Pastor Mark Hisle's Blog

As we walk through Valentine's Day again this year, it is a time when we normally tend to turn our thoughts toward love and relationships.  In fact, I have preached the last two Sundays especially to our married couples about "Getting on the Same Page."  I know some people are cynical about these special days, but I have found that it can often provide the opportunity for God to speak to us and give attention to areas of our lives that we tend to ignore.  Valentine's Day is not just about marriage.  It is about all the relationships of our lives and the love that is the prmary attributes as Christians that we are called to dipslay in ever-increasing measure.

Maybe you can identify with this, and maybe you can't.  We all have things we struggle to walk out as Christians.  More times that I care to admit, I come home irritable.  The real danger is that I am not usually aware of it.  We men tend not to be in touch with our emotions, and it takes someone saying something that rubs me the wrong way before I realize I may be tired and touchy.  I am trying, with the Spirit's help, to be much more aware of how I am feeling at a given moment, but it is still a work in progress. 

I have come across a simple statement that may help in such situations.  The statement is, "I love you too much to argue."  Perhaps it is too simplistic for you.  But I am at a place in my life in which I am just tired of being upset over every little thing.  I am entering middle age and frankly just don't have the emotional energy for it any more.  I would rather be at peace than have to be right all the time.  It just isn't worth it anymore.  If you decide to try this approach, here are a few things to remember:

Number one, be alert.  God's Spirit can help you to recognize more quickly those occasions when you are susceptible to damaging  emotions.  When you are in the mood to pick a fight or feel that you have to prove a point, God can help you to see that.  You can quit blaming the other person and focus on yourself. You can choose peace instead.

Number two, have a ready response.  "I love you too much to argue."  This simple phrase is disarming.  When you can say it sincerely, it may help to diffuse the situation.  It's not a magic pill, and God may give you something else to use, but it shows that you have purposed in advance not to get into a fight.  And the other person will recognize pure motives.  "It takes two to tango."  You can refuse to show up for the battle.  You can only determine your response, not theirs.  But if won't fight, it's impossible them to.  "If it is possibe, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men" (Rom. 12:18).  An  that means "all men".

And number three, make it your goal to refuse to argue.  Of course, this is easier said than done.  This applies not just to marriage, but to all our relationships.  "You can make a conscious decision, empowered by the Holy Spirit to stay out of the courtroom.  Make up your mind not to go there and argue.  Let's be honest.  The vast majority of arguing is fruitless.  It rarely accomplishes good, and it often does harm. 

 I know it sounds simple, but what do you have to loose?  "I love you to much to argue."  I am worn out with an approach that doesn't work.  Aren't you?  I would rather enoy the love of those who matter to me.  I know there will be issues from time to time that have to be confronted.  But let's face it.  That is not what most of our arguing stems from.  Even if we are forced to confront, we are to "speak the truth in love"  (Eph. 4:15).  Most of our arguing is self-centered and a result of being set on getting my own way.

Let's use Valentine's Day this year as an opportunity for God to work in us.  Why keep doing things that doesn't work?  There is a better way.  "And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all--love].  If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor 12:31-13:1 AMP).  In other words, I love you too much to argue.

Pastor Mark

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We all watched recently with horror what happened on the doomed Italian cruse liner.  What we may not have pondered is the commentary that the sad event gives about values and virtue, or the lack thereof, in modern culture.  What does that have to do with a capsized cruise ship?  Some commentators today are contrasting the behavior on this ship to what happened on the Titanic.  On the Italian boat, the captain and some crewmen evidently lived by the motto"Every man for himself."  They saved their own skins before lifting a finger to help the women and children on board.

One hundred years ago, the men on the Titanic were commited to the moral idea of saving women and children before they saved themselves.  So much so in fact, that proportionatey, more women in third class survived the ship's sinking than did men in first class.  And they survived because the men with first class tickets stood on the decks hleping women and children of all social ranks into the lifeboats.

 Benjamin Guggenheim, one of the wealthiest men of the Titanic, didn't try to buy his way off the ship.  He helped load women and children into the lifeboats and then changed into a tuxedo when the last boat was gone so that he would "die like a gentleman."  It was reported that he gave this message to a survivor, "Tell my wife...I played the game out straight to the end.  No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward."

