Keep Christ in Christmas?

It seems like everywhere you look on your news feed, whether on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you see a similar theme: keep Christ in Christmas! Jesus is the reason for the season! Make sure you say “Merry Christmas!” when you are paying at the store! Don't let the world take Christ out of Christmas!

I spent some time thinking about this over the last week and tried putting it into practice while I've been out shopping for Christmas presents. On the other side of the till there would be a myriad of different types of people from all over the world who have moved here to make a better life for their families and have taken any job they could get to do so.  I found I had to work myself up so by the end of the transaction I could say those magic words that would keep Christ in Christmas and not allow the world to take it from me. I didn't want to let Jesus down. As the items slid across the barcode scanner one at a time—beep, beep, beep—the pressure began to mount. I would be thinking, When can I slip it in?  I did not want to sound disingenuous. After all, I'm fighting for my Savior! After some small talk, the cashier would ask me for the money.  I would tap my credit card, grab my bags and then that magic moment would come—the moment I would keep Christ in Christmas. Quickly I slipped out the words “Merry Christmas!” and walked off with my bags.

When I made it back to my van, I calmed my breathing down and wiped my sweaty palms. OK, maybe it wasn't quite so dramatic, but I begin to think about the experience I just had. It reminded me of when I used to go on the street with teams of believers to witness to people at random. It was an incredible amount of pressure to have to find somebody to share the gospel with so you'd have a story to share with the group when everyone returned to the church. I experienced similar pressure to speak and share the gospel with the person beside me on a flight. I would think, What if we crashed? I would want to make sure they knew Jesus. I may be the only person in their life that gives them the opportunity to know Christ. Wow! What pressure!

The truth is, this pressure often made for very uncomfortable conversations where I was always looking for the opportunity to tell the person about Jesus and how much they needed Him. This replaced building genuine relationship.  It was like I was trying to sell something to them. I know a thing or two about sales, as I've been in it for over twenty years. In sales, you always have an angle. You're trying to get them to purchase your product or service. Often it would be one particular product or service; the one from which you received the most commission. However, it was in sales that I also learned to put the customers’ needs first and I became successful because of this. You take care of the customer and they will take care of you.

Unfortunately, many Christians are trying to sell Jesus, rather than be Him. The great commission is not about commission. It's not about notches on your Bible. It's about lives being changed. I want to be clear that I am not against street witnessing or sharing the Gospel with people you interact with as you go throughout your day. I actually think that this is an important part of our walk with Christ. What I am saying is that it should be heart felt and Spirit led, not out of obligation or just for the numbers. It's only been in the last year or so I've been able to relax and allow God to be God. The Holy Spirit is always moving on the earth, preparing people's hearts to receive the gospel.

In John chapter 4:35 it says the fields are ripe for harvest. One of the most powerful teachings I've heard on this was when a pastor came to our church from Michigan and spoke on the domino effect. He spoke on John 4:37, which explains how one will plant and another one will harvest. Basically, you are only one domino in the chain of a person going from not knowing Christ to knowing Christ. You are only one piece of the puzzle, not the whole show. This concept is powerful because it releases you to treat the other person as a human being—get to know who they are, where they come from, what other challenges they may have, and how you could be Jesus in their life. Many people, especially those who have moved from a foreign land to make a better life here, are lonely and want only one thing—friendship. This is a practical need that is easy to meet. We can start to walk out our faith by being Christ, not just speaking about Him—helping people have a merry Christmas rather than just saying the words.

James speaks about this when he says faith without works is dead (James 2:26). I can share with you from personal experience that the more you be Christ and show love, the more people are open to hearing about Him and His love, and the more they'll want to know the reason for the season. I have led more people to Christ by being Christ-like than just trying to sell Him to them. Do I think we should say “Merry Christmas?” Yes, but they are not magic words. We also need to help people have a merry Christmas! So relax, let go and let God! Have a very merry Christmas!  

When Life is Hard, Love Harder

What do you do when life happens? I'm talking about the real stuff. Can I #NoFilterForASecondHere? Have you ever had a fight with your spouse? Or felt that no matter how hard you try, your kids are not perfect? Or discovered that no matter the size of your income, there seems to be more month than there is money? Does the sky outside seem gray more than it is blue? Life is hard and has no shortage of pitfalls and curve balls. What do you do in these hard times? What do you do when it's hard to get up in the morning and face the world outside? Or when you have to come home after work, open the door and face the chaos you know is on the other side? This time of year—the Christmas season—can compound the difficulties and challenges you may be facing in your life.

