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Happy New Year! I’m sure many of you are ready to put “the holidays” behind you, but not me. Not yet. I think there is something refreshing about hearing and saying “Happy New Year”, even a week or so into the year! Those words give you the feeling that you can start over or begin something new! That is the idea behind New Year’s Resolutions. You resolve to improve your lives, to lose weight, to exercise more, to spend less time watching TV and more time in Bible Study and prayer, to come closer to God in some way, to be a better person. You make all these resolutions and then you strive to keep them. A New Year is a fresh start! But it doesn’t take long for you to lapse in your efforts and find that those resolutions are more difficult to keep than you thought!

Today is the day of Epiphany! Sometimes people wonder why my wife and I leave up our Christmas decorations so long. According to the church year calendar, Christmas continues all the way through today, January 6. The festival of Epiphany is connected to the coming of the Magi, the Wise Men, as described in Matthew 2.

Thinking about those travelers we call “the Wise Men,” something that impresses me is their resolve. They made a resolution to find the Christ, the one born King of the Jews, no matter how far they had to travel. It could not have been an easy journey. We don’t know exactly where they came from, but it was likely a great distance. Their journey would have been dusty and dirty and difficult. Yet they were so committed to this, they were so determined to find this king, they were even willing to stop and ask directions! That should tell you something about their resolution: Guys known for their wisdom who were willing to stop and ask directions! And it paid off for them. They were directed to Bethlehem, where they found the Christ-child, and they rejoiced in God’s goodness to the world. Even though they were not part of the chosen people through whom the Savior had come, they knew that Jesus had come for them as well. His birth was heralded as “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Sometimes your journey may also be long and dusty and dirty. You have obstacles to overcome and have to stop for directions from time to time. You decide to make a New Year’s resolution to come closer to God in some way, but your own efforts are not enough and you fail. People and circumstances work against you in your resolve to live as the redeemed child of God you are. The good news for you again today is this mystery and miracle of your faith: because Christ Jesus came, and died to pay for your sins, you also are able to approach God. Paul wrote about it this way: In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Eph. 3:12)

You are “In Him” by virtue of your connection to Jesus through Baptism. Scripture tells us that Baptism connects us to Jesus in His death and resurrection, so much so that God sees His death as your death for sin, so that you will also share with Him in His resurrection (Romans 6). You are “In Him.”

Working through the Word, the Holy Spirit invites you to share in all the riches God has provided for you: forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Everything earned by Jesus is yours for the taking if you will only believe. And that is what is meant by faith, through faith in Him: believing though you have not seen, standing on the promises of God’s Word, confessing Jesus as Lord with your mouths, believing in your hearts.

Think back to those Wise Men. They are a model for us. They had a star that led them to Jesus. You and I are led by the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ. When the Spirit enables us to “find” Jesus, then in Him and through faith in Him we have the freedom and confidence to approach God!

In all of this, the Church has a central place. Even though it is made up of sinful people who sometimes hurt each other, even though the church has sometimes caused harm, the church is something God established and is His chosen instrument for bringing people into fellowship with one another. What needs to be remembered is that Christ is the head of the church, not people. The church is the joining together of those Jesus redeemed, Jews and Gentiles, as a united people in one body. This is God’s plan and purpose for His church. The thing that unites believers everywhere is Jesus. The things that don’t matter are the ethnic origin or color of one’s skin, the language they speak or where they live, poverty or wealth. What unites us is the knowledge that when God sent His Son into this world it was to for the purpose of saving all people, reconciling all men to Himself. Jesus lived the life that God demanded, keeping every requirement of the Law and never sinning. He offered that life in your place. Because of Him, you have peace with God. The angels told us that: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men…

When you contemplate the one who is in charge of everything, the one who made the heavens and the earth, you might be tempted to think “What right do I have to approach the throne of Almighty God, much less imagine doing so with confidence?” But the answer is simple: Because of Jesus, that little toddler the Magi sought. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Another Christmas come and gone. Today is the twelfth day of Christmas, the end of the season. How was it for you? Are you glad it is all over? Or is it? For some, the parties and gift exchanges may not yet be over. I know in my household we will have our last gift exchange with part of our family tomorrow.

So what has been the focal point of this season for you? Did you remember whose birth we were supposed to be celebrating? The following story, sent to me many years ago, helps put Christmas in the proper perspective.

A woman was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable, and hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn’t take it anymore and stated, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot.”