What a contrast to the level of virtue among society today!  Qualities that for generations have been esteemed as noble are now mocked.  Our whole culture is like a ship lost at sea.  It is less likely that we will be bombed into the Stone Age than it is that we will arrive there because of the loss of the loss of Christian values.  Jesus said to His followers that they were the salt of the earth.  Christians are to be that element in society that preserves truth, human dignity, and goodness.  Salt is not what you do; it's what you are. 

 All too often now, our society had tended to think of virtue as a quality desirable only for women.  We are led to think that women should be virginal and good--at least he ones men marry.  But men are to be somehow above such sissy notions.  The very word "virtue" derives from the Latin word for strength.  The connotation is of restrained strength.  It actually implies manliness. 

The most basic values held by society dictated the kind of leaders it will produce.  A survey of mothers of school-age children was conducted in both Japan and the Untied States.  It asked this question: What do you consider the most important variable in a child's success in school?  By far, the largest number of American mothers thought it to be intelligence.  Almost 100 percent of the Japanese mothers, however, answered hard work and diligence.

 There is a good reason that the Apostle Peter instructed us, "Add to your faith virtue" (2 Peter 1:5).  The future of Western society and the Western church hangs by a thread.  That thread is virtue.  If we are to survive, it will be because we learned again the basic virtues.  If not, we will sit in numbed silence awaiting the sickening snap when the thread of virute gives way and we descend into chaos.  Social fabric unravels when biblical virtues are distorted or forgotten.  At this moment in history, we are hanging by a thread.

Revival never comes with only our iron will and fierce determination to reshape our culture.  We must break our will before God, and He will change our culture.  In times past, God has raised up voices to stir hearts for conviction, repentence, and revival.  When a people awaken to the state of the depravity of their culture, then they seek the Lord their God.

Pastor Mark

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Besides Jesus, Solomon is the one known most for extraordinary wisdom.  In fact, Solomon's wisdom was one of the high watermarks in Israel's history.  With it, he silenced the Queen of Sheba when she came to sit at his feet and learn.  He answered many questions about life that were puzzling to her.  But when God chose to list the things that impressed her, it is intriguing to note the particulars that were recorded.  It is a list that would normally sound fairly boring.  "And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and the entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her" (1 Kings 10:4-5).

These are all everyday things.  Only the creative expression of God could arrest the heart of a queen with the ordinary.  She had already seen wealth and treasures.  She had been exposed to great talent and even craftsmanship.  But she was now looking at mundane things that had taken on meaning thorugh the creative expression of God through a man.  And it made her speechless.  It's time for the world to become speechless again as they become aware of our approach to the simplicities of life.

 God wants us to find the extraordinary beauty of ordinary lives.  And He wants us to know the wisdom of such a life.  It is a life that has learned to enjoy the  moment.  A line from a movie struck me the other day.  A grandson was taking his grandmother out.  As he got behind the wheel, he asked, "Where are going?"  To which, she exclaimed, "You young people!  Why do you always have to be going somehwere?  Why can't you just enjoy being out?"  Early this morning, as I walked the track in a rare moment of quietness from the pounding of basketballs at my gym, I was reminded of the statement and lifted up my heart to God, "Lord, I just want to enjoy this moment with You.  Nothing big has to come from it.  It's enough to just enjoy You."  That approach tends to transform the commonplace.

The ordinary life is generally the most difficult to live beautifully.  It often goes unapplauded on earth.  It requires a deeper and steadier faith.  We need Christians who will live the ordinary life in a really out-of-the-ordinary way.    Jesus takes a special pleasure in those servants who are "faithfull over a few things."  We should beware of undervaluing the so-called commonplace. 

The longer I live, the more I perceive the power and value of those lives which, although they never find mention in newspapers or on television, transmit the love and life and grace of Christ among friends and wo-workers.  Publicity is not essential either to faithfulness or true success.  We may feel out of sight, be we are never out of God's sight.  His love ever looks in on us, to see whether we are faithful in our present circumstances.  Even in the church, so many seek the elaborate and spectacular forms of service to Christ.  Perhaps we would do better to seek sanctification, humility, and a readiness for any task that God would see fit to give us, whether prominent or obscure. 

"What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  (Micah 6:8).  Steve Hill said this about this text, walk humbly with your God has two parts,  The first is to walk, devoting oneself to the purpose of knowing God.  And the second part had to do with personal discipline, chiefly ridding yourself of pride."  There is certainly a place for faith in a God Who loves to do big things in and through our lives.  But God's definition of "big things" may be differently from ours.  David said, "Lord my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty.  Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me" (Ps. 131:1)  God can and does do "big things", but most of life is lived in the beauty of the ordinary.

