Caroling, Caroling

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I did something I haven’t done in a long, long time. Not since college. Maybe even high school. I went caroling, complete with printed sheets of lyrics and everything. Just like it was back in the late 1900s.

It’s been that long.

Back in the day, we’d all gather together and carpool from place to place with our arsenal of festive seasonal classics. I’m sure we were joyful and triumphant in our attempts to pull off the carols and jingles. We probably came closer to making a joyful noise than anything else. I couldn’t tell if the guy next to me was trying to harmonize or was just really off-key, but it didn’t really matter in the end. A good time was had by all.

Tonight, we started off visiting the house of a deacon who very recently had been fighting for his life. It was heartwarming to see him standing in the doorway, a sort of miracle in itself, with his wife wiping away tears of gratitude as we sang loudly and zestily (if not always in tune or in the same key).

Then we headed over to my pastor’s parent’s to do more yuletide crooning. They’ve both had health issues and have had a rough 2022, but they were both pleased and grateful to see us gathered in their front yard, singing about those herald angels.

The last stop was the next-door neighbor who was a founding member of Brentwood Baptist Church along with her late husband. She lost him around this time last year, and I’m sure she was thankful for the company. Christmas is a beautiful time, but sometimes I forget that it’s not the easiest season if you’re missing a loved one.

I snapped a picture of this forlorn little reindeer in one of the yards. Hopefully, someone got a good snapshot of all of us singing in different keys and sometimes different verses at the same time. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir we were not.

But I’d do it all again tomorrow night if I could. In fact, I hope this caroling thing becomes another tradition that I can look forward to through the spring, summer and fall.

The Most Reluctant Convert

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I did something that I rarely do these days — I went to an actual movie in an actual movie theater. It’s been a while.

Normally, I like to wait for it to hit streaming services because few films are worth paying the current price of movie tickets. But in this case, I made an exception. I wanted to support a faith-based film from a group that I’ve grown to respect as I’ve gotten to know about them, the Fellowship for Performing Arts, led by one Max McLean.

The film is centered around the story of C. S. Lewis’ 10-year journey from atheism to Christianity. Without giving away too much, the narrative device they use to tell the story is unique and compelling. I feel like Mr. McLean masterfully portrayed the title character and the filming locations gave the production a note of authenticity.

But what captivated me most was the way the movie used Lewis’ own words. I believe a lot of the narrative came directly from his autobiography Surprised by Joy. For once, it’s a faith-based film that actually succeeds at being a good film first, and without being preachy or didactic.

It will make you want to dive deep into the writings of C. S. Lewis, both apologetic and fiction, as well as possibly leading you to check out some of writers who inspired him such as George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. I can’t recommend it highly enough for anyone who wants a quality movie about the nuances of faith and intellect.

Do Thou for Me

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“Do Thou for me, O God the Lord,
Do Thou for me.
I need not toil to find the word
That carefully
Unfolds my prayer and offers it,
My God, to Thee.

It is enough that Thou wilt do,
And wilt not tire,
Wilt lead by cloud, all the night through
By light of fire,
Till Thou has perfected in me
Thy heart’s desire.

For my beloved I will not fear,
Love knows to do
For him, for her, from year to year,
As hitherto.
Whom my heart cherishes are dear
To Thy heart too.

O blessèd be the love that bears
The burden now,
The love that frames our very prayers,
Well knowing how
To coin our gold.  O God the Lord,
Do Thou, Do Thou” (Amy Carmichael).

There are times when we simply don’t know how to pray for a circumstance or a loved one. Try as we may, the words will not come.

I think even then God hears the groans and sighs of our petitions and knows what they mean. He hears the deepest desires of our hearts and knows best how to grant them.

Even when we have words, they aren’t always the best ones. Sometimes, we ask without such a limited point of view. Sometimes we ask selfishly. Sometimes we have too small a view of God and ask too little.

In Jan Karon’s Mitford series, Father Tim Kavanaugh always has his go-to prayer, or “the prayer that never fails,” as he calls it. The prayer goes “Thy will be done.”

You can never go wrong with leaving the matter in God’s hands.

Another Borrowed Blog Post

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This is the perfect response to something that has been bugging me for a while. If we claim to be Christian and yet deny all the historic Christian doctrines, maybe we need to call ourselves something else. Remember, Jesus said it would be better to have a millstone hung around your neck and for you to be cast into the ocean than to lead a little one astray. May these words speak to you as they did to me:

“MY RESPONSE TO REV. FLOURISH KLINK’S CLAIMS THAT GOD IS TRANS AND JESUS “TRANSITIONED.”

