To what extent should a Christian engage in self-promotion? Should any church sell itself to the public or engage in marketing? Should any Christian desire fame or is ambition itself not a good thing? I think about this a lot actually. I want a lasting legacy and for that reason, fame is always a very tempting thing. After all, if I were famous (and I assure you, I’m not) then I could be guaranteed that my legacy would be one that lasts. The apostle Paul, C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer—they’re all notable names, famous in a sense, even theologically. They all have a lasting legacy but did they … desire … it?

Rolling around in my head on any given day are a million thoughts. Try these:

• The movie stars who died in 2016, their work lives on. For a while at least. At some point the glitter dulls since, for example, no one watches silent films anymore, or the early talkies.
• For the movie stars or rock and roll performers, is their legacy real or does it belong to their stage persona, the people they portrayed? (This started all the legacy thinking for me… about what’s real and what’s not).
• Social media has a way of giving everyone the temptation to make themselves famous as their Andy Warhol fifteen minutes.  The torture of the disabled man and the hate crime perpetrated shows that fame isn’t always good. Dylann Roof is living proof that what one is famous for is more important than fame itself.
• In the end, if everyone was famous, would anyone really be?
• The President is presently out there working overtime with Senate and House Democrats to “save” his legacy. What exactly does that mean? Who benefits from his saved legacy? If it’s primarily himself, is it really a legacy or is it just an ego? Does releasing the Gitmo detainees benefit anyone? It’s in the news and I can’t help taking it to the deeper thought level.

Even after all this pondering, I don’t know to what extent God is in charge of my legacy and where that line gets crossed to being my role in it as a Christ-follower.

If I wake up every day, pray, and try to do the will of God, and then expend my efforts in that direction, what is my legacy? My efforts? My achievements? Or my faithfulness?  Or arguably, is it all His?

I’ll close today’s thoughts with my 2017 life verse (Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus) and the one that scares the living daylights out of me regarding a lasting legacy:

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Regardless of how one feels about the presidency over the last 8 years, it will be one for the history books. A notable legacy. Had President Barack Obama done nothing but be a black man in the White House and occupy the Oval Office for 8 years as US President…

• Had he added no jobs nor lost any…
• Had he added not a penny to the national debt even if no reduction…
• Had he caused no benefit and no harm…
• Had he presided over a military that fought no wars and lost no lives…
• Had crime rates remained the same in every place and health care plans been unchanged for all who previously had them…
• Add to the imaginary list as you will…

He’d still have a notable legacy. One that no one could take away from him. No one could or would undo it.  Think about this: if nothing changed at all during the past 8 years, the history books would record his presidency as remarkable, even miraculous in the stability. He would be cheered as an historic first, re-elected too! And then the history books – in our imaginary world – would add this glorious notation: he presided over a long stretch of stability, going down in history as someone to whom the world turned for leadership and a wise, fixed, and stable center point of freedom in times of global chaos, terror, and tyranny.

That’s if he had done nothing.

Yet this historic first remains no matter how much creative revision occurs to craft a legacy or pioneering legislation threatens to undo it.

A legacy is like tree rings revealing good years and bad years, abundance and drought.

For a notable legacy of the things we have done, the Bible gives good advice on how each of us can do it better, to have a legacy no one would want to erase:

Philippians 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

There are people who have graced this earth whose attitudes of serving others endure as their notable legacies. Mother Teresa–her beautiful legacy was helping the poor. No one wishes to undo her legacy of love and charity even if they still find flaws in her doctrine and implementation.  Apart from Jesus, no one is perfect.

Pope John Paul II. Does anyone want to undo all of his legacy in order to excise the parts which they find questionable, such as kissing a Koran?

What about Abraham Lincoln? Yup. There are people out there who say he doesn’t deserve to be known as such a good president. Yet his legacy is what it is. He was president at a time in US history that presented unique challenges. His legacy cannot be stripped from the context just like no segment can be removed from the tree ring without its absence being noticed.

I’m not famous.  No one particularly cares what my legacy will be, outside of my own family perhaps…with the emphasis on perhaps.  But I’ll have a legacy.  One that God cares deeply about.

What about you? Is your legacy something anyone (including yourself) would want to undo? Is it marked by humility or could it branded as selfish ambition and vain conceit? Is it one of love and service? Is your attitude the same as Christ Jesus’?  That’s what matters to God and marks your time on earth as a truly notable legacy.

