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This Sunday we begin a short series of messages built around the Christmas season. As a nation that is so influenced by tradition, we have the tendency to look at this special season of the year in exactly the same way every year. Sometimes following our traditions, we miss out on the real power of this time of year.  Everyone is making a list…either it’s what they have to do, what they want to get, or what they would like to give.

There is a list of questions that is much more important and over the next few weeks we will be talking about that list. When people look at their lives, the first thing they need above everything else is to know that there is someone out there who loves them unconditionally. How clearly we see that in the birth of our Savior. We’ll begin that this Sunday morning and I hope and pray that it is going to help us to see Christmas in a more meaningful and a more powerful way than we have ever seen it before.

I am looking forward to sharing that with you.

Last week a document titled “The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience” was released to the public. This  4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not – under any circumstance – abandon their Christian consciences.

The first part of the document reads,

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Over 200,000 have already signed the declaration and it is growing daily.  I have signed it and I would encourage you to do the same thing.  Go to Manhattandeclaration.org

We are spending a lot of time talking about the problems.  This is a way for believers to take a stand together on issues that are fundamental to our faith.

We are now past Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season.  Many of us spent part of the weekend sharing with our family and friends the usual things for which we are grateful.  Family, friends, good health, material blessings, vocations, ministries, the Lord’s protection, His love for us, His guidance, His comfort in the midst of trial all make the list along with other things.

We spend this time being especially grateful for His blessings and then when we go back to work and the leftovers are gone, we have a tendency to go back to living the same way we were living last Wednesday.  We sometimes have the attitude that “I don’t have to be grateful again until next year.”

When it is called to our attention, it is easy to express our thanks for the blessings of God.  It is much more difficult to be thankful in every circumstance.  But that is exactly what God tells us to do.  I Thessalonians 4:17-18 says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in “all” circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

“In all circumstances”, you have got to be kidding.  But that is exactly what He says.  We serve a powerful and loving God that is even able to work with us in the bad stuff.  I have been praying  this morning  for a friend that has experienced a terrible tragedy in the loss of a loved one.  I do not know how the Lord is going to work in this area but I know He has the power to do so.  We will never be grateful for the tragedy but we can live with a spirit of gratitude.  This will always draw us closer to Him and that is what we need more than anything else.

Thanksgiving may be over but we should live our lives with a spirit of gratitude giving thanks in all our circumstances.

Last week a federal court struck down a South Carolina proposal for a license plate with the words “I believe” on it. The court followed the usual process of citing separation of church and state. The federal court shows a bias against anything that could even be interpreted as being Christian

In following the story, I heard one commentator say they can just take the cross off and leave the “I believe.”  In my estimation, that’s worse that banning the license plate all together. We cheapen the meaning of the message and fool ourselves when we think the words “I believe” all alone mean anything at all. This waters down the intent of the license plate so much it makes it totally worthless, in my estimation.  This is another illustration of the greatest problem that we have in America and that is we don’t know what we believe. We have compromised in so many areas that we can adopt the ridiculous position that just saying the words “I believe” means anything at all.

This is but another reminder of the importance that a follower of Christ not depend on just a license plate, a piece of jewelry, or a tee shirt to express our faith. We must know what we believe and we must be able to articulate clearly what we believe and do it without hesitation. This is another reminder of the importance of each believer growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is no substitute for growing as a disciple and sharing that message with a lost world. We must not find ourselves being only like the commentator, complaining about a license plate. Rather we need to show those around us a lifestyle of following Christ.

Recently I was talking with a high school coach who shared with me the story of a player who is now playing in college. He mentioned to me the fact that he is now having a great career in college, but that he always had a problem getting him to live up to his potential while he was in highs school. The player had all types of ability, but he only showed enough of it to get a chance to play in college and then he really began to shine.

We talked about the frustration that comes when you see someone with so much potential and it just doesn’t seem to click at the right time. Sometimes when we are in the position of a coach, a leader, a witness, or a director we feel a sense of frustration when we don’t see it happen in the lives of people. So often it is all about timing. I said to the coach that I believe that he had made a significant impact in the life of that young person. The player never would have had the opportunity in college if that coach had given up on him in high school.  I told the coach that whatever success this player has in college was due to the investment that he had put into him in high school.

The same is true in every area of our lives. God gives us an opportunity to invest in the lives of people. We want to see immediate fruit and great results. But sometimes that is not the case. We must continue to be that witness and influence regardless of the outcome and regardless of what we see at the moment. Most of us have someone that we care about that we feel is not living up to their potential. Let’s remember that the Lord has not given up on us and we should not give up on them.  You never know what the Lord is going to do.