Well, not all sins, just some sins.

Ok, it’s actually just one sin (child molesting can still be denounced without apology). But one sin is clearly off limits and immune from all denunciation no matter who you are or where you are.

Homosexuality.

You can’t even say that marriage should be restricted to males covenanting together with females. Cause, if you do, you’re “a hater” — and don’t try to deny it, it’s obvious to the rest of us — no matter what you say to the contrary. Clearly, you hate people who are not like you — and the sooner you admit it, the sooner you can enroll in a “sensitivity class” and learn how to “tolerate” and love others, something which you obviously don’t know how to do at present.

And unbelievers and atheists are not the only ones saying this. Today, among those clucking their tongues and “tsk-tsking” under their breaths, are fellow evangelicals who are supposed to believe that the Bible is God’s Word.

So that if I quote what God says about homosexuality and say “Amen” I’m labelled harsh and unloving by a brother who says he believes the Bible to be the one rule of faith and life like I do! He might even pull out the “P” word (“Pharisee”) as he denounces my self-righteous, ungracious, unloving, ugly, hateful, boorish, bad-smelling self.

Ok, so what are we to make of all this?

There was a time when most people believed that “God is love.” But those days are gone. Seriously. They’re gone. How can I say that? Follow me for a moment:

If God is love, then His Word is good (and not evil) and loving (not hateful). And to agree with Him and live in accordance with His word is not an expression of hatred but the opposite. And further, to disagree with God’s Word is not loving, but hateful. It’s not showing compassion or mercy, but indifference and callousness.

But we don’t believe this anymore.

And that accounts for much of the weirdness of the present hour: If I agree with those who reject God’s judgments, I’m called “loving” — when the truth is, I’m demonstrating nothing but calloused indifference and hatred to those around me. God says “homosexuality” is an abomination and will surely be judged. When I disagree with that, I’m saying to all those who are homosexuals, “Hey, you know what? go to hell and see if I care — cause I don’t!” But at least they will think I love them — and I guess I’m supposed to be comforted by that in some way.

On the other hand, if I truly care about homosexuals, then I have to tell them the truth about what they are doing (i.e., it is wrong, sinful, and abominable in God’s sight — but there is forgiveness and restoration and freedom from condemnation in Jesus). But if I do this, I’ll be called “hateful” — when in fact, I’m demonstrating nothing but the sincerest compassion and love for them. I really don’t want them to be condemned. But they will think I hate them. And call me bad names.

This is what happens when you live in a world where men love hatred and hate love. That’s the world we live in today. Men hate to be loved and love to be hated.

And here’s why: Men hate God. And because they hate God, they hate true love. God is love and thus if you hate Him, real love often appears unattractive and offensive. So consequently, men erroneously judge many manifestations of love as expressions of hatred. And, conversely, they view many expressions of hatred as manifestations of love. The result is, men love to be hated and hate to be loved.

And this hatred of love goes even further: Those who think God’s judgments are harsh and insensitive are in fact claiming to be more sensitive and loving than God Himself. Obviously, if Yahweh were properly sensitive, He would never have said such harsh and unloving things. So their denunciation of those who honor God’s judgments is ultimately, a hateful denunciation of God as well.

Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18). That’s it. Their hatred of us is ultimately a hatred of Him — it is a hatred of love.

It’s always taken great courage to love. And it still does today. Will you love those who have fallen to the temptation to homosexuality? If so, then speak the truth to them, stand with Jesus, extend the hope of the gospel, and don’t be shocked when some respond to your love with hatred (in the name of love).

When that happens, continue to be like God. Keep loving, keep speaking the truth, keep showing compassion. Even when those you are loving view and treat you as an enemy.

Some have suggested that contrary to Christmas and Easter, Ascension is difficult to sentimentalize.

At Christmas, we can focus upon a baby born to a poor, homeless couple in the middle of winter. And at Easter, we can turn our thoughts to “new beginnings” and “second chances” — but Ascension simply tells us, and tells us bluntly, that Jesus is Lord.

