My pastor and I have a ongoing “argument” about some Christmas carols. He contends that some of them are scripturally incorrect. I maintain that songs are poetry and poetry uses figurative language and is not to be taken literally. He asserts that some are still factually misleading. And, of course, he’s right. But I do like Christmas carols. They help me to be festive once a year and how is that bad, really?

We all have our favorites and mine is “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” with the comma in the proper place—meaning, that God will give us rest when we are weary and make us merry when we are not. (If the comma is after the word “ye,” it sends an entirely different message.) My least favorite carol is “Away in a Manger.” I apologize if this is your favorite. It’s just my opinion and you are certainly entitled to yours.

However. I do take issue with some of the lyrics. For example, the first verse reads “Away in a manger no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus Laid down His sweet head,” and right away I cringe. And here’s why. There is nothing “little” about our Lord Jesus! Now, I realize that he was once a baby, but I fear that this carol gives the impression that Jesus is sweet and innocent and tiny and helpless. I think that many people leave the baby Jesus image in their minds and only pay homage to him at Christmas time. When in fact, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”¹  That’s who Jesus is! To leave him in a manger is to distort his image and his power and his purpose.

Plus, when the cattle began mooing, and Jesus woke up, the song reads “But little Lord Jesus No crying he makes.” But don’t you think he might have cried at that point? I do.  Babies cry! It’s not a sin to cry! And another thing. The third verse reads “Be near me, Lord Jesus I ask You to stay Close by me forever And love me I pray.” It sounds to me like the song writer (and no one really knows who it was) was pleading for Jesus to love him. And we don’t have to do that.

My prayer (and Paul’s prayer) is that this season you may know the immeasurable love of God, and Jesus will have to leave the manger in order to comprehend this! Paul prays that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”² That’s how much God loves us!

“Away in a Manger” is a sweet melody. It is often sung by children and that’s fine with me. Let’s just make sure that as adults, we do not leave Jesus in the manger but allow him to grow up in our lives so we can experience “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.”³

And if you are looking for a really good Christmas Carol, read the lyrics to “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” And punctuate the title properly!

“O tidings (news) of comfort and joy” be yours today.

¹Colossians 1:15-16   ²Ephesians 3:17-19   ³Ephesians 2:19

Jesus offers peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.”¹  Don’t look for peace in this world. You won’t find it. So, how can we be at peace in a nonpeaceful world? By living righteously. Doing the right thing—not the correct thing, the minimal thing, but the thing that is “more” than others. Jesus asks, “What more are you doing than others?”²  Righteous people do the right thing for no apparent reason, “for the righteous shall live by faith.”³  Righteous people are those who need no cause and no reward to do the right thing. They are good people not because God is good to them but because God is good.

Righteous people exhibit the qualities of love: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful”⁴ —to name a few traits.

How do we become righteous? Not by being righteous! No. We become righteous by faith, by believing in Jesus, who then goes before God and defends us by taking on our case. Then we are “justified by faith.”⁵ And once we have been acquitted of the penalty of sin, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”⁵ Jesus, then, begins to live inside of us and we become righteous. As we grow in Christ, he enables us to act righteously!

So, what does living righteously have to do with being at peace? It’s the effect of being righteous. “The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”⁶  Doing the right thing creates peace in our souls, which results in a “quietness and trust forever.” It matters not what is going on in the world if we have peace in our souls. Everyone needs this peace, but many search for it in the world, and it will not be found there.

Another benefit of living righteously is that it offers hope for people. Jesus tells us, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”⁷  Will God loves us more if we live righteous lives? No. Why not? Because God cannot love us anymore than he already does! His love is so great that it cannot be greater! Then why do good works? Why live righteous lives? Because of its effect on us—it results in peace in our souls. When the world is noisy and rude and violent and chaotic, we can live in the midst of it all and be at peace. And because the peace of God reigns in our hearts, Jesus says we can also count on this: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”¹

So, to summarize: Living righteously produces peace, quietness, trust, patience, kindness, no worries, no fear, good works, and hope for the world. The question, then, for us is Are we living righteously? Or to put it more succinctly: this: “What more are [we] doing than others?”

¹John 14:27   ²Matthew 5:47   ³Galatians 3:11   ⁴1 Corinthians 13:4-5   ⁵Romans 5:1   ⁶Isaiah 32:17   ⁷Matthew 5:16

Nicodemus was intelligent and respected. He was a leader, “a ruler of the Jews.”¹  He had heard that Jesus was upsetting his colleagues with his pious words about the temple. Jesus had caused an uproar there by overturning tables and driving everyone out. He was speaking disrespectfully to the Jews and creating confusion. Nicodemus had heard about Jesus’ miracles and how people were following him and how his popularity was rapidly growing. Although his associates were intimidated by Jesus, Nicodemus was curious.