Sow a thought, and reap an act. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.”

Perhaps you’ve heard that quote which has been attributed to a bazillion people. I’d argue that you reap a legacy every bit as much as you do a destiny. A destiny is a fixed point. It’s future-oriented and suggests that no power is strong enough to overcome what will happen in the future. It’s automatic, like fate or doom. Or on the positive side, it can be a great decision you made that is irreversible. Like salvation in Christ: your future is sealed. In the end, you’re either victorious by a wise decision of no return, or at one’s last breath, a casualty of one’s prior actions, fixed, sealed. No U-Turns for U.

Legacy transcends, however, and looks backward over what a person achieved.  It records for history what was sown as a thought, an act, a habit, and one’s legacy reflects one’s character. It records (nothing more, nothing less) than the unembellished history of what a person did, both good and bad.

So this brings up a good question: Can one craft a legacy like one writes a resume to put one’s best foot forward … or is any man’s legacy a matter for historians? That what’s been done is done and there are no U-Turns.

I think of Carrie Fisher and her longtime battle with mental illness. It’s right there alongside her rebellious youth, her iconic role as Princess Leia, her reconciliation and subsequent devotion to her mother, and her life remembered as lovely, witty, and bright in the fond recollections of her many friends.

Don’t you find it interesting that in the life of Christ recorded in Philippians 2 His life wasn’t all glory and roses on earth, but His legacy included giving up everything, making Himself as nothing, and enduring the cross, a sure sign of ignominy? Ah, but His legacy is not only the past and we can learn something important about legacy versus destiny.

Philippians 2: 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So let’s not be preoccupied with crafting a legacy of perfection on earth, doing a pointless and vain make-over of an imperfect life. Or try to smooth out the bumps in the road behind us to make it look like the journey was pristine when it was real. There’s a better legacy ahead—a perfect legacy– for those whose destiny includes eternity with Jesus Christ and by sharing the good news, being a witness for bringing people to heaven.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)

It should inspire mission because people and faith in Christ are all we can bring with us to heaven.  At our death, we can leave behind us a spiritual legacy that we also take with us. By faith in Christ through our words of testimony, their destiny becomes–in a sense–our legacy, too.

If I heard it once on our trip to Florida and back, I heard it a hundred times: the word LEGACY. Carrie Fisher had just died and people were talking about her legacy as an iconic actress. President Obama is nearing the end of his eight years as US President and everyone was discussing his legacy, protecting his signature achievements, and how to make sure his legacy of 8 doesn’t get dismantled in 1, 2, or 4. And then there’s the natural reflection about the year gone by and what we’re leaving behind as our life’s story and the 365 blank pages on which to write the next chapter in 2017. That’s, of course, assuming we’ll get to live another full year and be active during it. These days, that’s assuming a great deal.

A lot of celebrities have died in 2016. Why is that?

I’d argue that the reason we’re seeing so many celebrities die is that it’s amplification of waves. It’s the population surge known as Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). There are simply more people getting old. But it’s the tidal wave of modern media that began after WWII with more movies, radio stations, and the invention of television. There are more celebrities of note and more program choices. And then it’s the tsunami of the Internet making known how many people have died. The waves build upon each other and make the end effect even more powerful.

A video is circulating around the Internet about a man who slept for 364 days and wakes up to hear all the news he missed in the past year.  In the bad news category, the newly awakened man hears that David Bowie is dead and needs to be slapped back to reality because there’s more bad news.

Yes, in fact, many celebrities have died in 2016.  Fox News produced a written roll call of those who died and Carrie Fisher wasn’t even dead yet. Or her mother Debbie Reynolds. Or M*A*S*H actor William Christopher who played Father Mulcahy. In the CNN article about his death, it says, “Even though he played a Catholic priest, in real life, he was a Methodist, IMDB said.”  And then in a follow-up article, they state that while 2016 was a Grim Reaper year, “So the next time someone complains about 2016 killing all our heroes, tell them it could be worse. It has been worse.”

All our… heroes? Hmmm.  So here we go. Full circle. Legacy.

Do a quick perusal over the list from FOX included below, and take note of how few celebrities have any Christian legacy listed, or even church affiliation mentioned. What constitutes a hero?  What is the measure of a man or woman?  God sees it all.

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13)

Anyway, it started me thinking about a legacy which we’ll explore in a bit more depth. What about you? What will be your legacy?