I have deliberately taken some time again before responding to this because I don’t want to react merely because something sounds outrageous. But after reading Rev. Flourish Klink’s own published sermon, I honestly think we have reached a point where Christian theology is being stretched so far that eventually we will have to ask whether we are still talking about the Christianity of the apostles. Klink explicitly argues that God is non-binary and “trans,” that Mary assigned Jesus male at birth, and that Jesus was not merely transfigured in the resurrection but actually “transitioned.”

And respectfully, NO. I CANNOT FOLLOW THAT ARGUMENT.

Not because I hate transgender people. Not because I think God is a biological male. Not because I believe every question surrounding gender can be answered by shouting Bible verses at people.

I reject it because the argument collapses several completely different theological categories into one another and then asks us to call the resulting construction Christianity.

Yes, God transcends human biological categories.

Of course He does….

God is Spirit. God is Creator. He is not a biological organism whose divine identity depends upon chromosomes or reproductive anatomy. But from “God transcends biological sex” to “God is non-binary” to “God is trans” is not a logical necessity. That is an interpretive move.

And then the argument becomes even more problematic when it is applied to Jesus.

The claim is essentially that Mary saw Jesus and said, “Oh, look! A baby boy,” as though Mary was standing there making an uninformed gender assignment that heaven would later have to correct.

But Luke tells us something rather inconvenient for that theory.

The angel Gabriel said:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.”
— Luke 1:31 NKJV

A SON.

And Matthew records Joseph being told:

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
— Matthew 1:21 NKJV

So no, Mary was not simply looking at a mysterious, genderless infant and imposing an erroneous identity upon Him.

THE INCARNATE SON WAS ACTUALLY PRESENT.

And this is where our Christology matters.

Jesus Christ is not God wearing a temporary human costume.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH.

John 1:14 says:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The eternal Son genuinely entered human existence. He was born of a woman. He was circumcised. He lived as a Jewish man. He died bodily. He rose bodily.

And then we are told that because the disciples initially struggled to recognize the risen Jesus, perhaps Jesus had transitioned into His “true self.”

I genuinely had to ask myself:

WHERE DID WE GET THAT FROM?

The Bible tells us they did not immediately recognize Him.

It does NOT tell us that He had transitioned.

In fact, when Thomas encountered the resurrected Christ, Jesus invited him to examine the very wounds of His crucifixion:

“Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side.”
— John 20:27 NKJV

And Luke records Jesus saying:

“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
— Luke 24:39 NKJV

“IT IS I MYSELF.”

That is the opposite direction from the argument being made.

The resurrection does not reveal that Jesus finally became somebody He had not been before.

THE RESURRECTION REVEALS THAT THE SAME JESUS WHO DIED IS THE JESUS WHO ROSE.

His body was glorified.

His body was transformed.

But there is no apostolic teaching that Jesus’ resurrection involved a gender transition.

And this is where I think we have to be brutally honest with ourselves as Christians:

YOU CANNOT TAKE A QUESTION THE BIBLE DOES NOT ANSWER, INSERT YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION INTO THE SILENCE, AND THEN MAKE THAT INTERPRETATION A TEST OF WHETHER SOMEBODY BELIEVES IN THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

That is an extraordinary theological burden to place on people.

Because Klink’s argument ultimately says that if you deny that God is trans, you are denying the divinity of Jesus.

No.

The divinity of Jesus is not established by whether Jesus can be fitted into a modern theory of gender identity.

The divinity of Jesus is established by the apostolic witness.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” — John 1:1.

“And the Word became flesh.” — John 1:14.

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” — Colossians 2:9.

That is Christology.

And honestly, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the tendency to take every contemporary cultural category and baptize it with Christian vocabulary.

Suddenly everything must be found in Jesus.

Jesus is being reconstructed according to whatever ideological question is currently dominating society.

And at some point I have to ask:

ARE WE DISCOVERING JESUS IN SCRIPTURE, OR ARE WE USING JESUS TO VALIDATE WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY DECIDED TO BELIEVE?

Because those are two very different things.

I can treat transgender people with dignity without believing Jesus was transgender.

I can reject cruelty without rewriting the incarnation.

I can believe that every human being possesses dignity because they are made in God’s image without turning God into a human gender category.

