Don't Miss Christmas

In Luke 2:6-7 we read these history-altering words: “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” In just a few sentence Luke encapsulates ‘the hopes and fears of all the years’. Messiah has come! And we read with joy of the angels appearing to the shepherds, announcing the birth of the King. We wonder at what must have gone through Mary and Joseph’s mind through that first night. What an amazing experience, to be there for that first Christmas!
But have you ever thought about those who missed that first Christmas? It’s hard to imagine but there were many who simply missed it. And the reason I think it’s important to consider these who missed Christmas is because if we don’t guard our hearts, we too can miss it. Not that we miss December 25^th, but that we miss the meaning of the season, the reason why we celebrate. I don’t want to miss this season of joy and worship! So who are those who did?
I think first of the religious leaders of the day. Everything in the scriptures they had given their lives to study pointed to the coming of Jesus. But when he came there were no priests to worship Him, no announcements in the temple. The reason is that the religious leaders had constructed in their minds an idea of who Messiah should be. They thought he was coming to institute a physical kingdom, but the kingdom Jesus came to usher in was a spiritual kingdom. And since Jesus didn’t meet their expectations, since He didn’t arrive with any fanfare or ceremony but was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, they missed it. Have we constructed a false image of Jesus in our minds? Do we believe He exists for us, or that we exist for Him? Do we worship who He is, or do we worship what we want Him to be?
I think of Roman Empire. There was no delegation from Caesar to herald the birth of the King of Kings, no recognition from the Empire. Why? Because what of any importance could possibly happen in Bethlehem? It was a backwater place in a backwater part of the empire. And since they didn’t think it was important, they missed it. Do we miss Christmas because we fail to see the importance of who Jesus is and why He has come? I know we pay a good deal of lip service to Him this time of year, but do we really acknowledge who He is and what He’s done?
I think finally of the people in Bethlehem. They were going on about their lives, just trying to get by. They weren’t doing anything overtly sinful but scripture tells us that only the shepherds came to worship the new King. No locals were there. Nobody from the inn. What were they all doing? Why did they miss it? I think the answer is most likely that they were simply too busy with their lives. The idea of a Messiah was nice but they just really didn’t have time for it. They had so much else going on in their lives they didn’t realize that Immanuel had come. Are we so busy that we don’t have time for Jesus? I know we like the idea of salvation, and we’re certainly not opposed to coming to church. But do we make time for Jesus? Is He the focus of our lives, or simply a part of our lives? This Christmas let’s make certain that we don’t miss it. Let’s make certain that Jesus is our focus, our joy and our purpose. 