=== From Fox News – a written roll call of those who died in 2016.

JANUARY

David Bowie, 69. Other-worldly musician who broke pop and rock boundaries with his creative musicianship, striking visuals and a genre-spanning persona he christened Ziggy Stardust. Jan. 10.

Alan Rickman, 69. Classically-trained British stage star and sensual screen villain in the “Harry Potter” saga and other films. Jan. 14.

Glenn Frey, 67. Rock ‘n’ roll rebel who co-founded the Eagles and with Don Henley formed one of history’s most successful songwriting teams with such hits as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane.” Jan. 18.

Abe Vigoda, 94. Character actor whose leathery, sad-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series “Barney Miller” and the doomed Mafia soldier in “The Godfather.” Jan. 26.

Paul Kantner, 74. Founding member of the Jefferson Airplane who stayed with the seminal band through its transformation from 1960s hippies to 1970s hit makers as the eventual leader of successor group Jefferson Starship. Jan. 28.

FEBRUARY

Antonin Scalia, 79. Influential conservative and most provocative member of the U.S. Supreme Court. Feb. 13.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 93. Veteran Egyptian diplomat who helped negotiate his country’s landmark peace deal with Israel but clashed with the United States when he served a single term as U.N. secretary-general. Feb. 16.

Harper Lee, 89. Elusive novelist whose child’s-eye view of racial injustice in a small Southern town, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” became standard reading for millions of young people and an Oscar-winning film. Feb. 19.

Umberto Eco, 84. Italian author who intrigued, puzzled and delighted readers worldwide with his best-selling historical novel “The Name of the Rose.” Feb. 19.

MARCH

Nancy Reagan, 94. Helpmate, backstage adviser and fierce protector of Ronald Reagan in his journey from actor to president — and finally during his battle with Alzheimer’s disease. March 6.

George Martin, 90. The Beatles’ urbane producer who quietly guided the band’s swift, historic transformation from rowdy club act to musical and cultural revolutionaries. March 8.

Phife Dawg, 45. Lyricist whose witty wordplay was a linchpin of the groundbreaking hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. March 22. Complications from diabetes.

Garry Shandling, 66. Actor and comedian who masterminded a brand of phony docudrama with “The Larry Sanders Show.” March 24.

Patty Duke, 69. As a teen, she won an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker,” then maintained a long career while battling personal demons. March 29.

APRIL

Merle Haggard, 79. Country giant who rose from poverty and prison to international fame through his songs about outlaws, underdogs and an abiding sense of national pride in such hits as “Okie From Muskogee” and “Sing Me Back Home.” April 6.

Doris Roberts, 90. She played the tart-tongued, endlessly meddling mother on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” April 17.

Chyna, 46. Tall, muscle-bound, raven-haired pro-wrestler who rocketed to popularity in the 1990s and later made the rounds on reality TV. April 20.

Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, 52. Basketball player who went from New York City playground wonder to Big East star for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse. April 20.

Prince, 57. One of the most inventive and influential musicians of modern times with hits including “Little Red Corvette,” ”Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry.” April 21.

MAY

Morley Safer, 84. Veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent who was equally at home reporting on social injustices, the Orient Express and abstract art, and who exposed a military atrocity in Vietnam that played an early role in changing Americans’ view of the war. May 19.

JUNE

Muhammad Ali, 74. Heavyweight champion whose fast fists, irrepressible personality and determined spirit transcended sports and captivated the world. June 3.

Peter Shaffer, 90. British playwright whose durable, award-winning hits included “Equus” and “Amadeus.” June 6.

Kimbo Slice, 42. Bearded street fighter who parlayed his Internet popularity into a mixed martial arts career. June 6.

Gordie Howe, 88. Known as “Mr. Hockey,” the rough-and-tumble Canadian farm boy whose blend of talent and toughness made him the NHL’s quintessential star. June 10.

Pat Summitt, 64. Winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women’s game from obscurity to national prominence during her 38-year career at Tennessee. June 28.

JULY

Elie Wiesel, 87. Romanian-born Holocaust survivor whose classic “Night” became a landmark testament to the Nazis’ crimes and launched his career as one of the world’s foremost witnesses and humanitarians. July 2.

Michael Cimino, 77. Oscar-winning director whose film “The Deer Hunter” became one of the great triumphs of Hollywood’s 1970s heyday and whose disastrous “Heaven’s Gate” helped bring that era to a close. July 2.