He went to visit Jesus one evening to decide for himself who this man really was. He greeted him respectfully and acknowledged that he must be a gifted man of God. Jesus’ response? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”² Which really seems off topic to me. His words confused Nick, too. He responded with the equivalent of What are you talking about? So, Jesus repeated, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”³  Nick was not used to being perplexed about spiritual things, and the look on his face must have revealed to Jesus that he was bewildered, so for the third time Jesus said, “You must be born again.”⁴  All Nick could do was ask, “How can these things be?”⁵

And oddly enough, Jesus reprimanded him by saying, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”⁶  If Nick was a proud man, he was suddenly humbled. He had probably never been talked to like that. But he was stumped by Jesus’ words and did not say anything else. Jesus kept talking, and I think Nick listened intently.

Nick was a religious man, a good man—but not a spiritual one. Jesus was talking about spiritual things: believing in God instead of works, acting on faith instead of knowledge, having God’s approval rather than his condemnation. Nick had never heard anything like it. He thought he knew how to gain God’s favor. Jesus’ command that he had to be born again was indication that he had to start over and unlearn everything he thought to be true. Nick left that night with much on his mind, mulling over Jesus’ strange and yet inviting words.

I like this story because Nick was brave enough to have a private conversation with Jesus instead of simply going along with the others in his religious circle. I like this story because Nick was not too proud to tell Jesus that he did not understand what he was saying. I like this story because Jesus did not pressure Nick to be born again right then and there. Nick was a contemplative man and Jesus knew he needed to ponder these things. I like a contemplative person.

I like this story because Jesus points out to Nick (and to us) the most essential thing about our lives is that God loves us not because of what we have done (or not done) but because of what Jesus has done for us. I like this story because I need to hear that “whoever believes in him is not condemned.”⁷  Because I feel like a failure sometimes, lost, lonely, helpless and hopeless. I’m sure that beneath Nick’s righteous exterior he felt the same way or else why would he have visited Jesus?

The end of Nick’s story can be loosely constructed based on a few short verses. He came to Jesus’ defense later on when he asked the chief priests, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”⁸  And again after he was crucified, “Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.”⁹

We, like Nicodemus, often think we need to understand everything about God before we decide to “be born again,”—which sounds like an impossible and eccentric thing to do. Thomas, who had followed Jesus for three years, had trouble understanding everything too. He required physical proof of Jesus’ resurrection. So when Jesus showed up, he spoke to Thomas about it and reprimanded him, too, He told him, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”¹⁰  Jesus requires that we have faith in him. You know, faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”¹¹

Some would believe that we should question and ponder and research and “google” everything until we have all the answers about God. But that is not how it works at all. Nicodemus was an intelligent, righteous, godly man, a leader and “a ruler of the Jews.” And he had to unlearn all that and start over, and “be born again” in order to be a man of faith.

Because “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”¹² What “rewards” are we talking about? So many things, the greatest of which is everlasting life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”¹³

“How can these things be?” Just have faith.  

¹John 3:1   ²John 3:3   ³John 3:5   ⁴John 3:7   ⁵John 3:9   ⁶John 3:10   ⁷John 3:18   ⁸John 7:50  ⁹John 19:39   ¹⁰John 20:27   ¹¹Hebrews 11:1   ¹²Hebrews 11:6   ¹³John 3:16  

When people talk about freedom, it’s generally in the context of government and country. Jesus talked about freedom. But his freedom is much broader. It is spiritual freedom, which is misunderstood and downplayed and even dismissed by many people.  It is, however, the most important freedom that we have.

One time when Jesus was talking with “the Jews who had believed him,” he told them, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”¹  But their response was “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free?’”² They did not believe that they had a problem with slavery and freedom. And maybe we do not either. After all, we live in America! We are free!

But our sin enslaves us. At every turn. Even those of us who are believers, even disciples of Jesus, struggle with this daily. We think we are free. But Jesus said, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”³

What does it mean to be “free indeed”?  Read Galatians. The concept of slavery and freedom is weaved throughout the whole letter. Paul says that “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”⁴ Which is quite interesting because it appears that we are susceptible to being slaves even though “Christ has set us free!” How is that possible?

Because sin is that powerful. We underestimate its impact on our lives. We underrate Satan’s deception and influence. He will appear to be good and we will be tempted to “submit again to a yoke of slavery.” But Jesus reminds us that “we are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”⁵  We are heirs to the kingdom!

It’s quite exciting! As children of God, we are heirs to the kingdom of God, to heaven, to living eternally in a perfect world with God and with people who love God. And while we await that kingdom to be ushered in, we are to live freely, “For you were called to freedom, brothers.”⁶  Interestingly enough, the enslavement that the Jews (and we) are deceived by is trying to be a good person! For the Pharisees instructed everyone that we must obey God’s law in order for him to love us. It is still the most accepted “religious” idea of the day. And it is just not true.

Obeying the laws, being a good person—these are not what God requires! And thank God for that, because we cannot always obey the law nor can we always be a good person. What does God want from us? His trust. Simply that we believe in him. That we believe that Jesus was his Son and that he died for us in order that we might be acceptable to him.

When we trust in Jesus, he begins to live in us and we begin our transformation of becoming more and more like him. And that is when we discover what it is like to be “free indeed.” To be free in Christ is the most redemptive state there is. It is so much more than the wonderful patriotic freedom. That’s why Jesus said, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”⁷ And the only way to experience this freedom is to not “submit again to the yoke of slavery!”⁴ Just don’t! Choose Christ. “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”⁸

Compared to God, everything else is “weak and worthless.” Life in Christ is liberating, so let us not be tempted to be under the yoke, the weight, of slavery today. Just for today. One day at a time, people!

¹John 8:31   ²John 8:33   ³John 8:34-36   ⁴Galatians 5:1   ⁵Galatians 4:7   ⁶Galations 5:13   ⁷John 8:36     ⁸Galations 4:8-9

Paul’s letter to the Colossians is one of thanksgiving. In chapter 1 he begins, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.”¹ He challenges the church to be strengthened by God’s power, “giving thanks to the Father,”² because he has given us an inheritance—the kingdom of God. In chapter 2 he encourages them to “walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”³  Chapter 3 reminds us that as God’s chosen ones, we are to let the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. “And be thankful.”⁴ And we are also to let God’s word dwell in us richly, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”⁵ But then everything we do should be done while “giving thanks to God the Father through him.”⁶ And finally in chapter 4, Paul tells us to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”⁷

            To summarize: Because of our fellow believers and because of what we have been given, we are to be thankful. As we walk in Christ daily, we are to be thankful. Because Christ’s peace rules in our hearts, we are to be thankful. When we read God’s word, we are to be thankful. Actually, in everything we do, we are to be thankful.

            Why? Because things could always be worse? Yes, but that’s not why. Because it’s best to look on the bright side? Yes, but that’s not why. Because it is physically and emotionally better for us if we are grateful? Yes, but that’s not why. Then why? Because if we are not giving thanks, then what are we doing? Probably grumbling. Or maybe just forgetting what we have received. And I’m not sure which is worse.

            But what if we are not thankful for our current circumstances? Well, this is hard to hear but Paul says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”⁸ But why? “This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”⁸ We will not understand all the reasons why, but we know that God’s will for our lives will be done. Unless we stop it from being done! Wait! We can stop God’s will for our lives? Does that mean that we have more power than God does? No. It means if we do not want God’s will for our lives, he will not force it on us. He sometimes gives us what we want.

            Frankly, we need to recognize that God will do whatever it takes for us to be in his will—except force us into it. So even though we may not like our current circumstances, we can trust God with our lives. Therefore, we need to learn to give thanks. Even when we don’t like what is happening. How do we do that? Here are a couple of ways: “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”⁹ And, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”¹⁰ And finally, “above all these put on love.”¹¹ When we have a loving spirit, we have a thankful spirit. So, on this official day of thanksgiving, let’s remind others how much we love them. “And be thankful.”⁴

¹Colossians 1:3   ²Colossians 1:12   ³Colossians 2:7   ⁴Colossians 3:15   ⁵Colossians 3:16   ⁷Colossians 4:2   ⁸1 Thessalonians 5:18   ⁹Colossians 3:2  ¹⁰Colossians 3:12   ¹¹Colossians 3:14

After Job lost his children and his house and his livestock and many of his servants and finally his health, “Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.”¹ Wait. What? I thought Job was a man who held “fast his integrity.” A man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”²  He was.  Then why was he cursing the day he was born? He was lamenting—which God approves of. How is this different from grumbling (like the Israelites) or complaining (like the crowds following Jesus who were never satisfied)? Here are some helpful ideas found on Bing*—of all places!

• Grumbling speaks about God to other people; lament addresses God directly in prayer.
• Complaint disputes God’s previously revealed character; lament seeks to reconcile God’s character with circumstances that seem to contradict it.
• Lament is done in the context of worship.
• Lament is crying out to God in a posture of humility, while grumbling is crying out in a posture of sinful arrogance.
• Lament is done with trust, praising the God who seems to have failed to fulfil his promises.

Job felt comfortable enough with God to express his deepest and honest cries. But after lamenting about that for 19 verses, he asked a very good question: “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul?”³  Why does God allow us to live a life that brings us misery and bitterness? And here is the answer. He doesn’t. That is, he does not make us miserable and bitter. We do that to ourselves.  

Being miserable is feeling depressed and hopeless and inconsolable, which is not at all how we are to live our lives! For Christ tells us that even though we will go through tribulations, we are to “Take heart!”⁴ which is also translated, Be courageous! Be of good cheer! Be encouraged! Be brave! And cheer up!  The writer of Hebrews says, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble.”⁶  Guess what the subject of this passage is about? Suffering under the discipline of the Lord! Choosing to “run with endurance the race that is set before us”⁷ rather than becoming weary from it and quitting. That’s what bitterness will do—make us want to quit. Make no mistake: being miserable and bitter are not the proper response to any circumstance, even suffering.

But if anyone had a right to lament about his circumstances, it would be Job. Note, however, that although Job’s wife encouraged him to “curse God and die,”⁸ he does not. Instead, he “cursed the day of his birth.”¹  And we cannot blame him for feeling this way. His lamenting does not bring him any relief though. At the end of his speech he says, “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”⁹

There will be times in our lives where there is no rest. This is precisely why we need to settle the big question of who God is before that time comes. Job’s sorrows are the testing of his faith. It is where he will discover if he believes what he says he believes, that he should fear God and turn away from evil. The testing of our faith is not to teach us something but to make us something. More than anything else the test builds character. And character makes us strong. We look at something hard and say, I cannot do that. And then when we are forced into it, we discover that our strength indeed is not enough. But if we ask for the strength of God’s Spirit that is in us, we find ourselves doing what we were sure we could never do! And we are hopeful in the midst of the struggle. To be hopeful, after all, requires suffering. It is its prerequisite.

Suffering actually produces hope. If we are able, here is how we should approach suffering: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”¹⁰ Therefore, “suffering . . . produces hope.” But only so for believers for our hope is rooted in our faith. And even so, some suffering is so great that it leaves even believers bitter. But if the believer has already decided that God is sovereign and loving, then bitterness will not linger long.

¹Job 3:1   ²Job 1:1   ³Job 3:20   ⁴John 16:33   ⁵Ephesians 4:31   ⁶Hebrews 12:15   ⁷Hebrews 12:1    ⁸Job 2:9   ⁹Job 3:26   ¹⁰Romans 5:3-4   *Lamenting

On a mountainside in Galilee, Jesus preached a message known as the Sermon on the Mount. We read, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them.”¹ About two thirds of the way through the sermon, he asked this question: “What more are you doing than others?”²

The question has nothing to do with salvation. Jesus made that clear on several occasions, the most famous one when he was talking with Nicodemus. He said, “Whoever believes in [me] shall have eternal life.”³  Believing in Jesus is the requirement for salvation. The question regarding “what more are you doing” is directed toward his followers—which is different from believers in Jesus. There are many who believe; few follow.

Followers of Jesus go after him and become his disciples. The discipleship life is an option—“If any would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”⁴ There were crowds of people listening to that sermon, but Jesus was really talking to his disciples. Luke records that as he was beginning to preach, “he lifted up his eyes on his disciples.”⁵ And he asked them that question: What more are you doing than others?

As followers of Jesus, our lives should look different. Have we really bought into this concept? What more are we doing? This is not to say that we need to get out our legal pads and compile a list of things to do (although that’s not a terrible idea), but rather we need to be more intentional about our living. The context of the question is focused on loving those we do not like. Because that’s the most important thing—that we love others.

But there seems to be something even more important than that most important thing! Because after he mentions loving people we do not like, he asks the question: What more are you doing than others? Then he adds this command: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”² All this seems foreign and quite impossible to us, for we assume being perfect is being flawless, not making mistakes. But that is not our word. The Greek word tamam means wholeness, completeness. Jesus is telling his followers that they need to imitate their heavenly Father who is perfect, and when we do, we will be made whole. We will be complete.

