Grace for the Race

The spiritual disciplines (such as Bible reading and memorization, prayer, church attendance, service, tithing, and fasting) are used by God—when they are used by us—to mature us in our faith. Yet as important as consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines is, if our hearts are not in it, what our hands do matters very little!

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  (Proverbs 4:23)

Maturity is rooted far more deeply in what the heart beats for than what the hands engage in. It always comes down to the “why” behind the “what” we are doing. If we are consistently engaged in the spiritual disciplines with our hands and feet, but with hearts that are not fully engaged, then engaging for the wrong reason and the results will leave us wanting.

The heart is the “Christian Command Center,” and what rules the heart shapes the life. If we allow the spiritual disciplines to become little more than activities to check off on our “things-to-do” list as we go through our days, our hearts will grow cold toward Christ. It is only when we keep the why in view as the reason for the what we do that we will mature in our faith and begin to maximize the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given to us to expand His kingdom.

Pastor and author Bryan Chapell wrote, “Spiritual change is more a consequence of what our hearts love than of what our hands do. The spiritual disciplines are important, but not as important as developing a heart for God.” I know from personal experience that it’s easy to get caught up in doing, doing, doing, without ever considering why we are actually doing it!

Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

When we keep this truth in view, our hearts beat for Christ; then, out of the overflow, we engage in spiritual disciplines out of delight rather than duty. This is one of the reasons why we must preach the truths of the Gospel to ourselves—not only daily, but moment by moment. A heart that beats for Jesus does what it does not to get something, but because of what it has already been given. We must regularly remind ourselves that it is not our merit that causes God to bless us; rather, it is His mercy. The favor of God is rooted in His goodness, not ours!

So . . . what has your heart been beating for lately? If you have been engaged in any of the spiritual disciplines, have you asked yourself why? It is my prayer that throughout this new year your heart and mine will beat more strongly each day for our Savior. That will mature us more than anything our hands find to do.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!    

Today is our third and final installment of reflecting on some of the benefits God has so graciously bestowed on us throughout 2014. Once again, we’ll be looking at David’s magnificent Psalm 103:1-5.

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

We’ve looked at the benefits of forgiveness and healing in the two previous articles. Today let’s rejoice in the truth that . . .

He Redeems Your Life from the Pit

If you’ve been a Christian for several years, I’m sure you will recall many “pits” of painful providence from which God has redeemed you throughout the years. But the most important pit of all is the pit of death and destruction, which looms before all of us due to our sin nature.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:1-6)

Christianity rises or falls on the resurrection of Jesus. If He did not rise from the grave, then our faith is foolish and false and provides no eternal value to our lives. The apostle Paul acknowledged quite candidly, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17). But if Jesus did rise from the grave—which He did do and appeared to hundreds of people—then our faith is firm. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof positive of His victory over sin and death . . . and it guarantees the same thing for the Christian believer. God redeems your life from the pit of hell when, by grace through faith, you place your trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. What a powerful reminder from the psalmist to “forget not” all that God has done for us in the past! He forgives all our sin, heals all our diseases, and redeems our lives from the pit.

It’s important to remember that one of the reasons David reminded us to “forget not all his benefits” is because we do forget them. We get so caught up in the details and stress of daily living that we may forget all the good our God has done on our behalf.

So as you advance into 2015 with plans and hopes and dreams for your future, forget not all that God has done for you, because what He has done in the past He will continue doing in the present . . . and all the way into your Promised Land.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!    

Let us continue to rejoice in the benefits God has so graciously bestowed on us throughout 2014. We’re working through this passage from the Psalms:

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  (Psalm 103:1-5)

On Monday we rejoiced in the truth that God forgives all our sins. Today let’s look at a second blessing:

He Heals All Your Diseases

Make no mistake; our Great Physician is able to heal every one of our diseases. We read about many such healings throughout the Scriptures. Lepers were cleansed. Blind men were made to see. The lame were made to walk. The dead were raised to life.

But I believe what David had in view when he wrote this psalm was not so much physical diseases as the spiritual disease that afflicts us all. Luke’s gospel provides a wonderful example of this truth:

Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. (Luke 5:18-25)

Luke recounted the divine healing of the paralyzed man, but there is a deeper message in this story. The most important malady Jesus healed was spiritual. Our Lord’s expression of grace—“Friend, your sins are forgiven”—is the one thing everyone needs to hear!

