Are you EXCITED for Christmas?

a brief look at what you should really be excited about on Christmas

There is always some confusion as to what is the true "reason for the season."  Let's try to straighten it out. 

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus - God in the flesh! 
"The word became FLESH and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only..." As humans, we have to see to believe, we love tangible things, and putting a face with a name.  Jesus came to us- in person, in the FLESH. This is Immanuel- God is with us.  "Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death...and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."  

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus- who was born to do that which we had been failing for centuries to accomplish.  He kept God's law.  It was something we could not and would not complete.  Then He died so that His perfection could be applied to us.  "Through the obedience of the One man, the many will be made Righteous." This is Jehovah Shalom- The LORD is our peace. 

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus- who came humbly.  Why would the God of the Universe be willing to become a baby, living with imperfect humans? Why would He volunteer to become a man, walking among a people who hated him?  Why would He humbly give up His place as King of the Universe?  
"...he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—        even death on a cross!"
That is a Christmas Miracle.  

John 1:14
Hebrews 2:15
Romans 5:19
Philippians 2:7-8

The Bible vs. "Same Love"

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

We all know this verse, but let’s think about the meaning of being set free by truth.  To be set free from slavery to sin, we have to come to terms with at first unpleasant truths.  A lack of truth is the enemy of the gospel, because as human beings, we hate to face truth.  Satan’s best trick is to lie, or worse, disguise partial truth to make it look like truth when it really isn’t.  Most humans think we know a lot, and so we try to create our very own standard of truth.  Inventing truth is a dangerous thing, so here I will try to use the Bible as a standard of truth as I walk through the lyrics of Macklemore’s “Same Love.”

When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay,
'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight.
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-k, trippin' "
Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she?
Bunch of stereotypes all in my head.
I remember doing the math like, "Yeah, I'm good at little league"
A preconceived idea of what it all meant
For those that liked the same sex
Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it's a decision

Yes, we are all responsible for our decisions, yet all guilty of choosing sin.

“They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Although they KNOW God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they NOT ONLY CONTINUE to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:31-32

And you can be cured with some treatment and religion

Yes, homosexual or not, sin makes us all dead.  God cures us of sin and of deadness.  He changes what people do and he changes their identity.  “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit...” Psalm 103:2-4

Man-made rewiring of a predisposition

Yes, we actually ALL have a predisposition for sin.  God, not man rewires us.

“But they will reply, Ít’s no use.  We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” Jeremiah 18:12

Playing God, aw nah here we go

James 2:12-13 “ Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

America the brave still fears what we don't know
And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten

It is common sense that a parent who truly loves his/her children will discourage destructive and dangerous habits.  “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” Proverbs 13:24

But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago

“For the Word of God is alive and active…” Hebrews 4:12.  “…The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63
I don't know

And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to

Of this you can be sure, you are powerless to change yourself.

“Can the… leopard [change] its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”  Jeremiah 13:23

Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is a sinner.  “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is NO ONEWHO DOES GOOD, not even one.”

 Romans 3:12

BUT God can change anyone.

“…We know that our OLD SELF as crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should NO LONGER BE SLAVES to sin.” Romans 6:6

My love
She keeps me warm
She keeps me warm

If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately?
"Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily
We become so numb to what we're saying
A culture founded from oppression
Yet we don't have acceptance for 'em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!

Live on and be yourself
When I was at church they taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed

Yes sir that is TRUE.  HOWEVER, I have yet to hear a preacher who teaches us to hate homosexuals.  Maybe there are a few, and those ones make the news, but check the facts on this one.  

That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen

This is very tricky.  When you become a Christ follower, you give up your rights to do whatever you want, your rights to sin.  Now of course, no government can change the condition of a soul by a law. 

I might not be the same, but that's not important
No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it
John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

(I don't know)

We press play, don't press pause
Progress, march on
With the veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
Till the day that my uncles can be united by law
When kids are walking 'round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are

Identity is a very deep-rooted issue.  We are all eager to have an identity.  Christ offers us a new identity:  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

I suspect that people suffer unknowingly of feeling that they are “not a people.” They are searching for an identity.

And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start
No law is gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever God you believe in
We come from the same one

I could come up with several quotes from the Bible to counter these two lines.  Here is one of my favorites.

“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses.  Is there any God besides me? No there is no other Rock; I know not one.” Isaiah 44:6 & 8

Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”  Ephesians 5:25-28

About time that we raised up

Love is patient
Love is kind

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

1 Corinthians 13:3-4

Love is patient
Love is kind
(not crying on Sundays)

Upsidedown Leadership Part 2

6) Get off the Cutting Edge

7) Don't Just do Something, Stand There
"When the people of God are trapped between a body of water and the most advanced army of the ancient world, I imagine the Hebrew leadership-type people are scanning the crowd looking for some leader who will do something.  Yet God gives Moses this instruction, 'The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.' (Exodus 14:14)"

The commandment we forget - "A day of rest each week reminds me that I am not to lead, but to follow.  My Master is gentle and kind, and He says come to Him and He will give me rest.  His yoke is really easy (Matt. 11:28-30)."