The Christian's Obligation to His/Her President

So you might have heard that we had an election last night. Today about half the country is in mourning and the other half is rejoicing. But whether or not your candidate won is irrelevant to what the Bible says is your obligation to the leaders of our nation. Scripture gives clear guidelines that every follower of Christ must follow if we are to be obedient. Here are a few, in on particular order.
1. Recognize the Authority of our Leaders. Your candidate may not have won. You may not like who's in the White House. You may still have a bumper sticker that reads "My President is Charlton Heston." Thumbs on the bumper sticker because that's just funny. But that doesn't change what scripture says. Romans 13:1, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Did you catch that last part? Paul says that there are no authorities except for the ones that God has instituted. This means that whoever you voted for, God voted for President Obama. Now I know we're getting into some muddy theological waters here but the point is plain--leaders are instituted by God and their authority comes from God alone. So followers of Christ are to recognize that authority.
2. Obey our Leaders. Notice the first phrase in vs1 again--be subject. That means we obey. That means we follow the law. That means we pay our taxes. That means that, until a law is changed, we are obligated to obey that law. Does this mean we're obligated to disobey God? Not at all. If a law demands that we stop praying or stop sharing the gospel, we disobey that law because God is our ultimate authority. But unless a law specifically calls us to disobey God, we obey that law.The beauty of our nation is that we can write letters of protest, we can march, we can work to get the laws changed. But until they are, we obey them.
3. Pray for our Leaders. I Timothy 2:1-2, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for Kings and all who are in high positions..." We are commanded to pray for our leaders. Not encouraged to, not challenged to, not recommended to; but commanded to. Lots of Christians gripe and complain about our nation's leadership. My question is, do we pray for them as well? Because I know I don't as I should. It's much easier to complain about them than to pray for them. Now I've heard some people say, "You bet I'll pray for President Obama. I'm praying Psalm 109:8, "May his days be few; let another take his office." That's sort of missing the point. And by sort of, I mean completely. Why?
4. Respect our Leaders. I Peter 2:17, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." Now keep in mind that many scholars believe that Peter wrote this letter during Nero's persecution of the church. Consider that for a moment. When Christians were being persecuted and killed, Peter writes that we are to respect our leaders. I've heard many comments that essentially say, "There's nothing about our President I respect so I won't respect him at all." Actually there is something about him--his authority is from God, and you are commanded to honor him. We can--and should--disagree when things are done that are contrary to scripture. We should advocate for change and live gospel centered lives. But none of this should be done disrespectfully.
5. Don't Trust in our Leaders. Note I didn't saw we shouldn't trust them; rather, we shouldn't put our trust in them. God has created us to glorify Himself, and to allow us to enjoy His presence forever. Politics is not the way God intends to bring either of these about. Our hope and our trust should not be in whomever is in the White House. Our hope is found in the fact that Jesus is on the throne, that He has secured our righteousness before the Father and has granted to us the great privilege of going and making disciples. That's what matters most, and that should be our focus. Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Our hope isn't predicated on who is in Washington. Our hope is in the Lord.
So let us, as followers of Christ, be obedient to His word. Let us be salt and light in the world. Let us stand for what honors God and oppose that which dishonors Him. But let us do so in an obedient way. And if you're convinced that President Obama is the Antichrist, that he is determined to take away our rights to pray and he wants to persecute us, I would encourage you to consider Matthew 5:44-45; "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

Why October Was Great, Even Though I Thought It Wasn't

So this morning I was lying in bed, mentally reviewing the month of October. And truth be told it didn't look too good. From most angles, October appears to have been a pretty lousy month. At the beginning of the month I rolled my ankle while running (I also narrowly avoiding being hit by a car, as I fell almost directly into it's path when I rolled said ankle). This minor injury caused me to miss almost 2 weeks of training. This mattered simply because I was preparing to run my first Half Marathon. When my ankle recovered I eased back into running, then went for a 10 mile jog the week before the race. My knee was pretty sore after the run and at the time I thought I had tweaked my knee. But the following Saturday my knee was still hurting. It hurt at the beginning of the race. It hurt worse during the race. By the end of the race I could barely walk. Couple hours after the race I couldn't walk at all. Turns out I've partially torn my meniscus (which, though a terribly unpleasant thing to experience, is actually a fun word to say--go ahead, say it a few times. I'll wait.). To top all that off, on the way home from the race, as I grumbled about my meniscus (isn't that fun?) the transmission on our van went out.
Now that brief summary should make plain to you the joy of the month of October. Lots of stuff went wrong. Lots of stuff happened that was very frustrating. Some of it was quite embarrassing. The point is, I thought I had lots to grumble about. But as I mentally replayed this disastrous month I was reminded of the things that made October great, even though I thought it was terrible.
I've got an amazing wife. She loves me. She takes care of me when I do stupid things like run on a messed up knee (even though she's been having heart & blood pressure issues for a while now). She is an incredible mom. She loves Jesus. She loves her church. And to top it all off, she's pretty dang good looking. A gimpy knee and worn out van hasn't changed that.
I've got some incredible kiddos. Lily, Emma & Owen are a constant source of joy and/or frustration. Just kidding. Mostly joy. They are an absolute hoot to be around. They even finished my race with me! Through all the frustrations of the month I can still rejoice in my precious children.
Most of all, nothing that happened this month has made any changes to who I am and where I stand. Jesus is my righteousness before the Father. I've been clothed in His good works and all my sin has been placed on Him. In Jesus I've been granted adoption, redemption, and justification. God's wrath was poured out on Jesus, my substitute, and nothing can change that. I choose to glorify God for last month. I can thank Him and worship Him for this month, and for all the months to come. Why? Because nothing that happens can change what He's promised. In Romans 8:38-39 Paul writes, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  God's love for me is wrapped up not in what I do or what happens--it's all contingent on Jesus. And He has secured that for me forever. That means that neither gimpy knees, nor worn out vans, nor ungrateful creatures like me will be able to separate me from God's love.
This month, despite all my grumblings and frustrations, God has not cast me off. He hasn't grown weary with me and washed His hands of me. He has continued to love me and care for me. And He will do so forever, because of what Jesus has accomplished on the cross.

