Christmas is here—“A most wonderful time of the year!”

Many greetings sent and received remind us that “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

How well do you know Him?  The Bible teaches us that it is all-important to know Him.  Jesus said in his prayer recorded in John 17:  “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent.”

Let me tell you the story of one man’s fascinating journey into a fuller knowledge of the Man whose birth we are in the midst of celebrating. 

Bruce Barton was born in Robbins, Tennessee, August 5, 1886, the son of a Congregationalist minister.  He described his attendance in the weekly Sunday school class as his “weekly hour of revolt.”  He felt that his kindly Sunday school teacher would have been shocked had she known what his thoughts were during class.  He was turned off by the picture on the wall of Jesus, “a pale young man with no muscle and a sad expression.”

He liked the picture of Daniel on the other wall—standing off the lions.  He much preferred hearing about the exploits of David, Moses, and Samson than hearing about Jesus, the “Lamb of God.”  He did not know what that meant, but it reminded him of Mary’s little lamb, “something for girls—sissified.”  His concept of Jesus was of one going around for three years “telling people not to do things.”  He was glad when the superintendent rang the bell and announced that it was time to sing the closing hymn. 

He left class and “left Jesus behind.”

As he grew older, he was mystified at the powerful influence Jesus had on the world.  He came

to realize that Jesus had literally changed the world, and that he must have missed something in his early training.  

It was then that he decided to wipe his mind clean of what he had heard and read up to that point.  He said, “I will read what the men who knew Jesus personally said about Him.  I will read about Him as though He were a character in history, new to men, about whom I had never heard anything at all.” He was amazed at what he learned from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 

Where did people get the idea that Jesus was a physical weakling?  “Jesus pushed a plane and swung an adz; He was a good carpenter.  He slept outdoors and spent His days walking around His favorite lake.  His muscles were so strong that when He drove the moneychangers out (of the Temple), nobody dared to oppose Him!  “A kill-joy!  He was the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem! The criticism which proper people made was that He spent too much time with publicans and sinners and enjoyed society too much.  They called Him a ‘wine bibber and a gluttonous man.’  A failure!  He picked up twelve humble men and created an organization that won the world.”

When Barton finished his studies, his little boy notions and prejudices vanished.  He felt that someone should write a book about the dynamic discoveries that he had made.  And he did.  It was first published in 1924 and remained on the bestseller list for a number of years.

As I began my life as a minister, a friend recommended that I get a copy of Bruce Barton’s book, The Man Nobody Knows.  And I did.  And it opened my eyes and heart to a Jesus I had not previously seen—a Jesus that was already truly portrayed in the pages of Holy Writ. I have tucked away in my worn copy of Barton’s book, an obituary I clipped from the Washington Star dated July 6, 1967, announcing his death.   He had headed the largest advertising firm in New York and served two terms in the U. S. Congress, but to me, the greatest thing Bruce Barton did was to help countless folks get better acquainted with our Savior.

Merry Christmas!

“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.”  - Phil. 3:10

Joe Baisden

Belton, Texas

Just a Coke Can

It was just a coke on a hot summer day.  After a long day in the sun, filled with sights that made my stomach hurt, head pound, and eyes swell from crying, its taste was sweet and refreshing.  

I sat on a curb in a dirty market place, surrounded by a small group of children.  A little girl, not much older than seven, stopped to sell me something from the large platter of wares that sat atop her head.   I was shocked to see a small baby strapped to her back.  Our group was beginning a two week trip into some of the villages of northern Ghana.  We had stopped to exchange money and buy supplies for the upcoming journey.  While we were waiting, one of the Ghanaian preachers had purchased (with probably all the money he had for that week) cokes for six of us.  As I drank my coke the little girl smiled up at me with a longing expression.  I later learned that children are typically much older than they appear, but still this young girl taking care of a younger sibling and working to support her family was too much to bear.  I shared my drink with her and quickly other children surrounded her.  I was aghast as she turned to the oldest boy and compliantly handed the half full can over to him.  He then told the other children something that sounded authoritative and demanding.  I was on the verge of going for help from a local adult when the kids began doing something that was astounding.  I watched as one by one they took a sip and passed the can on to the next child.  They made two rounds of the group in this fashion, but the sharing continued as the oldest boy took out a homemade knife and cut off the top of the can.  They passed the can and shared the remaining drops, with happy smiles.  Thankful.