To be sure, physical healing is a wonderful gift from God, and we praise Him for the many physical healings we ourselves have received and have seen in others. But the disease that we most desperately need to be healed of is the sin nature that separates us from God. Look again at Luke’s account and see how this truth is expressed in the order of what Jesus did. He healed the man spiritually first (“Your sins are forgiven”); then He healed him physically (“Get up and walk”).

It’s important to recognize that even if the physical healing had not come—and it does not always come in this lifetime—the man would have received what He needed most: forgiveness of sin and the end of his alienation from God. As David wrote elsewhere in the Psalms, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him” (Psalm 32:1-2).

Blessed indeed! And if you have not yet received that blessing, I urge you not to wait another moment. You can be united with God for all eternity simply by trusting in the fact that He became a man and died on the cross for your sins. “Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!    

As we begin this first full week of 2015, I would like to take a brief look back at 2014 and consider all the benefits God has bestowed on you. This will be a three-part message, rooted in these inspired words from one of David’s magnificent psalms:

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)

Of course, we could never be able to count up all of God’s blessings in our lives, but in this passage we see some wonderful thoughts for us to consider! Let’s take a look.

He Forgives All Your Sins

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  (Psalm 103:12)

[The Lord says] “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  (Isaiah 43:25)

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.  (Micah 7:19)

It is instructive to see that David began his explanation of all the Lord’s benefits with forgiveness of sins, because without that forgiveness, what else really matters? And notice just how forgiven we really are! How far is the east from the west? It cannot be measured; it is a distance that can never be spanned. No matter how far you travel west, you will still have just as far to travel to reach the west!

God has assured us that He will remember our sins no more. Now, that is not the same as forgetting (as you and I might “forget” where we left our car keys), because God cannot forget. All things come from God (Romans 11:36) and all His works are known to him from eternity (Acts 15:18). But God chooses to remember our sins no more. He has blotted them out, meaning He will never bring them up against us for any reason. And that is because our sins were nailed to the cross through Jesus Christ.

Finally, picture God hurling all your sins into the depths of the sea. One of my favorite authors, Jerry Bridges, encouraged us in The Gospel for Real Life to note the force of the word hurl used in Micah 7:19. God “doesn’t just drop [our sins] over the side or even pitch them overboard,” Bridges wrote; “He hurls them as something to be rid of and forgotten.”

And then Bridges reminds his readers of a sweet phrase penned by the late Corrie ten Boom, who wrote, “And then God put up a sign saying, ‘No fishing allowed.’” There is no need for us to dredge up old sins and feel badly about them; God has placed them as far from us as the east is from the west; He has determined not to remember them; it is as if they had been hurled into the depths of the sea, never to be seen again.

So as you begin this New Year, it is important that we forget not the fact that God forgives all our sins. God’s forgiveness is the unshakeable foundation upon which a life of discipleship to Jesus is built. We’ll talk more about this on Wednesday.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!    

If you are like most of us, you have prayerfully considered some things you would like to be different about 2015 compared to last year. This may have led you down “The Road of Resolve.” Perhaps you . . .

• Resolve to get in better shape
• Resolve to earn better grades
• Resolve to spend more wisely
• Resolve to be more organized
• Resolve to be more patient
• Resolve to serve more
• Resolve to save more
• Resolve to give more
• Resolve to forgive quickly
• Resolve to love unconditionally
• Resolve to pray unceasingly

Did I miss one of your resolutions? The Scriptures make it crystal clear that the redeemed of God are right to resolve. Noah resolved to build the ark that God called him to build (Genesis 6). Abraham resolved to follow wherever God was leading him (Genesis 12). Joseph resolved to trust God, even when he couldn’t understand being sold into slavery and taken down into Egypt (Genesis 39-50). Daniel resolved in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food (Daniel 1). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego resolved not to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol (Daniel 3). Mary resolved to respond by faith to the news she received from the angel Gabriel concerning the virgin birth of the Son of God (Luke 1). John the Baptist resolved to be a voice crying out in the wilderness to prepare the way for Jesus (Matthew 3). After his encounter with Jesus, Zacchaeus, the tax collector, resolved to repay anyone he had cheated four times the original amount (Luke 19).

Resolve is right and good; but Christian, keep in mind that our resolve must be rooted in our relationship with our Redeemer. To resolve to do anything, big or small, apart from the strength of the Almighty is to set ourselves up for discouragement and defeat. You see, even when we resolve to accomplish something—and even if we actually do accomplish it in our own strength—it is merely a work of the flesh done for the glory of the flesh.