Pastor Mark

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The orphans sat in silence as George Mueller rose to pray for their daily bread.  The tables were set for breakfast, but there was no food.  Just then, there was a knock on the door.  It was the local baker.  "Mr. Mueller," he explained, "I could not sleep last night.  Somehow, I felt you didn't have bread for breakfast, so I got up at 2:00 AM and baked some fresh bread."  Minutes later, another man knocked at the door.  This time it was the milkman.  His cart had broken down right in front of the orphanage.  He needed to empty his cart to repair it, and he wanted to give away all his milk.  Breakfast was served. 

This kind of thing happened to George Mueller over and over again in a ministry that spanned 57 years.  Mueller believed the only one he should ever speak to about his personal needs and the needs of his orphans was God--no one else.  He trusted God for every detail.

One of my favorite things to read is the life stories of great heros of the faith who have come before us.  There are so many lessons to be learned, and I never tire of their stories.  One of my favorites is a man you may never heard of.  His name was George Mueller, and his life covered 1805-1898.  As kids, many of us watched The Six Million Dollard Man on tv.  But listen to Mueller's story.

George Mueller, born and raied in Prussia, had previously lived a life of sin and crime even while studying for the State Church ministry.  His life was changed when he was converted at a prayer meeting in a private home.  Moving to England, he applied as a missionary to the Orient at the London Missionary Society, but was rejected.  He began to preach and minister wherever the Lord opened the door. 

In Bristol in 1834, he founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad.  A year later, without financial assistance, he opened his first orphans' home for twenty-six girls.  By 1870, he had built five homes.  Never asking for money, telling only the Lord of daily needs by prayer and faith, Mueller was feeding over two thousand orphans daily. 

 The Scriptural Knowledge Institiution also sent missionaries, Bibles, and gospel literature around the world.  They distributeed almost three hundred thousand Bibles in many different languages and one and a half million copies of the New Testament.  They sent and supported one hundred and sixty-three missionaries and distributed over one hundred and eleven million tracts.  His institutional schools enrolled more than one hundred and twenty thousand students over the years, with thousands of them receiving Christ while in attendence.  In response to Mueller's faith and prayer, in the span of about sixty years, God poured out over seven and one half million dollars into the ministry, all wisely and prayerfully distributed in spreading the gospel.  That is the reason some refer to Mueller as the 7 and 1/2 million dollar man. 

In his life, Mueller read his Bible in entirety over two hundred times, half of that on his knees, claiming the promise, "Open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it" (Ps. 81:10).  He spent his last seventeen years touring the world telling of the blessings of a life of faith.  When he died at the age of nintey-thee, he left an estate valued at less than one thousand dollars.  He had given back to the institute almost half a million dollars worth of personal gifts he had recieved during his years of ministry.

Mueller one wrote, "When I first began to allow God to deal with me, relying on Him, taking Him at His Word, and set out fifty years ago simply relying on Him for myself, family, taxes, traveling expenses, and every other need, I rested on the simple promises I found in the sixth chapter of Matthew, "I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."  I believe the Word, and I rested on it and practiced it.  I took God at His Word." What a testimony!  When one businessman discovered Mueller's unusual fund-raising techniques, he exclaimed, "Why you live from hand to mouth!"  Mueller responded, "Yes, it's God's hand and my mouth."

Pastor Mark

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What I am about to share may be controversial, and some of you may not agree with me.  And that is fine.  I do hope that I will at least provoke you to think.  Though I may have personal opinions as a preacher I generally stay away from politics.  I don't want anything to detract from the primary gospel message.  That is true unless it pertains to a clear moral issue.  For example, I am not sure there can be much debate about abortion.  Some wonder how we can make that a single, defining issue.  But there isn't much wiggle room when it comes to murder.  Abortion is the defining moral issue of our times.  Other matters that relate to economics and government could probably be debated one way or the other.  So why take on the issue of Mormonism and Mitt Romney's run for the Presidency?  I address it because whether you agree with me or not, our worldview requires distinct clarity.  I certainly don't claim to have all the answers.  But for many professing evangelical Christians, out thinking had lost its biblical footing and seems to be pretty hazy. 

It is true that several decades ago, JFK's religious preference was questioned as well.  But JFK made a reasoned defense of his catholicism, and went on to win the election.  Romney will not do that because tenets of Mormon doctrine are utterly ridiculous.  I may not agree with all Catholic doctrine, but there are Catholics who possess saving faith.  Mormonism likes to portray itself as another branch of the Christian faith, like Methodism or Pentecostalism.  While there may be some nice Mormons, they belong to a cult.  And some may say, "What is the difference between electing a cultist and any other sinner?  After all, we are not voting for bishop, but for President."  The difference lies in the level of deception and the world view that such a person brings to education, foreign policy, social reform, and the myriad of other challenges a President will face.  We know that the moral stance of the current administration is far from what many of us would desire.  I have a friend who is a leader in the national prayer movement.  His recent statement was, "There have been no Christian prayer events in the White House during President Obama's tenure.  There have been several Muslim ones, but no Christian events."  Obviously, what we believe does matter.  Belief detemines behavior. 

Here are some basic tenets of Mormon doctrine:

-When they speak of "God" and "Jesus", it does not refer to the God and Jesus we know from the Bible.  He is only one god among many.

-They believe that, in fact, we can become gods, if we are righteous enough.  One of their leaders stated, "As man is, God once was; as God is, many may become."  They not only believe man can become God, but they also promulgate a message of salvation by works, rather than by the grace of God.

-Mormons teach that the Father begot the Son and the Holy Spirit through a goddess in heaven.

-Mormon doctrine holds that Jesus is a divine being who is the brother of Lucifer. 

_Mormonism is poytheistic (believing in many gods).  Christianity is monotheistic (believing in one God).  Mormonism is also historically polygamous.  Its men married many wives with official church endorsement until 1878, when Utah was forced to drop polygamy offically, in order to join the union. 

-There is a mormon prophecy that some believe could be fulfilled if one of their own were to be elected.  It says, "When the Constitution of the United States hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, they will have to call for the Mormon elders to save it from utter destruction: and they will step forth and do it. "

-These doctrinal matters don't even touch their absurd historical assertions about Jews and native American Indians.

Could I vote for a Mormon President?  For me personally, the answer is "no".  At the very least, I hope you will be both discerning and a thinking Christian.  Contrary to popular belief, becoming a Christian does not mean that one has to surrender his or her brain.  Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment" (Mt. 22:37-38).  We need to make sure, in these last days, that our thinking is shaped by the Word of God, not the spirit of the age, no matter how plausible it sounds.  It is not that we hate Mormons.  They just need the Jesus of the Bible.  He is the Truth, and He alone.

Pator Mark.

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There are so many lessons to be learned from the life of Joseph.  In Genesis 40 Joseph is called upon to interpret dreams, which he does with great accuracy.  His interpretation of the chief butler's dream was that he would be released form prison and restored to favor in Pharoah's house.  Joseph asks the chief butler to remember him to Pharoah, but the butler forgets him and leaves him in prison for two more years.  Joseph felt forgotten and abandoned.

The power of rejection and adandonment works to make us think that we are totally forgotten and God does not know where we are.  If the devil can convince us that no one knows our giftings or knows where we are or that we have a destiny on this earth, the enemy will totally capture us.

One lady named Pam went through a very trying experience in order to learn this.  God had told her that He would heal her of barreness and that she would give birth to twins, which would eventually happen.  But leading up to that and pregnant for the third time, she learned she was carrying twins.  Shortly before birth, they both died.  She was devastated not only by the loss of the children, but by the seeming loss of God's promise.

Pam saw nothing but death in her house.  Her goldfish died, and her garden died.  Each death accentuated the loss of her children.  She was in a hard place.  Finally, she cried out to God and asked Him to show her that He had not completely forgotten her. 

 The only thing she had from her first 12 years of life before her father committed suicide was a packet of pictures.  Those pictures meant a great deal to her.  She hadn't remembered seeing them for 14 years.  She spend a week scouring the house for the only memento from her early childhood. 

She went to pick up the mail one day and found a plain brown paper envelope.  Much to her shock, the enevelop contained Pam's pictures and a letter.  The letter read, "Evidently, these pictures are yours.  I bought a used truck that apparently belonged to you in your college days.  I was cleaning out the truck a month ago and found this packet of pictures.  With the pictures was a blank check that had the name Charles Pierce, 305 Ball Street, College Station Texas." (Pam had lived in Houston for 12 years, and had moved from there to Denton TX.)  I called a Charles Pierce in College Station who knew nothing about this, so I called the former student association and traced your habitation through these last years.  I am now returning these pictures to you."

Suddently, the Spirit of God fell on Pam, and God spoke to her, "I know where you are, and I can find you anytime.  I have not fogotten you.  I know everything about you.  I know your past, and I know your future.  I know what you are going through, and I know how you are feeling.  I have found you this day.  Rejoice in Me."

Even though Joseph felt forgotten and abandoned in the prison, God knew where he was.  The Lord exalted him when the time was right.  He can move on anybody on your behalf, even a Pharoah.  He will do whatever is necessary to see you accomplish your role upon on this earth,  God will exalt your gifts at the right time into their proper place.  Joseph was now entering his destiny.  God sovereignly postitioned Joseph to see that the inheritance that God had for him and his family was firmly secured.  In the same way, God will position whatever is necesseary to cause the giftings He has deposited in you to come to their fullness.  He had not forgotten you.  He will do what is necessary to see you accomplish what he has called you to accomplish.  God secured Joseph's inheritance.  What is your portion?

Pastor Mark

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Did you get in on any of the "after Christmas" sales?  I am not sure that I need to shop anymore, but I do want to perpetuate the work God had done in my heart, even after Christmas.  I sought to prepare my heart for Advent, for the coming of His presence to me personally.  And I don't want to forfeit that simple because the date on the calendar had turned.

There is a line from "Away in a Manger" that says, "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay, close by me forever and love me I pray."  Sometimes, it is not only the way we enter a season, but the way we leave it as well, that seals the true nature of its lasting impact in our hearts,  We speak much of the need to commemorate Christ's death, and rightfully so.  But we also need to celebrate the meaning and power of His life.  I am not sure that I always recognized it, but that is what Christmas does.  The celebration of love, joy, and peace, the surprises, and the emphasis on finding Jesus in everything must linger beyond Christmas.  We are to keep Christmas all year long.  Since God lives in us and loves us, our acts of love can continue throughout the year, all the way to preparing our hearts for next Christmas.  God wants us to stretch Christmas into the New Year.

 As you "un-decorate," why not leave yourself a note, tucked away in the boxes as a surprise for next year.  What do you think you will be like by next Christmas?  How much will your kids have grown in height?  How much will you have grown in Christ?  As we prepare to enter another year and especially at this stage of my life, this is a significant concern on my heart.  I don't want to stalemate where I am.  I am evaluating myself, recalibrating and redefining some things.  God gives us a precious promise, "Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6).  We may stand our kids against a wall and compare their mark with last year to measure their growth.  What if we did that spiritually, in our lives and in the church?  How much have we grown since last year?  And I am talking more about quality than quantity.

You may need some closing ceremonies for this Holiday (holy day) season.  During your daily devotional time, you may want to take a few moments to reflect on the highlights of this December and debrief.  What did God use this season to do a work in your heart?  How did He go about making sure you felt His presence near?  You may want to continue the traditions that brough you near Him.  Thank Him for His work in you this Christmas.

 Loving and giving should go on all year.  Don't stop in January. "After Christmas" activities can continue into February.  You and your family may want to do a countdown to Valentines Day that focuses you on the love of God.  Your heart can be prepared to make Christ the center of celebrations throughout the year.  Hopefully, you have met God in a special way for the last couple of months or so.  I pray you have thoroughly enjoyed being in His presence, learning more about His Son's birth, and  a little of why we celebrate the way we do.  As you look toward spring, Easter, and new growth, may you continue to celebrate and grow in Him.  Prepare your heart to love Him more each day.

I offer this prayer to you as you look to the New Year: "May my heart long to know You and love You so much that I can't wait to open the Word and look for Your direction.  May I be inspired by being in Your loving presence and in fellowship with other Christians who love and encourage me.  May I look at this New Year and see it filled witrh hope, opportunities to love, and may I experience Your great and abundant peace.  May I continue to know Your special nearness and presence, even after Christmas.  Amen."

Pator Mark

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For many years, I always sought God with each New Year about what He would say to me for that year.  And there were some occasions when He saw fit to speak to me in fairly dramatic fashion.  For example, I had endured some real struggle prior to meeting Jennifer.  But at the beginning of the year that I would begin a relationship with my wife to be, God spoke to me for that year, "New Beginnings," and it certainly was.