Once the can had been licked clean (yes, I mean they licked the inside of the can clean) the boy with the knife cut off the bottom of the can and gave the remaining aluminum to another boy in the group.  That boy took the can and hammered it out flat while the older boy fashioned the top and bottom into wheels.  They then took the now rectangle piece of aluminum and folded it into a kind of axle and attached the two wheels.  Another boy came with a long stick and attached this make-shift “car” to the stick.  This “car” was shared among the group, but I was given the distinct impression that it was meant to go home with the young girl at the end of the day.  Thankful.

Though I can vividly remember what happened that day, it is easy for me to forget this lesson on perspective.  When the transmission breaks, the blessing of a new child necessitates a bigger vehicle, salaries are reduced, or an insurance deductible needs to be met, my perspective can become skewed.  I can easily become anxious.  To make matters worse I sometimes allow Satan to fuel my anxiety with materialism.  What begins as a light drizzle of what I think are ‘needs’, can suddenly and quickly turn into a thunderstorm of greedy wants.  The feel-good thankfulness of Thanksgiving Day can become the dark cloud of Black Friday.  I can compare my lot with others and feel underprivileged.  As we read in Ecclesiastes 6:7,    “All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied.”

What this verse means to me is that I am not alone in this struggle.  From the time Adam was cursed with feeding his family by the sweat of his brow, we humans have longed for more and more.  Even though God has given us love and grace beyond measure, he still understands this struggle.  Jesus tells us, “…do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat nor about your body, what you put on.  For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing…But if God so clothes the grass…how much more will he clothe you.”  Luke chapter twelve has a lot to say about being thankful in perspective.

Jesus cares about our physical needs, even a few of our wants; but God calls us to keep our minds on the eternal.  The way we get a proper thankful perspective is by seeking His Kingdom priorities first.

As we enter into this truly Christian season of thanksgiving, let’s all be reminded that we have enough and should be thankful.  I would be surprised if even one person reading this blog were in truly deep need of food and shelter.  But even if we find ourselves one day truly hungry and in need like the little girl in the market, let us be reminded that we are still saved and be…Thankful.  

“Not what you possess but what you do with what you have, determines your true worth.”
-Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)   

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank you.  Help me to see my many blessings from your perspective.   Help me to live and to act as I should:  thankful.  Amen.

Dana Jaworski
Anchor Point, AK

The Word I Have Settled In My Heart

As a grandmother of eight, now nine, with a beautiful “grandaughter-in-love” added to the number, I love the Psalm that David wrote in chapter 71:14-18 that begins, “as for me, I will always have hope! I will praise You more and more!” Then he goes on to proclaim his devotion to the Lord, and asks that “even when I am old and gray do not forsake me, O Lord, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” This has been my prayer, too, for many years.

Why is it important to “hunger” for the word of God? I’ve encouraged my children and grandchildren to be regular readers of the word, because I believe it is God’s planbook for the life He designed us for. When in obedience we put Christ on in the waters of baptism we are promised the gift of His Spirit. And we are told that the Holy Spirit enables us to become more like Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:17-18) As I read the word of God, I am prompted by His Spirit, my heart responding to the teaching and leading of the Word.

There is a wonderful song I have heard and its words sweetly remind us of how the Word of God works in our lives:

“Thank you, Lord, for the trials that come my way.

In that way I can grow each day as I let you lead.

And I thank You, Lord, for the patience the trials bring.

In the process of growing I can learn to care.

(And the chorus, an honest confession to the Lord), says:

But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down

And let the Spirit take control of all I do.

For when those trials come my human nature SHOUTS the thing to do,

And God’s soft promptings can be easily ignored.

I truly believe that when we prayerfully feed on God’s word we grow into “taking every thought captive” for Christ, and we are prompted and reminded of scriptures that help us daily in all kinds of situations!

I hope you are constantly in God’s word, and I’m sure many of you are! But for those who struggle with making the time for this, especially young parents whose schedules are so demanding, I would love to give you two or three suggestions as to how you may grow in your hunger for the Word of God, and encourage your children and grandchildren to do so.

1) You must be “intentional” about your regular reading of the Bible. You know it is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path! Psalm 119:105

2) If you have to, you really CAN get up earlier for your appointment with the Lord for your “quiet time” of reading His word, and praying to Him, with praise and thanksgiving, about the day to come and for those you love. You will find this habit, too, will grow on you!

3) Choose an easily read Bible, and have a plan to read it through in a year. I use the “One Year Bible“, in the NIV version. I strongly recommend it because it becomes habit-forming, as it should, being the revealed word of God! For deeper study I use my regular NIV Bible , with the added use of a Cruden’s concordance, and Nave’s topical Bible at times.

4) Deut. 6:4-9 doesn’t say all that about communication with your children for nothing!!! Read it and commit it to memory! Then translate it into your own modern day life in your family! Talk about the Lord to your children regularly! Let it be second (perhaps we should say first) nature with you! Let your children hear you pray, and confess your faults. Show them you are as much in need of the Lord’s help and forgiveness as anyone is. Then BE forgiving, as the Lord is! Give them the blessed sense of security that comes when they see you faithfully feeding on and relying on the word of God daily. Children who see faith lived out honestly will be much more likely to remain faithful to the Lord as they grow up and go out on their own. Then TALK to them about how important it is to pray and read His word daily, without fail!

The greatest joy in my life now as I look back over 76 years is the fact that my children and grandchildren love the Lord and His Body, and are faithfully trying to be in His Word every day, and be in prayer constantly in all they do.

I pray you too, have that joy.

Dear Father in heaven, please fill your children with as deep a hunger for Your Word as we have for our daily bread! Thank You that we have the written Word so readily available to us! Please don’t let any child of yours be filled with regret some day that they didn’t take the opportunity to be fed daily by this great blessing You have left for us! In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen

Jan McCoy
Merkel, Texas

Redeemed!! How I Love To Proclaim It!!

How can God possibly declare me to be ‘a righteous man’?  Paul wrote about himself in I Timothy 1:13, ‘Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.’  He adds in verse 15, ‘Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.’  Paul knew that he was an undeserving sinner and we know the same about ourselves.  SO, HOW CAN GOD POSSIBLY DECLARE US ‘RIGHTEOUS’?

For all of us, (for Romans, for you and me, for Jews and Gentiles, and for Paul himself) Paul wrote to the Roman Christians to explain the gospel’s impact for our spiritual lives.  Romans 3:21-26 is a key text explaining HOW we can be RIGHTEOUS in the eyes of God.  Paul says in vv. 23-25, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.’  There are deep concepts about salvation explained by Paul in these three verses.

This article will examine one of those deep concepts.  REDEMPTION!!!  The word Paul uses is the word s (English apolutrosis).  In New Testament times, it was a word from the world of slavery.  It means ‘to be set free from a situation where one is powerless to liberate oneself.’

You can almost imagine one standing on the auction block—being sold to the highest bidder. His life will not be his own.  He will do the bidding of his master.  If somehow, the one who purchased the slave decided  that he was paying the asking price for the slave in order to set him free, that is the concept of redemption.  Paul says this is precisely what happened to us as sinners.  We stand guilty before God.  We stand undeserving.  But, even though we have fallen short of God’s glory, God presents Jesus as   ‘a sacrifice of atonement’ on our behalf TO REDEEM US.  He pays the price that sets us free from our bondage to slavery.  As an old Christian song says, ‘He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.  I needed someone to wash my sins away.  Now I sing a brand new song ‘Amazing Grace’, because Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.’

The gospel is good news—it is great news—it is amazing news.  Because of our redemption in Jesus Christ, I am righteous in the eyes of God.

Prayer:  God, help me to live every day with a sense of awe because You have provided the means for me to be righteous before You.  

Terry Brown
Abilene, Texas