The Light of Christmas

We at Calvary Chapel of Monmouth County hope and pray for all of you a merry and blessed Christmas. Though there is much darkness in the world, there is also much light. More people are coming to Christ now than at any time in all history! Churches are being planted in all parts of the world at the rate of hundreds daily. The anti-Christian bias in our country grows fiercer and more open almost daily, but that is a reaction to the power of the gospel. When the light shines on the landscape around you, it shows you the way and makes for a friendly universe. When it only shines in your eyes, it blinds you all the  more, and brings pain to your eyes. As we surrender to the light, Christ, we no longer live in a menacing universe but it becomes a place where God's purposes are worked out. So this year,  when you sit around a lighted Christmas tree opening gifts with your name on them, remember that the Light of the World has come to give a personal gift to you - forgiveness of sins - eternal life - the joy of knowing a personal God. All yours, with your name on it, if you receive Jesus Christ the Light into your heart as your Lord and Savior. God bless you!

The Jolly Season

" 'Tis the season to be jolly." You are, of course, familiar with that song expressing one of the lighter moods of Christmas. It is a "jolly time". It is a happy time, with family gatherings, exchanging gifts and tales, sharing memories and food. But much more than all that, it is a joyful time. Joy is the most profound, far-reaching of the positive moods of Christmas. The angel's message was that the good news is news of "great joy." Then, family, friends, and loved ones return to their homes. Toys break and wear out. We soon have our fill of even the best of food. The happiness and pleasures of Christmas are short-lived, and not fully satisfying even at their best. But joy - that's different! It is a fruit of the Spirit, so it is fully satisfying. Its presence doesn't depend on things that don't last or that lose their fascination. It has to do with the mysterious but real Presence of God. With the forgiveness of sins. With a life that never ends, in the Presence of a loving God. No wonder the angel could speak of great joy, which would be for all people! Hallelujah!

The Shining Light

When we first come to Christ the Light of the World, we begin to notice how differently we see things. With His light now shining on everything, all of life looks different. Our values, issues of right and wrong, how we spend our time and money, how we think of others and treat others, what we do with our own body, whether we should cheat on that test, or keep quiet about that money we found. But what we may  not notice at first, is that while shining on life in general, that light is revealing something else - the blemishes on our won spirit! Self-centeredness, mean-spiritedness, greediness, lust, materialism, all show up like ugly blotches under a bright light. Run - don't walk - to your nearest prayer closet and confess it thoroughly to God and your loving Father will cleanse it from you with the precious blood of Christ.

Are you Ready For Christmas?

Are you ready for Christmas? It seems like we just got the stuff from last year put away, and it's time to get it all out again! Get a tree, get it all dressed up, get ready to bake some cookies and pies (Mrs. Smith's pies are real good!), go over the list again - don't miss Uncle Fred and Aunt Sadie this year! The house will soon be filled with the delicious aroma of pies, cookies, ham and beef roasts mixed with pine or spruce. All this is good. Christmas is, after all, a season of celebration. And how can we have a decent celebration without an ample offering of food, aromas, gifts, and relatives? The down part of all this good is that the temptation is to get so caught up in gifts and food that the real meaning and message of Christmas is lost. The celebrating can trump the reason for the celebrating. Christmas means that the eternal God has entered our time-space earth and mangled world to bring good news of healing and restoration. But not just to bring good news. Actually to be the good news that He brings. He has brought an external word, a message from outside our minds and hearts. One we did not make up, one most of us in fact resisted, in some cases for years. We cannot ascend to God on our own, He came down to us. And not in a way that any human mind would've expected. He came dressed as a little baby, born in a cave used as a stable, laid in a feeding trough for animals! The gospel is wildly improbable - but it happened! We know it as not a story made up from human imagination, for no one would have had the eternal God come to us in that way. If this God in Jesus Christ does not live in your heart, invite Him in. He is eager to be your Lord and Savior, but He won't without your invitation.