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), a French mathematician, inventor, physicist, philosopher, and Catholic writer (a busy man), wrote about the emptiness that we all feel at some point in our lives. He puts it this way: “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

So, to be perfect, to be complete, is to allow God to fill us up with himself. Paul’s prayer is that we “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”⁶ And as that happens, we are able to do more because God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”⁷ Therefore, the answer to the question,  What more are you doing than others? can only be that we are being filled with God’s Spirit who works in us. Then we will be able to do “immeasurably more” than anyone else.

¹Matthew 5:1-2   ²Matthew 5:47   ³John 3:16   ⁴Matthew 16:24   Luke 6:20   ⁶ Ephesians 6:19   ⁷Ephesians 3:20

According to the Pew Research Center, “About nine-in-ten U.S. adults believe in God or another higher power, including 54% who say they believe in “God as described in the Bible” and 34% who say they don’t believe in the biblical depiction of God but do believe there is “some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.”* It’s quite an interesting fact, isn’t it? Nearly ninety percent of Americans believe there is some kind of God out there. But it is an insignificant statistic really.

Nicodemus believed in God. He was a very religious man, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. He visited Jesus one night (when no one was watching), and told Jesus he believed that he was “a teacher come from God.”¹  And then he added in admiration, “No one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”¹  Jesus, unaffected by the compliment, picked up on that word unless and said: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”² Nicodemus probably paused, looked at him with his head cocked, and laughed or chuckled because being “born again” sounded so ridiculous, and he told Jesus it was!

And Nicodemus was right! It is ridiculous! For although Nicodemus—and nearly 90% of Americans—believe in God, they are clueless as to what this really means. Which is why Jesus explained that it is a spiritual birth. It is a metaphor to be “born again.” But it is also an actual event, a spiritual exchange that takes place. We give up our old self and it is replaced with a new one!

Even with that explanation, however, Nicodemus didn’t get it. He said, “How can these things be?”³ And Nicodemus is right again! What Jesus was describing was impossible! Jesus must have smiled at this point and said, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”⁴ In other words, I thought you were a religious man, an educated man! And you don’t get this? And Jesus probably chucked and cocked his head a bit.

But then Jesus explains. He discusses earthly things and heavenly things because Nicodemus (and 90% of Americans) believe there exists a spiritual world. In his explanation he reveals the “work” that everyone must do because that is Nicodemus’ language—doing good works for God. And the work is this: to believe that Jesus was not just a “teacher come from God”⁴ who could do signs, but that he was God’s “only Son” who was sent “in order that the world might be saved through him.”⁵

However, it was more than Nicodemus could grasp because the story ends with no further discussion. I wish that 90% of Americans would ask Nicodemus’ questions about God but even more so, ask God himself! For merely believing in God (as Nicodemus did) is truly truly irrelevant. I love that Jesus emphasized things as well. He says, “Truly, truly . . . unless one is born again.”⁶  And then, “Truly, truly . . . unless one is born of water and the Spirit.”⁷ And lastly and to the point, “Truly, truly . . . you do not receive our testimony.”⁸

If you believe in God, well, good for you. It seems that most Americans do. But “even the demons believe—and shudder!”⁹ I suggest studying Nicodemus’ conversation with Jesus and asking yourself this question: Have you been born again? For that answer is truly, truly, the most important thing. And by the way, Nicodemus shows up to defend Jesus at his trial, so I am hopeful that he pondered Jesus’ remarks and was truly truly born again!

¹John 3:2   ²John 3:3   ³John 3:9   ⁴John 3:10   ⁵John 3:16   ⁶John 3:3   ⁷John 3:5   ⁸John 3:11   ⁹James 2:19   *Becka A. Alper, Michael Rotolo. “2. Spiritual Beliefs.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 7 Dec. 2023, www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/12/07/spiritual-beliefs.

The Israelites knew God. They had seen him. They were witnesses to his signs and miracles. They promised Moses that they would do whatever God wanted them to do. But when they sat on the edge of the Promised Land and Caleb told them that they would have to fight to get in, they said No, thank you! and began packing their bags to go back to Egypt. They wanted God’s gift of the Promised Land, had actually traveled for two years to get to this juncture, but they did not want to fight for it. They wanted God to simply give them the land. And that’s what we do. We want the gifts of God in our lives, but we do not want God in our lives. So, here’s a good question: Does God require that we earn his gifts?