Jesus told [His disciples], “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.  (Matthew 26:31-35)

Notice the problem with Peter’s resolve: it was rooted in a single word . . . “I” . . . which is the shortest distance between resolve and retreat! And that is exactly what happened to Peter on that terrible night. He was thrown into humiliating retreat by a servant girl and denied Jesus three times, just as the Lord had said. Peter’s self-confident “I” turned into a bitter cry of utter retreat. Peter had built his resolve on the first part of Philippians 4:13—“I can do all things”—but he missed the most important part of that verse—“through Christ who strengthens me.” And that, beloved, is the key that will return multiple rewards from every resolve you make this New Year.

To be sure, your resolve may not turn out just as you had hoped it would! Your picture of accomplishment may not be the picture of accomplishment the Almighty has planned for you. But when your resolve is rooted in the strength of your Savior, you can be confident that you will reap a harvest of rewards you never expected in ways you never imagined!

I speak from personal experience. I can’t tell you how many times I resolved to do something, bathed it in prayer, believed it by faith, and built it in His strength. Yet the finished product was nothing like I had pictured at the outset. And every single time what God had planned for me was always much better than what I had planned! Isn’t that just like our God? He is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

Christian believer, prayerfully consider each and every resolve you believe God is calling you to make; just keep them rooted in your Redeemer. The psalmist prayed, “Deal bountifully with your servant” (Psalm 119:17 ESV). He was expecting blessings from God because he was a servant of God who was working in the strength of God for the glory of God. It is right to expect God’s blessings when our resolve is rooted in our Redeemer.

As you ready yourself for another New Year and feel new resolve, remain rooted and built up in your Redeemer, being confident that you can do all the things God desires you to do this year through Christ who strengthens you.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!    

Well . . . you made it! It’s the last day of 2014. As I said in the previous blog, I’d like to close out this year with one more observation on finishing well, an observation which is grounded in these words from the apostle Paul to Timothy:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

On Monday we looked at two phrases Paul employed that I believe you and I can use to evaluate how well 2014 went for us: fighting the good fight and finishing the race. Today let’s examine one more phrase . . .

I have kept the faith …

Here Paul is talking about the “faith” found in the revealed truth of the wisdom of God. Paul had pondered it, preached it, practiced it, protected it, and praised it as much as was within his power. He tirelessly warned the churches against those who would distort the truth of God’s Word and against those who would water it down.

For Paul, “keeping the faith” meant keeping in view the all-consuming call God had placed in his life. He refused to let anything draw him off course. He lived a life of fidelity to His faithful Savior and poured himself out in unwavering service to his Lord. Did he do it imperfectly? Yes, as we all do, but he did it with all of his heart.

There was no half-hearted effort in the life of Paul. Think about it this way. Everything he did as Saul, prior to his conversion, he did with all of his heart. Now, as Paul, he also did everything with all of his heart, but now he was motivated by giving glory to the One who had called him.

In closing out this year, let me suggest three key qualities that marked the life of Paul:

• Sold out
• Steadfast
• Single-minded

Paul was able to fight the good fight because he was sold out in staying in the fight. Paul was able to finish the race because he was steadfast in running it. And he was able to keep the faith because he was single-minded in his focus on it.

It is my prayer that you will look back on this past year and see all the good God has done—both in you and through you. Learn from the times you fell short of the intended mark and take that lesson into 2015 with the confident assurance that He who began the good work in you will complete it, just like He did in the apostle Paul’s life.

Thank you for spending time with me this past year. May God richly bless you and yours! Lord willing, you and I will be talking with each other again next year.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

I would like to close out the year with a two-part message, which will be rooted in these words from the apostle Paul to Timothy:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

I believe you and I can use three phrases Paul employed to summarize all that God had done in his life after his Damascus Road experience to evaluate how well 2014 went for us. Today we’ll look at the first two of these phrases; on New Year’s Eve, we’ll concentrate on the final one.

I have fought the good fight . . .

If Paul had said “I have fought A good fight” he could have been speaking about any challenge or trial he had encountered. However, the Spirit of God moved him to speak of “THE good fight,” and the only “good fight” for you and me is the one God has called us into. God turned Paul’s life upside-down when He changed Saul into Paul; instead of the violent persecutor of the church, Paul was now the preacher and pastor of the church. Paul did indeed fight the good fight God had called him to fight.

