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This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, where about half of the congregation had an ashen cross placed on their foreheads. That seems insignificant, but it actually packs quite a bit of punch!

For example, walking around with a cross on your head is making an actual statement to those who see you, that you are a Christian and that you not only believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, but that you follow Him and His teachings in your life. That can be quite exhilarating, seeing how little we get to witness to real pagans nowadays! It seems like everyone in Tennessee is a Christian, and most are, because they drive a Ford or Chevy truck (just kidding). But for all those who see you, you are taking a stand. You are broadcasting out loud, “Jesus lives, He is Lord, and I am one of His followers. I am living under the cross.”

Of course, the whole Bible tells us to “live under the cross,” but Jesus specifically tells us to do that in Mark 8 when he says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (34b). Jesus is calling you to pick up a cross and carry it; meaning you are trudging along under it! You are living “under the cross” when you deny your interests and place Christ’s interests first. You are to lose your life for his sake and the gospel’s sake. That’s living “under the cross.” That’s losing your life in order to save it!

Which makes me think, maybe we ought to have Ash Wednesday service early in the morning, so that we can visibly, one day per year, live “under the cross” as we go about our daily lives. Hopefully that would strengthen our lives the rest of the year to carry the cross, as well as witnessing to those who don’t drive trucks!

With Super Bowl weekend in the rear view mirror, we should spend a moment reflecting on its impacts, on our nation, on our families, and our children.

Obviously, the half-time show was a calculated risk to not only advertise to the Hispanic potential audience in South and Latin America, but it was also a Satanically-inspired culture-pushing advertisement. According to Congressman Ogles, it was full of explicit ungodly sexual immorality, pushing everything from fornication to sodomy to transgender and beyond.

On top of that, you not only have the cheerleaders who are prominently displayed in skimpy clothing, but you have endless commercials of women dressed with low necklines to high skirtlines. Not to mention the rampant fornication and adultery of the football players themselves, along with their off-field thuggery.

What this communicated to your children, both girls and boys, is that football is all about sexual licentiousness, embraced by our American culture, at total odds to all godly Lord’s Day activities! If the goal in life is “fun,” it isn’t hard to see who has the overwhelming tug on the hearts of unbelievers and believers.

So in the coming year, take some time to think about how you want men and women portrayed to your children (and to yourselves): as objects to be used and thrown away, or as persons made in the image of God and worthy of immense respect and sacrifice? Is the purpose of man “fun,” or the glory of God and the service of fellow images of God? Is it pure sexual lives of one man and one woman following after Jesus, or destructive sexual narcissism? Meditate on Psalm 119, and make your viewing plans accordingly!

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?” — Job 38:22–23

While storehouses of snow and hail conjure up unbelievable mental pictures of God’s greatness and beauty, they also conjure up other visions as well. Notice that these storehouses are put to other uses than just beauty; they are “reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.”

What an encouragement to Job and to us! That white stuff is beautiful, and menacing, used in time of trouble and battle and war to advance God’s kingdom. Remember Yahweh’s battle with Pharaoh? “And Yahweh rained hail upon the land of Egypt…very heavy hail” — Exodus 9:23–24

Remember Joshua’s battle at Gibeon? “There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword” — Joshua 10:11

Remember the Lord crushing the Assyrians with hailstones? “…with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of Yahweh” — Isaiah 30:30–31

Remember the seventh bowl poured out on Jerusalem/Babylon? “And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds, fell from heaven on people, and they cursed God for the plague of hail” — Revelation 16:21

What a majestic and mysterious Lord you have! He uses even the weather to advance his kingdom, saving his people and destroying the wicked. Praise Him!

The Lord Jesus gave us all a great opportunity this past week to reflect on his power and majesty and mysterious ways.

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? (Job 38:22—23).

Of course, Job couldn’t answer the Lord’s questions positively, and neither can we. We haven’t been there. But we can be amazed and awed by the poetry of God’s word. Storehouses for the snow? What colossal images that creates in our minds! Storehouses of the hail? That sounds dark and ominous and foreboding as well. We all know the power of hail.

So we got to experience the beauty of God’s creation this past week, with the snow and ice and freezing temperatures. For this we ought to be grateful, thanking the Lord for his wintry world and all the inventions he has created through us to take some of the rougher edges off that wintry world. Losing power, which means losing heat and light and refrigeration and movies and phones, should lead to a gain of appreciation for all of God’s good gifts to us: snow, sleet, cold, ice on trees, fireplaces, refrigerators, heating systems, snowplows, chainsaws, utility workers, family ties and hospitality by friends and loved ones.

Beautiful snow and sleet and loss of power should also make us remember that through this storm, through this weather, through this seasonal change, Jesus is advancing his kingdom and the Great Commission. Chew on that for a little bit by the fireplace, snuggled up with family and enjoying some hot apple cider!