Sydney H. Schanberg, 82. Former New York Times correspondent awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the genocide in Cambodia in 1975 and whose story of the survival of his assistant inspired the film “The Killing Fields.” July 9.

Nate Thurmond, 74. Tenacious NBA defensive center who played with Wilt Chamberlain. July 16.

Marni Nixon, 86. Hollywood voice double whose singing was heard in place of the leading actresses’ in such movie musicals as “West Side Story,” ”The King and I” and “My Fair Lady.” July 24.

AUGUST

John McLaughlin, 89. Conservative commentator and host of a long-running television show that pioneered hollering-heads discussions of Washington politics. Aug. 16.

Gene Wilder, 83. Frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in “The Producers” and the mad scientist of “Young Frankenstein.” Aug. 28.

SEPTEMBER

Phyllis Schlafly, 92. Outspoken conservative activist who helped defeat the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and founded the Eagle Forum political group. Sept. 5.

Edward Albee, 88. Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who challenged theatrical convention in masterworks such as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “A Delicate Balance.” Sept. 16.

W.P. Kinsella, 81. Canadian novelist who blended magical realism and baseball in the book that became the smash hit film “Field of Dreams.” Sept. 16.

Arnold Palmer, 87. Golfing great who brought a country-club sport to the masses with a hard-charging style, charisma and a commoner’s touch. Sept. 25.

Shimon Peres, 93. Former Israeli president and prime minister, whose life story mirrored that of the Jewish state and who was celebrated around the world as a Nobel prize-winning visionary who pushed his country toward peace. Sept. 28.

OCTOBER

Dario Fo, 90. Italian playwright whose energetic mocking of Italian political life, social mores and religion won him praise, scorn and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Oct. 13.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88. World’s longest reigning monarch, he was revered in Thailand as a demigod, a humble father figure and an anchor of stability through decades of upheaval at home and abroad. Oct. 13.

Dennis Byrd, 51. Former NFL defensive lineman whose career was ended by neck injury. Oct. 15. Car accident.

NOVEMBER

Janet Reno, 78. First woman to serve as U.S. attorney general and the epicenter of several political storms during the Clinton administration, including the seizure of Elian Gonzalez. Nov. 7.

Leonard Cohen, 82. Baritone-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter who blended spirituality and sexuality in songs like “Hallelujah,” ”Suzanne” and “Bird on a Wire.” Nov. 7.

Robert Vaughn, 83. Debonair, Oscar-nominated actor whose many film roles were eclipsed by his hugely popular turn in television’s “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” Nov. 11.

Gwen Ifill, 61. Co-anchor of PBS’ “NewsHour” with Judy Woodruff and a veteran journalist who moderated two vice presidential debates. Nov. 14.

Ralph Branca, 90. Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” that still echoes six decades later as one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. Nov. 23.

Florence Henderson, 82. Broadway star who became one of America’s most beloved television moms in “The Brady Bunch.” Nov. 24.

Fidel Castro, 90. He led his bearded rebels to victorious revolution in 1959, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of U.S. presidents during his half-century of rule in Cuba. Nov. 25.

DECEMBER

John Glenn, 95. His 1962 flight as the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth made him an all-American hero and propelled him to a long career in the U.S. Senate. Dec. 8.

Alan Thicke, 69. Versatile performer who gained his greatest renown as the beloved dad on the sitcom “Growing Pains.” Dec. 13.

Craig Sager, 65. Longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy suits and probing questions. Dec. 15.

Henry Heimlich, 96. Surgeon who created the life-saving Heimlich maneuver for choking victims. Dec. 17.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99. Jet-setting Hungarian actress and socialite who helped invent a new kind of fame out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life. Dec. 18.

Thanks 2016.  It’s been real.  Time to welcome a New Year 2017.  Ring it in with a prayer.

Thank You, Lord God, for another year to live for You!  To bring people to see the mercy and grace You offer us in Your Son Jesus Christ.  Thank You for all the good that happened to us in 2016 and all the ways You watched over us and protected us.  Thank you for valuable Kingdom work to do and people to love.  Thank You for all You are planning on doing in this New Year 2017.  We thank You that Your mercies are new every morning and Your grace is more than enough to cover us and to see us through any difficulties ahead.  We praise You that nothing takes You by surprise and somehow–even when we cannot see how it is possible–You still specialize in the impossible and use impossible people to accomplish Your will.