COMPASSION DOES NOT REQUIRE CHRISTOLOGICAL REVISION.

And please, let’s stop confusing disagreement with hatred.

I don’t have to despise someone to tell them, “I think your interpretation of Jesus is wrong.”

Paul was willing to confront theological error. The Bereans were commended for examining even Paul’s teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11). John told believers to test the spirits (1 John 4:1).

CHRISTIAN LOVE DOES NOT REQUIRE INTELLECTUAL SURRENDER.

My final concern is this:

If the Church can take a modern category, place it upon God, reinterpret the incarnation through it, reinterpret the resurrection through it, and then declare that anyone who disagrees is denying Christ’s divinity, what exactly becomes the boundary of Christian doctrine?

At some point, we have to return to the ancient question:

WHO IS JESUS?

And my answer is not complicated.

He is the eternal Son of God.

He became flesh.

He was born of a woman.

He lived among us.

He died for our sins.

He rose bodily from the grave.

He ascended to the Father.

He is Lord.

I DON’T NEED TO REINVENT JESUS TO MAKE HIM RELEVANT TO 2026.

I need to know the Jesus whom Scripture reveals.

Because if we change Jesus enough to make Him acceptable to every generation, eventually we may discover that the Jesus we are defending is no longer the Jesus who saved us.

Penned by a burdened one” (Apostle Lawrence Ngano).

The Worst Case Scenario

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One thing I’ve learned over my lifetime is that 99% of what I stay up late worrying about never comes to pass. Those dreaded worst case scenarios almost never happen. Usually, the reality is way less scary than my imagination and fears make it out to be.

But even in the unlikely event that worst case scenario comes to pass. God is still with you, and God is still good. Even if all else forsakes you, God never will. Even if the circumstances seem hopeless and dire, God is still able to work them into good.

Remember the cross. It was the foreordained plan from eternity past, but it was also God’s worst case scenario — losing His only Son. To sacrifice Him willingly for us who were not even His friends at the time is unthinkable. Why would He do that?

It was love that led Jesus to the cross. Love that took on the wrath of God for sin that led Him to take our punishment and give us His life. That was our passport to eternal life to come and life abundant here and now.

But it is a reminder that God is with us through the worst we can go through because He took the worst part upon Himself in our place. Nothing we go through can compare to Calvary and the agony of the crucifixion and all that lead up to it. Jesus as God suffered infinitely in a finite amount of time in our place, so that we could know infinite joy.

Remember that whenever you’re imagination takes you to a worst case scenario. Even if the worst imaginable happens, God is still with you and for you and working for your good.

An Excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew

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This is an excerpt from the story that tells of the origins or Narnia, though it wasn’t the first Narnia book written. This is in honor of (or in spite of) the new movie coming out soon:

“This is the Boy,” said Aslan, looking, not at Digory, but at his councillors. “This is the Boy who did it.”

“Oh dear,” thought Digory, “what have I done now?”

“Son of Adam,” said the Lion. “There is an evil Witch abroad in my new land of Narnia. Tell these good Beasts how she came here.”

A dozen different things that he might say flashed through Digory’s mind, but he had the sense to say nothing except the exact truth.

“I brought her, Aslan,” he answered in a low voice.

“For what purpose?”

“I wanted to get her out of my own world back into her own. I thought I was taking her back to her own place.”

“How came she to be in your world, son of Adam?”

“By—by Magic.” The Lion said nothing and Digory knew that he had not told enough. “It was my Uncle, Aslan,” he said. “He sent us out of our own world by magic rings, at least I had to go because he sent Polly first, and then we met the Witch in a place called Charn and she just held on to us when—”

“You met the Witch?” said Aslan in a low voice which had the threat of a growl in it.

“She woke up,” said Digory wretchedly. And then, turning very white, “I mean, I woke her. Because I wanted to know what would happen if I struck a bell. Polly didn’t want to. It wasn’t her fault. I—I fought her. I know I shouldn’t have. I think I was a bit enchanted by the writing under the bell.”

“Do you?” asked Aslan; still speaking very low and deep.

“No,” said Digory. “I see now I wasn’t. I was only pretending.” There was a long pause. And Digory was thinking all the time, “I’ve spoiled everything. There’s no chance of getting anything for Mother now.”

When the Lion spoke again it was not to Digory.

“You see, friends,” he said, “that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam.” The Beasts, even Strawberry, all turned their eyes on Digory till he felt that he wished the ground would swallow him up. “But do not be cast down,” said Aslan, still speaking to the Beasts. “Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself. In the meantime, let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world. And as Adam’s race has done the harm, Adam’s race shall help to heal it.”

C. S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

Going Back in Time

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“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. What we did was wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us… In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain…and an athlete…and a basket case…a princess…and a criminal. Does that answer your question?… Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club” (from the movie The Breakfast Club).

I may be the only one, but I very much doubt it. The older I get, the more I really want to go back in time. I don’t think I’d stay — I’d miss the new technology too much, especially the GPS that keeps me from getting lost. But I think I’d like to visit some of the place where I grew up and see some of the people that aren’t around anymore, even if only for a few moments.

I know there’s no Delorean that’s going to take me back to 1985. I know there’s no time machine that can ever take me back to my childhood. Sometimes, I wonder if my memories might be a little rose-colored, conveniently leaving out all the hard and stressful moments.

Still, I have memories. I have some really good memories. Plus, music always seems to act as a kind of time machine to take me back, especially if it’s a song from back when. It could be a certain smell, or a combination of smells that instantly takes me back. And of course, Christmas makes me more nostalgic than any other time of the year.

I think what I’m really longing for can only be satisfied in heaven. I do think heaven will be all those best moments in my life, multiplied by a million, and never-ending. It will be that feeling of the first day of vacation or the last day of school times infinity. Plus, I’m sure those people I miss most will be there.

So I’d still like to go back, but I’m not holding my breath on this one. I know that what lies ahead is far better than what lies behind me because with God, the best is still yet to come.

Confession Is Good for the Soul

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“Do you have anything to hide from God? If you do, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin in your life, don’t just admit it–confess it. Never disregard a conviction that the Holy Spirit brings to you. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to bring it to your mind, it is the very thing He is detecting in you. You were looking for some big thing to give up, while God is telling you of some tiny thing that must go–the very thing that God intends you to give up if you are to be a disciple of Jesus Christ” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

I think I heard the saying that demons die in the light. I don’t think whoever said it meant that actual demons die in actual sunlight like vampires. I think that hidden struggles and sins lose their strongholds when we confess them to others and don’t keep everything hidden.

Somehow, we in the Church got a hold of the idea that we have to present ourselves as perfect in public to be acceptable Christians. We say things like, “I don’t want to be a burden to anyone.”

But part of being in a genuine community is that we’re SUPPOSED to be burdens to each other. We’re not meant to carry our burdens alone but to share them. That means not only I carry yours, but you carry mine as well. And how can that happen unless we confess and confide those burdens with each other?

Part of the problem is that we try to put our sin in time-out when the Bible says to put it to death. Don’t let it hang around. Don’t test the limits of sin by seeing how close you can get to the edge of temptation without giving in. I think one passage says for there not to be even an appearance of evil among you.

That can be taken to legalistic extremes and give way to a judgmental spirit, but I think it can also lead to a sense of humility and self-awareness that leads to repentance and growth. So basically, confession IS good for the soul.

Happy First Day of Fall

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Disclaimer: apparently, there’s a bit of controversy about when fall actually started this year. Some calendars say that it was yesterday, and some say today. For me, today was the first day when I stepped outside and didn’t feel like a rotating rotisserie chicken.

For me, fall weather means it’s cool enough to for me wear flannel and not feel like I’m about to burst into flames. It’s the perfect weather for bonfires and hot apple cider. I suppose I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to fall weather, but these days even 75 is acceptable fall weather after spending the last few weeks inside of an easy bake oven. Now all that’s left for me to be completely happy is to see some leaves changing colors before they fall off the trees.

Parents aren’t supposed to have favorite children, but I sure as heck picking fall as my favorite season. I know that Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for every season under heaven and all seasons serve their purpose in God’s grand design, but I still love fall most of all. And I’m not even sorry.

Bring on all two weeks of fall. I’m here for it. I do sincerely hope it lasts longer, but I’m not getting my hopes up super high. I know that we could revert back to summer for a bit or go straight on to winter. But I’ll savor every single moment of fall while it lasts.

Faith vs. Fear

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I heard something today that made a lot of sense. Fear is when you say, “What if,” but faith says, “Even if.”

That is more than just a difference of semantics. That is an entire paradigm shift. That is a completely different outlook.

Fear puts conditions. What if my child dies? What if I lose my job? What if my marriage ends? I don’t know what I’ll do then.