Thankful for Thankfulness?

As we enter the Thanksgiving season there'll be much talk of giving thanks. And this is a good thing. It's good to pause and remember all that we have to be thankful for. God continues to richly bless His people, to shower us with good things and to extend grace and mercy to us.He is so worthy of our praise and gratitude! Any list of that for which we should be thankful will never be completed but there's one thing that I'm afraid we tend to overlook, one thing for which we don't always express our gratitude. That is thankfulness. Are you thankful for thankfulness? Sounds like an odd question, but I think it's important that we learn to thank God not just for the things He gives us, the things we would call our 'blessings', but for giving us a heart that is willing and able to express our thanks to Him. Why does this matter? Why should I be thankful for thankfulness? Let me give you two good reasons.
First, I should be thankful for thankfulness because it's God's will for me to be thankful. In I Thessalonians 5 Paul is giving the church a list of responsibilities to fulfill. In verse 18 he writes, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." It's God's will that we give Him thanks in all things. We spend so much time trying to discern God's will that we overlook specific aspects of that will that scripture shows us. It's God's will that I give thanks in all things. That means, then, that when I have a thankful heart I'm walking in His will. So a heart full of gratitude is a blessed grace from God--it is a concrete proof I can look to, a fruit that shows me I'm walking in God's will for my life. 

Second, I should be thankful for thankfulness because a thankful heart is a heart that is surrendered to Jesus. In Colossians 3 Paul is outlining what the new self looks like. The gospel says that when Jesus saves us He recreates us into His image (2 Cor. 5:17). The change in who we are will lead to changes in what we do. And Paul is saying, "This is what those changes ought to look like." In verse 15 he says, "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." Notice how he links thankfulness with letting the peace of Jesus rule in our hearts. A surrendered heart is a thankful heart. It's a heart that has learned to trust in and rest on Jesus for all things. That doesn't mean we're happy when bad things happen; means we rejoice that we serve a God who is bigger than those circumstances and is able to work them out for His glory. Paul goes on to write, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Notice how thankfulness undergirds everything else. A heart that is surrendered to Jesus will bear the fruit of thankfulness. If my heart is bearing that fruit I can give God the glory because He is reminded me that He who began this good work will complete it; and He is in the process of completing it right now. My thankful heart is evidence of the gospel at work in my life. It reminds me that I'm continuing to be conformed, by the grace of God, to the image of Jesus. And that, my friends, is something for which we can be thankful. What a joy to be reminded that the gospel that saves me is the gospel that is changing me. And what a blessing to be able to see the evidences of that change. Not so I can pay myself on the back, but so I can  give thanks to One who is doing the work in me.

Jesus is Always With Us

When you serve as pastor you're usually around for the big events in people's lives. When a baby is born you get to be there to celebrate with the family. And to hold the baby, of course. When a loved one passes away you have the great honor and privilege of mourning with the family and offering the comfort that comes from God's word.

Yesterday was a first for me, though. I got to experience both extremes. In the morning I mourned with a family as they said goodbye to their mother. In the afternoon I got to celebrate the birth of a new baby girl with another family. Though both events were very different there was one constant--Jesus was there for both. In the morning, as we mourned the loss of a family member, we sought the presence of Jesus and appealed for His comfort and strength on behalf of the grieving family. We looked to His word for promises to soothe broken hearts and to give us hope.  In the afternoon, as we celebrated the birth of this precious little girl, we gave thanks to Jesus for His grace. We thanked Him for the health of both baby and mommy, we prayed for strength and patience in the days ahead, and we expressed our gratitude for His goodness.

Thinking about this later I was reminded once again of God's promise to us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The Bible promises that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is ours through Jesus. And my mind went to some verses of scripture as I was reminded that Jesus is always with us.

First, scripture reminds us that Jesus is with us in the beginning. In Psalm 139:13-16 David said, 

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."  

David says that at the beginning of his life, even before the beginning, God was there. He was knitting David together, creating him, planning his life, setting the number of his days. What comfort we can take, what unspeakable joy we can have knowing that at the beginning of our days God was there. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God's workmanship, and that we've been created in Christ Jesus for good works. Then Paul says that God prepared these good works for us beforehand. Before I was a twinkle in my mama's eye God had planned my days. He was there at the very beginning.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus is with us at the end. In Psalm 23, David poetically speaks of God's presence and His goodness. And in perhaps the most well-known portion of this Psalm David declares,

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I will fear no evil,

for you are with me; your rod and your staff,  they comfort me."

Even in the face of death David will fear no evil. Why is that? How could he be so courageous? Simple--he knew God was with him. So even in the face of death he could be comforted. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Paul said, 

" I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

As Paul faced the end of his life his confidence was not shaken. Rather, he welcomed what was to come. Why? Because he knew who was to come. Death was not a journey that Paul would take alone. Death did not have an unknown destination for Paul. That's true for us as well. Jesus is with us at the end.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus is with us right now. Finally, we glory in the truth that Jesus is with us right now. It's a blessing to look back and see His hand at work in the beginning. And our hearts are comforted knowing that though there will come a day when we face death, we will not face death alone. But what about right now? What about today?  Look at David's words in Psalm 139:2-3--
"You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and m lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." He knew that God knew everything about his life. How? God was with David. In every moment, in every situation, God was there with him. And the same is true for us. We can take comfort in the knowledge that no matter what life brings we don't have to face it alone. Jesus isn't just with us at the beginning of our lives and at the end of our lives; Jesus is with us every day, every moment. He is a very present help in times of trouble, He's promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

May we glory in this Savior who has promised to be with us forever; may we rest in these great and precious promises; and may we find our greatest joy in the presence of the one who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President,
I write this in the hopes that all is well with you and your family. Last night you gave your acceptance speech at the DNC. I've not watched the speech but I've read the text and its for that reason I'm penning this blog. I've no delusions of grandeur here, no expectations that this will somehow find its way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. My goal is to simply try to articulate a few policy differences I have with you.
Let me say from the outset that I do not believe you are a secret Muslim who intends to destroy America and institute Sharia law. I do not believe that you hate white people. I do not believe that you were born in Kenya. On the contrary there is much about you I admire and appreciate.
I appreciate the obvious affection you have for your family. Your wife and children matter to you, sir, and that is plain to everyone. Your affection for your family is a wonderful example to men everywhere. I think you love our nation just as I do and desire to see America succeed. Though we may have different ideas as to how to make that happen we both want our nation to be who she can be. I admire your willingness to publicly identify with Christianity. Though we would most certainly have our theological differences, you have stated on several occasions that your trust is in Christ. From a theological standpoint, that makes you my brother and I'm grateful to God for a leader who trusts in Christ as I do.
However, there are several disagreements I have with your policies. In your first campaign much political hay was made of your statement regarding a redistribution of wealth. Mr. President, certainly you can't be serious? Where in the Constitution do we find such an idea? If wealth is attained by illegal means then laws are in place to deal with those crimes. If they aren't strong enough, Congress can legislate tougher penalties. If, however, the chief motivation is a desire for financial equality then, Mr. President, we must acknowledge that such an end is simply unattainable through legislative means. How does one determine how much money another can have? How does one decide where the line is to be drawn? And what, Mr. President, gives me or you or anyone else the right to tell anyone else how much or how little they're allowed to have? Are not such restrictions contrary to the very nature of this great nation?
Second, I disagree with your position on abortion. Mr. President it is both uncivilized and unethical to allow a  person to decide to end the life of another simply for the sake of convenience. I would concede that there are instances where abortion may be the only option. If the life of the mother is in obvious and imminent peril then yes, I would support saving her life. But you know the statistics better than I, Mr. President. You know how rare such cases are. How, Mr. President, can we justify the killing of a fellow citizen? We speak of a woman's right to choose her own reproductive rights and that's true. But once a woman decides to engage in the act of intercourse--the process by which babies are conceived--can it not be argued that she has made that choice? Some would argue that abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest. Perhaps. But again, can we agree that such instances are certainly not the norm? Mr. President, arguments are often centered around when life begins. You've stated such questions are above your pay grade. I understand the sentiment behind the statement. But can't we agree that if abortion stops a heart from beating, if it causes brain function to cease, if it causes life to end, can't we agree that someone has died? By any medical definition, sir, those qualifications would point to death. Why then do we apply different standards to an unborn child? Why, if a baby in the mother's womb isn't a person, why are there federal laws protecting the eggs of endangered turtles? If a fetus isn't actually alive before birth then how can we prosecute those who destroy those eggs? After all, what have they actually killed?
Finally, I disagree with the inconsistent way in which you appeal to the Bible to support your positions. I've heard you mockingly refer to passages throughout the Pentateuch and ask the question, "Which of these verses should we use to make public policy?" That's a fair question, sir, but if you then use the teachings of Jesus to enforce why we must care for the least of these in our society, is that not inconsistent? If we can't use one portion of scripture to make policy decisions, how can we use another? If we appeal to one section of the New Testament to enforce social policies for the poor how can we ignore other sections of the New Testament when making an argument for social policies regarding marriage? The inconsistency is obvious and staggering.
Mr. President, I'm grateful for public servants. I'm grateful that you're working as hard as you can to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. But I have serious and substantial disagreements with you. And that is why, Mr. President, you have my respect and you have my prayers. But you do not have my vote.

