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I want to be cautious yet frank in this post.  This subject hits close to home for many and there are a myriad of convictions on this issue.  However, this is a something that I have dwelt on for a bit and want to ask a few questions.  The subject, Christmas and Santa.

I was driving down the road the other morning, on my way to my tree stand, and heard a Christmas song.  The picture that the song gives you is a child praying.  Nice right?  Well wait, what or who was the object of the prayer?  Jesus Christ?  No.  Who then?  Santa Claus!!!  Is this a problem?  Some would say it isn’t because it is only a song and insignificant.  I would disagree.  Here we see an example of what has become of the Christmas season.  It no longer is a time to remember the Incarnate God-Man, the Messiah, our Substitute.  Instead of hearing a child lift request to Christ we hear that request go to Santa.  We want something, have been relatively good, and ask Santa to bring it.

Before I lose focus and begin to rant (more), I want to pose questions and try and generate some thought/discussion.  What should the Christian response be to Santa?  Should we as Christian parents, who should be seeking to develop a single-minded devotion to Christ, introduce our kids to Santa?  Should we “make believe” that Santa exists?  As one who will deal with this in the life of my own family, discussion and insight is welcome and asked for.

I want to post the thoughts of a pastor/theologian on Santa:

Sinclair Ferguson:

we may denigrate our Lord with a Santa Claus Christology. How sadly common it is for the church to manufacture a Jesus who is a mirror refection of Santa Claus. He becomes Santa Christ.Santa Christ is sometimes a Pelagian Jesus. Like Santa, he simply asks us whether we have been good. More exactly, since the assumption is that we are all naturally good, Santa Christ asks us whether we have been “good enough.” So just as Christmas dinner is simply the better dinner we really deserve, Jesus becomes a kind of added bonus who makes a good life even better. He is not seen as the Savior of helpless sinners.

Or Santa Christ may be a Semi-Pelagian Jesus — a slightly more sophisticated Jesus who, Santa-like, gives gifts to those who have already done the best they could! Thus, Jesus’ hand, like Santa’s sack, opens only when we can give an upper-percentile answer to the none-too-weighty probe, “Have you done your best this year?” The only difference from medieval theology here is that we do not use its Latin phraseology: facere quod in se est(to do what one is capable of doing on one’s own, or, in common parlance, “Heaven helps those who help themselves”).

Then again, Santa Christ may be a mystical Jesus, who, like Santa Claus, is important because of the good experiences we have when we think about him, irrespective of his historical reality. It doesn’t really matter whether the story is true or not; the important thing is the spirit of Santa Christ. For that matter, while it would spoil things to tell the children this, everyone can make up his or her own Santa Christ. As long as we have the right spirit of Santa Christ, all is well.

But Jesus is not to be identified with Santa Claus; worldly thinking — however much it employs Jesus-language–is not to be confused with biblical truth.

Read the rest HERE.

The following post is taken (by permission) from the blog of Chase Sears.  Chase currently attends the Master’s Seminary in California and has amazing insights into God’s Word.  I have benefited from knowing him and sitting under his teaching at different times.  His blog can be read at http://chasesears.info. 

November 23, 2008 by Chase Sears

For the past semester on the campus of the University of Southern California, I’ve been preaching through Genesis. Recently we’ve spent our time in chapter 2 and God’s institution of marriage. We’ve seen how marriage is not only an expectation but also a responsibility to be fulfilled. This is very contrary to the culture we live in (even our Christian culture), which says, put marriage off until you’ve completed the BA or MA or PhD, or you’ve got that nice career. Our culture seems to think that marriage gets in the way of growing up when the Scripture assumes marriage is being grown up. Genesis is clear that it is not good for man to be alone, yet people today think it is good to be alone, until they get things in order.

On November 14th, Dr. Mohler did a whole show on the phenomenon of young people delaying marriage (Go here to listen). He talks about how in the past 50 years we’ve seen a huge demographic shift concerning the average age of marriage. For males it has moved from 20 to 28. He talks about how this delay of marriage is linked to how we think about children and has created an entirely new stage in the life cycle. Basically, we have adolescence extending from 13 to 28. We have a culture that never grows up. I found Dr. Mohler’s program to be a very informative and helpful discussion on marriage.

As I’ve been studying and teaching about this in my own ministry, I’m more convienced than ever that Christianity, not to mention our culture as a whole, has a very unbiblical view of marriage. We’ve allowed the feminist lie to creep into the church, we’ve bought into individualism, and we look more like the world than the the bride of Christ. Unfortunately, most of the current generation of young people is lost in recovering a wholistic preparation for marriage and biblical adulthood. However, we can reclaim a biblical view of marriage for the next generation, where we raise our sons to not merely to be men but husbands, and we raise our daughters to not merely be women, but wives. I’m thankful for the stand that Dr. Mohler has taken on this issue, and it is my prayer that those of us who are leaders in the church will be faithful to teach our people what God expects concerning marriage.

There are those who wonder why I spend so much of my time reading theology, studying things like Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology, believers baptism, and a host of other theological ideas.  Why devote so much energy into this “scholastic” side of the Christian life?  In so doing do I, and others like me, miss the experiential, emotional, and subjective side of our faith?  In other words, in studying about the things of God do I miss God Himself?  That is a good question and one that is a real danger.  The other side is that the study of theology should lead us to experiences that are richer.  Kenneth Bruce has said that these truths of Scripture “make our experiences richer.  They lead us to worship in Spirit and Truth.”  When our experiences are chained to the Word, and confirmed there, we can bask in them.  When our experiences contradict the Word, then we know to guard ourselves from similar experiences in the future.

It is true that when one begins to dive into the complexity of our faith that one could find themselves lost in a sea of doctrine, terminology, and ideas.  These things could serve to drown us in that sea of ideas to the point that we miss the God who has revealed these things.  We must not study the covenants in such a way that we miss the God of the covenants.  This is true, and I must continually remind myself of this fact.  My efforts and labors in the more complex issues of my faith should lead me to encounter God in more majestic ways!

With that said, however, I believe one of the problems in the American church is not that we are studying these things too much!  No, we are not giving weighty things any of our time.  We are satisfied with generic, general, elementary doctrines and theological ideas that we learned when we were six.  I do not believe God is pleased with that.  Most Christians are still on milk and not solid food, and “everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” (Hebrews 5:13).  The writer of Hebrews goes on to say “solid food is for the mature, for those who have thier powers of discernment and trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (5:14)  Instead we should be moving on, past things like the resurrection of Christ, repentance from dead works, laying on of hands, eternal judgment, and instructions of washings (all found in Hebrews 6:1-3).  We are called to “leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity.”  And this is what I, and every other preacher of the gospel, is called to help God’s people do.

Paul says that he is called to “make the word of God fully known”, in order to “present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:25-28).  This is the calling, and as Dr. Al Mohler has put it, “The Pastoral calling is inherently theological.”  Why?  Because teaching the Bible is theological.  If I am to declare the whole counsel of God I must be immersing my mind in the whole counsel of God.  When I stand up to preach, it must flow out of a HEART and MIND that has drunk deeply at the fountains of the Word.  It is then that the riches of God’s Word come bursting out of the mouth of the one who is called to proclaim the Word (which in one sense is every believer).

Why study theology?  Because theology is the  study of God and His Word.  The Bible knows nothing of a follower of the one, true, and living God who does not desire to hear a Word from their Lord.  The Word of God is pictured as sweet!  Why do we not desire to dive deep?  Why are we frustrated when a preacher talks about things we don’t understand?  Should we not rejoice when someone gives us insight into some things that are harder to understand?  As a pastor I will never cease to study theology.  I will strive to guard myself from getting lost in the study of God to the point that I miss Him there.  I will preach the whole counsel of God and seek to present those who sit under me “mature in Christ.” 

I pray that I never cease to dive deep.  I pray that from time to time I return to the shallow end, as a professor of mine once said, and dwell on those elementary principles.  I pray however, that I do not stay there.  May I venture out into the sea of theological ideas and doctrines in hopes of seeing the glory of the God who has revealed Himself to us.  After all, studying theology is studying the Lord.  How can we see more of Him if we dwell on the same things day after day and never undertake harder, more complex things?  Let us strive to know Him more, to understand His word more, and to be able to “give an answer to those who ask” and faithfully and effectively “contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.”

How Each Apostle Died

All would give their lives for the gospel save John, who would be exiled in old age to the island of Patmos.  These accounts are drawn from church history and tradition and find little or no support in Scripture.

Peter—All records of early church history say he died by being crucified.  Some say that he was forced to watch his wife be crucified first.  After this he pleads to be crucified upside down because he was not worthy to die as his Lord Jesus.