Faith says, “Even if my child dies or I lose my job or my marriage ends, I will still believe.” I may not have all the answers then, but I know who I will trust.

Faith puts no conditions on God. Faith says, “I will trust, no matter what. Even if my worst case scenario comes to pass, I know God will still love me and still be faithful to me and will still work all things for my good and His glory.

I love the MercyMe song “Even If” written by MercyMe’s frontman Bart Millard after his son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes:

“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone” (Bart Millard / Ben Glover / Crystal Lewis / David Garcia / Tim Timmons).

Glorifying God

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“The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for the human race, namely, that He created us for himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

I love in the Westminster Confession where it says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. John Piper twisted it a bit to glorifying God by enjoying Him forever. He also says that missions exists because in a lot of places worship doesn’t, and worship is the highest function of the Church.

I know that sin messed up a lot of things. Sin made everything a lot harder, although I can’t speak from experience what life was like before the fall. I also know that sin absolutely cannot thwart the plans of God, because we know that God can work all things — even sin — together for good.

It’s helpful to remember that God is control when sin and evil seem to have the upper hand. If you doom scroll enough or watch enough of the news channels, you can end up feeling hopeless. It’s easy to forget in the midst of incessant gloom and doom that the Lord is still on His throne and the end has already been settled. Jesus wins!

That’s the theme of my church’s sermon series on Revelation, and it couldn’t come at a more opportune time. Jesus wins! As I’ve quoted Billy Graham before, “I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right.”

Well, amen to that!

Remembering a Liturgy, a Legacy, and a Ragamuffin Band

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I still remember my one and only Rich Mullins concert experience. It must have been around 1995 or so and I think the venue was First Evangelical Church in Memphis. In some ways, that feels like a lifetime ago, but it also seems like yesterday in some ways.

I think Rich Mullins played the concert in bare feet. He was the most unassuming Christian artist I’ve ever known and was the polar opposite of a diva in every possible way. I have a picture in my mind of Rich Mullins just in front of me, getting a drink out of the water fountain during the intermission instead of having premier bottled water backstage. I was too starstruck to say anything but stood there, looking dumbfounded as he drank out of the fountain.

I’ll never forget how beautifully he played the hammered dulcimer and all those amazing songs of his. The very last song he played was the worshipful I See You, and as he walked off stage the audience was still singing “Everywhere I go I see You, everywhere I go I see You.”

I remember about learning how he had tragically died and how it felt like a gut punch. He was only 41. And his death seemed like such a tragic waste from not wearing a seat belt in a car accident. It seemed like he had so many songs left unsung and music left to write.

Yesterday marked 29 years since his passing on September 19, 1997, yet so many churches are still singing his songs, especially “Awesome God” and “Sometimes by Step.” His musical legacy will continue to live on as new generations discover the power of his music.

I’m thankful that out of all the history in the world, I got to live in the time when Rich Mullins was alive. I got to experience his music when it was new and hear it on the radio when it was being played for the first time. For that I am eternally thankful.

Thank you, Rich, for your musical legacy that you left behind. Thank you for your artistic integrity and your honest lyrics that spoke my feelings and fears better than I ever could. You’ll never know how much of a difference for the Kingdom of God you made, especially in me.

Obsessive Christmas Disorder

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I do have OCD . . . Obsessive Christmas Disorder. I doubt it’s a real thing, but if it existed, I’d probably have my picture listed under it in a manual of psychiatric maladies.

I have a ridiculous amount of Christmas music both on CD and vinyl format (and it’s growing all the time!) I have an ungodly amount of Hallmark Keepsakes ornaments that I put on my small Christmas tree. And I love every second of the Christmas season starting after Thanksgiving all the way through January 6.

I love the way Christmas brings me closer to those I’ve lost in the past. I feel like somehow the veil between heaven and earth gets a little thinner and I can remember faces more clearly and hear their voices more distinctly. Plus, it takes me back to the childhood that I thought would last forever but ended too soon.

I love what Christmas stands for. When we couldn’t get to God, God came to us. God broke into human history as an infant and literally changed the way we measure our time through calendars and years. As it says in John 1, He took on flesh and made His home among us.

According to my sources, there are 96 days left until Christmas. I’m content to enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving, plus all the wonderful coziness of the fall season. I might even enjoy a pumpkin spice beverage or two. But Christmas is and will always be my very favorite.