Sincerely,

Randy Cox

God is good even when its humid

Recently I was able to take the kids fishing to one of my favorite fishing spots in the world. My Dad remembers his Dad digging this pond when Dad was just a boy—he grew up fishing there and my earliest fishing memories are at that pond, and so it’s always special when me and the kiddos are able to fish there. 

We had a great afternoon of fishing. I caught some, they caught some, I caught some more (actually they caught more than me; but that's OK). Mom and Dad even joined us and that made it better because it's a scientifically proven fact that everything is better when Mimi and Papa are around.
One reason the day was so enjoyable was how the weather cooperated with us. It was a perfect a day as you could hope for. The temperature was in the low 80s, we had a little breeze blowing, the humidity was low--just perfect weather. If you're familiar with Arkansas weather you know how uncommon it is to have a day like that in July. But we did. And it was great. The great day ended with a drive by the house I lived in when I was a kid--and the weather continued to cooperate. We had the windows down, the sunset was breathtaking, and I was walking the sunny slopes of long ago. And in that moment I was just overwhelmed with a sense of God's goodness. The joy of spending a perfect summer afternoon with my kids and parents, the fish we caught, the memories of years ago and the knowledge that I was making new memories, the perfect weather--all that just sort of flowed together to give me a feeling of gratitude.
But as I was thinking about God's goodness I was gently reminded of another truth--God is good even when it’s humid. My focus on His goodness was based largely on what a pleasant day we'd had together. And that's not a bad thing. God's grace is revealed in every good thing we experience. But the fact is, God is good even when I have a crummy day. He's good when I get to go fishing and he's good when I don't. He's good when I get to make memories with my kids and when I don't. He's good when I get to see a beautiful sunset and when I don't. He's good when the weather is perfect and He's good when it's humid. Malachi 3:6 says, "I the Lord do not change." People smarter than me call that the immutability of God, i.e., who He is--His nature, His essential attributes, that which makes Him God--remains unchanged.
The practical implications of that are incredibly comforting because if God is good then He is always good. When it's humid or pleasant outside, God is good.
And so what I have to continually ask myself is, for what am I praising Him? It's much easier for me to praise Him and thank Him when things are going well. But if He's good then it doesn't matter if things are going well or poorly. If God is good then He's always worthy of my praise. And if I can learn, by His grace, to continually thank Him for who He is, to find my joy not in what He does but in who He is, how much more will I bring Him glory!  John Owen said, ‎'That God is what He is, is the matter of (our) chiefest joy.' May we learn to glory not just in what our God does--rather, may we learn to glory in who our God is. To rest in Him, to worship Him, to find our joy and peace and comfort in Him. God is good even when it's humid. May my life demonstrate that truth.