I just finished watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Seeing this Peanuts classic from the late Charles Shultz is a major tradition in my life. I saw it when it first ran on TV in the 60’s. I was only six years of age. I believe I have seen it most every year since then. I almost have it memorized yet its simplicity still touches me, still reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas.
Just like Lucy who is consumed with the piano player Schroeder, or Charlie Brown’s sister Sally who is consumed with what gifts she should get, or even Charlie Brown’s dog Snoopy who is consumed with a decoration contest (which he wins by the way) it is easy for us to lose focus at this time of year. Commercialism, if we are not careful, can crowd out all the love, joy, and peace Christ came to give us.
A major way to fight this crowding out effect is to establish meaningful Christmas traditions in our personal lives as well as in our families. These traditions can help us keep the main person, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the focal point of our Christmas celebration. May I be so bold as to suggest a few traditions worth starting.
The first tradition on the list should be Scripture. Reading or listening to the Scripture daily should be a priority during this Holiday season (also called Advent). Advent reading schedules are available at Church. These readings take us through the Old Testament prophecies of Christ up to His birth. These Scriptures may be familiar, but they never grow old. If you haven’t already, start a meaningful tradition, participate in daily Advent Bible reading or listening.
Another helpful tradition is service. Selfless, sacrificial acts which result in nothing being given back to us are a perfect way to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child (Operation Christmas Child, for example). Quietly and anonymously give a gift, financial or otherwise to someone in need. Cleaning someone’s yard or visiting someone who gets few visits from anyone else are other examples worth trying.
Perhaps a neglected but easily added tradition is singing. The singing of Christmas Carols was introduced in the Colonies (as we use to be called) to turn Christmas back into a spiritual holiday. Some Friday or Saturday night, turn off the television, invite your family and friends to gather around and let the songs “rip”. Mix Jingle Bells in with the classics like Silent Night and Joy to the World. Stay away from Handel’s Messiah and everyone will do just fine.
The greatest Christmas tradition any of us can do is to share. I am not talking about giving gifts. I am talking about speaking to others about Jesus. Sharing the message of Christ. The shepherds on that first Christmas who had heard the angels and experienced the Christ child “made widely known the saying which was told them” (Luke 2:17). Should we do any less than they? There is no better season than this to “Go tell it on the mountain”. Who in your life has not yet received the most important gift of Christmas, the Savior who is Christ the Lord? Leading someone to Christ, now that’s a Christmas tradition worth starting!
Finally, we should stand. Stand with those of like precious faith. Attend Christmas church services. Don’t let holiday shopping keep you from your church family. Encourage other believers in the neighborhood and at the workplace. Gather your family and friends together and in one accord give thanks to God for Jesus, God’s indescribable gift!
Merry Christmas!
Dave Watson
An Urban Christian
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Keeping the Faith
Keeping The Faith
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” 1Timothy 6:20
The tiny Pacific island of Nauru is located between Hawaii and Australia. It is inhabited by some 13,500 people. It is only twelve miles in circumference and eight square miles in total area. At one time, it was a pristine paradise with sufficient resources to take care of its population. That is no longer the case.
Nauru is rich in phosphate, an ingredient in fertilizer and a much sought after commodity. At one time, because of this valuable mineral, the Island nation boasted of the second highest gross national product per citizen in the world. Over the last century, almost every ounce of the phosphate has been strip-mined leaving the Island’s interior decimated. The native population has been spoiled by the riches the phosphate bought. They adopted a western diet and now are a world leader in per capita diabetes and obesity.
With its national resources squandered, the tiny country found itself bankrupt and began allowing offshore drilling for oil in abundance and became a holding place for dangerous unwanted refugees. Today, electricity is rationed and the infrastructure is crumbling. Fifty percent of the working force is unemployed. There is serious talk of simply abandoning the Island and relocating everyone somewhere else.
When I think about this tragic Island I can’t help but think of the evangelical church in America. We are rich beyond belief in Christ. We have, however, not guarded that which has been entrusted to us. We have allowed ourselves to be stripped of our blessings in the name of prosperity. We have adopted the world’s diet of materialism and accommodation, and we have become religiously fat and spiritually unhealthy. Our churches are being abandoned by the next generation because we offer them nothing of substance. We have not kept the faith.
Keeping the faith... that is our theme for this fall. Nearly twenty centuries ago the Apostle Paul felt the need to charge his spiritual son in the faith, Timothy. He proclaimed, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (1 Timothy 6:20). Today we do well to heed his words and go and do likewise.
Rarely does a month go by that a prominent Christian or Pastor is not implicated in a scandal. The airways are filled with many national ministries whose message qualifies at best as Christianity Lite and at worst as heresy. Doctrinal truths once held so dear are now negotiable.
On a more personal note, we all know of professing believers who are no longer active in church. We know of others who are essentially going through the motions when it comes to the things of God. Sadly, many of us can probably identify a few who have completely left our Lord.
Jude, the brother of our Lord, in his short epistle wrote, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3) This is an important command to obey. It is, however, a command we don’t seem to know how to follow.
Beginning September 9th and continuing for the next 12 weeks, we will be studying the Bible’s instructions regarding how we can keep the faith. The book of First Timothy will be our guide. I cannot think of a timelier message for God’s church and God’s people in these perilous times. Please make every effort to join us for this critical series. See you Sunday. Until then, keep the faith!
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” 1Timothy 6:20
The tiny Pacific island of Nauru is located between Hawaii and Australia. It is inhabited by some 13,500 people. It is only twelve miles in circumference and eight square miles in total area. At one time, it was a pristine paradise with sufficient resources to take care of its population. That is no longer the case.
