Love is a most confusing term these days because what many call “love” isn’t love at all. So today to get a better understanding of what love actually is I will let the Apostle Paul speak for himself.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 HOLMAN

If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for languages, they will cease;

as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But

when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child,

I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Last night the President of the United States spoke to the nation in his yearly State of the Union address. There were many hot button topics that he addressed from the economy, new creation of jobs, to the much contested border wall, and the issue of abortion. Recently, the state of New York has passed legislation that allows for trimester abortions up to the day of birth. Also recently, the Virginia governor, who is also a medical doctor, stated on a radio interview that he also supports late term abortion even the execution of a baby after birth. (https://youtu.be/_xD8cPgcZ3E) His words on the radio interview were ‘the baby would be delivered, resuscitated if necessary, kept comfortable, and then the doctor and mother could discuss the future.” This is infanticide! Now hopefully any such bill would fail in Virginia, and there is always subjective ambiguity within the verbiage of any law that passes which creates so much confusion. What we need is clarity of life, and clarity of life comes from having a clear worldview about life. We will never understand life from a bottom up perspective but rather from a top down perspective. Only when we begin to see life the way God sees it will we have clarity. Here we are in the land of the free, home of the brave listening to leaders entertain such horrors. The abortion issue is the Holocaust of our era in our land.   

Psalm 139:13-14

For it was You who created my inward parts;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.

Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.

Every day we are faced with choices to make. Some of us like making decisions and some of us run from making decisions in our lives. We are faced with choices in how we are going to spend our time, money, educational goals, etc. that one day will make up the sum of our life. One day all of us will look back and see what kind of life we lived based on the culmination of choices we made throughout our lives. This is important to remember because it is in this thought that often forces us to reconsider what choices we are making. The choices we make today create the legacy we leave behind tomorrow.

            In Scripture, Joshua made a declaration that as for he and his household they were going to choose to serve the Lord. In the context of this verse he was giving the people an ultimatum of going back to their old ways and serving foreign deities or making a conscious decision to serve the only living God that brought them out of Egypt. So here is the question for us today? What god are you serving in your life? Is it the god of self or is it the only living God? I’ve noticed in my own life that when I choose to serve the living Lord that I am proud of the decisions that I make in doing so. Our choices are derivative of whom we serve in our hearts. May I encourage all of us to serve Jesus.

… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”(Joshua 24:15)

            On December 26^th, 1987, at 2 a.m. in the morning a dear family friend passed away, Thomas Benjamin Cobb. He was like a grandfather to me. He was an enormous jokester and loved to play games. That year he fought colon cancer, and it finally landed its final blow to his life the morning after Christmas. I remember at my young age the mixed feelings of losing someone for the first time, while also have the feelings of cheer around the holidays. It was an early lesson learn that happy and sad often come in the same moment because up to that time in my life they seemed segregated.

            Many of us during the holidays are not experiencing the holiday cheer of the season because it is only a reminder of a sadness or loss that we have recently felt or has been there for many years. May we take the time to remember those who are struggling during this time and share a kind word of encouragement, a hug, or even a prayer. No matter how we focus on happy things life will still be life and as they say life goes on.

            It is in these times we sense the Lord’s presence the most. As you read this you may not be feeling the holiday cheer but rather the holiday loneliness or deep sadness, but please don’t forget the Lord is near if we only draw near to Him. Remember in faith there can be joy in the midst of sadness as we remember His victory over our loss and loneliness.

James 4:8

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Christmas has become so commercial with everyone often trying to “keep up with the Jones’” it can feel very overwhelming. Trying to do last minute shopping and the hustle and bustle can sure get to us in the end.

            The first Christmas was not without its overwhelming features. Imagine a young virgin girl being told she was going to be with child, not only just any child, but the very Son of God. Talk about overwhelming! I think about things today that the Lord calls me to do, and I feel overwhelmed but nothing like the responsibility of raising God’s child. I think, any of us if we are honest, might not have received the news quite as well as young Mary. Her response was one of obedience and surrender. Where often times my response to God is, “What? Wait a second…I don’t know if…You really mean me?” Whereas in my life I’ve been guilty of balking on God, Mary was guilty in simply believing in God.

            May we this Christmas be reminded that the reason for the season is the reality that God became human to become our Savior, and the vehicle in which He used to accomplish this great task began with a young virgin girl, who said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Matthew 1:38) If only our responses to God were more like Mary’s response. We must remember it is a privilege to serve the Lord of the Universe and for Him to choose us to do any task for Him is a grand opportunity.