By the same token, there were probably some years when I wrestled with the fact that my voice has the potential to sound an awful lot like the voice of the Holy Spirit.  It required a good deal of discernment to figure out the differemce.  So, in an effort to walk in wisdom, I got away from seeking God for a "word" every year.  I still sought His direction on an on-going basis.  I just wasn't trying to force my interpretation on what He may or may not desire to speak to my heart. 

 While I may not have realized it at the time, some of the most powerful things God spoke over me during those years may not have pertained as much to what I was to do as they did to the kind of person God wanted me to be.  Particularly, it may have been those years in which God gave me a specific verse of scripture for the year that brought me the greatest result in the long haul.  One year in college, I really felt the Lord impress upon me for that year the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (Jn. 3:30).  I prayed into that throughout that year, and I am sure that God worked in me in ways that I did not fully comprehend at the time. 

We are entering that time when people go crazy with New Year's resolutions.  For about six week, I have to weed through all the people, as my gym is inundated with indiviuals who have come to give expression to those resolusions.  Unfortunately, that is about as long it lasts for many of them. 

May I humbly offer you a suggestion?  If you are determined to make resolutions, make just one or two, then ask the Lord to help you.  Lasting change in our lives generally comes in small increments.  Or instead of a resolution, commit to one verse you could live by for the next 365 days, and let the Word change you from the inside out.  Prayerfully, pick a verse from the Bible.  If you need an idea, here are a few great ones to get started: Col. 3:12; Eph. 4:32; Mt. 7:12; Prov. 16:32; Rom, 5:3-4.  Or do it this way: over the next few days, petition God to impress a verse or verses on your heart that He wants to make yours in the New Year.

A New Year is the turn of a page.  But too often, it juest seems like the same old, same old.  In order for Jan. 1st to be different from Dec. 31 I have to change and I have to put forth some effort.  The Word promises," For these things are yours and abound, you will neither be barren not unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:8).  Maybe the calendar year should actually begin in September when everything changes.  We want to loose weight, exercise, spend more time with family, get out of debt, work less, quit smoking, do community service, read more, get organized, live life to the fullest.  Year-long committments can be good.  But they will only be effective as we allow the Holy Spirit to work the Word into our minds, hearts, and hands to produce change.

Print your passage on note cards.  Tape one your bathroom mirror, and carry another one with you.  Believe January 1st and everyday that follows will be different as you commit to God's working in your life.  Make this your prayer, "Lord, give me a scripture to live by this year, and help me follow it each day.  In addition to hiding it in my heart, may I live it from the insde out.  May this verse and my life be evidence to all who see of the power of Christ to change a life.  Make me new each and every day."

God can and does speak prophetically.  But many times, I just need a word from the Word.  I don't just need a guarentee of blessing, though that is what we want.  What I need most is to be transformed into the image of Christ, and His Spirit and His Word will accomplish that, far better than my merely making a resolution that I attempt to live our under my own strength.  It's not enough to simply try harder.  I have to have the strength for change which only He can give. 

Pastor Mark

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In Luke cchapter 1, Gabriel makes a couple of appearances.  He informs Zechariah of the birth of John the Baptst, and he tells Mary she will be the mother of the Messiah.  The way they receive the news varies greatly.  Zechariah was a priest, but he couldn't quite get his mind around the most amazing encounter of his life.  His response was, "How can I be sure of this?" (1:18).  That reflected doubt.  After that, he was speechless, not because of wonder, but because of God's discipline.  Even Eliazbeth needed some time of retreat in order to contemplate the miracle within. 

Mary, on the other hand, responded differently.  She never entered the Holy of Holies.  But she believed and recognized what was happening.  Her faith was immediate and submissvie.  Her only question was, "How will this be?" (1:34).  The nature of that question is very different from that of Zechariah's.  It doesn't suggest doubt, only puzzlement.  She genuninely wondered how God was going to do it, but she never questioned whether He would.

The angel's explanation for her ponderings provides one of the most profound statements in the Christmas story, really in all the Bible.  He says, "With God, nothing will be impossuible" (1:37).  How often do seemingly impossible circumstances provide the context for the greatest manifestation of God's provision!  Life's obstacles become opportunities for Almighty God's power to be revealed.  Knowing that nothing is impossible with God, what can we look forward to next year?  I don't know what is going on in your life.  Your journey may be quite different than Mary's.  And yet, nothing is impossible with God, not then and not now.  What are you waiting for that can only be done with God's help?

