn that completely discredits their guess. God often does not do things the way WE think they should be done. Have you ever noticed that God sometimes takes the long way around a problem in your life, or that God take s His time answering a prayer or even seems to take a detour when you need Him? Have you been that person that said, “God, if you had done it this way, it would have been easier.”  I used to find myself doing this a lot. It wasn’t until the last few years that it occurred to me that solving my problems wasn’t the only thing on God’s agenda.

God takes His time and He takes certain detours when He deals with our issues, our prayers, and our lives. I have found that there are two major reasons He does this.  First, God takes detours because there is more than just me involved and there is more at stake than just my problem. You see, we may be the minor problem in the grand scheme of things that God is dealing with. For example, a family dealing with one of its members that abuses drugs.  The prayer is for God to intervene in that family member’s life and get them to stop using drugs. I mean that’s what we are after and we get frustrated with God when He doesn’t make them stop immediately. In fact, what happens is that God decides to use you, get you back into church, which in turn brings your family back in to church where you all are discipled. That discipleship then causes you to attend a bible study that deals with the very issue of drug abuse and you invite your family member to a meeting where they are cared for, prayed for, and at long last walk away from the life they were leading. WHEW!!!!!!!  You see, God could have just made them quit, but that one family member was only part of the problem. The bigger problem was an unchurched family that God wanted to pull back in. What’s even more amazing is that was only part of the process that went on. You see before God even brought you in the picture, a friend felt the pull of God to invite you to church and that same friend put you on the prayer list. Now, everyone at the church is praying for you, BEFORE YOU EVEN STEP FOOT IN THE CHURCH!!!!  But, wait…there is more. Your drug using family member not only gives their life to Christ, they wind up becoming active in their church and then surrenders to being a missionary or some type of ministry where their story will impact countless lives from their on out. Pretty cool once you think about it, huh?  That leads to the second reason God would go to all the trouble to do this….God will accomplish His will in a way that leave people saying “Only God could have done that.” That is the way we should live.  Live and love big and be sure that in all you do and accomplish, the praise, honor, and glory go to God.  God is going to save the world with or without us; but there will be no doubt that when He does, it was because of divine intervention and not by anything man did on his own.  Its a lot like bringing a baby in to the world to save it. Its a lot like having him grow up and minister to countless droves over 33 years, just to have Him suffer and die for something He didn’t even do. Jesus could have walked off of that cross, but He had to stay on the cross for a bigger reason, the bigger picture. God could have done it the easy way, but He simply loved us too much.  To forgive us for our sins, Jesus had to die, but to give us the victory over death and give us hope of salvation, He had to rise!!!!

We may want quicker responses to our problems and we may want God to take a more direct approach when answering us, but we must realize that we are only a single piece of a much larger puzzle. In the grand scheme of God’s master blueprint, we are a single entry into the overall masterpiece that God has designed. Often, we have trouble seeing how we fit and many times where we are placed does not seem logical, but we re reminded in 1 Corinthians:

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit,interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)

We have come down to the last 5 posts of this special Christmas series. For the final five, I want to get to the heart of Christmas as it pertains to us. I want to really get to the essence of Christmas and maybe uncover just how much Christmas impacts us- how it impacts us in ways we may not realize. Whether you are hearing this insight for the first time or you just needed a reminder, I pray that the last five articles in this series speak to your heart and help form habits that will last for years to come. So, join me as we go into the final countdown to Christmas and we finish with Christ: from the manger to the cross and beyond.

“Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.”

This is the beginning of one 0f my favorite books of all time- Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This is also my favorite Christmas movie.  In my house, we each have our own Christmas movie traditions. My wife loves White Christmas and my seven year old is a big fan of The Polar Express. Aaron hasn’t made one yet, but he will.  As for me- I watch A Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve, without fail, and not just any version either.  It HAS to be the one with George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge (there is something magical to me about the man who player General George Patton playing Scrooge- must be a history thing). This story intertwines many of the things we have already discussed in the last month.  Dickens published this book in 1843 during the Victorian Period. This was a time period in England where many people were trying to resurrect the old Christmas traditions of the past while embracing a few new ones (remember the Christmas tree article?  Same time period).  No matter how many quotes I use in this article, there will be one quote that everyone will want to see- simply for its popularity.  I, of course, am referring to the famous quote by Scrooge when he says, “Bah! Humbug!”  This quote is used to portray those people who have seemingly lost sight of the true meaning and joys of Christmas; but what if I told you that Scrooge seems to have it right?

Have you ever stopped to look up the definition of a humbug?  Most of us haven’t. We simply associate its definition with the surly demeanor of Scrooge himself.  A humbug is a person or thing that is meant to deceive or acts as an imposter.   Now, certainly Christmas doesn’t present itself as an imposter or deceiver for Christ is perfect, but what about us? What has Christmas become to us? What have we made it?  We live in a country that moved the date of Thanksgiving so that there would be more shopping days before Christmas (FDR in 1939). I realize that this was a desperate act of retailers in the midst of a depression, but honestly, what does that tell us Christmas means?  We now have stores that are not only open on Thanksgiving, but are moving their “black Friday” deals to Thanksgiving Day. How many families scheduled their Thanksgiving Holiday around this retail mayhem?

Christmas is about so much more. I know what you are thinking, but I’m serious. Here is what we look like. We do the advent thing at church, we participate in the hanging of the greens, we attend the Christmas Eve candlelight service, we do all the right things, but is this a consistent lifestyle, or an act we put on?  Are we an imposter?  Are we a humbug? We have our ties and we post pictures of signs that say “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  That is all well and good, if we live it. We say Jesus is the reason for the season, but isn’t He the reason for every season? Where we fail as Christians is we compartmentalize are beliefs and the stories that go with them. We fail to see how the birth of our Savior is necessary for us to celebrate the death & resurrection of our Savior.  We get super spiritual at Christmas and Easter, but we never connect the two. Likewise, our Christian walk continues every day in between the two important events- what are we doing those days?  Are we imposters?  Are we a humbug?

Thankfully, just like Ebenezer, we have been given redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is through his death and resurrection that he have hope, that we have a chance for eternal life in Heaven with God. What will it take for us to revive our dedication to Christ?  What will it take for us to seek the Kingdom of God daily and not just when we need something?  Do we love daily, do we live, do we walk daily for Christ?  If we can not say that we are definitely doing so, we are far worse off than old Ebenezer. You see, at the end, he got it.

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

The only question left to ask is will you honor Christmas in your heart and try to keep it ALL the year?

In Christ Alone,
Rev. Bro. Coach

Sources:

Quotes are taken via: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol