So, Why Was He Born?

Merry Christmas! Here we are in the middle of my favorite time of the year again. I love Christmastime. There is so much I love about it that if I started listing it, you wouldn't stay around to read the actual meat of the blog post. Have you ever noticed that there are a ton of things about the season that we just seem to accept? We accept December 25th as some sort of Holy Day. We accept the magi being in our nativities. We accept "oh how the angels sang" when the Bible doesn't record them singing. Not big deals to me or my celebrating. For the most part, it adds to the enjoyment of it all. However, there is one thing that has been recurring this year that I just can't accept anymore.

Why was Jesus born?

Short answer, heard in song and sermon alike, is "to die".

Nope. Nope. Nope. Well, not exclusively. He did come to die, for which I am ever grateful, but follow me for a bit here. For us to believe and promote that Jesus came to Earth to die, and some have said, "Just to die", is to imply that God wasted what we believe to be a little over 33 years of a wonderful life. I'm going to break the bonds of paragraph and give you some other reasons why He was born. I'm sure that this is not even close to an exhaustive list.

1. Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill." Our Bible is full of pages and pages of the law and the prophets and so much of it points to the purity and innocence of the Son of God. There is an inherent righteousness in the law of God and it is to be obeyed (Romans 8:4). The children of Israel said that they would fulfill it (Deut. 5:27) but they couldn't. No one can, not in our sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), so the Bible tells us that God sent his son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. So now, according to scripture, those who are in Christ are now able to fulfill the righteousness of God, His law, by virtue of the life of Christ and the reality of Christ in the believer. We need his life for ours. 
2. That was the "law" part of Matthew 5:17, now for the "prophets" part. I believe that, aside from creation itself, fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest evidences of God's existence, as well as evidence of His inspiration. According to your source, you will find that Jesus fulfilled around 300 prophecies, and quite probably more. Without the years of His life being lived out, recorded, and even historically verified, where would your confidence in God's word come from? I know, I know...God said it, I believe it...yeah, me too. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, so let me copy in something here from somebody who has already done the math..."According to “The Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy” by J. Barton Payne, there are 1,239 prophecies in the Old Testament and 578 prophecies in the New Testament for a total of 1,817. These prophecies are contained in 8,352 of the Bible’s verses. Since there are 31,124 verses in the Bible, the 8,352 verses that contain prophecy constitute 26.8 percent of the Bible’s volume." Isn't it awesome that so many of them have been fulfilled already?
3. Speaking of confidence, look at Hebrews 4:15, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." The Lord Jesus Christ has "been there" and can empathize with us. Salvation is not about our feeble or most pious efforts to reach out to a holy God. It is the story of how the holy God reached out to us in the most compassionate way, walking in our shoes, experiencing our hurts. No wonder the Bible can immediately say, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." 
4. Enough for confidence. How about some comfort? John 16:33 says, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Isn't that a wonderful comfort? Would it be found in a Bible that had no life of Christ in it?
5. You know what else would not be found in the Bible, without his life? His words. Luke 4:18 gives us the account of Jesus reading scripture from the book of Isaiah, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach..." and three verses later he said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Jesus used the years of life in ministry to preach with words and actions, which we now follow after, fulfilling the great commandment and the great commission.  

These are but a few, but I think the point is made. Jesus was born for much, much more than just to die. He was born to live and in living he gave us words to live by and preach, an example of servitude and righteousness, and great confidence to live for God for we know He is faithful and true to His word and wants to hear from us (I John 5:14, 15). So let me enjoy Christmas and the birth of my Savior. Don't get me wrong, I am glad that he died for my sins...but I'm also glad and privileged to strive to walk in the steps of a life well lived. 

And again I say, Merry Christmas!

p.s. Sorry it's been so long. I will try to do better.

Merry Christmas p.s.

Merry Christmas to you all! I love to say that and so is it any wonder that I am still saying that? And you do know what p.s. means, right? Just in case you don't, it means post script. It is commonly known as the piece of letter after the letter. So, my letter, or main message to you is Merry Christmas, meaning a couple things which I shall channel Gandalf in order to make them clear...

1. I wish for you a merry Christmas.
2. It is a merry Christmas, whether you want it or not.
3. I feel exceedingly merry this Christmas.
4. And yes, this is truly a Christmas to be merry on.