On December 13, 1996, my brother Doug was murdered. This event pushed my life into a tailspin. For the next four years I was homeless off and on, and living on the streets. The Christmas season was an excruciating time for me. All it did was remind me of what I had lost when my brother was taken from me. I did not want to be holly or jolly, never mind decking the halls. I just wanted to be alone and forget about the whole painful situation. Bahhh humbug! I know many people reading this blog have also suffered loss in a myriad of different ways. Maybe you've lost a child, spouse, friend or someone else very close to you. Christmas, traditionally a joyous holiday, can thus become a black hole. This was my holiday story. Or it was, until I discovered love. Although my wife is a ray of sunshine in my life, it is not of her I speak. I'm talking about a godly love, the love I found in Jesus—the reason for the season.

My life and outlook changed forever with that incredible encounter with Jesus on the street that day. The darkness in my life lifted because of the new light shining in my heart. Although the trials and tribulations did not disappear, I had a new way to look at them. If you look at the life of Jesus and what He did in the hardest of His times, it is nothing short of incredible. He was beaten and nailed to a cross where He hung and died, completely innocent of any sin. While on the cross what did He say? He asked His Father in heaven to forgive those who did this to Him, for they knew not what they did. Wow! Now that's unconditional love! In the hardest of His times, He chose to love harder. Rather than pushing away, He pulled them closer. This response is contrary to how the world thinks today. If you hurt me, offend me or wrong me in any way, my initial reaction is to push you away or hurt you back in retaliation. This is not how Jesus did life. Remember, God is love and His expression through our life should be exactly that love.

Now I am not saying that with Jesus everything is butterflies and rainbows. On the contrary, Jesus is clear that we will have trouble and we will be persecuted. The difference is we are able to love our enemies even when it is hard. Now you may be saying, “Jeff, that is not natural,” and you would be completely right! We need His help to walk in this type of love. That is why Christmas is such an important time of year. The baby Jesus grew up into the One who demonstrated the greatest expression of love—death on the cross for our sin. Without Him there would be no hope for humanity, but with Him, salvation can come not only to us but to those around us. So no matter what your situation is this Christmas season, if life is hard, love harder, be slow to anger and quick to forgive, and you will prevail. It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow, but you will win! He brings peace to the whole earth. He brings the chaos back into order, and He does it all through love! Merry Christmas!

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Why I had to Forgive Siri

This week was a frustrating one for me. Have you ever had a week in which you felt everything was conspiring against you? You and your spouse are bickering, and the kids seem like they're going from one fight with each other to the next! Your coworker won't stop annoying you, the car broke down again and even Siri, Apple’s personal assistant, was part of the plot against you. “I said platform! Not pot farm, Siri!” Some days it feels like she gets more of the dictation wrong than right. This is a huge deal for someone who writes everything on his phone through Siri's dictation software. Digital assistance aside, it has been a long time since I have been angry enough with the people around me that I had to remove myself so I did not say something I would regret.

One such incident happened to me this week, with people close to me. Once I had removed myself from the situation and all of its colorful words, I began to reflect on what just happened. When I am in the situation, it is easy for me to point a finger at other people as the cause of my issues. The only reason I'm upset is because they did this … or the only reason I did that is because they said this.... The truth is, if I take the time and be honest with myself, the issue always comes back to me. I have come to the understanding that I can only change me. Even if somebody did something that was unjust and outright mean to me, I still have the power to forgive and move on. The failure to forgive allows them to wrong me over and over again. This happens in my mind and causes a root of bitterness to grow in my life. It also tethers me to them and over time it will produce a rotten, putrid smell that everyone, but me, can smell from a mile away.

We all have met somebody like this. Two minutes into the conversation with them and they begin to rail on someone or something that had wronged them in the past. They are captive to this injustice, and it paralyzes them from moving forward and engaging with their destiny. It is like a tug-of-war. You are on one end of the rope, and the person who wronged you is on the other. What would happen if you simply let go of the rope?  The war would be over! So after my time of reflection what did I do? Well, I cannot lie; it took me until the next day, but I humbly went to the people involved, seeking their forgiveness. I had already forgiven them and my forgiveness was not conditional on them giving me their forgiveness. Even though I may not feel like I was one hundred percent in the wrong, I was one hundred percent responsible for my actions and in control of myself.

Forgiveness does not mean we condone what the other person did. Sometimes you may even have to forgive and then call the police, but the kingdom of God is clear. If you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven. When I come to people in humility and honestly seek their forgiveness, their reactions never stop amazing me. Many times they will ask for forgiveness in return and the relationship can be restored. Too many times in life I have seen people throw away sometimes years long relationships that could have been reconciled through forgiveness. I am not perfect, but once I was able to admit this and conduct myself accordingly, the Lord has been able to work in my life, changing my heart. This was a frustrating week, but it was a great reminder of how good our God is and His ability to work in our life through the power of forgiveness. For those who are curious, yes, I did forgive Siri!