 But consider this: Mary had much to ponder.  An expected baby took the spotlight in an unexpected and rude stable.  Arriving in such an unexpected way, without beautiful packaging, God send a baby to touch our hearts.  The King of Kings found in a manger?  Christ's followers didn't recieve what they expected.  But those seeking the Messiah became open to an unusual introduction.  God was certainly creative in how He chose to meet us.  I'm sure He is equally creative on a daily basis, if we keep our eyes open for the unpredictable. 

Luke chapter 2 related the stories of Simeon and Anna.  They were people who possessed deep faith and hope that they would see the Messiah.  They lived for the realization of that promise.  They were not disappointed.  For Anna, it didn't happen in her twenties, thirties, or even her sixties or seventies.  God knew the right moment and the right place.  She and Simeon participated in expectant living.  We can learn from them,.  They were looking forward. 

When Christmas is over, many people often think, "There's nothing to look forward to."  Sometimes, there is disappointment.  But we can look forward to an ever-deepening relationship with God.   And we can live with hope.  We show our faith by waiting and believing.  We may well have to wait, but we can wait "forwardly." We can face the New Year, confident in our expectation that nothing is impossible with God.  If you really enter the New Year with that conviction, how may it change your life?  What may it accomplish for the expansion of the Kingdom?  What good may it do for you and for the people around you?

Pastor Mark

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As I shared with you last week, the story of the angel's appearance to Zechariah announcing John the Baptist's birth has spoken to me this Christmas season (Lk 1:5-25).  As you know, Zechariah doubted and was forced to live in silence until the child was named (Lk. 1:63-64).

I heard about one lady with damaged vocal chords who was required by her speech therapist to go on vocal rest for a month, right through the Christmas holiday.  Her life was full of family and four Christmas pageants to direct, so it wasn't easy.  That Christmas, she held a sign in front of her, "Zechariah."  It always got a laugh.  She learned a lot that Christmas. 

Frustrating as it may be, times of silence can be a gift.  And it is not necessarily because we talk too much.  There are just some lessons it provides.  This lady said, "The inability to speak made me a better, more sensitive listener.  Quiet people were suddenly comfortable around a less outgoing me.  In addition to listening, I really heard what people said."

Zechariah had it even worse.  He couldn't talk for 9  months.  He was one quiet husband.  It must have been frustrating.  I wonder what his silence taught him.  This is a season to listen.  We hear brass music and Christmas carols.   We listen to bells ringing, and we cherish the sound of children's laughter.  We need a greater sensitivity to the sound around us.  We need to listen to friends and family.  Most importantly, we need to listen to God.  We don't have to join in every discussion or always give an answer.  Instead, we can meditate on what we hear.  The sounds of the season are a gift, opened with our ears. 

What we hear if  we were to really listen?  The Bible says, "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save, He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zeph. 3:17).  May we hear His voice and understand the words.  Are you quiet enough to hear the Lord of Love singing over you?  

Perhaps there were some things God had wanted to tell Zechariah for a very long time.  Maybe the priest just hadn't been still long enough to hear it.  Zechariah and Elizabeth had long desired a child.  They has remained faithful and righteous.  Can you imagine how God might have wanted to give them the whole picture during those years?  "Zechariah, you will have a child, and he won't be just any child. He will prepare the way for the Messiah!"  What wonderful news that would have been for a younger Zechariah!  What great news it should have been for an older Zechariah.  But he had to be silent for a protracted period in order for it to sink in.

God said to him, "Yes, I heard you."  Do you have a Zechariah prayer?  Is there something you have longed for, prayed about, then questioned God's timing?  Do you believe God is hearing you?  God has a bigger plan.  Don't become discouraged.  He sees the bigger picture and knows the proper timing.  Stay close to Him.  Trust Him.  Stay open, and listen for what He has to say.  "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Lk 1:37).  Maybe that is what He wants to tell us this Christmas.

Sometimes, a silent pause is good.  At the appropriate time, Zechariah's mouth was opened, and the benediction he should have spoken when he left the temple nine months earlier rushed out (Lk 1:67-69).  Whether something good or bad happens, what is the first thing out of your mouth?  Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and praises to God for who He is, what He had done, and what He would do.  Zechariah had saved this song in his heart for nine months?  You may be silent now, but you will have something to say!

  Pastor Mark

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