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, “Don’t worry we already crucified him.” For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

For me, the message is straightforward and powerful. Those who are looking for joy in gifts and shopping and parties and people will never find it. True Joy is found in the birth of Jesus Christ. That was and always will be the most significant event in the history of this world.

The reason this is true is because without Jesus, we would have no hope. We would be doomed to destruction and eternal separation from God because of our sin. But God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men’s sins against them (2 Cor. 5:19) That was all part of God’s plan. He was crucified to pay for the sins of everyone. That’s why He came. His resurrection sealed the deal, proclaiming His victory over death and the grave for everyone. Faith in Him assures you of forgiveness and eternity with Him.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. And a very merry twelfth day of Christmas to you all.

Galatians 4:4-7 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out,  “Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

A little boy was walking along a seashore with his mother. He started asking those kinds of questions that children ask their parents, the kind that can drive you crazy in no time at all. Pointing up to the beautiful blue sky he asked his mother, “Is God up there?”  “Yes” she answered. After thinking about it for a minute, the boy said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if He would put His head out and let us see Him?” In a sense, that is exactly what God did for us at Christmas.

This passage above, no doubt heard by many of you last Sunday, is the text I used on the first occasion I had to preach at Christmas time. I was in my first year of seminary and invited by my father to preach at my home congregation in Dallas the Sunday after Christmas. These words are a beautiful description of what God did for us at that particular point in history. He “put His head out” by coming into this world as Jesus, a man, so that we could better understand who He is and what He wants for us.

That phrase when the time had fully come tells us that God had selected the timing of this event very carefully. The conditions in the world at that time were just right for the Savior to come and fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament. And this was no accident — God knew all along that at this particular time He would send the Savior He had promised over and over again to His people. That is why the prophecies were worded as they were — they were pointing to what God had long since determined would happen. God had acted lovingly in the past, and continues to do so, as evidenced by what Paul describes here. God put His head out and let us see him.

But this portion of Paul’s letter tells us more than “the time was right.” He also tells us exactly what Jesus did. He was born as one of us–born of a woman. He shared our humanity to the fullest extent, even to the point of being subject to the commands of God — born under law. Being born under the law, He did what we were not able to do — He lived a life of perfect compliance to God’s Law. And why? …to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Jesus came for you. His life of obedience was for your benefit. Everything He did was for you. The redemption was for your sake. That’s why the Christmas story is important for you. That is why Jesus was born.

Some translations say that we might receive adoption as sons rather than full rights. I think that makes the message of this passage easier to understand. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are the actual children of God, not second-class citizens. And as children, we are the legitimate heirs to the riches God offers–eternal life and salvation. Being the children of God through faith means that our sins have been forgiven. Jesus took care of that. Having full rights as sons means that we stand righteous in the presence of our God because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. His righteousness becomes our own, allowing us to stand blameless before our God.

Merry tenth day of Christmas.

Before I retired, I routinely scheduled a week of vacation immediately after Christmas. That was the case in 2015. Cheryl and I went to have Christmas dinner with our daughter and her husband in the Metroplex. He grilled some steaks and the unseasonably warm weather allowed us to enjoy that meal on their patio! Then we headed out to west Texas to visit my wife’s parents and siblings. And it came to pass that while we were there, winter storm Goliath made his presence felt. As we were driving, we watched the temperature fall 30 degrees in 30 minutes, and it kept going. We were not in a place that had large accumulations of ice and snow, but we did have sufficient ice that we were without power for a day and a half. Battery operated candles, a wood burning stove and a small generator enabled us to get by, but it sure was a relief when the power was finally restored. I am always grateful for those who go to work under adverse conditions to make the necessary repairs to restore power.

Sitting in the dark gives you time to think. And because we were in the Christmas season when that blackout occurred, I was reminded of the passage read in many churches the previous week from Isaiah:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 

The relief we felt when the power came back on at my in-laws house was nothing compared to the joy of having God’s light shine into the darkness of this world caused by our sin.

The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. John 1:9 

That is the Good News we are still celebrating this Christmas, the arrival of that true light. For those of us who have been led to faith, that is GREAT news. Jesus Christ came to us as one of us to pay our penalty for sin so that we would not have to do so ourselves. The light of the world.

The sad thing is that there are way too many in the world who are still sitting in the darkness. They don’t know about Jesus. They have not seen the light. How can we help them?

The answer is not complicated. Let them see the light in you. Shine it through your words, your actions, you daily existence.

That storm Goliath gave us an excellent opportunity to let our light shine. While it was a terrible and devastating storm, the followers of Jesus responded by letting our light shine. The tornadoes to our South and East caused extensive damage, and after we returned home, we were able to show God’s Love through disaster response efforts on the East side of the DFW Metroplex.

That is a way I can share the love of Jesus with those who are hurting and in need. You can do the same. The opportunities are all around you.

May the God who sent His light into this world richly bless you all in the New Year! Merry eighth day of Christmas.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Another brush with celebrity story. Back in 2009 I was waiting in the airport in Portland, Oregon for a flight home. I had attended a pre-convention planning meeting when I was still working with the LWML. Sitting at the gate, there was a bit of commotion as people were pointing and staring at someone, but I didn’t see who they were all interested in so I just went back to my reading. I was flying Southwest, which means there is no assigned seating. I noticed an aisle seat that people were looking at, but they all kept passing it by. When I got to that row, there was a very small lady sitting next to the window. I asked her if anyone was sitting with her. She said no, so I sat down. We made some small talk. She said she was going to speak at a women’s conference in Denver, which was where I would make my connection to Dallas. I told her I was working with a Christian Women’s organization planning a convention in Portland. She said she was a Christian, too. I asked her how she got in to being a speaker.  She said it was because of her popularity from her television show. I didn’t know it, but I was sitting next to a celebrity. I had never seen her show. I was sitting next to Amy Roloff from the show, “Little People, Big World.” I had a delightful visit with a famous person even though I didn’t know she was a famous person at the time.

We have a thing about famous people. People want to know all about them. When someone tells us that they know a celebrity personally, our first question is usually, “Wow. What’s she really like?” The tabloid press makes its money off of our desire to know the rich and famous.

That said, many famous people don’t want to be known. They complain about the paparazzi’s relentless intrusion in their lives. They disguise themselves when out in public. They protect the privacy of their families. When asked a very personal question by a reporter, they may end the interview or bolt out of the room.  It is ironic that famous celebrities often don’t want to be recognized or known.

God wants to be known. Christmas is about the lengths to which God will go to be known and loved. When John says, “The Word became flesh,” he is describing Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, as God’s premier self-revelation in human form. In other words, if you want to know this God, who so deeply wants to be known, then look at Christ. To see Jesus is to see God. “Whoever has seen me,” Jesus once told his disciple Philip, “has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Retired Lutheran Bishop Stephen Bouman of the ELCA tells of standing behind an altar in a small crypt chapel of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, in the Holy Land, the place where Mary heard that she was going to have a baby. He saw some Latin words carved into the altar: “Verbum caro factum est,” “The Word was made flesh.” But then he noticed that there was one other little word in Latin. That word was: h–i–c. Hic. “Here.” “Verbum caro hic factum est.” “The Word was made flesh here.” Probably whoever authorized that inscription meant it to refer to that specific location.  but in reality, the Incarnation means God became flesh here on earth, for all of us. The Incarnation means that we can speak of the “hicness” of God, the nearness or “hereness” of God. Incarnation means that God walked with us on earth. We were saved right here on earth. He came here, for us.

Merry seventh day of Christmas.

Merry Christmas! You probably have heard that many times already, maybe not so much the last day or so. Some folks have already taken down the decorations and put all that behind them until next year.  However, In the Church Year calendar, today is the sixth day of Christmas. You know, like in the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Society may have started the Christmas season back in October, but in the traditional Church Year calendar observed by many Christians around the world, the Christmas season begins on December 25^th and goes up to Epiphany, January 6^th. Epiphany is the celebration of the coming of the Magi or Wise Men to worship the Christ child and offer their gifts. So we find ourselves still in the Christmas season.

As I mentioned earlier, that is a tradition. The truth of the matter is that we don’t know exactly when Jesus was born. We do know that it happened around 4 B.C., but they were not using the same calendar we have now back then, and there is no record in Scripture of the date on which Jesus was born. December 25^th is simply a day that was chosen by the Church as the time to remember and celebrate His birth.

While we do not know exactly when Jesus was born, we do know that he WAS born. And that is worth celebrating. It goes back to the announcement the angels made to those shepherds:

 “ I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

A teacher had been trying to get her second-graders to learn some Christmas carols. After a lot of rehearsals, she felt brave enough to take them caroling. They went to a number of places where the people were homebound. After each place, the children talked about how the older folks had smiled as they sang. The children had never seen such smiles.