And the answer? Yes. And No. We cannot earn the gift of eternal life. For example, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”¹ The gift of Jesus is free; even though we must believe in Jesus to receive this gift, it is not a gift we can ever earn. There are other gifts God gives us freely, like mercy and forgiveness and grace. And sometimes God gives us gifts just to make us happy because he loves us so much. But sometimes God says, I want to give you this, but you must earn it. You must prove yourself first. Why is that? Because he wants us to grow up! Where is there evidence for that? All over the scriptures. But let’s just look in Philippians to save ourselves a lot of time.

Paul wrote this: IF you “rejoice in the Lord always” and IF “your reasonableness” is “known to everyone,” and IF you will “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God,” THEN “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”²

So, peace is earned. We work for it. Trust me—rejoicing and being reasonable and not being anxious takes effort! But keep reading. Paul continues: IF you think about things that are honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and worthy of praise, AND if you “practice these things,”—practice being honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and being someone worthy of praise, THEN “the peace of God will be with you.”³

God loves us and wants to give us good things, but he requires that we work at being the people he meant us to be. Which, oddly enough means that the peace of God is not given freely. Many believers do not experience God’s peace because they refuse to practice the things that bring it. Instead of working for it, they just want to have it. And usually get mad at God for not giving it to them.

So, what makes this a Halloween message? Well, tonight many children will be going around door to door expecting candy for just showing up and asking for it! And we adults know better than to do that, right? Then why do we expect God to give us good things just because we ask for them? God wants to give us many good things, but sometimes he requires us to do our part. If we desire the peace of God in our lives, then we will need to follow Paul’s instructions. And also heed the advice of the writer of Hebrews: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.”⁴  Perhaps it is time for us to stop acting like elementary age children and grow up!

¹John 3:16   ²Philippians 4:4-7   ³Philippians 4:8-9   ⁴Hebrews 6:1

In a yoga class, participants are encouraged to empty their minds and become “void minded.”*

We often think of the word “peace” as a state of mind. My friend Merriam-Webster defines it as a state of tranquility or quiet. But that’s not how the peace of God works. Paul writes in Philippians: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”¹  The word “guard” means to protect from danger and make secure. So, peace is an active agent here, tirelessly protecting the heart. It is the soldier on duty, who is strong and powerful and will defend the heart at all cost. And then Paul writes in Colossians: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”² The word “rule” means exerting and exercising authority and control. That sounds like the opposite of peace! Peace is actually in charge!

There is nothing passive about the peace of God reigning in our hearts. God’s peace is not only in charge of our hearts, it protects our hearts. But if that is true, then why do our hearts break? Why do we feel duress? Because peace is not automatically ours when we become believers. It is the result of an action. In order for the peace of Christ to rule, we must “put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”³ Then we need to allow God to rule. It’s a conscious effort on our part to let Christ work his peace in our lives. Paul also writes that we must “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”⁴ Then, the peace of God can guard our hearts. Prayer and praise to God initiate God’s peace.

The peace of God is not the absence of strife, it is the presence of God—which is quite powerful. The peace of God gives us the strength to stand up against any foe. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”⁵  The peace of the world is only available when life is calm.  The peace of Christ protects our hearts from being troubled and fearful when life is not.

We serve “the Lord of peace,” who will give us his “peace at all times in every way.”⁶ When we have faith in God, he, in return gives us his peace. And his peace is perfect. His promise? “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”⁷ But note that peace comes because our mind is fixed on God and it is fixed on God because we know we can trust him.

On multiple accounts, scripture tells us that ‘“There is no peace,’ declares the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’”⁸ The wicked can only rely on the peace that the world gives, which, at best, results in being “void minded.” The peace of God, however, gives us the capacity to be “filled with all the fullness of God.”⁹  The peace of God leaves us full. The peace of the world? As promised by Patanjali, it leaves us empty.

“May the God of peace be with you all.”¹⁰

¹Philippians 4:7   ²Colossians 3:15   ³Colossians 3:14   ⁴Philippians 4:6   ⁵John 14:27   ⁶1 Thessalonians 3:16   ⁷Isaiah 26:3   ⁸Isaiah 48:22   ⁹Ephesians 3:19   ¹⁰Romans 15:33   *Feuerstein, Georg. “Cultivating the Opposite Thought.” Home, Yoga International, 16 June 2015, yogainternational.com/article/view/cultivating-the-opposite-thought-the-most-challenging-inversion-in-your-pra/.