All of those speak to the relationship between my/your happiness upon the event of this holiday and I do wish to communicate every possible permutation of that hope for you and me. Christmas has brought and should always bring a great message of peace, joy, and good will toward men. At the risk of sounding elitist, I believe that the best people to carry such a message would have to be those who not only recognize the event as a Holy birthday, but have received the gift of salvation made possible by the coming of the Son of God. That brings me to my "p.s.".

I saw an advertisement during the holidays that stirred my thoughts and emotions. It was based on real events that took place on one Christmas day during World War I. I have posted the link in case you missed it. It is a powerful reminder of the real Spirit of Christmas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWF2JBb1bvM

This year, more than ever, I read, heard, and heard of more debate from those wishing to make Christmas a platform for disagreement. Whether it was about the use of a Christmas tree, the real date of Christmas, the reference to Santa Claus, the actual time the wise men arrived, and on and on and on, there seemed to be more concern for the defense of a position than the advancement of the authentic message of Christmas. In hind sight, I could have stayed out of the discussions. I could have taken a lesson from the soldiers on that Christmas day 100 years ago. I could have been more focused on sharing the good news, the angels called them glad tidings, of a Savior who was born to save us from our sins, to forgive us our unrighteousness, and to bring peace, an indescribable lasting peace. I realized, this year, how important it is to ever and always exalt Christ. Many illustrations from my past convince me that the best thing that I can do, and it is what I am called to do, is make Christ known, give Him all the glory, all of the preeminence. I have said from the pulpit of Franklin Baptist Church many times, "You don't sell a Ford by kicking a Chevy." I have gained nothing by disputing or insulting, but if I lift Christ up, he said he would draw all men to himself.

So here it is, my p.s...I hope you were able to celebrate Christ. It doesn't matter to me if you pretend there is a Santa; it's none of my business if you decorate a Christmas tree or not (either way, you are not violating scripture); and even if Jesus' actual birth was some other time of year and it took the wise men longer than a night to get there, I pray that you celebrated Christ. I pray that you rejoiced as the shepherds did when they witnessed the reality of the coming of Messiah, as the wise men did when they saw the Star, and especially as Mary when the Only Begotten of the Father was born in her. I hope you were able to celebrate Christ. And if you were, don't stop. If you didn't, it's not too late. It's never too late. Christ came to bring you salvation. That is a gift that is always available. Thanks for reading my Perspective.

Where is everybody, Part III

Hello, hello. What a beautiful morning. As I type this, I can watch out of the dining room window as huge flakes of snow steadily fall. It is the day before Thanksgiving and so my home is filled with the aroma's of the season...my pellet stove burning, a freshly made cranberry and orange relish, and the beginnings of an apple cake. This is a great day. But I have to tell you, in spite of the wonderful day we have planned tomorrow when 12 people will be sitting where I am now and eating a blessed meal, my birthday celebration on Saturday, and perhaps best of all, the presence of my college freshman home for the holiday, my mind is on this coming Lord's day. It won't be a "regular" Sunday, by any means. Because it is the fifth Sunday of the month, we have Youth Sunday. It's a day where the teens are given an extra role in the day's ministry. They lead singing, play music, usher, sometimes teach Sunday school, and especially for this month, present the word of God as the main speaker.

That brings me to another great reason to be in church, not just this week or month, for the holidays's sake, but every opportunity you get. It should be understood that God's plan is for the spreading His gospel to all of humankind and one of the most emphasized methods in the Bible is generationally. Starting with the first family, it was Adam's responsibility to teach his children the ways of God. As the patriarchs of the Old Testament raised their children, they would bless them and encourage them in the ways of God. In Deuteronomy 6, we read of God's plan for His word to be passed on to the next generation...

 Deuteronomy 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 

In the New Testament, especially in Paul's writing, this generational approach to instructing (which is not just speaking, but a living example) is very clear as he addresses the aged men and aged women. And so the Biblical standard is clear. The members of the older generation have a responsibility to the younger generations as teachers, examples, leaders, and mentors. This is, first and foremost, to be carried out in the home from grandparents to parents to children. Family devotions are the beginning of this teaching, but quickly on its heals is the need to worship together in a church or public setting. Public identification with Christ is completely scriptural as seen by baptism and witnessing. All too often I hear a parent ask the question, or one similar to it, "What happened?" or "Where did I go wrong?" I believe the solution to the problem of the younger generation forsaking the local church, and worse, the faith of their fathers altogether, is rooted in the dedication made evident or shown to be lacking by our interest to gather and worship together. Parents, come to church and bring your family with you. Worship together.

It certainly begins at home, but II Timothy 2:2 gives us a tremendous principle for carrying out local church ministry. Notice the scripture, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." Church attendance gives each child of God the opportunity to directly influence a younger generation. The encouragement offered to children and teens alike, by your attendance and attention is beyond explanation. And believe me, they are watching. They are looking for you when you are not there. THIS Sunday will be a very special chance for you to be a blessing and encouragement to the youth in your church, even if it is not "Youth Sunday" there. If you are an attendee of Franklin Missionary Baptist Church in Darlington, Maryland, you have, not just an opportunity, but I believe a scriptural obligation. From someone who has been involved in active youth ministry, talking, interacting, and even counseling them, for nearly 20 years, that is my perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Please take time to share the blessedness of your life with someone else.

Where Is Everybody, Part 2

Well, the first installment of this discussion garnered a pretty good bit of traffic so let's continue the thought...where is everybody, referring to the lack of interest in attending church, especially the "extra-curricular" Sunday evenings and Wednesday nights. Remember as you read, I am totally avoiding any legalistic implications. I believe the Bible not only speaks of public gathering and worship, but literally encourages it through scriptural principles that we should be familiar with. So, last time it was a matter of gladness, or happiness, in our lives, to attend the house of God. Today I want to approach this subject from the perspective of hunger.

It is an interesting phenomena, convenience stores. As a child, I remember 7-11 stores scattered around, with an occasional High's Dairy Store. Nowadays, there are at least two convenience stores at every major intersection and just about every gas station has its own version of the mini-mart. What has brought about the proliferation of Royal Farms, Wawa, Turkey Hill, High's, 7-11, Sheetz, Rudders Market, as well as ExxonMart, CitgoMart, BP, Shell, Sunoco, and Crown with all of their sandwiches, snacks, and sodas? We eat as soon as we even get a twinge of hunger. We don't even know what it feels like to truly be hungry in this country. We feed our self, sometimes when we don't even need to.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:1-3, Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Notice the instruction to desire the sincere milk of the word. In some parts of the world, the feeling of hunger is so much a part of living, that it can even be ignored to a point. It seems to me that if an individual has "tasted that the Lord is gracious", in other words, experienced or known the grace of God as in through the gift of salvation, the Bible is saying that we should be desiring, or longing for, the word instead of ignoring the need for it in our life. Are you hungry for the word of God? Do you see the opportunity to sit under Bible preaching as a blessing? Or is it a Sunday morning requisite? We would no sooner try to live off of one meal a day, let alone one a week, but we starve our inner man to a place of spiritual malnutrition. An indication, a birthmark if you will, of the new birth is a hunger for the word of God.

Think about it. Have you been frustrated by a lack of growth, that stuck in a rut feeling? Are you still struggling with the same things that troubled you months and years ago, you just can't seem to get past it? Come on back to the house of God for some preaching, teaching, and singing from the word of God. Get fed. Grow. Get perspective.

Where is everybody?

Wow, has it really been a year since I posted a blog entry? I was afraid that might happen when I started the blog in the first place. A TON has happened since my last post, but instead of trying to catch you up in one fell swoop, I want to just act like I never missed a beat and continue on with blogging and maybe, just maybe, I'll fill in some blanks along the way, so here I go again...

Hello, my name is Rick and I am a recovering legalist. That's right, from a very strict "holiness" upbringing to being awed by shock-jock preachers with a rock-star mentality early in my ministry, I used to be quite the rigid militant fundamentalist. I am glad to say that by God's grace (how ironic), I have come a long way. I only say that to set up my perspective on a specific issue...church attendance. There is certainly a wide range of opinions regarding church attendance, from "I can worship the Lord in my home just as good as in church" to the proverbial "drug" problem. You know, that's the problem characterized by being drug to church every time the doors were open.

I am not here to discuss the nuances of what "the church" is. My folks hear me regularly say, "The church is a body, not a building. It is people, not a place." Nevertheless, the scripture is full of references to assembly and corporate worship. I am not saying that  there is only one place, a sanctuary, to worship, nor am I saying that there is only one time, 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Sunday and 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, to worship. What I am saying, rather asking, is why do people not attend church as they once did?

I will be hitting this topic for a little while because there is no way to hold you here indefinitely to read the longest blog ever, but I want to encourage you and others to get back into church. Not as a required religious exercise. Not because I believe God takes attendance every service looking for the naughty and the nice. Not because I think your salvation depends upon "Perfect Attendance". No, but there are lots of legitimate, good reasons to get yourself together and get yourself down to church as often as you are able.

Here is the first reason. In the life of the believer, it would seem, that the opportunity to meet publicly and corporately with others of God's people is a source of happiness, or more specifically...

Psa 122:1  A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

Glad = śâmach
Pronounced saw-makh'
A primitive root; probably to brighten up, that is, (figuratively) be (causatively make) blithe or gleesome: - cheer up, be (make) glad, (have make) joy (-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, X very.

Do you see that? Going to church made David joyful and merry, and what's more, it was multiplied times "VERY". I wonder if today's Christians are the least joyful in history (personal generic commentary) because they don't frequent the assembly of the only people on this earth that have the MOST important things in common with them, people who are theoretically on their side. Church is an oasis of grace in a world of grief. Come on in and take a load off. I know I am the Pastor, but it shouldn't just be my perspective. I'm glad to be back with you.

Keeping the Perspective

You have probably never woke up in the morning with the immediate thought of the trouble awaiting you today. I guess I should not have been surprised, for I left the thoughts of this trouble right beside my pillow last night. A bit of transparency right here...I just preached the midweek service, including the principle of casting our burdens on Him, not keeping or carrying them. EPIC FAIL. Anyway, when I woke up, POW, there it was; an overwhelming cloud of question and uncertainty. As I sought the Lord in prayer this morning, I pleaded for His direction and help through His word. Please continue reading to see the help I received.

I enjoy reading a chapter of Proverbs each day, the one which coincides with the date. [Editor's note: I highly recommend this.] As I read chapter 5, familiar with the contents and already doubting I would receive anything from it, I got sucker-punched. Those wonderful words of verses 15 through 18 reminded me of my lost Perspective.

Have you ever thought about who winds up being the first to suffer, as well as the worst to suffer through your difficulties? I can easily hit the rewind and see that when I physically hurt in my body, I just want to lay down and crash. When I am trying to deal with emotional hurts, I retreat to my "happy place" which is a table for one at Pity's Pub. It seems to me, when anything goes wrong in my life, my wife is the real victim. Is it because I love her less? Is it because she loves me less? Is it her fault that these things came about? Most definitely no, no, and no. If you are nearly as blessed as I am, then you have a wife, or husband, for you ladies, that strives to be supportive, helpful, and loving. I haven't pushed her away on purpose, but today the Lord reminded me that the command is to rejoice with my wife, regardless of what else may be happening in my life.


If God has filled your life with the love of a loyal spouse, understand that
they are going through your trouble with you, if you let them. Solomon
reminds us of the strength of a three-fold cord. Allow the Lord to minister to you by way of that third cord. And don't let the stuff of life interrupt the rejoicing that should always be taking place in your marriage. Through the hard times, keep the right Perspective.

The Kite Principle

My son, Ricky, enjoying  flying a kite in Panama City, FL.

I am not a kite person. I never had one as a child and still have no interest in building or flying an actual kite. My wife, on the other hand, seems to be an avid kite lover. I don't know the history behind Jen and kites. There may be no history at all, but I can assure you that right now there is a kite in the side box of my pick-up truck cap and it is just waiting for the chance to be freed from it's place of bondage and set loose on a glorious journey of the sky and Jen would be the one to suggest it, not me. It also would seem that there is an ideal place for kites to be flown...at the beach. I am a beach person. Our family has had the great pleasure of spending hours, days, and weeks on the sands of several beautiful beaches including Panama City Beach, Virginia Beach, Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island in Florida, Bethany Beach, and our all time favorite, Topsail Island, North Carolina. Now I will not exaggerate and say that we have flown kites at each of these venues, but rest assured, the kite was probably there and/or the idea was brought up by Jen. Needless to say, I have gleaned some knowledge regarding the proper launching and subsequent flying of a kite. I must say that the one instance that sticks out in my mind under the heading of "kite flying" was not completely my doing, but I did have a part in it. One year, at Topsail with family, lots of family, a Superman kite had made the trip with us. (I have come to notice the correlation between the presence of children and kites. That is probably the source of my wife's kite affection-her children.) Without getting into the minutia of getting it into the air, I so remember how high, for how long, and just how awesome a sight it was to see him flying up there. See, we had spent so much time flying this kite that we were able to release the entire ball of string and even let that go, as we tied it to one of the railings of the deck or catwalk. Of the dozen or more people on that trip, each and every person would take a few seconds to look up from a beach chair or look out a window to see where the kite was. If memory serves me, that kite flew for hours and hours without any hand holding the string before we had to reel it back in.

I am a daddy. I love being a daddy. I have had the opportunity to co-raise three awesome kids; two girls and a boy. One of those girls is 18 years old and so far, a fresh high school graduate. Right now she is out of the country on a mission trip to Grenada where she is using her talents, singing, playing the guitar, and my favorite, sharing the word of God, to make a difference in the lives of the people of that island, but especially a group of children four to six years old. My wife and I have obviously spent a significant amount of time preparing her for now. You know where I am going with this. You see, all of a sudden I realize how much I love kites and flying them, still not the actual ones, but the ones illustrated by our children. There is a huge similarity. There are memories of running and running as hard and fast as I could to try to get that kite up into the breeze. We sure have had our share of changes in the wind with accompanying nose dives. I will never forget the times that I had to quickly wind some string back onto the ball because there was too much slack and the kite began to falter. On the flip side, I have stood and felt the refreshing breath of God blowing in our life and felt as the string began to pull snug in the breeze. Her mother and I have watched as she has pulled away from us, climbing higher on the current of this blessed breeze, sustained by this heavenly wind. I now understand that I can build the kite, make her fit for flying. I tie my string to her, not to hold her down, but to help her fly. Have you ever seen a kite fly without string? Our malls are full of them, kites without ability to fly on their own, blowing wherever the harsh gusts of society choose. These are surface winds. Our desire should be to get them up from the ground and into the air. Isn't it interesting that the term used to parent a child to adulthood is "raise". The Bible uses the phrase "bring them up". So no, it's not by my power that they fly, but they need the string. I thought I needed the string. What I am seeing now is that the string no longer needs to be in my hand. She is on the wind, flying high. She still needs the string, but I don't. I think I'll tie it to something that won't move. By prayer, I will leave her in the care of the Rock that is higher than I, Psalm 61:2. Now I will bask in the awesome sight of my high-flying kite way up in the wind and I will watch as passers-by stop to watch it too. To them it will look like she has no string, but I know she does and I know Who is holding it because I can see it...from my Perspective.


Now for one of the best post scripts ever....

It has been over a year since I wrote this original content above and there have been a couple times I began to question its authenticity. The beginning of this year was rough and I gotta tell you, I wondered if my precious kite would stay airborne. Storm winds blow into our lives and can wreak havoc on a kite that "refuses" to come down. Well, I am thrilled to give you a refreshed view of my kite. My now 19 year old daughter is a missionary on deputation with the Gospel Preachers Association/Mobilization Ministries to raise support so that she can go back to Grenada for a six-month "tour" as a missionary teacher on February 11, 2104, right after her 20th birthday. She will be imbedded in Maranatha Baptist Church, where she will be teaching preschoolers through the week, working with teens on Saturdays, and on Sunday, teaching Sunday school & participating in the services at her home church. Feel free to check out her Facebook page and be sure to "like" it while you're there to receive her updates. In fact, if you feel inclined to join in her "flight", you can go here and donate.

God has amazed us with His ability to add string to the kite, even while it is flying. I've never had to do that before, but I am so glad He has. Now I can't wait to see how much string He has added. Have I mentioned that I love flying kites?