When Pastors engage in counseling they usually receive a lot of “flack” from counselees, like “I have a mental illness,” “I’m a victim,” or “I apologized kind of,” etc. Worse is “I’m letting go and letting God,” or “The Spirit/Jesus hasn’t changed me yet, I’m waiting on him.” That’s not only false, it is a sinful notion: the Bible is clear about Christians and the faithful putting off sin and putting on Christ. Scripture never says “wait till you feel the Spirit.”

“…as you have always obeyed…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” — Philippians 2:12–13. Yes, because God is in you, YOU must move and obey!

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry…But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another…” — Colossians 3:5, 8–9.

“…that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith,…” — 1 Timothy 1:18–19. Notice Paul is holding Timothy responsible to act!

“I promise to keep your words” — Psalm 119:57.

“When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies” — Psalm 119:59.

“I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments” — Psalm 119:60

“I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end” — Psalm 119:112.

Even a few from David, an old testament saint! He takes full responsibility (notice the “I’s”)! And so should you!

The gospel reading for today (Luke 2:41-52) is a classic text among people of non-paedocommuion persuasion. They find from the story that Jesus never went up to the Passover celebration until he was twelve. Never mind the text doesn’t say that. And since Jesus didn’t eat the Passover Meal till he was twelve, then covenant children should not sit at the table till they are twelve, likewise. Covenant children don’t get to go into the “real Father’s house” until they are twelve and admitted to the Lord’s Supper. That’s the Bar Mitzvah practice; but when did that become normative for Christian practice and doctrine?

Funny how his parents thought he was with the entourage, as if running around with cousins was a normal thing to do on this trip! It’s also “funny” that at the institution of the Passover in Exodus 12, there was a lamb “for each household,” (3), and if the household was too small for a whole lamb, then two households could share a lamb, “according to the number of souls, according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb” (4). One guesses children under twelve years of age aren’t a “soul/person,” and they can’t eat yet! Funny, too, that when your children ask during the killing of the lamb and preparation for the service, “What do you mean by this service” (26-27), the answer “for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt,” even though all the children in the houses were spared, nobody but those twelve and older got to eat. And, of course, only twelve-year-olders would think to ask such a question!

Funny, too, how Paul teaches that “all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink… from the rock, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians. 10:1-4) Apparently, only children twelve and older escaped from Egypt!

The gospel text of Matthew 2:1–12 for the second Sunday in Christmas is one of those texts you just can’t read lightly, lest you miss some really important stuff. One such important detail is that Herod is a new Pharaoh who kills little boys to prevent the Promised Seed from ascending his throne, and that he is “deceived” by the wise men as was Pharaoh by the midwives.

Speaking of the Wise Men, how many were there? We all know “three,” but the text doesn’t actually say that; just the Christmas carol, thinking each man brought one gift. Are you really paying attention to the text?!

Same thing with the “star” the men follow! Most Christians think this is an actual, cosmic star in heaven, no bother that stars are about 1000 times larger than our earth (don’t trust the science here!). But if you read your bible and connect even a few dots, you know this isn’t a cosmic star but the “Shekinah Glory,” the cloud of light by day and fire by night, the portable throne room of Yahweh and Jesus that moves around leading Israel in the wilderness and that picks up Jesus at his ascension. Paul gets a visit from it on the way to Damascus, and Jesus speaks out of it just like Yahweh did to Moses. So in our gospel account the “star” leads the men to an actual house and “sits” over it; therein they find Jesus.

So this invites the question: Why does the text tell us that David picks up “five” stones when he meets Goliath? Why “five”? We all know the answer: he was a Calvinist, one stone for each point. And all it took was one stone, since Goliath was “totally depraved!” But might it have been that David was preparing to get his four brothers (2 Samuel 21.15-22)?

Stille Nacht (Silent Night) and The First Noel were the first two Christmas hymns that stopped the first World War briefly during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914. First the Germans serenaded their enemies across the trenches, and the British soldiers responded with The First Noel. Shortly thereafter white flags went up, soldiers from both sides started crawling out of the trenches and exchanging goodies from home, laughter, stories, drinks and food. Dead comrades were removed and buried without withering machine gun fire. This was only the latest example of Europe’s Christian heritage influencing even the engagement of warfare: for centuries various Christian kingdoms wouldn’t allow warfare during Christmas or Easter and other holidays, and regulated burials and ceasefires and treatment of prisoners.

Secularists, in treating this Christmas truce, reduce it to sentimental rubbish: “The truce was a brief tantalizing flash of individual humanity, in a war of bureaucracies, machines and high explosives.”

No, No, No, No! When did this happen? On Christmas Eve! What were the troops singing? Christmas hymns, not beer-drinking ditties! What brought this temporary truce? The worship of Jesus and the peace that he brought to the world in his incarnation. In fact, worship of Jesus (by two Christian armies) preceded the truce. The worship of Jesus lifted even these hardened soldier’s eyes heavenward to gaze for moment on what the angels heralded so long ago:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2.14). What a brilliant example of Jesus’ reign on earth affecting the conduct of men! May it do the same for you this coming year!

Driving around town, it is depressing to see how many decorations have NO nativity scene. But reading C.S. Lewis improved my attitude somewhat!

