The Meaning of Christmas

I think I've got a little caught up in the commercialism of Christmas. This years we decided we would give the kids a little money to buy their own presents for the family. I was at the mall the other day with my son, and he became very frustrated. He said, "I want to go home," while were looking for mom's gift. The mall was crowded. I found my self nearly saying, "Son, that's what Christmas is all about." Gack. I couldn't believe it. That is not what Christmas is about.

Let's keep a proper perspective this Christmas. It is a celebration of the Savior's birth, not an excuse to spend a bunch of money on a bunch of junk.

Overweight Christians

My fellow blogger, recently blogged this. He talks about the focus of food in church fellowships. Here is an article in the same vein.

I admit that I struggle with food sometimes. It just tastes soooooo good. I find myself trying make the buffet restaurant lose money when I eat there. So, now, I try to avoid such places.

We, as Christians, avoid the awful "vices" of the world (smoking, drinking, etc.), but eating, no way. We eat every time we get together. Donuts for Sunday school. High fat stuff at potlucks. Pancake suppers. Men's breakfast at McDonald's. The list could go on.

Proud of my Daughter

I am so proud of my daughter (in a holy way).

I have contended for some time that the Gospel is less about hearing than it is about doing. James says "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22, NIV).

My daughter has spent the last several months knitting stocking hats for an orphanage in Ukraine. The effects cold weather they experience is lessened by the hats they wear. My mother-in-law taught her how to knit (I certainly didn't have a clue how to do it). She has enthusiastically kept up a good pace and finished about a dozen. I was sure she would do one or two then give up, but she stuck to it.

The hats are knitted out of your run of the mill yarn. It takes her an hour or so to knit a hat, which she often does while watching TV.

She is a doer of the Word rather than a mere hearer of the Word. It is one thing to hear about babies in Ukraine with cold heads, and it's quite another to actually take the time and effort to do something.

Let's not only hear the Word. Let's do it.

Prisoner Released!

Pastor Carlos Lamelas was released from prison in Cuba. He has been forbidden to preach. Here is a link to the story on PrisonerAlert.com.

This is certainly good news that he has been released. He can now be with his family. Pray that he and his family will have strength.

Does the Prosperity Gospel = Karma?

The third funniest show on television is "My Name is Earl." It comes only after "Scrubs" and "The Office," both tied for first (in my opinion). "My Name is Earl" has received its share of criticism from the religious world. It has been said to have "spiritual ignorance" by pluggedinonline.

Earl's life theme is "do good things and good things will happen to you" is a take off on the Hindu concept of karma.

Here are a couple definitions:

• “Karma is best translated as ‘cause and effect.’…The law of karma guarantees that all people get exactly what their actions merit. …karma teaches that whatever happens to people is the result of their personal actions in a previous existence.” (Winfried Corduan, Neighboring Faith: A Christian Introduction to World Religions, [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998] 196.)
• “No deed small or great, good or bad, can be without effect…. Karma makes him [mankind] the creator of his own destiny.” (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, vol. 1, Our Oriental Heritage, [New York: MJF, 1963] 514).

You can look up karma at Wikipedia.

Now look at two quotes from a Christian website:
“A faithful man will abound, or overflow with blessings.” and “Faithfulness is a criterion for promotion.” These are courtesy of Creflo Dollar. Lest I be accused of cherry-picking quotes, here is the link, which has the outline from which these quotes come. Creflo Dollar's quotes seem awful close to karma.

Much of the prosperity gospel crowd espouse a philosophy that says, "If you please God (i.e. do good), then God will bless you." Sounds like Earl's philosophy.

Give Earl a Bible and he could be a prosperity gospel preacher.

Our Obsession with Disaster

Have you noticed our obsession with disaster. This morning on the radio, I heard how our state is worried about a massive outbreak of the flu. They gave stats about how many people who work at the hospital would be out because they were sick or caring for sick family members. Then there would be the overcrowding of the hospital from people seeking treatment. Hundreds, no thousands, would be dead. The carnage would rival the French Revolution.

This past hurricane season was a collosal disappointment for those who love disaster. There were all sorts of predictions that we would exceed last year's (2005) 27 named storms. What a bust. The US was hit with a couple tropical storms, each of which did their share of damage.

We are obsessed with disaster. Why? Personally, I am content living a boring, disaster-free life.

Advent Season, not Christmas, yet

This is not the Christmas season, yet. This is advent. "Advent is a season of preparation for the coming of Christ: preparation to celebrate Jesus' birth at Christmas, to receive faithfully the risen Christ who comes to us in the Word and Spirit, and to await with hope Christ's coming in final victory. The word Advent come from the Latin adventus, which means 'coming.' Our greatest challenge is to make Advent a time of expectation for Christ's coming to be with us, not a frantic time of meeting secular demands of the season" (Pat Floyd, comp., The Special Days and Seasons of the Christian Year: How They Came About and How They Are Observed by Christians Today, [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998]).

As Christians, we should have anticipation about Jesus' coming. His coming is in three phases. First, we anticipate the celebration of his first coming over 2000 years ago. Second, we anticipate his coming in the here and now into our lives. Third, we anticipate his Second Coming at some point in the future.

As the above quote says, we have to get away from the rushing about that is this time of season. We have parties, concerts, plays, get-togethers. Then we have the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of miles that we have to travel to see loved ones. There is the pressure to buy the "perfect" gift. All of this gets in the way of anticipating the coming of Jesus.

One of the names given to Jesus in the prophetic record is Immanuel. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14, NIV). Immanuel means "God with us."

At this time of year, we should be anticipating "God with us."

The traditional Advent song goes, "O come, O come, Emmanuel."

"God, come and be with us."

Persecution in Perspective

The picture at the right is that of Li Ying. She is in jail in China for being a Christian. She edited a Christian magazine and was arrested in April 2001. She has been incarcerated for over 2000 days. You can read her story here at PrisonerAlert.com, a ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs.

Her story, and those of others profiled on the website, put in perspective our American whining about how we as Christians are persecuted in the United States. We move about freely. We build huge temples so thousands of our numbers can drive fancy cars wearing fancy clothes to meet together. We enjoy tax-exempt status. We have Christian bookstores, schools, businesses, chambers-of-commerce, yellow pages, and so on. All of which operate legally out in the open. Not one of us is in danger of being tossed in jail for the sole reason of worshiping Jesus Christ. We complain about how no one at Wal-Mart says, "Merry Christmas," and that stupid little thing makes us persecuted. God help us if we really think we, in America, are persecuted. If we faced the same things that Li Yang, and others, face, most of us would renounce our faith.

The next time you think you are being persecuted, say a prayer for Li Ying.

A Real Hero

James Kim is a real hero. Here is the article from NBC. Kim and his family went missing last week in a snow storm in Oregon. He cared for his family: his wife, Kati and their two young daughters. On Friday, James decided that help probably was not coming, so he ventured into the snow to find help to save his family. Apparently he walked for eight miles, but only wound up a mile or so from the car. The family was found on Monday. Unwittingly, James left the trail for rescuers to find his family. A searcher noticed his James' tracks in the snow and followed them to the car, where Kati was waving an umbrella. Unfortunately, James' fortune was not the same as his family's. Somewhere along the way, James succumb to the elements. Trying with his last efforts in this life to save his family.

We often hear about family values. James Kim demonstrated the strongest of all family values. He went to every length, at great risk to his own life, to save his family. The love he had for Kati and the girls was one that could not be stopped by the elements. With his last efforts, he saved his family.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). James Kim demonstrated the greatest love for his family, he laid down his life that they might live. Jesus laid down his life for us. St. John tells us, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers" (1 John 3:16).

James Kim is a real hero and example for us.

Time Crunch

Well it's that time of the semester: FINALS. Well, next week anyway. Students who have slacked for the semester now ask, "What do I need to make on the final to get an 'A'?"

"Well," I patiently tell them, "Your current average is a 52, it would take a change in the laws of mathematics for you to make an 'A' or even pass." I wish I could say that. The final is not the time to learn everything for the first time. It should be review.

Most of my students are great. In one class 5 of the 15 are exempt from the final because they made a 93 average on all their tests. Most of the others left are good students as well. It's just the 2 or 3 that get to me at this time of the semester.

The BCS is a joke

My friend and fellow blogger is upset about Michigan getting left out of the BCS Championship game. Blog 1. Blog 2.

Pee-Wee football has a playoff. High school has a playoff. The NAIA has a playoff. NCAA Division I-AA, Div. II and Div. III have playoffs. The NFL has a playoff. The CFL has a playoff. Why can't NCAA Division I-A have a playoff?

There will be no legitimate champion until there is a playoff. The run that George Mason University made in the NCAA Basketball Tournament last year is proof that it isn't always the big dogs that can win. Michigan deserves a chance to play for the football championship. Boise State deserves a chance.

It is absolutely stupid that only two selected teams get to play for the championship.