That’s unsettling and offensive to a world that has been trained to think of itself as its own “lord.” You don’t have to be a discerning theologian to understand that if the ascension really happened, if in fact Jesus is the Lord of all lords and the King of kings — then He is the Judge of all the earth, and you can’t safely (or sanely) ignore Him.

If Jesus is Lord, no matter how independent you might imagine yourself to be, you are not out from under His authority. You actually have an obligation to obey Him and you are accountable to Him for your disobedience and unbelief, for every word that proceeds out of your mouth and for every deed you do.

If Jesus is Lord and King, then you have an obligation to worship and serve Him and if you don’t, you’re going to be in big trouble.

This is a BIG DEAL. Jesus is Lord. Not the government. Not your conscience. Not your feelings. Not the experts. Not the power-brokers, or the wealthy, or the influential.

All men, all nations, all institutions, all areas of life, all of it, is under the authority of Jesus and all are accountable to Him.

The ascension means that you have only one Lord whom you must please — Jesus. It means that you have only one opinion that matters. It means you have only one word that is the rule of right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error — Jesus’ word.

The ascension means you have only One who has the authority to judge you and is fully and completely qualified to do so — Jesus.

The ascension means that all nations should acknowledge Jesus as their true king and ruler. It means that all laws ought to be conformed to His revealed will. It means that all men ought to seek to please Him in their every endeavor, in every place, at all times.

The ascension is a big deal. And this makes the ascension a problem for the world — a big problem — so, it is much safer to ignore it altogether.

But if the world ignores it, that means that Christians ought to make today (and this coming Sunday) a day of jollification and celebration that is rivaled only by Christmas and Easter. We need to hold us a genuine wingding and a proper whoop-te-do to rejoice over the reality that Jesus is Lord.

If the world doesn’t want to hear about it, so much the worse for them — but that doesn’t change the reality: Jesus is Lord. He reigns.

Don’t fight it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t deny it. The only proper response is to kiss the Son (Psalm 2).

And join us in our merry celebration, because Jesus is Lord.

Watch this amazing story of how God blesses the sacrifice of a faithful servant to plant the seeds of transformation in a culture torn by war and sorrow.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

[my friend, John Stoos, found a link for the full story here:]

RESURRECTION.

Moist with one drop of Thy blood, my dry soul
Shall—though she now be in extreme degree
Too stony hard, and yet too fleshly—be
Freed by that drop, from being starved, hard or foul,
And life by this death abled shall control
Death, whom Thy death slew; nor shall to me
Fear of first or last death bring misery,
If in thy life-book my name thou enroll.
Flesh in that long sleep is not putrified,
But made that there, of which, and for which it was;
Nor can by other means be glorified.
May then sin’s sleep and death soon from me pass,
That waked from both, I again risen may
Salute the last and everlasting day.

CRUCIFYING.

By miracles exceeding power of man,
He faith in some, envy in some begat,
For, what weak spirits admire, ambitious hate:
In both affections many to Him ran.
But O! the worst are most, they will and can,
Alas! and do, unto th’ Immaculate,
Whose creature Fate is, now prescribe a fate,
Measuring self-life’s infinity to span,
Nay to an inch. Lo! where condemned He
Bears His own cross, with pain, yet by and by
When it bears him, He must bear more and die.
Now Thou art lifted up, draw me to Thee,
And at Thy death giving such liberal dole,
Moist with one drop of Thy blood my dry soul.

I.
WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

II.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallowed in a score?
When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
For I have more.

III.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore ;
But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore ;
And having done that, Thou hast done ;
I fear no more.

Not really. I’m all for romance and am at heart a hopeless romantic — so I don’t want to dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for Valentine’s Day. Give the candy, and the flowers, say “I love you” as much as you please. Really. Knock yourself out.

But I do want to point out something.

Namely this, St. Valentine (who, by the way, was a real guy who lived in the 3rd century, that’s his picture over there on the left) ended his life by losing his head because of his undying love for Jesus and his refusal to turn his back on his Savior.

And that is a good reminder for us all on this Valentine’s Day, 2012, in these days of “cheap” love.

Love doesn’t demand $100 bouquets of flowers or huge, heart-shaped boxes of candy (as nice as those things may be). Love demands the death of the lover.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The greatest Lover of all time has taught us that love and self-denying, sacrificial service are not two different things. They always come together. To love someone, is to be willing to lay down your life for them. If you’re not willing to die for your “love” — you don’t know what real love is.

So, here’s a fun suggestion to all the beauties out there who are going to get candy and flowers sometime today and hear the phrase, “I love you” from a gallant Romeo. Ask him to do what my high school basketball coach used to tell all of us who loved to talk and boast about all the great things we were going to do. After hearing some grand proclamation of the great feats that we were going to perform, he’d say, “Don’t talk about it, do it.”

So, today, tell the ones you love that you love them . . . and then do it. Imitate the saint whose name graces this day, who was willing to die for his love than deny his Savior and live.

That’s love. Don’t just talk about it. Do it.

“It is painful enough to discover with what unconcern they speak of war and threaten it. I have seen enough of it to make me look upon it as the sum of all evils.”

“My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to always be ready, no matter when it may overtake me.”

“We are, in truth, more than half what we are by imitation. The great point is, to choose good models, and study them with care. People insensibly contract, not only the air, the manners, and the vices, of those with whom they commonly converse, but their virtues too, and even their way of thinking. . . Persist, therefore in keeping the best company, and you will sensibly become like them.”

“Revolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”

“The Bible furnishes men with rules for everything”

“However dark the night, I am cheered with an anticipated glorious and luminous morrow. . . . No earthly calamity can shake my hope in the future so long as God is my friend.”

“Continue to pray for me, that I may live to glorify God more and more, by serving Him and our country.”

“Never distrust our God, who doeth all things well. In due time, He will make manifest all His pleasure, which is all His people should ever desire.”

“I did only what my duty demanded. I could have taken no other course without dishonor. And if it all were to be done over again, I should act in precisely the same manner.”

“God disposes. This ought to satisfy us.”

“Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.”

“You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.”

“There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done — the honor of the integrity of principle.”

“We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.”

“Honesty in its widest sense is always admirable. The trite saying that ‘Honesty is the best policy’ has met with the just criticism that honesty is not policy. This seems to be true. The real honest man is honest from conviction of what is right, not from policy.”

“Those who oppose our purposes are not always to be regarded as our enemies.”

“Fame which does not result from good actions and achievements for the good of the whole people is not to be desired. Nero had fame . . . Who envies him?”

And now, if you go here, you can hear the lectures as well.

So go get ‘em and give a listen.

I just cancelled my reservations to go on the next jump.

The religion of these primitive ages was exclusively domestic [worshiping ancestral gods -- sw]; so also were morals. Religion did not say to a man, showing him another man, That is thy brother. It said to him, That is a stranger; he cannot participate in the religious acts of thy hearth; he cannot approach the tomb of thy family; he has other gods than thine, and cannot unite with thee in a common prayer; thy gods reject his adoration, and regard him as their enemy; he is thy foe also. (p. 76)

There was no basis for “society” aside from the State. Private religion destroyed anything like true communion between man and man. No wonder Paul persists in emphasizing the “one-anotherness” of the gospel. The reality of being “one” in Christ Jesus, was staggeringly revolutionary.

You hear it every year, don’t you? We’re warned against the “commercialization” of Christmas and exhorted to reject it so that we can get back to the true Reason for the Season ™. We spend too much money. Shopping for others brings stress and anxiety and hustle and bustle and worry and drives you crazy! Why can’t we just love one another and forget the gifts and just spend time around the fireplace thinking warm thoughts of love and gentleness, sipping hot chocolate, and enjoying some simple, home-made gifts (which are far more meaningful than anything you could possibly buy from one of those greedy merchants at the mall or online)?

That’s the spirit I’m talking about. You’ve heard it, right? Ok.

First, though, let’s acknowledge that there are real sins connected with our celebrations that we need to be mindful of and avoid:
– Do many people spend more than they can afford on gifts and sin by going into unnecessary debt? You betcha.
– Do we have a problem with materialism in our culture? Indeed we do.
– Do we often think that money and things can bring happiness and contentment? Yep.
– Do we fall into the trap of focusing more upon the hassle and the expense of gift-giving than we do upon the privilege of giving? Absolutely.
– Should we spend more time together with loved ones and work on building our relationships and loving one another? Of course.
– Should we remember that there are many people in need of basic necessities and have compassion on them instead of always focusing upon ourselves? Absolutely, we must never forget the needs of those around us — mercy and justice demand it.

But acknowledging all that, the message we often hear gives this impression: “Giving unnecessary and expensive gifts to friends and family is a waste of money. It encourages selfishness, covetousness, materialism and indifference to others and is a great dishonor to God.”

The implication is that one of the solutions to covetousness, selfishness, and materialism is to quit giving gifts and cut back on the size of our celebration — otherwise it’s impossible to avoid these sins.

But is this true? Let me pose another question: If you’re tithing and being generous with the wealth God has given you (remembering those in need), is it wrong to spend your money on gifts and celebration? Is it wrong to give something that is not absolutely necessary for sustaining life? Like a toy rocket ship or truck or a video game, or another pair of shoes, or a new shirt or a hilarious tie? Is it wrong to spend money on special treats and an unusually large dinner? Some of our friends would say, “Yes. Yes it is, absolutely!”

The problem here, however, is that God says, “No. No, it isn’t wrong, absolutely not!” If you’re tithing, being generous, showing compassion to those in need, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with feasting, gift-giving, celebrating, and spending money for these “unnecessary” things.

Indeed, God commanded Israel to do this very thing, right? (Deut. 14:22-27 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses.”).

It’s not clear exactly how this was to work, but scholars think that at least four out of every seven years, God expected Israel to do this. And notice: The rule for determining what you obtained with your money was not what you needed but what you desired. And you were not to be concerned about the amount. You were to purchase as much as your tithe allowed. Which, for some, would have amounted to quite a bit of stuff.

It’s impossible to know the average income of the average Israelite, so let’s just put it in terms that we can understand. What if you were to spend a tithe of your income for a celebration? What would my friends think if they heard I spent $3000-4000 for Christmas? Would they be dismayed? Would you? It sounds like gross extravagance, like something that can only lead to evil, right?

But notice why the Lord wanted Israel to do this (v. 23 “that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.”). This extravagant celebration was to teach them to fear Yahweh. That’s the same phrase used to explain why they should read the law publicly every seven years (Deut. 31:10-13).

God puts celebration and feasting on the same level as hearing His Word. Why? In part because the celebration itself was made possible by God’s goodness and generosity. They had something to celebrate with only because God had been generous to them in giving them strength and skill and blessing their labors. And every year when they ate and drank and enjoyed the abundance of good things that they probably couldn’t afford during the rest of the year –- they were reminded of God’s extravagant grace and mercy to them. And the experience of His goodness and generosity would in turn make them generous people. They would fear Him and grow in conformity to Him.

God wasn’t afraid that they would become covetous and materialistic. The covetous man doesn’t have any desire to spend his money for others. The materialist has no regard for the joy he might bring to others with his wealth. This grand celebration was to teach them to see the ugliness of covetousness and materialism and to attack these evils.

And, you know what? A joyful, generous celebration of Christmas (and other feast days) will do the same for us.

Do you see how this works? Our giving is to reflect God’s generosity to us. The man who is always concerned that he’s going to spend a penny more than is absolutely necessary or that he’s going to give more than he needs to give, is not showing the spirit of the Savior. He’s not loving like Jesus loves at all. Rather, we show forth the glory of God by being generous to others and sometimes by being extravagantly generous — just like He is toward us.