Nauru is rich in phosphate, an ingredient in fertilizer and a much sought after commodity. At one time, because of this valuable mineral, the Island nation boasted of the second highest gross national product per citizen in the world. Over the last century, almost every ounce of the phosphate has been strip-mined leaving the Island’s interior decimated. The native population has been spoiled by the riches the phosphate bought. They adopted a western diet and now are a world leader in per capita diabetes and obesity.
With its national resources squandered, the tiny country found itself bankrupt and began allowing offshore drilling for oil in abundance and became a holding place for dangerous unwanted refugees. Today, electricity is rationed and the infrastructure is crumbling. Fifty percent of the working force is unemployed. There is serious talk of simply abandoning the Island and relocating everyone somewhere else.
When I think about this tragic Island I can’t help but think of the evangelical church in America. We are rich beyond belief in Christ. We have, however, not guarded that which has been entrusted to us. We have allowed ourselves to be stripped of our blessings in the name of prosperity. We have adopted the world’s diet of materialism and accommodation, and we have become religiously fat and spiritually unhealthy. Our churches are being abandoned by the next generation because we offer them nothing of substance. We have not kept the faith.
Keeping the faith... that is our theme for this fall. Nearly twenty centuries ago the Apostle Paul felt the need to charge his spiritual son in the faith, Timothy. He proclaimed, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (1 Timothy 6:20). Today we do well to heed his words and go and do likewise.
Rarely does a month go by that a prominent Christian or Pastor is not implicated in a scandal. The airways are filled with many national ministries whose message qualifies at best as Christianity Lite and at worst as heresy. Doctrinal truths once held so dear are now negotiable.
On a more personal note, we all know of professing believers who are no longer active in church. We know of others who are essentially going through the motions when it comes to the things of God. Sadly, many of us can probably identify a few who have completely left our Lord.
Jude, the brother of our Lord, in his short epistle wrote, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3) This is an important command to obey. It is, however, a command we don’t seem to know how to follow.
Beginning September 9th and continuing for the next 12 weeks, we will be studying the Bible’s instructions regarding how we can keep the faith. The book of First Timothy will be our guide. I cannot think of a timelier message for God’s church and God’s people in these perilous times. Please make every effort to join us for this critical series. See you Sunday. Until then, keep the faith!
It’s Not Just Another Day
It’s Not Just Another Day
Last year we observed the Fifth Anniversary of the terror attacks on our country. Here in our city there were tears, moments of silence and various commemorations. My daughter, who saw the Towers in flames as she walked to her High School, sent me an Instant Message from her out of state college. She was frustrated and angry. “They don’t understand” she wrote from her campus. Some of my own friends who have moved out of state called me on that day. They were appalled. Their neighbors were treating September 11th just like any other day.
This coming Tuesday is not just another day. We can never let it be just that. September 11, 2001 was the day the world changed. It was the day terror fell from the sky. It was the day the unthinkable became a stark reality. It was the day we realized how vulnerable we are and how powerless our government can be. It was the day “In God We Trust” became more than a sound byte on our currency. It became all we had.
I know that many want to move that day to the furthest recesses of their minds, but in this city we can’t. We have 2752 families whose loved ones were victims of that unspeakable horror. We continue to have a giant bull’s eye on our collective backs for the terrorists to take aim at. We have a skyline that looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle with two important pieces missing. September 11th is not just another day, and we can never let it become such.
Some 2900 years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes penned, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot….a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…. (3:1-4)”. There is an appropriate time for everything we must do.
On 9/11 it is our time to mourn with those who lost so much six years ago. It is our time to weep for our collective losses. It is our time to remember the heroism of 23 of our Finest and 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died protecting and serving us. It is our time to pay homage to 342 of our Bravest (78 from our Borough) who ran into danger, saving thousands of lives while losing their own. It’s not appropriate for this date to be just another day.
Ecclesiastes goes on to say that there is, “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain” (3:5). Tuesday is also our time to embrace those who are with us. We should honor firefighters, cops, and EMS workers. We should applaud those everyday heroes who in spite of their fears go into work just a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have chosen not to be victims but victors. We should embrace them, we should thank them and we should emulate them.
In Ecclesiastes we also read, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (3:12). Though our souls will live forever, we cannot presently understand all of God’s plans. Right now, it is impossible for us to comprehend how God can make an event like 9/11 into a thing of beauty. Yet He can, and He will. It is not yet our time to fully understand, but the Scriptures also tell us, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Until then, “It’s not just another day”.
Last year we observed the Fifth Anniversary of the terror attacks on our country. Here in our city there were tears, moments of silence and various commemorations. My daughter, who saw the Towers in flames as she walked to her High School, sent me an Instant Message from her out of state college. She was frustrated and angry. “They don’t understand” she wrote from her campus. Some of my own friends who have moved out of state called me on that day. They were appalled. Their neighbors were treating September 11th just like any other day.
This coming Tuesday is not just another day. We can never let it be just that. September 11, 2001 was the day the world changed. It was the day terror fell from the sky. It was the day the unthinkable became a stark reality. It was the day we realized how vulnerable we are and how powerless our government can be. It was the day “In God We Trust” became more than a sound byte on our currency. It became all we had.
I know that many want to move that day to the furthest recesses of their minds, but in this city we can’t. We have 2752 families whose loved ones were victims of that unspeakable horror. We continue to have a giant bull’s eye on our collective backs for the terrorists to take aim at. We have a skyline that looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle with two important pieces missing. September 11th is not just another day, and we can never let it become such.
Some 2900 years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes penned, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot….a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…. (3:1-4)”. There is an appropriate time for everything we must do.
On 9/11 it is our time to mourn with those who lost so much six years ago. It is our time to weep for our collective losses. It is our time to remember the heroism of 23 of our Finest and 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died protecting and serving us. It is our time to pay homage to 342 of our Bravest (78 from our Borough) who ran into danger, saving thousands of lives while losing their own. It’s not appropriate for this date to be just another day.
Ecclesiastes goes on to say that there is, “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain” (3:5). Tuesday is also our time to embrace those who are with us. We should honor firefighters, cops, and EMS workers. We should applaud those everyday heroes who in spite of their fears go into work just a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have chosen not to be victims but victors. We should embrace them, we should thank them and we should emulate them.
In Ecclesiastes we also read, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (3:12). Though our souls will live forever, we cannot presently understand all of God’s plans. Right now, it is impossible for us to comprehend how God can make an event like 9/11 into a thing of beauty. Yet He can, and He will. It is not yet our time to fully understand, but the Scriptures also tell us, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Until then, “It’s not just another day”.
It rained today on 9/11
It rained today on 9/11 and it seemed so out of place
I guess it’s the first time on the Anniversary the heavens have been unfavorable toward us
But it is an intermittent and inconsistent rain, not a hard driving storm like we had some six years ago.
The sky was cloudless and the sun shined brightly that September morning
But it rained that day, oh how it rained.
It rained terror and fear as first one plane and then another plummeted the skyline of the place we call home.
And it rained horror, unspeakable horror as debris and people, yes people, fell from the sky with twisted steel and melted soot and ash
A flood of pain, hurt, and grief followed that bitter driving storm
The waters almost devoured us and most certainly overwhelmed us
Like the rains of late fall it made the trees so barren and life so cold.
It chilled us to the bone and we wished so badly that we could come in out of the rain,
but it seemed there was no shelter, no place to hide, the rain was everywhere
Serendipitously another storm followed, a much different kind of rain let loose.
It was a much needed deluge of hope, strength, and mercy poured out by heaven,
The second storm diluted the first with heroism, courage and grace.
Were it not for this second storm we may not have survived.
Yes it rained today on 9/11, much like it did six years ago
I guess it’s the first time on the Anniversary the heavens have been unfavorable toward us
But it is an intermittent and inconsistent rain, not a hard driving storm like we had some six years ago.
The sky was cloudless and the sun shined brightly that September morning
But it rained that day, oh how it rained.
It rained terror and fear as first one plane and then another plummeted the skyline of the place we call home.
And it rained horror, unspeakable horror as debris and people, yes people, fell from the sky with twisted steel and melted soot and ash
A flood of pain, hurt, and grief followed that bitter driving storm
The waters almost devoured us and most certainly overwhelmed us
Like the rains of late fall it made the trees so barren and life so cold.
It chilled us to the bone and we wished so badly that we could come in out of the rain,
but it seemed there was no shelter, no place to hide, the rain was everywhere
Serendipitously another storm followed, a much different kind of rain let loose.
It was a much needed deluge of hope, strength, and mercy poured out by heaven,
The second storm diluted the first with heroism, courage and grace.
Were it not for this second storm we may not have survived.
Yes it rained today on 9/11, much like it did six years ago
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The Big Apple Meets the Big Easy
This past July 7th-14th I had the privilege of leading a team of 15 members of our church family, Calvary Chapel, to participate in rebuilding and ministering efforts in New Orleans. Two years after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina the city is still in ruins. Sadly, it looks as if the hurricane was just last week and the work of rebuilding has just started.
Eighty percent of the city (Its land mass is three times the size of Staten Island) was under water and 60,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The water marks, many reaching nearly to the roof, are clearly visible on the homes that are left. Less than half of the city’s population of 450,000 has returned. With very few exceptions (the French Quarter being one of them) the city resembles a deserted urban center in a futuristic sci-fi movie. Over and over as we worked in the shadow of the Superdome I shook my head in disbelief mumbling “This! In America?”
Our team, made up of nine males and six females, ranged from 14 – 62 years of age. We were charged with insulating a quad (a four apartment house) in Central City. We worked across from a crack house but never felt in danger. The agency we worked with, Compassion, is a brand new creation of the Evangelical Free Churches of America. It has run 10,000 volunteers through its home base, Trinity Evangelical Church, in Covington Louisiana (Covington is located some 40 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of the 25 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway).
Under the steady and patient direction of our “home brought” contractor (Sam Autry, Island Brick) we were able to accomplish all of our assigned tasks, despite the unbearable humidity and heat that is the Gulf Coast. By the end of August this quad will be complete and ready for occupancy. On the same street as this quad, as well as the surrounding streets, there remain blocks and blocks of houses just sitting vacant and waiting for someone to find a way to repair them or tear them down (Picture streets and streets of bungalows similar to those in Midland Beach- except damaged.). Whole housing projects (think of the Harbor Houses or the Berry Homes) remain decimated and virtually abandoned.
The businesses are slow in coming back because the people are slower in coming back. There are FEMA trailers everywhere. We even saw a FEMA mosque. Houses of worship did not escape Katrina. They aren’t being rebuilt with any speed because they have so few parishioners to occupy them or they have no pastors to lead them. It is a sad state of affairs when there are shepherds with no sheep and sheep without shepherds.
More than anything else our group’s desired purpose was to demonstrate in a tangible way the love of Jesus Christ to the hurting people in this once proud city. We gave cold waters and Gatorades to passersby. We hosted two impromptu barbeques on the front porch of the quad. Everyone we met was surprisingly open with us. They told us their situations and allowed us to pray with them. About half the people we met were from New Orleans and had either weathered the storm or come back. Almost all, from the little children to the grandmas, were still struggling with the impact of the storm.
We met a neighborhood store-owner trying to make a go of it but with very little business. We prayed with her and we all bought waters or sodas. We met a woman with a motorized scooter but no home of her own. We prayed with her asking God to provide her needs. We meet a retiree with her mother. They had just returned and seen their former home for the first time in two years. They asked for help to clean up the mess. We referred them to a local church and once again prayed for them. Five young men we met had recently gotten out of prison. They were more than willing to share their story with us and accept our prayers and literature.
We met small construction crews from different parts of the country. We met day laborers from as far away as El Salvador (Half of our team spoke Spanish so we communicated easily). All were in New Orleans because there was work and the pay wasn’t bad. Based on our experience, it seems that half of the population is now made up of these workers. We also saw many other volunteer groups from churches across America. The great untold story in our national media is the role that America’s churches are playing in the rebuilding of lower Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our last day in the city we visited both the lower Ninth Ward near the broken levies and the French Quarter. The French Quarter appears to have come back well. The sounds of life are all around. However, “the bowl of the city” which encompasses the lower ninth is eerily quiet. Vacant buildings and deserted blocks don’t make much noise.
There remains much uncertainty regarding the future of New Orleans. Will the levies hold if there is another storm? Will the politicians do the right things regarding the city? Will the city’s population come back? Two years ago New Orleans nearly died. She was in critical condition, on life-support, barely breathing. Today she is still in critical condition but at least she’s stable. Our team left New Orleans with an overwhelming burden for its people and a desire to do more to help them. We are planning another trip to the area sometime in 2008 to do want we can. It’s not going to be easy for the Big Easy. She needs all the help she can get.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Eighty percent of the city (Its land mass is three times the size of Staten Island) was under water and 60,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The water marks, many reaching nearly to the roof, are clearly visible on the homes that are left. Less than half of the city’s population of 450,000 has returned. With very few exceptions (the French Quarter being one of them) the city resembles a deserted urban center in a futuristic sci-fi movie. Over and over as we worked in the shadow of the Superdome I shook my head in disbelief mumbling “This! In America?”
Our team, made up of nine males and six females, ranged from 14 – 62 years of age. We were charged with insulating a quad (a four apartment house) in Central City. We worked across from a crack house but never felt in danger. The agency we worked with, Compassion, is a brand new creation of the Evangelical Free Churches of America. It has run 10,000 volunteers through its home base, Trinity Evangelical Church, in Covington Louisiana (Covington is located some 40 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of the 25 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway).
Under the steady and patient direction of our “home brought” contractor (Sam Autry, Island Brick) we were able to accomplish all of our assigned tasks, despite the unbearable humidity and heat that is the Gulf Coast. By the end of August this quad will be complete and ready for occupancy. On the same street as this quad, as well as the surrounding streets, there remain blocks and blocks of houses just sitting vacant and waiting for someone to find a way to repair them or tear them down (Picture streets and streets of bungalows similar to those in Midland Beach- except damaged.). Whole housing projects (think of the Harbor Houses or the Berry Homes) remain decimated and virtually abandoned.
The businesses are slow in coming back because the people are slower in coming back. There are FEMA trailers everywhere. We even saw a FEMA mosque. Houses of worship did not escape Katrina. They aren’t being rebuilt with any speed because they have so few parishioners to occupy them or they have no pastors to lead them. It is a sad state of affairs when there are shepherds with no sheep and sheep without shepherds.
More than anything else our group’s desired purpose was to demonstrate in a tangible way the love of Jesus Christ to the hurting people in this once proud city. We gave cold waters and Gatorades to passersby. We hosted two impromptu barbeques on the front porch of the quad. Everyone we met was surprisingly open with us. They told us their situations and allowed us to pray with them. About half the people we met were from New Orleans and had either weathered the storm or come back. Almost all, from the little children to the grandmas, were still struggling with the impact of the storm.
We met a neighborhood store-owner trying to make a go of it but with very little business. We prayed with her and we all bought waters or sodas. We met a woman with a motorized scooter but no home of her own. We prayed with her asking God to provide her needs. We meet a retiree with her mother. They had just returned and seen their former home for the first time in two years. They asked for help to clean up the mess. We referred them to a local church and once again prayed for them. Five young men we met had recently gotten out of prison. They were more than willing to share their story with us and accept our prayers and literature.
We met small construction crews from different parts of the country. We met day laborers from as far away as El Salvador (Half of our team spoke Spanish so we communicated easily). All were in New Orleans because there was work and the pay wasn’t bad. Based on our experience, it seems that half of the population is now made up of these workers. We also saw many other volunteer groups from churches across America. The great untold story in our national media is the role that America’s churches are playing in the rebuilding of lower Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our last day in the city we visited both the lower Ninth Ward near the broken levies and the French Quarter. The French Quarter appears to have come back well. The sounds of life are all around. However, “the bowl of the city” which encompasses the lower ninth is eerily quiet. Vacant buildings and deserted blocks don’t make much noise.
There remains much uncertainty regarding the future of New Orleans. Will the levies hold if there is another storm? Will the politicians do the right things regarding the city? Will the city’s population come back? Two years ago New Orleans nearly died. She was in critical condition, on life-support, barely breathing. Today she is still in critical condition but at least she’s stable. Our team left New Orleans with an overwhelming burden for its people and a desire to do more to help them. We are planning another trip to the area sometime in 2008 to do want we can. It’s not going to be easy for the Big Easy. She needs all the help she can get.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Summer Past and Summer Future
A long, long time ago, 27 years to be exact, I spent my first summer in New York City. I arrived with a team (nearly 60 of us) from Liberty University in early June and left the city in late August to return back to college. I was twenty years old at the time. I was foolish, naïve, proud, and scared. I came to minister to the upper west side of Manhattan. I believed we’d change the city for God that summer. Instead, God used the city to change us.
As I look back on my life, I view that short 75 day period of time as one of the most life changing times I can remember. Our team experienced cross cultural ministry first hand. We were a group of mostly middle class Caucasian kids placed in Washington Heights among people of Latino and Jewish heritage. We learned about poverty and despair as we knocked on doors and met people in the most desperate of situations. Our eyes were opened to so many things and we began to view the city and the people in it, in a very different way. Of all the amazing things we saw and experienced, however, the most remarkable was seeing men and women come to Christ and have their lives dramatically changed. The Lord used us in spite of ourselves.
Life change is quite interesting. It rarely occurs in a positive way by accident. Positive life change occurs when it is intentional. The changes in my life during that summer so long ago happened because of some very specific steps that our team took in order to foster a climate of spiritual growth. These steps will put you and I in a place where positive growth and change are almost inevitable.
First of all, our team members were committed to the Lord and to doing what He wanted. God desires that all of us be surrendered to Him so that He can shape us. “Living sacrifices” tend to crawl off the altar and need to re-consecrate themselves on a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment basis.
Secondly, we also were committed to the body of Christ which for that summer, was our team. Maturity doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It happens in the context of God’s family. As we serve Christ together we help each other grow up into His image.
A third critical element of our climate for change was our time for personal devotions with the Lord. We hit the streets every day to share our faith with complete strangers. However, before we left our home base each day we read our Bibles and prayed. Once a week we did almost nothing else but spend time with God. The result of this was that our souls were so filled with the Truth of God’s Word that sharing it with others was no problem at all.
Fourthly, we were actively sharing our faith. Telling others about Christ keeps us sharp. It reminds us how lost we all are without Christ. It reminds us of the power of the Gospel and the depth of God’s grace to those of us who have believed and to those who are still lost. I have never met a person who is actively sharing their faith who is not growing in their relationship with God. Along with the privilege of sharing our faith came the responsibility of discipling those who made professions of faith. Caring for new believers in Christ is every believer’s job and it does immeasurable good for both the givers and receivers of that care.
Fifthly, we made time for exercise and fun. We played basketball and softball two days a week. We went to ball games and saw all the great sites of this city. We ate ethnic foods and went on picnics. We truly enjoyed ourselves.
As I look at the summer ahead of us my prayer is that it will not be a wasted time, but one in which each of us grows as a Christian. I know that spiritual growth will not happen accidentally. We must create an atmosphere in which that growth will occur. This will involve commitment to God and to His plan for our lives. It will also require a commitment to those in our church family. We will need to plan to have a devotional life that will spiritually enrich us. We will also have to be people who share Christ with others and do what we can to foster growth in those who already know Christ. Finally, we’ll need to make time for exercise and entertainment. That will help keep us fresh and energized.
Have a great summer
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
As I look back on my life, I view that short 75 day period of time as one of the most life changing times I can remember. Our team experienced cross cultural ministry first hand. We were a group of mostly middle class Caucasian kids placed in Washington Heights among people of Latino and Jewish heritage. We learned about poverty and despair as we knocked on doors and met people in the most desperate of situations. Our eyes were opened to so many things and we began to view the city and the people in it, in a very different way. Of all the amazing things we saw and experienced, however, the most remarkable was seeing men and women come to Christ and have their lives dramatically changed. The Lord used us in spite of ourselves.
Life change is quite interesting. It rarely occurs in a positive way by accident. Positive life change occurs when it is intentional. The changes in my life during that summer so long ago happened because of some very specific steps that our team took in order to foster a climate of spiritual growth. These steps will put you and I in a place where positive growth and change are almost inevitable.
First of all, our team members were committed to the Lord and to doing what He wanted. God desires that all of us be surrendered to Him so that He can shape us. “Living sacrifices” tend to crawl off the altar and need to re-consecrate themselves on a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment basis.
Secondly, we also were committed to the body of Christ which for that summer, was our team. Maturity doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It happens in the context of God’s family. As we serve Christ together we help each other grow up into His image.
A third critical element of our climate for change was our time for personal devotions with the Lord. We hit the streets every day to share our faith with complete strangers. However, before we left our home base each day we read our Bibles and prayed. Once a week we did almost nothing else but spend time with God. The result of this was that our souls were so filled with the Truth of God’s Word that sharing it with others was no problem at all.
Fourthly, we were actively sharing our faith. Telling others about Christ keeps us sharp. It reminds us how lost we all are without Christ. It reminds us of the power of the Gospel and the depth of God’s grace to those of us who have believed and to those who are still lost. I have never met a person who is actively sharing their faith who is not growing in their relationship with God. Along with the privilege of sharing our faith came the responsibility of discipling those who made professions of faith. Caring for new believers in Christ is every believer’s job and it does immeasurable good for both the givers and receivers of that care.
Fifthly, we made time for exercise and fun. We played basketball and softball two days a week. We went to ball games and saw all the great sites of this city. We ate ethnic foods and went on picnics. We truly enjoyed ourselves.
As I look at the summer ahead of us my prayer is that it will not be a wasted time, but one in which each of us grows as a Christian. I know that spiritual growth will not happen accidentally. We must create an atmosphere in which that growth will occur. This will involve commitment to God and to His plan for our lives. It will also require a commitment to those in our church family. We will need to plan to have a devotional life that will spiritually enrich us. We will also have to be people who share Christ with others and do what we can to foster growth in those who already know Christ. Finally, we’ll need to make time for exercise and entertainment. That will help keep us fresh and energized.
Have a great summer
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Definitions
Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me, or so the kids’ song goes. My mother repeated this little ditty to me countless times in my youth when my brother or sisters would tease me or my “friends” would mock me. It is a great truth that our society and we as believers would be smart to learn.
Recently, an old washed-up radio talk show host made some very ill advised and very inappropriate remarks about a fabulous women’s college basketball team. ( Imus and Rutgers for those of you who are not following me). Suddenly, his vile words became a national incident and he was summarily fired. The basketball team, which was rightly offended, held a news conference and defended themselves against these hideous remarks.
The media culture had made these stellar athletes and college students into victims. Unfortunately, the students bought into their victimization. In doing so they gave a tired old disc jockey way too much power. They acted like he had the power by his words to define them. He didn’t, until they let him.
I wonder how many of us allow others to define us by their words or even by their actions. For some of us there is a tape that plays all day long in our heads and hearts that tells us who we are or are not. It is the recording of parents, family and friends who through the years called us losers, underachievers, stupid, limited, too aggressive, too religious, Jesus freaks or inappropriate. It is the video image reflected in the media of too short, too tall, too heavy, too poor, not cool, not important and a million other adjectives.
We should not allow ourselves to be defined by what others say about us or by what they expect of us. We cannot be defined in either of these ways unless, of course, we allow ourselves to be, unless, we choose to be victims.
It is important that we find our definition in something much more significant. We need to define ourselves by two very important criteria. These are:
1) What God calls us
and
2) What God calls us to be.
The Bible lets us know quite clearly what God calls us. In Genesis 1:26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness... let them have dominion’”. Psalm 139:13-14 tells us, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Throughout the Scriptures we are said to be special creations made in the image of God.
The fact that we are made in God’s image gives us great value. As the bearers of the likeness of the Almighty we can make moral choices. We are told to reflect who God is. We are to have dominion over the earth. We are different and distinct from the animals. We are unique.
The way we look, our personalities, our motivations are all reasons for celebration. We are who we are at our core because God made us this way. He alone defines us. Praise God. Hallelujah. Amen.
In Ephesians 2:10 we read the following, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This verse lets us know what God has called us to be. The Greek work for “workmanship” is “poiema”. It is the word we get our word “poem” from. A great poem is a work of art, a masterpiece. God tells us that in Christ (that is to say after salvation) we are His masterpieces. As masterpieces we are created for good works. This is what God has called us to be.
As God’s masterpieces we should not subject ourselves to the critics of this world. We have been created by the Master Sculpture. We are His new creations and “God don’t make no junk”. Our purpose is good works so let’s get at it. Praise God. Hallelujah. Amen.
There is ultimately only one dictionary that defines me, and it wasn’t written by Webster. If I keep in mind that God defines me as His special creation in this world and His spectacular new creation in Christ, I will avoid the pitfall of victimization hoisted upon me by the media and all other sources, including myself. We are, after all, more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Recently, an old washed-up radio talk show host made some very ill advised and very inappropriate remarks about a fabulous women’s college basketball team. ( Imus and Rutgers for those of you who are not following me). Suddenly, his vile words became a national incident and he was summarily fired. The basketball team, which was rightly offended, held a news conference and defended themselves against these hideous remarks.
The media culture had made these stellar athletes and college students into victims. Unfortunately, the students bought into their victimization. In doing so they gave a tired old disc jockey way too much power. They acted like he had the power by his words to define them. He didn’t, until they let him.
I wonder how many of us allow others to define us by their words or even by their actions. For some of us there is a tape that plays all day long in our heads and hearts that tells us who we are or are not. It is the recording of parents, family and friends who through the years called us losers, underachievers, stupid, limited, too aggressive, too religious, Jesus freaks or inappropriate. It is the video image reflected in the media of too short, too tall, too heavy, too poor, not cool, not important and a million other adjectives.
We should not allow ourselves to be defined by what others say about us or by what they expect of us. We cannot be defined in either of these ways unless, of course, we allow ourselves to be, unless, we choose to be victims.
It is important that we find our definition in something much more significant. We need to define ourselves by two very important criteria. These are:
1) What God calls us
and
2) What God calls us to be.
The Bible lets us know quite clearly what God calls us. In Genesis 1:26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness... let them have dominion’”. Psalm 139:13-14 tells us, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.” Throughout the Scriptures we are said to be special creations made in the image of God.
The fact that we are made in God’s image gives us great value. As the bearers of the likeness of the Almighty we can make moral choices. We are told to reflect who God is. We are to have dominion over the earth. We are different and distinct from the animals. We are unique.
The way we look, our personalities, our motivations are all reasons for celebration. We are who we are at our core because God made us this way. He alone defines us. Praise God. Hallelujah. Amen.
In Ephesians 2:10 we read the following, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” This verse lets us know what God has called us to be. The Greek work for “workmanship” is “poiema”. It is the word we get our word “poem” from. A great poem is a work of art, a masterpiece. God tells us that in Christ (that is to say after salvation) we are His masterpieces. As masterpieces we are created for good works. This is what God has called us to be.
As God’s masterpieces we should not subject ourselves to the critics of this world. We have been created by the Master Sculpture. We are His new creations and “God don’t make no junk”. Our purpose is good works so let’s get at it. Praise God. Hallelujah. Amen.
There is ultimately only one dictionary that defines me, and it wasn’t written by Webster. If I keep in mind that God defines me as His special creation in this world and His spectacular new creation in Christ, I will avoid the pitfall of victimization hoisted upon me by the media and all other sources, including myself. We are, after all, more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
They should be stressed over finals and papers. “We’re all so sorry” seems so empty and shallow.
Late April is crunch time for students on college campuses. Their pace picks up as they cross the street. Their speech becomes faster because their minds are over-loaded with last night’s reading assignment, computer screens and due dates. Their perpetual caffeine state might add to the rpm level.
It is no different in Blacksburg Virginia, home of Virginia Tech. I spent five years there as a pastor working mostly with college students. It is not a sleepy Virginia hamlet. It is a dynamic, bustling college town. This time of year attendance at church and small group Bible studies for students gets a little thin. Those who make it to such events emphatically ask for prayer about papers that are due, upcoming exams and summer internships. That’s the way it should be. Now something has changed. They have more urgent prayer needs now.
Students at Tech got robbed yesterday, and to say “we’re all so sorry” seems so empty and shallow. Their sense of normalcy is gone forever. Belief in fellow students is shaken. One of their own has betrayed them. Is there another traitor on campus, in your dorm or townhouse, on your floor? They should be stressed over finals and papers.
Ambler Johnson is primarily a freshman dorm known for the things a freshman dorm is supposed to be known for. All that died yesterday. Now it is a crime scene. It will be remembered as such for years to come. The home of a co-ed's murder and a hero RA’s tragic death. How do you go back to that dorm? How does anyone sleep there again?
Norris Hall is a classroom building. My wife once worked in the building right next to it. Tech is known for its engineering program and many of the engineering classes are held there. It is place for the interchange of ideas and, the education of the mind, a place to hand in papers and take exams. All that died on Monday shortly after 9:00 A.M.. Now it is a house of horrors, the home of the greatest shooting massacre in American history. Every campus tour for a decade to come will point that sad fact out. How do you feel safe going to class there? All other memories of Norris move to the recesses of one’s mind and the terror of 4/16 moves front and center.
College is a season for great friends and good times with academic exercises sandwiched in between. The university experience at VT has been changed. It is a time to grow up. But please, not this fast. Now it’s a time for grieving and guilt. Grieving over loss. The loss of friends, the loss of security, the loss of hope. Guilt because you blew off German class because of Sunday night’s party and were rewarded with life on Monday. Guilt because everyone you cared about is okay but others have great losses and are wounded so bad. They should be stressed over finals and papers. “We’re all so sorry” seems so empty and shallow.
Adrenaline gets you through a few fleeting days but then all too quickly reality comes in like an unwelcome spring nor’easter. It chills one to the bone. Today a Tech student said, “I lived through Columbine, I lived through 9/11 and I’ve lived through this.” That’s what is so bad. This generation has had to see and live so much tragedy. I fear they will be labeled, “the tragic generation.” At the time when they should be stressing over exams and finals they have to worry when the world might blow up on them.
It is as if the thief who comes but to rob, kill and destroy identified by Jesus in the gospels has taken special aim at this generation. The students at Virginia Tech as well as those on college campuses across our country need our prayers. They are not the Columbine generation, they are not the 9/11 or now the Tech Massacre generation. They are so much more. They are the future. They are the hope and possibilities of this new millennium. They are the moms and dads and grand moms and grand dads of the century to come.
We are told not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. Let’s pray that we and those who have seen, heard and experienced so much tragedy may find the God given grace and wisdom to overcome such unbridled wickedness with overpowering good.
Dave Watson,
An Urban Christian
It is no different in Blacksburg Virginia, home of Virginia Tech. I spent five years there as a pastor working mostly with college students. It is not a sleepy Virginia hamlet. It is a dynamic, bustling college town. This time of year attendance at church and small group Bible studies for students gets a little thin. Those who make it to such events emphatically ask for prayer about papers that are due, upcoming exams and summer internships. That’s the way it should be. Now something has changed. They have more urgent prayer needs now.
Students at Tech got robbed yesterday, and to say “we’re all so sorry” seems so empty and shallow. Their sense of normalcy is gone forever. Belief in fellow students is shaken. One of their own has betrayed them. Is there another traitor on campus, in your dorm or townhouse, on your floor? They should be stressed over finals and papers.
Ambler Johnson is primarily a freshman dorm known for the things a freshman dorm is supposed to be known for. All that died yesterday. Now it is a crime scene. It will be remembered as such for years to come. The home of a co-ed's murder and a hero RA’s tragic death. How do you go back to that dorm? How does anyone sleep there again?
Norris Hall is a classroom building. My wife once worked in the building right next to it. Tech is known for its engineering program and many of the engineering classes are held there. It is place for the interchange of ideas and, the education of the mind, a place to hand in papers and take exams. All that died on Monday shortly after 9:00 A.M.. Now it is a house of horrors, the home of the greatest shooting massacre in American history. Every campus tour for a decade to come will point that sad fact out. How do you feel safe going to class there? All other memories of Norris move to the recesses of one’s mind and the terror of 4/16 moves front and center.
College is a season for great friends and good times with academic exercises sandwiched in between. The university experience at VT has been changed. It is a time to grow up. But please, not this fast. Now it’s a time for grieving and guilt. Grieving over loss. The loss of friends, the loss of security, the loss of hope. Guilt because you blew off German class because of Sunday night’s party and were rewarded with life on Monday. Guilt because everyone you cared about is okay but others have great losses and are wounded so bad. They should be stressed over finals and papers. “We’re all so sorry” seems so empty and shallow.
Adrenaline gets you through a few fleeting days but then all too quickly reality comes in like an unwelcome spring nor’easter. It chills one to the bone. Today a Tech student said, “I lived through Columbine, I lived through 9/11 and I’ve lived through this.” That’s what is so bad. This generation has had to see and live so much tragedy. I fear they will be labeled, “the tragic generation.” At the time when they should be stressing over exams and finals they have to worry when the world might blow up on them.
It is as if the thief who comes but to rob, kill and destroy identified by Jesus in the gospels has taken special aim at this generation. The students at Virginia Tech as well as those on college campuses across our country need our prayers. They are not the Columbine generation, they are not the 9/11 or now the Tech Massacre generation. They are so much more. They are the future. They are the hope and possibilities of this new millennium. They are the moms and dads and grand moms and grand dads of the century to come.
We are told not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. Let’s pray that we and those who have seen, heard and experienced so much tragedy may find the God given grace and wisdom to overcome such unbridled wickedness with overpowering good.
Dave Watson,
An Urban Christian
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Reflections
In just a few short days “Holy Week “or as it is known by some “Passion Week” will be upon us. This is the time when Christians reflect more deeply on the truths regarding the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though there are many appropriate Biblical texts that we could meditate on during this time of year, I would like to share from two that are found in the epistle of 1 Peter.