For those whose 2016s were marred by death and violence, by sadness and job loss, by alienation and unfriending, by injury and illness, and by any of the other tragedies large and small that afflict us on this planet, we ask for Your healing hand.  Your special care and loving touch so they will know they have not been forgotten or forsaken by You.  Remind Your people of ways we can minister to each other in the body of Christ and to trust in You.  That You will pay back the years the locusts take away and to bestow that crown of beauty instead of ashes.  May we know Your favor and comfort.  Lord, help us to share Your good news with those who need it the most.  Pour Your Holy Spirit out upon this land and upon this people.  May we bring glory to You in 2017 by our faithful obedience.  For Your lovingkindness lasts forever and our gratitude is eternal.  Amen.

A Scripture of hope quoted (in part) by Jesus as He proclaimed its fulfillment in Himself:

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. 8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” 10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Happy New Year 2017!

2016 was kind of a confusing year. It’s like the confusing message I saw on the sign from Georgia’s I-75 on my way home from a Christmas break with the kids.

Message 3.

What is that supposed to mean?

(Gee, I didn’t bring my super-secret Georgia decoder ring with me on the trip.)

* * *

I know, I thought, I’ll ask Siri!

• Hey Siri … What is Message 3?
• You have no unread messages.
• Hey Siri
• I’m listening
• Message 3
• To whom should I send your message?
• Aarrgh!
• I didn’t catch that.
• Hey Siri…Georgia highway message 3
• I didn’t find anything for Georgia highway message 3.

I gave up before she gave me locations for Massage Envy or “my sage tree.”

I’d be willing to bet that if I did finally decode Message 3 it would say something like:

• “Stop using your cell phone. Distracted driving kills”
• “Siri’s worthless. Why do you keep trying?”
• “Learn to ask better Siri questions.  Helpful tips.  Take a look.”
• “Hang up and drive”
• or maybe, “None of your business. That message was not for you.”

There’s a lot about 2016 that I found confusing. What’s ironic is that with a world of information at our fingertips, we are able to look up why the Amish can drive golf carts, the origins of the trucking company SAIA, or when Harvey Korman died, but so many of us seem to have lost sight of what’s really important.

Maybe Message 3 would be to look back over the year and find what’s been good and carry that into 2017.

Hey Siri, what would the Apostle Paul say about how to make life less confusing?

She probably wouldn’t understand that question either, but I’d like for her to say, “OK, here’s what I found. Take a look.”

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable– if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me– put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Yeah, I think that’s a pretty good answer and a great message to conclude a confusing year.

He was shuffling along as I encountered him on my walk. “Good morning! How are you today?” I greeted him. His reply was one word: “Happy.” To be in the final quarter of life and to have that as your reply is indeed a happy thing. It got me feeling a bit envious that one word could sum up his life’s outlook and maybe not my own. Maybe it’s because I’m wordy. Or maybe I don’t spend enough time being grateful and contemplating the importance of ending well.

As we conclude a very strange 2016 and prepare to turn the page to 2017, I think back to last year’s wish of a Happy New Year. I shared 16 biblical ways from Hebrews 12 to Bring it in 2016!  Summarized, they were:

#1 Let the past go.

#2 Focus on the right stuff.

#3 Keep encouraged.

#4 Keep some perspective.

#5 Accept God’s course correction.

#6 Endure hardship.

#7 Discipline teaches respect.

#8 Become strong.

#9 Become level-headed and able-bodied.

#10 Find peace without compromising integrity.

#11 Grace trumps bitterness.

#12 Treasure today’s inheritance of godliness.

#13 Come to the right place.

#14 Shaken not stirred.

#15 Harbor gratitude.

#16 Worship like you know He’s God.

Maybe it’s a good time to end 2016 well by focusing on those things. Like the man I encountered on my walk who had far more New Years behind him than ahead of him.  Don’t worry.  Just be happy.  It is well with the Christian’s soul.

How can we be in that happy place?  By remembering that the LORD is God and He ever expected us to replace Him or do His work for Him. And by allowing God to orient us toward the future.  Jesus is “God with us” not only at Christmas but beyond.  Therefore, we can end well with gratitude to God for yesterday and find happiness in today.  Ending well is a choice we can all choose to make.  Our future will be better for it.

