Christmas

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3 :20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13 )
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?

'The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The LORD turn His face toward you
And give you peace...
Numbers 6:24-26

My Christmas gratitude.... Nicodemus?

In the most important conversation in human history, Jesus tells a probing Nicodemus one night, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:6-8).

And it is here where our entire faith and hope hinge.

When I was born again, I had no idea where the Holy Spirit came from (Though I do know its source). I had no idea why the Spirit has chosen to fill me (Though I do know because of the meritorious cause of our justification - the blood of Jesus Christ). I have no idea where the Spirit is going to next (Though I do know it will be wherever a new believer is).

Wesley said "The wind bloweth - According to its own nature, not thy will, and thou hearest the sound thereof - Thou art sure it doth blow, but canst not explain the particular manner of its acting. So is every one that is born of the Spirit - The fact is plain, the manner of his operations inexplicable."

The one thing God always asks of us is to trust in Him. Genuine faith is trusting that we may not have all the answers, but that is okay. When we are inwardly renewed by the Holy Spirit the moment of genuine faith, we begin to understand what this means.

Indeed, I don't know why God chose me - but, in no uncertain terms, I am unequivocally sure that He has, by the presence of the Holy Spirit that captured and transformed, and continues to do so every moment of my life here.

When Nicodemus tiptoed to Christ that night, He invoked a conversation that revealed a secret kept before the start of time. When we are born again, everything is anew. The eyes and heart I perceive life with are everything the Old Testament champions of faith longed for, and they are everything we can ask for in this life. Assurance of God, assurance of His immutable character and Love, and assurance that this Helper indwelling in me is my minutely reminder that a eternity of joy is just around the corner.

Thanks be to God... and thanks be to Nicodemus.

The Body of Christ in (or out of) New England

My wife and I are constantly weighing the choice of moving out of New England to raise a family. While it is taking the rest of America much more time to deviate from its Christian roots, New England has essentially dismounted from Christianity, becoming instead a secular region governed by self-sustainment, humanism, pluralism, and everything that America wasn't founded on. Unfortunately, I guess, many of our friends and family are located here, and thus it is for obvious reasons, the magnet to stay in the region.

When these things come up in discussion, liberal humanists (any atheist, Universalist or agnostic) are quick to point out that this country was founded on religious freedom. Of course. But the issue is whom founded it, and on what principles religious freedom was founded upon. For instance, almost 95% of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were deeply-grateful Christians, and language from every important historical document is reflective of the deep and true faith and reliance on God Almighty that early America had.

A microcosm of what has happened to America, particularly New England, was in today's Boston Herald (the link below).

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1219085&format=comments#CommentsArea

Today, all the things that this country was founded on has all but disappeared. Accordingly, this country is in the middle of a transition from a semi-moralistic (as much as any country can be, at least) world power, to a subservient, confused, secular country. This has nothing to do with poor global economic strategy and bad math SAT scores; these are minor symptoms of a rotting illness that defines America today - just like delivered Israel did in the days of Aaron, delivered America in these days have turned their back on their God of deliverance, creation, hope and sustainability.

Being a Christian American today is like being on a sinking ship; as I start to think about passing things onto the next-generation, I can't help but be concerned by the country the next-generation of Americans will grow up and live in. What has happened to America is yet another tragic chapter in the book of humanity, and should serve as a constant reminder of why we all need to repent both singularly and corporately and turn to our only hope.

While our country falls, importantly, this needs to serve as a reminder of the dangers of putting our hope into anything that isn't God, especially the things that seem wholesome and pure. Even though our country was once made up of mostly Christians, it still was not the body of Christ. When we put our hope in family or country or self, we show we are as lost as we always were; when we put our hope in God and in the family of God, only then we can know even though the ship may be sinking, we will always be delivered. And this deliverance won't necessarily be with family members, our neighbors, our co-workers and our fellow Americans - nor was it ever to be- it will be with those scattered around this world and history that have put their faith in the one true God.

Jesus came to save sinners (John 1), and/but He also came for His sheep, and made it clear that there was no human bond that would be strong enough to disrupt His separation of sheep and goats (Luke 11:17, 12:49-53). In fact, He came to "divide" even "Father from Son", (Luke 12:50-52), perhaps the most intimate and historically important human bond there is. This is a part of following Christ that is both the cross we bear and the abundant blessing we receieve; it's being saved and joined with others, yet divided from others whom we have established strong, meaningful bonds with. It's being part of a country we adore, yet being part of a country we do not rely on for our identity or our deliverance.

Thus, I've come to conclude it really doesn't matter where in this country me and my wife raise our family - for when two or three are gathered in His name, so will be Christ (Matthew 18:20). Even more, He is with us always (John 16-18). There are Christians in Pakistan right now (very persecuted ones, at that) that are more of our family then the guy who lives next to us, or even some of our own biological family or best of friends, will ever be. That is an astonishing truth we need to grasp and understand. The family of God has no boundaries: ethnical, socio-economical, generational, or physical.

This is what it means to be part of the Christian family. It does not change. Even in or out of New England.