Andrew—Crucified  by being lashed to the cross instead of nailed to prolong the suffering.  Tradition says that he was lashed to an X-shaped cross.

James—While being led to the judgment-seat, the person who was leading him heard James give his testimony.  This man also acknowledged that he himself was a Christian and thus both men were led away and beheaded.

John—exiled to Patmos, dying around AD 98 under the reign of Emperor Trajan.  The only one not martyred. 

Philip—Tradition says he was among some of the first apostles to suffer martyrdom.  History says that he was put to death by stoning eight years after the death of James.

Nathanel—(also known as Bartholomew)  History is inconclusive on how he meet his death.  One account says that he was tied to a sack and thrown into the sea while another says that he was crucified.  All accounts say he was martyred.

Matthew—(tax collector)  No reliable accounts of his martyrdom, but tradition says that he was burned at the stake.

Thomas—(the doubter)  Tradition says that he was martyred by being run through with a spear.  Fitting, since it was the spear mark in the side of Christ that Thomas demanded to see before believing.

James—(the less or son of Alphaeus)  Varying accounts of his death, although all affirm martyrdom.  Some say he was stoned, others say he was beaten, while a few say he was crucified.

Simon—(the Zealot)  There are no records, that are reliable, on how he died, but all affirm dying for preaching the gospel.

Judas—(Son of James)  The traditional apostolic symbol for this apostle was the “Club” because tradition says he was clubbed to death.

Judas—(the traitor) Hung himself! 

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.  They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’  They they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11)

When Peter refers to the writings of the apostle Paul he says that “there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).  Most of us have no problem affirming that statement by Peter.  Those who would dive into the Scriptures will find that there are things contained within that will require you to think, pray, and think so more before any level of understanding comes your way.  The question is why?  Why has God not chosen to reveal things in such a way that they are easy to understand?  I want to offer a couple of observations before borrowing from John Piper’s “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.”

My first observation is that we often forget that we are called to love the Lord our God “with all our mind”(Matthew 22:37).  In the 1850’s we see a turning of the tide from intelligent Christian thinking towards a mere emotional and experiential response to the Lord.  Men like Jonathan Edwards excelled in preaching theologically rich and doctrinally challenging sermons that called for Christians to think about their faith.  Charles Finney comes along and turns that on it’s metaphorical head.  Finney urged hearers to forgo thinking about their faith and simply respond with their emotions.  Any type of thought about ones faith was seen as detrimental to that faith.  What do we have now?  We have a multitude of Christians who cannot explain why the deity of Christ is essential to the Christian faith or even why Christ must be the only way.  It is all based on their emotions and some “experience” they have had in the past.

Why hard texts?  Because God has called us to think and to think hard.  Look at the Psalms and notice how meditating on the Word is not only desirable but healthy.  Intense thought upon the revealed Word of God is not something we should shy away from, it is something we should run towards.  The hard texts require us to think about other passages, to look deeper into what God has said, and in so doing we encounter more of God!  What true believer doesn’t want that?

Secondly, we must remember that these things that are seemingly hard to understand are only meant for the spiritual.  Paul tells the believers in Corinth that “the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of  God, for they are folly (foolishness) to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).  The things of God are hidden from the unbelieving eyes.  They are not meant to understand the things of God, that belongs to those who are His.  When we pass from spiritual death to spiritual life it is because God has regenerated our hearts and opened our eyes to the spiritual things that we once could not see.  Hard texts are hard in some cases because they serve to hide spiritual truth from the unbelieving world.

Thirdly, we must remember that even though hard texts cause us to think hard about God and what He has revealed and some texts are hard in order to hide spiritual truth from the unbeliever, there are still some things that seem almost impossible to know for the believer.  Why those texts?  I can understand causing me to think, but what not at some point make things clear?  I believe it has to do with mystery.  Our minds are finite while God is infinite.   There comes a time when we must remember, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).

I wanted to link a sermon (which you can read) by Dr. John Piper that helps us think through these things in a more thoughtful way than I am able.  Enjoy it HERE.

I really enjoy this time of year!  The reasons are numerous.  The changing colors, the cold mornings and cool days, deer season, coffee taste better, and so many other things.  The Fall is a time of year that finds it’s place at the top of my list of “Favorite Times of the Year.”  My least favorite?  Summer…I hate the heat unless I am on the lake or in a great pool.