More than just a baby in a manger, here’s what Christmas means:  Jesus was born because the world needed Him! 

Because He came, dust to dust doesn’t need to be our final and only destiny.

Because He came, sin’s perpetual curse doesn’t need to be our lot.

Because He came, we can be forgiven, once for all time!

Because He came, humanity’s attempts at saving ourselves never need to be our only resource.

Because He came, the True Light penetrated the darkness and the darkness will never overcome Him.

Because He came,, God demonstrated that His love is so magnificent it would show supremely in the ultimate sacrifice.  And it’s while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

Because He came, the death the world conspired to achieve would be the very means by which God desired to save us.

Because He came, there is a tomorrow. Of hope.  Of peace.  Of joy.  Of love.  Of everlasting life.

Because He came, sin no longer rules over us.

Because He came, death has been defeated.

Because He came, the gates of hell will not overcome us.

Because He came, the gates of heaven are open wide!  And the angels sing each time someone who has been lost is found!

Because He came, the good news is really, really Good!  It’s good for you.  And it’s good for me.

Because He came, we have seen the Father!

Because He came, we know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Because He came,, we can know, enjoy, and take part in the Resurrection!

Because He came, we can find the narrow door and have access to the very throne room of God in prayer.

Because He came, the Holy Spirit can dwell in our hearts and remind us of everything Jesus taught in His lifetime.

Because He came, we know what Love looks like.

Because He came,  our lives have purpose and meaning!

Because He came, we can wrestle through the splendid mystery of how the Almighty God—the very One who created the entire universe– fit in such a tiny package as this Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, lying in a manger.

Because He came, God’s angels sing, God’s people rejoice, and demons tremble with fear.

Because He came, Christmas means far more than what money can buy or what comes from a store.  Jesus’ birth made all the difference!

Because He came,

our greatest joy on Christmas morning can be found in a manger, and not under a tree.

Because He came, we know the very meaning of Merry Christmas!

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This concludes our Advent 2016 Devotionals called Timeless: the Message of Christmas for All Ages  which began November 27, 2106.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love are ours in an enduring way as we look into the Word, see the face of our Lord Jesus, and experience restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless.  Merry Christmas!

Luke 2:1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Merry Christmas Eve!

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown seeks out advice from Lucy who is a 5-cent psychiatrist and happens to be “Real In” when he wants to talk about the source of his depression. She says that if he can identify his problem, then he’s part-way to solving it so she lists a bunch of phobias. Our culture is quick to apply labels and to assign phobias (e.g. homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia) and other assorted hatreds. There are two groups that it’s apparently okay to hate: Christians and Jews. It’s connected if you understand the Jewishness of our Savior.  The Jewishness of the Messiah, the Christ, who was born to Jewish parents in Bethlehem, the ancestral home of their father King David of Israel.  You know, that Jewish event we celebrate as Christmas.

I’m not sure when anti-Semitism became okay, culturally speaking. It’s not okay with me. It never has been.

But there was a day worldwide when we experienced a collective grief about the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism was very real for a time. Lately however, we don’t hear too much about that. Israel, for too many people, is seen as a problem state of land and religion…and Jews as a problem people.

They aren’t. Israel isn’t. God never revoked Chosen People status in order to bring the Gentiles in. 

Salvation is still from the Jews.

Isaiah 9:1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan– 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.

Indeed God has enlarged the nation and increased their joy because of the Jewishness of our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah foretold by the prophets.  He’d be born a Jew but would save Gentiles too.

Isaiah 9:4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

The Messiah of Christians and Jews–all who believe in His Name for their salvation– Jesus, will reign on David’s throne and over his forever kingdom as promised in Scripture. It’s the Jewishness of our Savior. And Christians can rejoice as ones grafted into the olive tree by faith (Romans 11)! There is no phobia or anti-Semitism as God will continue to reach out to the unbelieving Jewish people as He does to everyone without prejudice.  He desires that all come to faith and no one perishes.  It’s why He came.

For further reflection read Romans 11 and  John 4: 21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

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Join me for Advent 2016 Devotionals called Timeless: the Message of Christmas for All Ages beginning November 27, 2106.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love will be ours as we look into the Word, see the face of our Lord Jesus, and experience restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless.

Advent began November 27, 2016.  If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the Advent devotionals automatically.  If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so.  Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings.  You don’t want to miss this great way to prepare your heart for the true meaning of Christmas!