Security - Today and Always

This world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place in which to live, and its inhabitants are becoming increasingly vulnerable. New diseases have arisen that are debilitating and killing millions of people. New strands of bacteria have developed. Some of these are deadly, and some are immune to the antibiotic drugs that our scientists have developed. How badly people need the security and peace that is found in Christ alone! The securities of the world are being seen to be unsure at best, futile at worst. If you don't know Christ as your Lord and Savior, ask Him now for forgiveness of your sins and for eternal life. To change your lifestyle out of fear of AIDS or any other disease is not repentance of your sins. It is just prudence and common sense. But the diseases and dangers of the world may awaken you to the reality of your sins, and move you to trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is eternal salvation.

Impossible?

It's amazing what can be accomplished when a person or a group decides it will be done. The human spirit itself is virtually indomitable when it pulls its resources together and goes with it. It finds resources it never knew it had. How much has been invented or discovered that we take for granted today, but it is only here by patient, courageous, dogged determination by someone who wouldn't give up! Besides the wheel, we think of electricity, the light bulb, modern miracles of medicine such as the MRI, the cat-scan, our manned rocket ships, etc., etc. If this is so of the human spirit, how much  more when the Spirit of God is the Primary Agent? We think of miraculous answers to prayer, mighty outpourings of revival, evangelistic movements that swept whole towns and cultures into the kingdom of God. Let's commit ourselves to God for the greatest work of His Spirit to hit this planet! Believe God for the impossible!

The Dicatomy of Strength and Weakness

God speaks of those who "in weakness were made strong." There was no greater weakness than for the Eternal God to be nailed helpless to a cross, hanging between heaven and earth. Yet in the greatest mystery of all time, that very weakness accomplished what nothing else could - the redemption of a lost world.
When we think of all the changed lives, and civilizations, and all that came from that cross, we realize how true are the words of the apostle Paul when he speaks of the "power of the cross!" It seems like those words don't belong together. We don't think of power in connection with a cross, but of the very epitome of weakness. But Christ's cross changed all that! The most powerful place in all the universe was that little hill outside Jerusalem where Christ died on a cross, and released such power that the world was never the same! That power is available for your life today.

First the need - then the prayer - then the miracle.

pastorshaw@gmail.com

On Disagreeing Agreeably

Sometimes we Christians think it a terrible thing to disagree with each other. It really isn't. In fact, it's inevitable. How could a group of people of multiple backgrounds, different religious traditions, varying levels of education and experience, different genes and temperament, possibly agree on everything? Granted, sometimes the Holy Spirit brings an amazing unanimity to a group, and supernaturally solidifies our opinions, and it's wonderful when He does that. But that is a miracle, so by definition does not always obtain. The rest of the times, we Christians must be very forbearing and understanding, not campaigning to bring others to our opinions, but recognizing any of us could be wrong, and the others right! And if we are right, and the others wrong, that's OK too! In the last analysis, it is Jesus who is Lord, and things are never out of His control. And He can even take the errors of the others (or our errors) and use them for the good! Remember always, it is God's kingdom we are promoting. It is advanced by love, patience, understanding, forbearance, gentleness, faith. As we allow Him to develop these fruits in us, and live them in our daily lives and relationships, He will bless us together - even in our points of disagreement.

Expect Much!

It is no compliment to one to have little expected of him or her by the church, or by the Lord Himself. God expects much of us - everything we are and have! The greatest compliment anyone can give us - our teachers, our employers, our parents, our children, our church, the Lord - is to expect much of us. Let's expect much of each other at our church. We have so much to offer because God has created us with so much. Let's be great givers of - time, talent, money, ideas, labor, skill. And see God's kingdom extended as a result! And parents, expect much of your children. If you don't, you make them think they are not much, and have little to offer. Don't shame it out of them, or threaten or intimidate or bribe. But expect much of them, and it will be there.

By The Sweat of Your Brow

It seems that most things of value do not come easy in this world. God wasn't kidding when He told Adam that, from now on, what Adam - and humankind after him - accomplished would be "by the sweat of your brow." Food for the table, a house to live in, a car to drive, all come by way of copious "sweat." It really is no different in the Christian life. To be a person of prayer takes time and focus. To be one skilled in the Scriptures takes diligent digging into the Word - not just a "precious promise for today," but diligent, systematic, determined study of the Bible. Five minutes a day won't do it. The last thing we can afford to be superficial in is the reading and study of the Word God has committed to holy men of old to bring down to us today.