Recently, over the Thanksgiving holidays my family and I took a trip to Junction, Texas where we celebrated Thanksgiving. My wife and I hunted while my parents stayed around the cabin. It was a great time of refreshment and fun. Our phones wouldn’t work, a blessing indeed, and there was no TV, and it was a time of detoxing from the busyness of life. The week after we came back, after experiencing this technological detox, I realized how much day to day life has become dependent on these things, and I’m by far not a techie. It’s like an alcoholic realizing how much they spend on drinking once they stop. 

            It is easy to get caught up in the world of busyness, and sadly the holiday season should slow us down yet for so many it speeds us up. The holidays become a dread to many trying to get everything so perfect for company and family and the fun seems to seep away. Let’s take a second to reconsider what really matters. It’s not the perfect dessert or if the house is spotless, it’s about appreciating what really matters in life and what makes life worth living. My prayer for all of us is to detox from all the distractions in life and remember the important things such as faith and family. We need to appreciate the failures that have taught lessons this past year, and be grateful for the forgiveness God’s grace grants each one of us if we ask for it. We have so much to be thankful particularly in the gift of God’s one and only Son, Jesus. May He be the focus of our family this season!

Psalm 118

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His faithful love endures forever.

This past Friday night the 41^st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush, took his final breath of life a little after 10 p.m. in Houston, Texas. I saw an interview over the weekend with the President’s longtime friend and tennis partner James Baker who served in many prominent positions of government, including his Secretary of State, that when he stopped by to visit the President on Friday morning, Mr. Bush said, “Hey, Bake, where we going today?”. Mr. Baker replied, “Well, jefe, we’re going to heaven.” The President replied, “Good, That’s where I want to go.” Baker said he didn’t realize before the day was over that his longtime friend would indeed be in heaven.

            This brings up a wonderful thought to consider. When you look at the long list of things accomplishments on President George H.W. Bush’s resume it is astonishing. From businessman, graduate of Yale, CIA, VP to President Reagan and then President himself, anyone would have to conclude this is a life that has seen and served a lot with great success. Yet, all the accomplishments in the world can’t prevent one from having to face the question of eternity. From the poorest to the richest, from the biggest sinner to the biggest winner, we all must face the question of our eternity. My prayer is that we all have the same wish as the 41^st President of the United States when speaking of heaven, “Good. That’s where I want to go.” There is a way to know for sure that we have eternal life, and that is through the only gate Heaven has, Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:12-13 HCSB

The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

The other day I referred in a talk which I was giving that the mission of the Christian is to stop evil with love through the gateway of forgiveness. I tried to make the point using the illustration of dominoes lined up in a row, and that when tipped over each domino takes out the next innocent one next to it not the domino that initiated the fall.

We as sinful people often do the very same thing. When someone does us wrong we often take it out on innocent ones around us, then they do the same, then others do the same, and so falls the dominoes of life except they are not dominoes but people. Evil works in this way. The only way to stop the dominoes from being tipped over is if either they were far enough apart that the one falling couldn’t touch the next one or to have a domino with enough strength to withstand the attack from the previous domino. In regards to people, no one can isolate themselves never to be hurt from people because the fact is so many of us hurt ourselves, and the only way to withstand the attacks of evil from others is through love and forgiveness. Now some may say, what about retaliation? That only means you would start your own evil “domino fall” in a new direction, but wouldn’t actually stop the dominoes from falling. The only way we can stop the dominoes of evil from falling forward beyond our lives are to forgive the ones in love who in our past. To let go and let God handle all that, and by doing so stop the forward motion of evil so that freedom is the result.

Romans 12:17-18 NLT

 ¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Here are some questions to ask yourself this Thanksgiving holiday: Are you grateful? Would others see you as a grateful person? What makes you grateful in your life? What keeps you from being more grateful in your life? Does gratitude impact your happiness?

            Each one of us has so many reasons to be thankful not just for this holiday but for everyday of our lives. I realize I take so much for granted in my own life, and it’s good to stop and confess that periodically. I once heard if the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy. That sure can be the case these days with so many things fighting for our attention.

            Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, starts out with an attitude of gratitude in how much he thanked God every time he remembered them because of their partnership with him in spreading the Good News of Jesus. He had such a love and joy for the people in Philippi that it produced a gratefulness within him. Consider this: To have gratitude there must be a reason in combination with a relationship. We must be grateful for something and also grateful to something. What are you grateful for? But more importantly who are you grateful to?

Philippians 1:3-5

³ Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. ⁴ Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, ⁵ for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.