He is not my Pope.

Once again Time magazine has named its man of the year and this year it is Pope Francis.  Now he is probably a good choice for the man of the year by a magazine like Time but my concern is not with his relationship with the Catholic church but with many evangelical's quickness to embrace him as if he was their pope.
Now I think that this pope may be good for the Catholic church as an organization.  He is willing to take on many of the issues that have been destroying the Catholic church and he has addressed them in a manner that is both acceptable by the church and the people.  He holds to the traditional catholic doctrines without compromising but he still makes the people feel that they have been heard.
My concern is how the evangelical church has embraced him.  The gospel of the Catholic church is still a false doctrine.  Mixed in with the doctrine of grace is the doctrine of works.  There are Catholics who would deny this but when you study the doctrine it is a mixture of grace and works.
Let us suppose that there are 4 points to true salvation (I am only using this as an example because really there is only one).  Suppose that you keep three of the four but shift slightly on the fourth then you have preached a false doctrine.  Suppose you keep all four but then add a fifth of the church's making then once again you have come short and you have a false doctrine.
Salvation is by Christ alone, not Christ and the church, not Christ and works.  Not some other way.  Christ alone.  Evangelical Christians need to go back 500 years and revisit why there was a split.  Is it any different today?

The Myths Surrounding the Magi

It has always been a source of controversy regarding the magi. Let us take a quick look at a few myths. First, it has often been shown that the wise men or magi went to the stable but if you read the story carefully you will notice that they came to the house where Joseph, Mary and Jesus were staying. The timing was wrong as well as Jesus was no longer a new born baby but maybe even a toddler. Also there is no indication that Joseph was there when the Magi came. He probably was working in a carpenter shop he had set up in Bethlehem. Second, it has often thought that there were three wise men equating the number of wise men with the number of gifts. Though three gifts are mentioned there could any number of wise men. Third, the star was seen in the east but the star was to the west of the wise men as it led the wise men from the east westward to Bethlehem.

Three Babies

Our lesson this week centers around a woman's desire to have a child.  In the culture in Hannah's day there was no significance if one did not have children.  Even though her husband tried to console her she was not to be consoled.  So why should we be concerned about something this trivial?  Before I answer that let me tell you about two other babies that brought many people to their knees.  These two babies are from two different parts of the world.
The story from Scotland is not so much about a baby as the babies mom, my niece.  The baby's grandmother, my sister, is a woman of great faith.  She believes that it is important to speak words of healing over her daughter, words of Scripture.  I am not sure where I stand on this.  I believe in healing, I believe in the power of Scripture but I don't believe that power is our power at all but rather in the author of Scripture.  I believe that our prayers must grow out of Scripture and we must claim God's promises.  These promises reflect the character of God and when we claim these promises we are saying to God that it is His character that we are defending.  We need to be very concerned about the character of our God.  Maybe my sister is right, certainly she is a woman of faith and a woman of the Word.
The second story is from my home town.  Our friends had their sixth child this week and this boy was born with a rare disease vein of Galen.  Though I didn't get permission to tell this story I tell it because it is not really about baby James, or the parents but it is a story about our God.  Here is what the father wrote this morning:

1. As many of you have probably heard, our sweet new son, James is coming home tomorrow. God has used this sweet little child to touch the lives of countless people. Just when you think you're going to have a normal child with no complications, and everything is rosie, God does something like this and totally changes your focus. Life really isn't about the hustle and bustle of life and the constan...t worries we face everyday. Sure those things are very real but it's not supposed to be the object of our affection, Christ is. I have been very much reminded of that this week. Although we have an extremely long road ahead of us with many uncertain twists and turns, it's okay because the God who showed himself to be all powerful this week will still be the all powerful God in the future. We still may lose James in the weeks/months/years ahead but he has always been the in the hands of God, and what better place is there to be than that. I really want to thank all of you who have poured out your love, and your prayers to our Heavenly Father for us during this extremely difficult time. I would ask that you still keep us in your prayers as we walk down this road with James. It's been said that God moves in mysterious ways, mysterious to us maybe but not Him. I'm not perfect and as I have journaled this week with many people, I'm thankful that people have been encouraged, challenged and supported. God deserves all the glory for this. I'm reminded of the time when Jesus was teaching some very hard sayings and many of His disciples turned back and left Him. When Jesus turned to His original twelve He asked them if they too wanted to leave. I love the answer Peter gave, "Lord, where else are we going to go, for you alone have the words of eternal life." How absolutely true that is !

This is a man of faith as well.  My heart is touched by both stories.

So what about Hannah?  Wasn't her request trivial?  It seemed trivial in light of my sister's daughter or my friend's son.  There is no request that is too trivial to bring to our God.  We do not know the outcome.  Hannah did not know that this child would change the course of history for the nation of Israel.  Though she made a bargain with God the bargain she made was with what God had given her for what God would do through this child.  We have nothing to bargain with when we come to God.  We can only call upon is mercy and faithfulness.

Christianity is for losers

Back in 1990 Ted Turner upset a lot of Christians when he made that statement.  Evangelical Christians reacted negatively showing that there were many winners who claimed to be Christians.  However, Ted Turner was right.  Christianity is for losers.  When we try to make it on our own we lose.  We are told over and over again in Scripture that only in Christ we can find victory.  On our own we are nothing but He is everything.  He is the winner, we are the losers.  I know that Mr. Turner knows that today but do we?  Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord.  Zechariah 4:6
David knew that Christianity was for losers.  When Nathan confronted him for his sin he could only bow his head in shame and say that he had sinned.  He was a loser but in God he was a man after God's own heart.

Two Loves

Moses was a man that was torn between two loves.  These loves seemed incompatible; a love for God and a love for the people.  When Moses prayed there were two things that dominated his prayer; his tender concern for the nation and his passionate jealousy for the reputation of his God.  God even gave him an out.  He could destroy these people and begin again with Moses.  This tore Moses apart.  He loved these people and even more he was concerned about the reputation of his God.  This could never happen.  What could Moses do?  Moses understood that God was a God of law, after all he had stood on Mount Sinai, but he also knew that God was a God of grace.  Because God was a God of the law Moses understood the terribleness of sin so his only appeal for the people was grace.  This grace was more than God's mercy on the people it was God's very presence among the people.
Sometimes it is hard to love the people of God.  We see them chasing after the gods of this world.  They seek status, money, things, power, pleasure but they don't seem to seek God.  They seek God for what He can give them or what He can do for them but not for Himself.  This can tear at our heart.
What changed Moses' heart?  Moses had a glimpse of the glory of God.  What we need if we are to have these two loves is a glimpse of God's glory and then we will have shining faces.

Angels

Abraham, Jacob, Moses all had encounters with angels. Angels play an important role in the lives of many of the Old Testament saints. Thirty years ago today I had an unique experience. My mother was in the hospital and was very much alone. Our Pastor and I went to visit her and she asked us if we had seen two children leaving her room as we entered. We told her that we had not and she was surprised that we had missed them. We were surprised that children would be allowed into the hospital by themselves. As we talked with her our Pastor asked her what they said and did while they were visiting her. She said that they came in, sat in the chair by her bed but did not talk. He asked her if she was afraid and she said "no" but rather they had brought her comfort. At that point we sensed that God had sent His angels to bring peace and comfort to mom at a time she needed it. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we have encountered angels unaware.

Hello, My name is

Jacob was given a new name. He was once Jacob the supplanter but he was given a new name Israel which is a Prince with God. Not only was he given a new name but that name was given to a people and a country. Is there another country named after a person? We to have been given a new name. Listen to Matthew West's best selling song: