The Little Drummer Boy

When I played piano as a youth, one of my favorite Christmas songs to play was "The Little Drummer Boy."  The last time I sang this song, my emotions were profoundly moved to a point I could hardly sing.  Perhaps for all those years the truth of the message was hidden among the multitude of "pa rum pum pum pums!"  It is a classic carol but also a timeless truth.  As ridiculous as it seems that a boy would be encouraged to play on his drum as a gift for baby Jesus, how much more ridiculous is it that the praises of our lips would be received by Him!  Are the words of my lips as pure as the love of the Little Drummer Boy, who gave all he had to give?  Here is the message of the carol written by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone  below:

Come they told me
A new born King to see,
Our finest gifts we bring
To lay before the King 
So to honor Him
When we come.

Little Baby
I am a poor boy too

I have no gift to bring
That's fit to give our King
Shall I play for you!
On my drum.

Mary nodded
The ox and lamb kept time
I played my drum for Him
I played my best for Him
Then He smiled at me
Me and my drum.

We are all like the Little Drummer Boy, without a gift fit to give a king, much less the King of Kings!  What a message of merciful, gracious acceptance!  What gift is greater than to be accepted by God in our poor state, that He would smile upon our pathetic gestures!  May our gifts be without pride as we offer ourselves freely to Jesus Christ.  If by God's grace you have a drum or have a voice to sing, won't you use it to praise and thank Him today and always?

Secure? True or False?

I have been mulling over a portion I read yesterday during my devotional time.  Judges 8:10-11 reads, "Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. ¹¹ And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure."  To set the scene, God gave Gideon and his 300 men a miraculous victory over the Midianite army where 120,000 died.  The remaining 15,000 men and kings Zebah and Zalmunna fled with Gideon and the 300 in hot pursuit.  Though Gideon and the 300 were weary, they killed all who remained of the Midianite army and took captive their kings.

The part of the scripture which leapt off the page was the final statement:  Gideon "...smote the host:  for the host was secure."  These 15,000 felt secure because they had managed to escape the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.  They fled far away and thought the danger was past.  Perhaps they spent the evening drinking, took off all their armor, lay down to sleep without watchmen, or threw down their weapons in a pile.  The Bible does not specifically say.  But we do know they did not expect an attack and felt secure.  And because they did not figure on fighting they all ended up dying.  There is a strong warning in this passage for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

There is no doubt of the shift in modern times in the presentation and teaching of the Gospel.  The preaching in churches during the centuries has gone though a perpetual cycle.  Man has always labored to present the Gospel with proper balance.  Some preach grace and ignore the necessity of works, while others preach works and cheapen grace.  We struggle to balance the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man.  Church tradition, denominational lines, culture, and personal experience all weave together a worldview which defines belief.  Even in a "nondenominational" church, this is often the case.  If I grew up in a church that never preached from the Bible and saw the danger of that, I would be careful to emphasize true biblical doctrine.  I might even shy away from topical studies.  If your experience is one of casting off the yoke of oppressive legalism, you would naturally focus on the freedom we have in Christ instead of the need for good works.

One of the aspects focused upon today by many is the positional security we have in Christ.  People will regurgitate what have become common catchphrases:  "If you believe in Jesus, you're heaven-bound!  No one, not even the devil can snatch you out of His hand!  Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ!"  I used these phrases carefully, and every one has been taken out of context to prove a point.  As a person who has read the whole counsel of God and grown in maturity, I know that repentance is a requirement for salvation.  I know that there is such a thing as apostasy, and that we can refuse to receive the love Christ has for us.  But a new believer?  He does not understand these statements and they can be very dangerous because they bring with them a false sense of security.  He believes he is safe and secure.  He does not recognize he has an enemy who is constantly accusing, condemning, and plotting his overthrow.

If Satan can lull us to sleep as Delilah did to Samson on her knees, he can render us powerless, bind, blind, and enslave us.  The truth is, though we are positionally secure in Jesus Christ we can still be under attack!  That is why Christians are called to be sober and watchful, putting on the whole armor of God.  It is Jesus who says in Matthew 26:41:  "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  The implication is that if we do not watch and pray, we will enter into temptation willingly!  Our flesh is weak.  Though we are born again by grace through faith and our salvation is secure in Christ, Satan would like nothing more than to paralyze us in sin, ruin our witness, bombard us with doubts and disillusionment, and make us an ally to draw others away from God!  As much as we emphasize our positional security in Christ Jesus, we need to make clear our responsibilities to honor God in daily living.

I would never have known I was in a spiritual battle unless God told me through His Word and raised my awareness through the Holy Spirit.  The natural man is blind to spiritual things.  Paul exhorts in Ephesians 6:10-11:  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil ."  Unless we put on the whole armor of God, we will not be able to stand against the wiles of the devil!  He is as powerful as he is crafty, and he rages against God and His people with ferocity.  But as Samson ripped apart the lion which roared against him in the vineyard, God will help us to stand in the day of attack.  We are to flee from youthful lusts, but we never run from Satan!  Satan nor his demons should not frighten us, for love in Christ casts out all fear.  We have the authority in Christ to stand against him, and to that end we must be watchful and vigilant as we stand upon Christ and His promises.

If you knew there was a lion loose in your community, you would take caution to protect yourself and your children.  How much more deadly is temptation and sin which leads to eternal death?  Is it possible we are lax in our conduct and discipline because we do not see the need?  Since our security in Christ (though true!) is a note often harped upon, this has led to a level of complacency and apathy in the church never before seen. There is no security worse than a false security.  People went on the maiden voyage of the Titanic thinking it was an unsinkable ship.  We all know the tragedy that followed.  If a man is duped into thinking, "I'm saved, glad that's over - now I can get on with my life" God help us!  Sound the trumpet, for we are in a battle!  Instead of being entangled with things of this world, let us be watchful and pray.  Victory is promised to the obedient!

Update from Down Under

With less than 48 hours remaining in Australia this trip, I am amazed to think about all that has happened in that time.  My schedule has been fairly rigorous of late, and yesterday is a great example.  I visited a property and picked up a rental application in the morning, had lunch with some mates, went for caroling practice, then headed off to the Beecroft Nursing home to sing to folks, played gridiron at the park with guys from church, then went to the church building for a dinner gathering!  It was 11pm before I hitched a ride with Ian back to the Tookes and let's just say, Sunday morning came EARLY!  If you are keen to hear the message I preached today called "Dry Bone to New Life", follow this link!  (Right click and save to desktop - then play!)

Yesterday I was so happy to be able to sing carols with people from Calvary Epping and CC Sydney to the residents at the nursing home, a place I have jogged past for the last two months praying for an opportunity to serve there.  See, God does answer prayer!  I imagine it must be a lonely place to spend your days, in various stages of health and mental alertness.  I carefully observed our audience as we sang to them about Christmas and Jesus Christ.  One man in particular had my attention.  He was quiet, with large vacant eyes.  But when we began to sing, he clearly mouthed the words to nearly every song.  Every soul in that room was absolutely precious.  My heart longs to be of greater service to them in the future.  For the first time I sang the Australian version of Jingle Bells, which is hilarious.

People have been asking me if I am excited to go home to America.  Funny as it may seem, I don't see it as going home.  I am actually more excited about coming to Australia on January 3rd with our one-way-tickets than me heading back to the States.  Please don't misunderstand:  I am very excited to visit with family and friends and spend the holidays with them.  But I can't think about traveling to San Diego as heading home.  My real home is in heaven, and Australia is where I believe God will establish our family to stay for awhile.  When some people might be longing for their hometown, that is not my case.  Thinking of leaving now is very hard to imagine because it feels like we're just getting started at CC Sydney!

It's really interesting to me that I do not have a house to call my own on either side of the Pacific, and nearly all my earthy goods are at this moment on a ship on the ocean.  While my biological family is on the west coast of the United States, I truly have family in Christ on both sides of those expansive waters.  To be apart from any of them is so hard, and it will need to be that way for the rest of my days no matter where I live.  Only in heaven will we all be together!  I am reminded of one of my favorite verses in 2 Timothy 2:1-3:  "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³ You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ ."  Praise the LORD, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  We can cast all our cares upon Him, because He cares for us!

Godly Leadership

A big problem with leadership in the church today are the perceptions of it either by leaders or congregants.  Since the formation of the church men have been drawn to follow men.  This is nothing new.  The children of Israel wanted a king so they could be like the other nations.  I have heard it said that a pastor cannot lead a man further than he has traveled himself in spiritual maturity.  I agree to a point.  A pastor's role is to lead a man to follow Christ, take heed to all the flock of God, and equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  IF you follow the pastor, you willingly limit yourself to your leader.  God has placed pastors within the Body of Christ that they might point to Christ the Messiah as John the Baptist did.  As a pastor, my role is to lead by example in following Christ, not by making myself the standard, but serving as a fellow-laborer still growing in maturity.  Even Paul said in Philippians 3:12:  "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."  He continued to press on, seeing his need for greater maturity and submission to God.

There are few things more common than criticizing or judging those in leadership positions in the church by others.  But no matter how poor the leadership may be, it gives us no excuse not to grow in grace and faith in Christ.  If we are filled with complaints, it may be that we are seeking to follow a person rather than Christ.  In following a man or woman we will always become disillusioned with their leadership.  When we see people not walking in the authority God has given them as children of God, we can stand in judgment of them OR take the lead ourselves in following Jesus.  Should not all true leaders be the servants of all?  We do not need to have a ministerial title within the church to take the lead in loving others, prayer, growth in grace, and being strong in faith.  The pastor, elders, and congregation will all answer to God alone, and those who teach will be held under stricter judgment.

A pastor is always on duty.  It does not matter whether he drives on the motorway, stops for a coffee, or makes a visit to a hospital.  His life will be scrutinized and examined by both Christians and non-Christians to see if his actions affirms his words.  In the same way, all Christians are always on duty!  It is not only the pastor who is called to walk in faithful service to Jesus, but every person who is born again of the Holy Spirit's power.  Martin Luther desired only to be known as a Christian, because following Jesus is the highest calling and privilege of any human being.  Instead of confining our influence and service to Christ within a building on Sunday mornings, let us seek to live for God continually.  All Christians have equal responsibility to live as such!  Never forget Who lives in you, Who daily makes intercession for you, and Who loves the world enough to freely give His only begotten Son.

Let us make the words of the psalmist our prayer:  Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  If we are faithful to do this, we will never lack godly leadership!