I have finished the race . . .

Paul was fond of comparing his life to a race. Make no mistake: he was not speaking of a short sprint, but rather a marathon. Paul lived a life that was reflective of the truth that He who had begun a good work in him would absolutely complete it. Yet at the same time, Paul knew that he must to continue, by God’s grace, to prayerfully put one foot in front of the other foot every step of the way to the finish line.

So . . . as we draw near to the end of 2014, take some time to consider both of these phrases: “I have fought the good fight . . . I have finished the race.” Can the same be said of you? Was 2014 marked by fighting the good fight? Are you progressing steadily, in the strength of the Almighty, through the race He has set before you?

Please remember, just as Paul did, that we are not talking about fighting the good fight and finishing the 2014 race perfectly. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul freely confessed that he was “the worst” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Everything we do we do imperfectly. But here is the question we should honestly ask and answer: Did I make God’s plan in my life my primary passion and pursuit throughout 2014?

Give that some thought . . . and we’ll dig a little deeper on New Year’s Eve.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

I’ve got to believe that the Number One question asked and answered by kids the day after Christmas is, “So what did you get?” The reason I believe this is because at one time—a long time ago—I was a kid and asked this question. Kim and I have four kids who ask this question and are asked this question by their friends. “So what did you get?”

Theodor Seuss Geisel (whom you and I know as Dr. Seuss) gave young and old alike something to think about in these words from his delightful tale of How The Grinch Stole Christmas:

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “What if Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!”

Christmas means a whole lot more than what we get from a store. And every year, as we watch the Grinch Christmas special with the kids, we are reminded anew of that truth. Hopefully we all got a clearer view of the First Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ as we celebrated His birth yesterday among the packages, boxes, and bags. This Babe born in Bethlehem grew in wisdom and stature, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and was resurrected from the grave. Forty days later He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. But His story does not end there! He is on the way back.

Hopefully on Christmas Day we also got a clearer vision of the return of our Lord for His Second Advent. This truth brings such great encouragement and hope to all of us who anxiously await His return! In His first Advent, Jesus came as a suffering servant to pay the penalty for our sin by nailing it all to the cross. But in His Second Advent, He will return as the conquering King who will reign forever and ever . . . and we will reign with Him. Think about some of the great implications of this truth!

• No more sin
• No more suffering
• No more sorrow
• No more shame
• No more sickness
• No more pain
• No more tears
• No more death

The old will be gone, but that’s not all. The new will be ushered in. There will be a new heavens and a new earth; everything will be new, including you and me! We will have new bodies and a new, unbroken fellowship with our Lord. “We shall be like him,” the Beloved Apostle promised, “for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). All things in heaven and on earth will be brought under one Head, our King, and we will reign with Him as glorified saints in the glorified creation for all eternity.

So . . . what did you get for Christmas? Was it merely packages, boxes, and bags? Or did you get something that means . . . a great deal more?

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

 I remember as a little boy when my momma read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas to me for the very first time on Christmas Eve. For millions around the world, the reading of the poem by Clement Clarke Moore has become an institution. But I want to speak with you today about a different “night” before Christmas, the night that deeply impacted all of us long before the very first Christmas Day.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 ESV)

Before the darkness of sin entered the world, there was light. “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Let’s explore this concept under two headings: the reality of this darkness and the remedy for it.

1. The Reality of this Darkness

Before the darkness enveloped mankind, there was light in the world.

God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. (Genesis 1:3-4)

The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent. (Psalm 104:2)

Adam and Eve were created to be image-bearers of God.

God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

Our first parents were to walk in the light, just as God is light. But sin shrouded that light.

The serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” . . . When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:1, 6)

Since Adam and Eve’s terrible, treacherous fall in the Garden of Eden, we live in a dark world, a world marred by the stain of sin and the slime of the serpent. The world is darkened by . . .

• Depravity
• Despair
• Dread
• Doubt
• Disappointment
• Defeat
• Death

This is the bitter reality of the darkness that entered into this world when the serpent convinced our first parents to turn away from God. Adam and Eve were not satisfied with being made in the image of God. They wanted to be God, and they chose to do the one thing that God had commanded them not to do. But God did not leave them in their sin! Instead, He proclaimed the remedy—the only remedy, the perfect remedy—for this darkness.

2. The Remedy for this Darkness

God promised to redeem us from the darkness and bring us out into the light.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.  (Isaiah 42:16)

You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  (Psalm 18:28)

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”(John 8:12)

(Before curing the man born blind, Jesus said,) “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)

The light of Jesus Christ, the God-man born in a manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, leads us out of darkness and into God’s wonderful light.

A pillar of fire lit the way for God’s people who were coming out of bondage in Egypt.

A bright star showed the way for the wise men who were coming to find the Savior.

Jesus Christ is the way—the only way—out of the darkness into the light.

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

God’s remedy for dispelling the darkness of sin is our Redeemer, God’s precious and beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He is the Child of Promise, who came to take away the sin (darkness) of this world by his perfect life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection.

Is this your truth this Christmas? Is this your celebration? Have you received, by grace through faith, Jesus as the light of your world? Have you trusted Him as your personal Savior? If you aren’t sure, you can be! You need only confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and salvation comes to you today.

C.S. Lewis’s classic allegory, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, tells the tale of a land populated by talking animals, mythical beings, and a self-proclaimed queen, the white witch, who controlled Narnia through her magically imposed rule. Her spell made it, as Lewis memorably wrote, “always winter but never Christmas.” This had been the dreary truth in Narnia for one hundred years. Edmund, one of four children who had entered the Narnian world, was captured by the white witch. Yet even as he languished in captivity, Edmund realized that the witch’s spell has been broken:

All around them, though out of sight, there were streams chattering, bubbling, splashing and even (in the distance) roaring. And his heart gave a great leap (though he hardly knew why) when he realized that the frost was over . . . Only five minutes later he noticed a dozen crocuses growing around the foot of an old tree—gold and purple and white.

The melting snow was a sure sign that Aslan, the great lion, was on the move and that the frozen, joyless reign of the white witch would soon end. Aslan, of course represents Christ, the Lion of Judah. His birth, death, burial, and resurrection are the sure and certain sign that the cold winter darkness, which had held man’s heart in its grip for millennia, has been broken. The great Lion is on the move; He has reversed the curse of sin and death, He is shining the light of eternity into our darkened hearts, and there is new life growing all around us!

This is the wonderful promise of Christmas. I pray that this Christmas you will be filled with . . .

The surprise of Mary

The surrender of Joseph

The song of the angels

The strength of the shepherds

The sureness of the Magi

And the salvation of God’s wonderful Remedy that dispels the dreary darkness

May God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever more.

Merry Christmas!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Only three more days until Christmas, and our “Holiday Hurry” will be over. How has that been going for you? See if any of the following resonate with you and see how many more you can add to this list:

• “Hurry up! We’re running late for the Nutcracker!”
• “Hurry up! We’ve got to finish decorating the tree before all the needles fall off!”
• “Hurry up! We’re going to miss the start of the Christmas pageant!”
• “Hurry up! All the sale items will be sold by the time we get to the store!”
• “Hurry up! We need to get home with these groceries to finish the baking!”
• “Hurry up! We’ll never get all these presents wrapped in time!”
• “Hurry up! We need to leave this party and get to the next one!”

It seems like we spend the entire month of December hurrying from place to place so that we can check off all our Christmas season “things-to-do.” By the time we get to Christmas day, we are so frazzled from this month-long marathon that we find it hard to remember the reason for the season!

[The shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. (Luke 2:16)

Those shepherds remind us of the kind of holiday hurry that should mark the lives of God’s people; instead of hurrying to the store we should hurry to our Savior. Instead of hurrying to the party we should hurry to our Prince of Peace. Instead of hurrying to wrap all those gifts we should hurry into the presence of the One who offers the greatest gift of all. When was the last time you hurried off to spend some alone time with Jesus? As my beloved Kim frequently reminds me, “There is more to life than increasing its speed!”

These shepherds understood what kind of hurry would be best. They hurried off, not to the marketplace or the mall, but to a stable where our Lord was to be found, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger next to Mary and Joseph and some animals.

So . . . you slowed down long enough to read this far. That’s good! As you reflect on these thoughts, would you have to admit that you’ve been pressing harder to get your “to-do” list done than to draw near to the Savior? Regardless of the answer, fear not! During these last three days before Christmas, let me encourage you to hurry off to the Holy One, just as those shepherds did. They knew that the only kind of Holiday Hurry that would truly profit their souls would be the one that led them to the Babe in a manger.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!