"We talked for hours about God and Jesus.  As the conversation got more intense, I needed to go to the bathroom.  When I returned, I asked him an important question. 'Do you want to accept Christ into your life right now?' He said, 'I just did, when you were in the bathroom.'  All God needed was me to get out of the way."

"...Jesus did nothing.  Then when He was on trial, it seemed to me to be the time to argue most passionately and eloquently for God's way.  Instead, Jesus just stood there and answered nothing.  I wonder if some people at the time interpreted His lack of activity as weakness, fear, or incompetence.  he seems the exact opposite of what a forceful leader should do.  Almost upside down."

8) Think Inside the Box

9) Become a Nobody
"Once you really know who you are, you can bend down and wash someone's stinking feet.  You can work and not be recognized or thanked."

"It is amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit."

10) Embrace Shame

Interns go to Long Island

Week seven in New York took Season, Allison, Kevin, Jonathan, and me to Long Island.  We were also joined by Brooklyn interns Jordan and Kelly.  We worked at Trinity Baptist Church in Shirley- wayyy out on Long Island. We were helping out with Amazing Wonders Aviation VBS!

Long Island reminds me a lot of rural Georgia.  Just replace southern accents with LI accents.  The church was small but active, and it took me back to our West End days.  The church has a bus ministry, which I think is always a good idea, and a lot of the VBS kids came in via church bus.  I got to work with 3rd and 4th grades, and I even got to teach one night. 

Being on vacation in LI also gave the intern group lots of quality time together.  We got to go to the beach and play in waves, as well as play lots of uno and spoons, and a few good rounds of sardines. 
We learned through VBS that God has power over creation, circumstances, and over sin.

Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.
Psalm 147:5

Songs of the Week - NYC

Week 1) What makes you Beautiful 1Direction
Week 2) Signature of Divine NeedtoBreathe
Week 3) Your Love Shane and Shane
Week 4) I can't Give up MaryMary
Week 5) Hymn Brooke Fraser
Week 6) In Christ Alone/ How Deep the Father's Love
Week 7) You Deserve Hillsong
Week 8) We Lift our Hands in the Sanctuary Kurt Carr

Graffiti 2 and the Age Old Lesson of THANKFULNESS

Sunday I had the pleasure of visiting Graffiti 2 in the BRONX with intern Mariah Miller and my roommate Season, who is playing piano there.  Graffiti 2 was a very awesome church.  The ministry is geared towards youth, and the group had just returned from a mission trip to Dothan, AL. The church had no AC, and 7 fans.  It runs maybe 30 people.  The service starts with group discussion.  We got into groups and shared what we needed God's help with this week.  I said that I need God's help to control my tongue and my friend Robert said he needs help reading the Word. We prayed for each other and then worship started.  What's awesome about worship? Local teens are learning to play drums and guitar.  The sermon was prefaced by more group discussion of assigned Bible verses.  Our group's verse was Philippians 3:7-8
 ^"But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. ⁸ Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ ⁹ and to know that I belong to him."
We talked about how often we worry or get frustrated over things that DON'T MATTER AT ALL! How often do I freak out about the chaos in the building, not being able to use the internet, doing dishes, loosing something, plans not going my way? Yeah, we can all say that Chris is the most important thing but is He really? Easy to accept, hard to apply. Things my group listed as "what we once thought valuable": electronics, friends, location, circumstances, hot showers, things going our way at work.  
The sermon was on David, and how he sought God with his heart.  The pastor let the youth act out the story as he told it, and then had the groups share each verse.  When he finished the sermon, after the prayer, he asked us to raise our hands and share how we needed to apply what we learned. 


To conclude, Graffiti 2 was geared toward youth, highly interactive, and encouraging accountability.  They also have a therapy dog, which is so cute. 


God has been teaching me the basic lesson of thankfulness.  Through reading the book "Kisses from Katie," and Philippians 3:7-8, I have realized that the minor discomforts I experience here in NYC are trivial compared to the lives of other saints around the world.  I have realized that any complaint I have doesn't matter when compared to the overwhelming awe of the gift of the gospel. 

From "Upside down Leadership" by Taylor Field

This is the book we are reading with the interns.  It is all about the anti-principles of good leadership.  It has examples of people who failed in their lifetime, but they planted seeds which grew much later.  God is not interested in your great results.  He is not interested in how much of a hero you can be.
Here are the higlights for you:

"If we succeed without suffering it is because others suffered before us; if we suffer without succeeding, it is that others may succeed after us."

Principle 1) Stop leading
"A human life is like a single letter of the alphabet.  It can be meaningless. Or it can be part of a great meaning."

"Perhaps we are simply not able to understand the operating principles of the universe. Perhaps it is like a cat trying to understand algebra."

"So if there is a God, then learning to lead might mean learning to listen."

Principle 2) Forget results

Principle 3) Make no plans
"I like to think of God positioning us... And how could you possibly understand if you were actually in the pawn's position, crowded by larger pieces, unable to see the whole board?"

Principle 4) Think small
"God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him."

Principle 5) Associate with loosers
"...association with losers gives one a new kind of ears. People who work with the homeless cannot walk the streets in the same way. The issue stops being about homelessness; it starts to be about Sarah or Jose." 

"whenever you pigenonhole someone, you cease to love him or her.  You close off the possibilities of what he or she is what he or she is to become."