Deer hunting may seem odd these days since there are a declining number of participants.  It has allowed me, however, to enjoy the outdoors.  Growing up hunting has allowed me to be “at home” while outside.  I love to sit in a tree (tree stands are great), watch, listen, and just think without anyone bothering me.  Get up, go to the woods before sun-up, get in your tree at dark, settle in, and then just relax.  Before you know it, the woods are alive with sounds of waking animals and the sunlight begins to make it’s way over the horizon and high into the morning skies.  I really do enjoy that part. 

The Fall is an amazing time for people to enjoy different activities outside as well.  It isn’t so hot that you can’ stand it.  Flag Football, Capture the Flag, and so many other things are ways to enjoy an evening in the Fall.  As a matter of Fact….we will do some of those things at the Fall Farmal…just check out Ignites homepage for more info.  We should have a blast while enjoying Friday evening on the Farm.

So, here is to the Fall…one of my favorite times of the year!

That is right, in this post I am going to point you towards an article by Pastor John Piper that tells you how to vote!  I believe it is dead on and you should pay attention.  I encourage you to take a few minutes and read through it….then go to the polls!

Click HERE and you will be taken to the article.

As most know, I enjoy surfing the blogpsphere and reading what others are thinking, discussing, and debating about.  There are only so many blogs a person can fit in amidst the plethora of the blogs available.  So, in case you don’t have time to read any blogs (which you should I think), here are some interesting articles from some interesting people.

Todd Burus has posted some good pieces on his, and others, view of election (not the Presidential type).  His thoughts are stirring and worth your reflection.  I think these issues serve the church well in that they pull us into things that are hard to understand yet are things that God has chosen to reveal.  It is healthy to set your mind on weighty things from time to time.

Dr. Russell Moore, my second favorite preacher/teacher/theologian, has a link to a great article that is relevant to the college-age generation.  Although I think a sterner stance could be taken on collegiate para-church ministries, this article is helpful.  Concerning Dr. Moore, he has  recently preached a message in Southern Seminaries Chapel service that deals with some tough issues.  I think the cry, “Don’t be a single issue voter” finds its match here.  You can read some summarizing thoughts here.

Dr. Danny Akin has posted an article that asks you, the believer, to consider whether or not it is possible to vote for Barak Obama.  He asks you to see if “you can find it morally conscionable to vote for “a president of death.”  Strong words worth consideration.

Those are a few things that I have run across over the last couple of days.  I find it interesting that there are so many that cry, “Don’t be a single issue voter.”  I don’t understand the logic.  There are multiple issues to look at to be sure.  The economy, medical care, international policies, energy plans, and education are just a few.  However, is it not true that some issues are just more important than others?  I believe that to be the case.  If Obama and McCain stood on the same side of the issues of homosexual marriage and abortion legislation, then the other issues would be where I would turn to make my decision. 

That is about as much as this guy will ever talk about politics.  The Lord sets up kings and tears them down.  It is in the hands of One who reigns over elections!  God rules from on high and there is nothing that stands in His way.  Dr. Tom Ascol has put it this way:

“Whether McCain or Obama wins the election, the kingdom of Jesus Christ will continue on. If your man wins, he will not be able to do what we desperately must have done. If your man loses, his defeat will not be even a speed bump in slowing the advance of the eternal cause and purposes of Jesus Christ.

Remembering that will help get us through not only the next 3 weeks, or 4 years, or 8 years, but also the rest of human history.”

Gina and I were riding up to Indianapolis to meet up with my brother and his family.  We were all heading to Chicago, IL for the TrueWoman Conference 2008.  On the ride, we had a chance to chat and we talked about parenting.  What was our goal in parenting?  How would we go about reaching that goal?  These were just a couple of questions that we decided to think through.  What we concluded is for another post.  Here, I want to ask another question.  Why do we wait to think about important issues such as marriage, finances, parenting, and so many other things?  Should we not think through these issues before we are actually faced with the immediate responsibility?

It seems to me that we are being unwise when we wait to think and work through these important issues in life.  Take marriage for example.  Should we be challenging our students, teenagers, college students, and other single men and women to think through this issue early?  I believe so.  I talk to students about marriage and they look at me like I am crazy.  Why should they give that any thought right now?  They are a good couple of years away from that…at least!  That is a fundamental mistake, in my opinion.  We need to develop a good theology of marriage early on in life.  That will help us when it comes to dating, engagement, and finally marriage itself.  It is a sad thing to see as a newly married couple begins to think through this issue only after the wedding.  For a good theology of marriage (which should be developed before reading practical tips for marriage), see “Sacred Marriage” by Gary Thomas.

What about the issue of parenting?  Gina and I should have started long ago working through the goals and methods of parenting.  We had a late start.  We should have been giving this some thought before we ever became pregnant.  These are important issues that require in depth thought.  Children are a gift from God, they are in a real sense His and not ours.  We are only stewards of His little image-bearers.  Therefore, we must be found faithful.  Young married couples, Sunday School classes, groups of young married friends, should be working through these issues together.  I would love to see young married couples pick up a study on parenting and walk through it together.  Tedd Tripp has an awesome book, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart”, on this subject that I commend to you.

In all aspects of life we are called to honor Christ.  We are to be good stewards of our finances, the institution of marriage, and our children.  This means we need to give these different issues lots of thought before the responsibility is upon us.  I pray that we seek God’s guidance in all aspects of our lives, sooner rather than later.

Having had a week to reflect on the conference, lectures, and conversations with Taylor and Todd, I am ready to conclude this series of posts.  I pray that they have been helpful to you as we have reflected on what was said.  It truly was a time of refreshment for myself and look forward to future opportunities to attend events such as this.

I come away from this time with a simple thought.  “Life and death are in the Power of the tongue:  You choose!”  Every time I open my mouth I am either honoring Christ or I am not.  There are no neutrual words.  Therefore, it is imperative that I guard my mouth, that my lips are careful to speak words of life and not death.  We all would do well to heed the instruction of James here:  “My dearly loved brothers, understand this:  everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak..”(James 1:19)  I come away wanting to guard my words more carefully than I have ever before.  We should all seek to be those who speak words that are gracious and seasoned with salt.  This includes words of rebuke when necessary, encouragement when needed, and instruction when possible.

It is no secret that my favorite preacher of the modern era is John Piper.  He is a man that speaks with gravity and seriousness every time he has the opportunity.  You can tell from his handling of God’s Word that he knows the times are urgent because the days are evil.  The last lecture of the conference came from this veteran preacher.  His topic, “Is there Christian Eloquence?”  It is a question that tries to strike a balance with what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:17; 2:1 that he did not come to preach Christ “with clever words, so that he cross of Christ will be emptied of its effect.” (1:17)  He also “did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.” (2:1)  Here, eloquence, or clever/brilliant speech, is seen in a bad light.  Paul is saying that he did not come in those ways because they would undermine the cross!  So what is the balance?

Piper compounds the problem by reminding us that Paul was in fact eloquent in his speech, the Bible itself is eloquent in it’s pages, and passages within the Bible call us to be wise in our words.  That makes the question even tougher to answer.  Without going into all the details here I will simply give you Pipers conclusion.

Piper takes us back to the context of this letter to the Corinthian church.  Paul knows that the Corinthians are influenced by a sect of philosophers known as the Sophists.  They are a group that is enamored with their words.  They use their crafty, eloquent, and brilliant words to draw attention to themselves.  That is the type of eloquence that Paul argues against.  He does not come using crafty words to draw attention to himself.  If he, or anyone else does….”they undermine the cross.”(1:17)  Instead, Paul came preaching Christ…using his words to point towards Jesus.  Paul admonishes the church at Colossae that whatever they do “in word or in deed” should be done in the “name of Christ.”(Colossians 3:17.)  Piper’s conclusion then, is that there is eloquence than can be right and helpful when used with the correct motivation.

Piper goes on to give some practical expectations that we can have from using timely words.  1)  They keep the attention of your hearers! 2)  An adversary may listen if your speech is pleasing.  3)  May awaken a desire in their heart to hear more glorious truths.  4)  Well used language can make things easier to remember.  5)  Beautiful truth is expressed by beautiful words.

All in all, I agree that we should use our words well.  We must guard from seeking to exalt ourselves with our clever language and seek instead to use thoughtful words to connect our hearers to Jesus alone.  It was a great conference, a convicting time, and fun!  I enjoyed having the chance to hang out with Taylor, hear his thoughts, talk through mine, and just spend some time with a friend and brother in Christ.  It was nice to see Todd again.  God is doing some great things in his life and I look forward to our continued dialogue. 

I pray that we all, by the power that God supplies through His Spirit, will use our words to give life.  May your words build others up and point them to Christ the King.