The last stop was in the community’s only nursing home. There, the teacher, with her charges in tow, wandered the hallways and gave a song at the doorway of each resident. Only then did the teacher notice that one of her more enthusiastic singers had rewritten the words to one of the songs.

Where he was supposed to be singing, “Noel, Noel,” (Noel meaning Christmas, or Christmastide), he was belting out, for all to hear: “No hell, no hell, born is the King of Israel.”

While that boy didn’t know the correct words, he had the right idea. In fact, he nailed it. His words explain what Christmas is all about, probably doing a better job of explaining Christmas than the original carol. Quite simply, because Jesus Christ, God’s sinless Son, was born, because He completed all the work that was necessary to forgive our sins and save our souls, because He was nailed to a cross to be the sacrifice for sin,, there is “no hell” for those who believe in Him. That is the saving He accomplished, this “Savior… Christ, the Lord.”

I pray that is your joyful certainty and conviction as well. Merry sixth day of Christmas!

Have you ever had any brushes with celebrities? I’ve had a few. About fifteen years ago I was doing some last minute shopping the week before Christmas. I was in Academy looking at something when this fellow bumped into me. He was wearing a camo jacket and cap and had a scraggly beard – nothing about him made him stand out from anyone else in the store. He said, “Excuse me!” and I told him it was fine and he kept going. Then I noticed that a few people were following this guy around, whispering about him, then stopping him to shake his hand. I didn’t know who he was, so I finished my shopping and went to check out. I noticed this guy at another register. There was a little short blonde lady standing next to him. She was wearing a heavy jacket and ball cap with her pony tail sticking out of the back of that cap.  Everyone in the store was looking and pointing, including the young lady working the cash register in my lane. So I asked her, “Who is that guy?” She gave me a look of disbelief. “You don’t know?”  “No, I don’t.”  “That’s Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.” I said, “Okay. Who’s that?”  The look of shock on her face was even more pronounced. “They’re singers. Country Singers.” I said, “I’ll take your word for it.”  At the time, they had just started to become well known, and this was before they were married – and then divorced – but I didn’t know who they were. If I had known, I might have reacted differently. The young lady working my register thought I should have known them. To those who knew who these folks were, it was a huge deal. In fact, when I was putting my purchases in my vehicle, they walked past me again, but I still didn’t recognize them.  Some people would have loved to have been in my place, but it didn’t mean anything at all to me. I just got in my car and drove home.  When I told my kids about it, they were as incredulous as that cashier that I did not know who those people were.

How many times have you had a brush with celebrities and not even known it?

During this Christmas season, we should understand that a lot of people still don’t know who Jesus is. We know who He is and we know that He is a big deal. But not everyone knows what we know. They are like I was in that sporting goods store, clueless to the celebrity walking right past me.

Much of the world asks, “Who is this guy?” And even after being told “It is Jesus” they still have no idea what that means or who He truly is. A lot of folks hear the name “Jesus” and think He was a good guy and a great philosopher. Others think He was a scam artist and a charlatan. They have not yet been informed about His true identity. They just don’t know. A Christmas Hymn asks a great question: “What Child is This?”  It is good to reflect upon and remember WHAT CHILD THIS IS so that we will appreciate God’s gift to us even more and we will be better prepared to share Him with others.

Everyone has to be told who Jesus is at some point.

• The angel Gabriel went to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of the Son of God, and she was more than a little taken aback by that announcement. (Luke 1:26-38)
• Joseph also had to be told who Jesus was by the Angel (Matthew 1:18-25). When he discovered Mary was pregnant and knew it was not his kid, he was ready to get rid of her. But the angel assured him it was God’s Son who would save everyone from their sins.
• When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, shepherds were also told by the heavenly hosts. They went to see for themselves this thing that had come to pass.

I wonder how many people walked by the stable that night, saw the commotion with a new baby and all those shepherds, wondered what was happening, but just shrugged and kept going. They had no idea who it was or why it was a big deal. They were as clueless as I was in that encounter with those Country Music artists. And how many people today are still clueless as to who Jesus is? What Child is This?

When Jesus came to earth—the most glorious event in history—he was largely ignored by the world. Caesar Augustus was too busy counting heads in his census to notice. There was no room for God’s arrival in town, so he was born in a livestock barn. As soon as King Herod heard that another king was born, he set out to exterminate him. They did not understand who He was.