God gives us many, many things that are not absolutely necessary for life. He supplies all our needs but then gives us far above all that we can ask or think. And He never worries about spending too much on us. Does His abundance make you spoiled, arrogant, and demanding? Or does it rather humble you and make you ashamed of your selfishness and self-centeredness and pettiness and stinginess?

You see? God doesn’t attack consumerism and materialism by being stingy with His gifts or restricting the number of them because He’s afraid that you will become a selfish pig. Rather, He lavishes His gifts upon you so that you will learn to be like Him.

Christmas is a time when we have the privilege of imitating the gloriously generous, loving God who has given us the most precious of gifts and all other things with Him.

So rejoice, be glad, eat, drink, and be truly merry — for the Lord is good. He has given us His Son . . . and the turkey and the pecan pie and that funny sweater Aunt Suzie thought was “darling” — give thanks and enjoy it all so that you can become like the Lord of love, joy, and gladness.

Apparently, the fact that Christmas falls on Sunday this year has flummoxed a number of churches. One of which put out a video to explain to their congregation the reason why they had changed their normal practice this Sunday. The pastor says, the leadership team was stumped at first. You have to do “something on Christmas” he tells us. But they couldn’t figure out what. So, after a lot of discussion, they came up with the idea of doing . . . . next to nothing. They’re going to leave the church open so that their members can come by and have a time of quiet meditation. There might even be Bible reading and prayer and singing of some Christmas carols, he says, they’re not quite sure how it will all work — but this will, he says, make Christmas “special.”

Nowhere in the video does he indicate that, you know, we might just worship on this Sunday like we do every other Sunday! Worship apparently isn’t “special” enough.

Then I hear that a number of Christians are planning to stay home from worship this Sunday so that they can celebrate Christmas. Yeah. I hope that sounds a tad whacky to you! John Barach makes this point to show the stupidity of this:

Would you skip someone’s birthday party and refuse to come to his house or eat any of his birthday cake and then tell him that you did all of that in order to honor him on his birthday? No? Then why would anyone skip church on Sunday in order to celebrate Christ’s birth?

This is akin to those who say they’re not going to worship in order to “have family time.”

We need to ask the question, “Who is your family?”

Jesus actually had the opportunity to answer this question one day. Remember when He was in Capernaum teaching and healing, he was told that his mother and brothers wanted to speak to him. Jesus used this as an opportunity to give some important instruction (Matt. 12:48-50): “But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus points out that His first and most important family consists of all those who do the will of His father. They all are closer to Him than His own mother and brothers would be if they did not believe and obey. God’s family is our first and most important family. It turns out that the water of baptism is in fact thicker than blood.

Everyone supposedly wants all of us to remember “the reason for the season” but I don’t think a lot of them understand the Reason as well as they think they do. If we are celebrating Christmas because of Jesus’ incarnation then we are acknowledging that His coming and His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign are the most important things in the world. Nothing is more important that what God has done in and through His Son. And how has God told us chiefly to commemorate His Son’s coming, life, and work?

It’s NOT to be done by forsaking public worship of His Son so that you can spend time with your private family. My first family is not the Wilkins. My first family is not the Hilburns or the Pages or the Thompsons. My first and most important family is my baptismal family and our lives and schedules must reflect this by making worship a priority for the Wilkinses, and the Pages, and the Thompsons, and Hilburns and every other family. Public worship is “family time.”

Don’t make rules for your family that contradict the rules Jesus makes for us. Worship is the most important thing we do for our individual families. The best thing you can ever do for your children is to teach them that there is nothing, nothing, more important than worshiping God with His people on Sunday. If they learn this lesson, your family will be mightily blessed — and they will be blessed because they have learned that our individual families are secondary to the Family of God.

Don’t forsake the worship in some mistaken idea that doing so will help your family more than attending worship with God’s family. It’s just not so.

So, I’ll look forward to seeing you this Sunday.

And, may the Lord grant to you a most merry Christmas!