In his book, God in the Dock, Lewis has some very pungent observations about the keeping of “Exmas” and “Chrismas.” After dealing with all the excesses of Exmas and how it really is just empty religion—meaningless cards of birds on branches, or green trees, or men dressed up like two hundreds years before, or houses with snow; empty gifts that they have to match in value to one another, expensive gifts they wouldn’t even buy for themselves, and how the sellers push junk for purchase, and how miserable older citizens walk around in the market places in red robes; and tired from the “rush of the season,” eat and drink too much on the day and are sick for a few days afterwards, and how they honor a god they do not believe in—he finally gets around to a few of the citizens who keep “Chrismas” (the word in the article) on the same day as Exmas.

These citizens do the opposite of most of their countrymen: they rise early with shining faces and go to temples where they partake of a sacred feast. And they set out images of a fair woman with new-born Child on her knees with animals and shepherds adoring the Child. And they retell the sacred story of the birth.

Let us at St. Mark NOT do what the Exmas crowd does, but let us follow in the path of the “Chrismas” worshippers! Though fewer, in our devotion to Christ let us lead the culture with truth, goodness, and beauty, not gluttony or drunkenness or senseless emotional pictures and decorations!

Merry Christmas! Christ is the beginning of Christmas!

The lectionary readings this week paint a picture of hope. In the scriptures, God often anchors hope, which is all about the future, in the past, so that you, God’s chosen people, can live in the present.

You hope for the future because of the demonstrated faithfulness of God in the past. Lest you think this is somehow faithless—that you must have faith without the demonstrated faithfulness of God—observe how the Psalms constantly rehearse the faithfulness of the God as the bedrock of hope and faith. Or in Matthew 11, when John the Baptizer needs reassuring, Jesus shores up John’s faith with acts of faithfulness. Faith and hope are anchored in the demonstrated faithfulness of God.

We rehearse this time of Advent hope, not because we wait for God to do something, but because He already has. God sent His Son as a babe who was faithful. Now we live in an earth under His reign. We know the gates of hell cannot prevail against our advance because we are led by the one who crushed the serpent’s head.

Yes, we expectantly look forward to celebrating Jesus first coming, but we do so because we know the story. We hope in the continued victory of the reigning King of Kings, the babe from the stable, who has demonstrated His faithfulness to all people in every age. As the saying goes, Jesus is the reason for the season. With glad tidings and good cheer, anchor your hope this season in the demonstrated faithfulness of your Lord Jesus!

When reading the book of Proverbs, young men are confronted with two choices: Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly. It’s pretty clear who Solomon is angling for! But here’s a question for you: where is Husband Wisdom? Or who is Husband Wisdom? Solomon never really says, though in 8:22–31, he points to someone from the past, someone at the beginning of the Creation, a Master Workman at Yahweh’s right hand. But it’s not a question that is much of a focus in the book.

So who is Husband Wisdom? Well, that’s Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30–31), come to earth as a baby to receive his bride!

“The Word of the Father came down from heaven to teach the Way of Prudence to the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Wisdom was born of a virgin in the dead of winter to an heir of the house of Judah. Wisdom lived and grew before God and men (Luke 2:52). Wisdom came and spoke to us in [sayings], for he is greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). It was the will of the Father to send his beloved Wisdom to the folly of the Cross, and the joy of Wisdom to carry it (Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 12:2). That same Wisdom rose again, first-born of the dead, and now rules and reigns forever and ever!” (Mark Brians, Theopolis).

Having secured his bride, he now loves her and matures her that he may present her, the church, to himself in splendor, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So this Advent Season rejoice that he came for you, yes, YOU, to make you part of his bride, and he did so and is doing so in all wisdom! Rejoice! For you are not a lonely one, poor and needy (Psalm 113), but a glorious Princess clothed in the splendor of his love! (Psalm 45).

St. Mark’s Advent and Christmas Guide teaches that Advent is a time to remember that we live between the two major comings of Jesus in history, “that we must live by faith in Christ as we await his return,” and that “we are given to each other in the community of the church to encourage each other…”

Psalm 122 is one of this week’s Advent readings, and does a splendid job of displaying what it means to be a community that encourages one another.

It demonstrates the communal nature of worship: “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord,” and it is “our feet” that are standing within the gates of Jerusalem to participate in worship.

It describes Jerusalem, the worshipping community, as a body that is firmly bound together to give thanks to the Lord. It reminds us that we are under the Lord, who judges his city for their blessing, as the chief of the house of David.

It calls us, the city, the church, to pray for one another: to pray for peace and security amongst those who love the body.

Finally, it calls us to real, brotherly fellowship: “For my brothers and companion’s sake, I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’”, while at the same time exhorting us to seek each other’s good. And to do so for the glory of God!

So while our focus during Advent is the coming of the Lord, we aren’t to forget for whom he is coming: that brother or sister or child in front of you or behind you or to your side. Not only are we to pray for them, but to seek their peace and to love worshipping with them, because they, too, give thanks to the Lord!