Let me tell you who He is. This, this is Christ the King…the Babe, the Son of Mary.  God Himself … the Word made Flesh … who would one day bear the cross … for me … for you. This is God’s answer to the problem of sin.

The story of God becoming flesh to visit the Earth was ignored, neglected, rejected, and despised. Then the greatest irony of all history occurred: The Creator who took on our flesh was stripped, beaten, and executed at the hands of his own people. Yet even crucifixion could not destroy God or his love for us. He rose from the dead. He lives and he reigns! He reigns in glory! And it is in God’s self-sacrifice at the cross and empty tomb that we behold his glory most fully.

The question is whether or not we see it. People who don’t understand who Jesus is or what He has done still know that Christmas has something to do with His being born. They just don’t understand What Child This Is! Too many walk by in ignorance. They do not appreciate that He was and is the light of the world that has overcome the darkness of sin for us all.

You have the chance to rub elbows with this celebrity on a regular basis. He comes to us in Word and Water and Bread and Wine. He promised to be with us to the very end of the age. It is not a chance encounter, but a life-long relationship. Everyone needs to be told who Jesus is.

Here’s what you need to remember: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

I pray that is your joyful certainty and conviction as well. Merry fifth day of Christmas.

1 Timothy 4:10 … we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

If Jesus died for everyone, why isn’t everyone saved? I googled that question a few years back, and the articles I found all said something different.

• Universalists believe that because Jesus died for everyone, everyone will be saved, whether they believe in Jesus or not.
• Our Calvinist brothers and sisters maintain that Jesus did not die for everyone, but only for those who He knew would believe in him, using the Scriptural term the “elect.” This is often called Limited Atonement.
• There is the position that says that the invitation to be saved is offered to everyone, but some reject it and do not receive the benefit of what Jesus did.

These different positions all refer to Scripture to support their understanding. Scripture clearly says that Jesus died for the sins of all people.

• 1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

However, we also find in the Bible that not everyone will be saved.

• In the days of Noah, the wicked died unsaved in the flood (Genesis 6-9)
• When Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated (Genesis 19) those people died unsaved
• But it was not just an Old Testament thing. When Jesus was crucified, one thief was told he would be with Jesus in paradise. The unrepentant one on the other side was not told that.

People die unsaved. You have probably known some people like that.  So the question remains: If Jesus actually died for the sins of everyone who ever lived, then why does anyone go to Hell?

Again, one answer is to say that Jesus died only for those he knew would believe in Him. They will cite passages to support their position. Matthew 25 talks about Jesus separating the sheep from the goats, and John 10 has Jesus calling Himself the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. So they say Jesus died for the sheep, but not the goats. And in Ephesians 5 it says “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”, which they understand to say that He died only for the church and not for those who are not believers.

So how do we reconcile those passages to the ones like this?

• 1 John 4:14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
• [Jesus] is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

The teachings about Jesus as Savior of all has been a source of disagreement in the church for a long time, and most likely it will be until Christ returns. Let me affirm that anyone who puts their faith and confidence in Jesus as his or her Savior from sin has been saved. If you have faith that Jesus is your Savior, you are saved. That is true whether you believe Jesus died for everyone or not. If you believe He is your Savior, if you trust that His death made payment for your sin, you get the benefit of everything He accomplished for you.

Our Lutheran understanding of this issue is that all of the passages cited above are God’s Word, so they are all correct. Even if they appear to contradict, we are willing to live with that seeming conflict. If you are saved, it is God’s doing, not your own, and He deserves all the credit and honor and glory. If a person is not saved, it is because he or she rejected God’s grace, and the blame lies with that person, not God.

I heard someone explain this teaching using the illustration of a meal. God has prepared a meal and you have been called to “come and get it.” It has already been done for you. When you eat the meal, you receive it and get the benefit of it. Your eating of the meal does not make it real. It was already there and existed. The eating simply receives what was prepared for you. In the same way, faith does not cause God’s forgiveness – that was earned by Jesus. Faith receives what Jesus earned.

[Jesus] is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

Jesus is the Savior of all people and some people are not being saved. They will not eat the meal that has been prepared for them. Jesus died for all and is the Savior of all men. It is available for everyone. And those who put their faith in Jesus as a result of the Spirit’s work in their lives will reap the benefits of all Jesus earned.

Merry fourth day of Christmas.