Christmas Lights

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the lights. It seems that Christmas lights up the world. The first lights go up in the November season when the stores begin to put up their lights -- those who want to get a head start on the buying season. Then next the city lights go up. Then neighborhood lights start going up. All the lights go up on my neighborhood block.

December 21st is the winter solstice which is the longest night of the year and the shortest time of daylight in the year. I got married on the summer solstice -- June 21st -- which happens to be the longest day of the year and the shortest night. It's interesting when we're in the darkest part of the year, Christmas pierces the darkness with light.

Lights were important in the first Christmas. The angels did the dazzling light show in the sky and the shepherds went to Bethlehem as a result and saw the baby Jesus. The wise men saw another bright light in the sky -- a star -- and they followed it to where the Savior was born.

Light is a major theme in the Bible. The Bible says in 1 John "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." The very first command that God gave in creation was, "Let there be light." Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." This is the very reason for Christmas.

Wow! That's some snow

It's amazing - for as long as I have been a pastor, snow storms seem to gravitate to Saturday nights. So what's with that????

I trust you had a warm and safe day, yesterday. We held off on having services due to the weather, and it looked like it was a good call. My family and I stayed warm, did some water color painting and watched some curious george. We'll see you this coming Sunday as we continue our Christmas Series 'I WAS THER.' I hope you'll be there too!!

Notre Dame and Negative Talk

I read something interesting on another blog this morning. As you know, Notre Dame has a long tradition of winning football. A tradition that has sometimes suffered recently. Look at what the coach Charlie Weis has to say in an article on ESPN.com:
"If you sit there and try to be a vengeful person and be worried about every negative thing that people said, that really doesn't get you anywhere. You don't do something about it by going to a public forum and going tit for tat with somebody. What you have to do is go win more football games. Really, it's the only way of answering it."

The amazing thing is that in football or in life you will always face negative talk. (Wow! what a surprize!!!) I'd go so far as to say the bigger, better or more successful the organization, the more people will criticize it (think Microsoft, Wal-Mart, New York Yankees, Willow Creek, etc.).

Most importantly, I think when the negative talk stops that you should be worried. At that point, you're probably not doing anything worthy of a critic's time and attention. You've probably entered into mediocrity.

Thanks Coach Weis! You gave us a good reminder that it's better to focus on the next victory than the negative people in our lives.

See you Sunday and invite a friend.


God's best!

I WAS THERE

Today we kicked off our new series "I WAS THERE", a series of talks from characters who were there at the Christmas moments. I am looking forward to how it went, as my family is taking a few days off.

We had a great "40 Days of Purpose" and those of you who joined a Connect Group mentioned how you really enjoyed the experienced. That's what Church is about - being a community that grows together and encourages one another. Don't worry - Connect Groups will begin a new semester come January!

Journey has been a great 'ride', and I am thankful for a great team who was ready and willing to say "go get some refreshment!!". I will write on the blog every few days and fill you in what's happening.

God's power in your weakness

God loves to use weak people!

“I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.”
2 Corinthians 12:9a (LB)

A weakness is any limitation that you inherited or have no power to change. Everyone has weaknesses. In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Usually we deny our weaknesses, defend them, excuse them, hide them, and resent them. This prevents God from using them the way he desires.

When you think of the limitation in your life, you may be tempted to conclude, “God could never use me.” But God is never limited by our limitations. Sometimes, however, God turns strength into a weakness in order to use us even more.

Jacob was a manipulator who spent his life scheming and then running from the consequences. One night he wrestled with God and said, “I’m not letting go until you bless me.” God said, “All right,” but then he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and dislocated his hip.

What is the significance of that? God touched Jacob’s strength and turned it into a weakness. From that day forward, Jacob walked with a limp so he could never run away again. It forced him to lean on God whether he liked it or not.

If you want God to bless you and use you greatly, you must be willing to walk with a limp the rest of your life, because God uses weak people.