In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we read, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” These verses speak to me more than any others in the New Testament regarding the price that was paid to set me free from my sin and its consequences. They tell me what I cost God. They demonstrate for me my worth in the eyes of the Creator of the universe.
The verses are clear as to what couldn’t purchase my freedom. This world’s most valuable commodities couldn’t secure my freedom. The currencies of this planet have no value in the spiritual marketplace. In that marketplace, as a slave to sin, I was for sale. I was desperate, but I brought no resources to bid with. I was bankrupt.
Along came my loving Father from whom I was estranged. He paid the highest of possible prices for me. He gave the precious blood of the sinless, spotless Lamb of God -- the Passover Lamb. That Lamb, of course, was His Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This tremendous sacrifice was never intended to cause me to feel guilty. It, in fact, was designed to deliver me from guilt. My mediation on this great truth should cause a huge eruption in my soul. I am loved beyond my wildest dreams. The worth of God’s Son to the Father cannot be fully calculated. The cost of my redemption is beyond measure. My value in the eyes of my Lord is above comprehension.
The second text is 1 Peter 1:3-4 where we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
These verses speak loudly to me regarding purpose. They give a perspective on life that is practical and dynamic. They give me hope to keep going.
Based solely on God’s mercy and through nothing that I have done, I have been given a new life. This new life is described as a living hope. It is not a hope only reserved for later times, but a hope that works in the here and now. It is a living hope, not a hope waiting for my death.
This new life is given through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perhaps Peter has in mind the words of Jesus in John 14:19 when he said, “Because I live, you shall live also.” As he wrote these words, he may have been remembering His own failings, bitter defeat, and the second chance he experienced at the feet of the resurrected Christ. In any case, this hope gives me a reason to live. It gives me the ability to keep going no matter how many times I mess up or how bad I falter. The risen Christ is with me each step of the way.
Let me encourage you right now to take a few moments to personally meditate on these two sets of Bible verses. Re-read them and think about what they are saying to us. In the next week or so be sure to give yourself time to reflect on the price God paid for us and the purpose He now has for all of us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, Christ is risen.
Dave Watson, An Urban Christian
In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we read, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” These verses speak to me more than any others in the New Testament regarding the price that was paid to set me free from my sin and its consequences. They tell me what I cost God. They demonstrate for me my worth in the eyes of the Creator of the universe.
The verses are clear as to what couldn’t purchase my freedom. This world’s most valuable commodities couldn’t secure my freedom. The currencies of this planet have no value in the spiritual marketplace. In that marketplace, as a slave to sin, I was for sale. I was desperate, but I brought no resources to bid with. I was bankrupt.
Along came my loving Father from whom I was estranged. He paid the highest of possible prices for me. He gave the precious blood of the sinless, spotless Lamb of God -- the Passover Lamb. That Lamb, of course, was His Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This tremendous sacrifice was never intended to cause me to feel guilty. It, in fact, was designed to deliver me from guilt. My mediation on this great truth should cause a huge eruption in my soul. I am loved beyond my wildest dreams. The worth of God’s Son to the Father cannot be fully calculated. The cost of my redemption is beyond measure. My value in the eyes of my Lord is above comprehension.
The second text is 1 Peter 1:3-4 where we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”
These verses speak loudly to me regarding purpose. They give a perspective on life that is practical and dynamic. They give me hope to keep going.
Based solely on God’s mercy and through nothing that I have done, I have been given a new life. This new life is described as a living hope. It is not a hope only reserved for later times, but a hope that works in the here and now. It is a living hope, not a hope waiting for my death.
This new life is given through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perhaps Peter has in mind the words of Jesus in John 14:19 when he said, “Because I live, you shall live also.” As he wrote these words, he may have been remembering His own failings, bitter defeat, and the second chance he experienced at the feet of the resurrected Christ. In any case, this hope gives me a reason to live. It gives me the ability to keep going no matter how many times I mess up or how bad I falter. The risen Christ is with me each step of the way.
Let me encourage you right now to take a few moments to personally meditate on these two sets of Bible verses. Re-read them and think about what they are saying to us. In the next week or so be sure to give yourself time to reflect on the price God paid for us and the purpose He now has for all of us through the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, Christ is risen.
Dave Watson, An Urban Christian
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The Battle Still Rages
Yesterday, in the first days of the traditional Lenten season (A holy time for many Christians) and the day after the Academy awards, Oscar winning film director James Cameron held a press conference in New York City to declare that the bones of Jesus Christ have been discovered near Jerusalem. This “new discovery” will be the focus of a documentary produced by Cameron entitled, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus". Predicatively, the media has gone wild, as it always does with anything anti-Christian. The uncovering of the bones of Jesus would put a final nail in the coffin of the Christian faith. This would be better than last year’s fictional “DaVinci Code.”
At the heart of this “new discovery” are 10 ossuaries (small caskets used to store bones), five of which supposedly have inscribed in them names associated with New Testament people we are acquainted with. Those New Testament names are; Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph, and Mary Magdalene. A sixth inscription is purported to read, “Judah of Jesus”. There you have it. What more evidence could we ask for? Jesus obviously didn’t die and rise as we have traditionally believed. He married Mary Magdalene, had a son and they all were buried, together with his parents, Mary and Joseph one mile outside of Jerusalem. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, right?
Never mind that this is not a new discovery. These bones in these ossuaries were discovered 27 years ago at a construction site. Never mind that a documentary had already aired on this matter in 1996. Never mind that one of the best known and respected archeologists in Israel has said for ten years that there is absolutely no way to prove that this is the bone box of Jesus. Never mind that the inscriptions are difficult to read and translate and are at best open to interpretation. (On one inscription instead of “Jesus” one scholar reads it as, “Hanun”)
Never mind that these New Testament names are the most common of the day and that there are a slew of ossuaries that bear the same names. Never mind that Mary and Joseph are from Nazareth of Galilee and would have in all likelihood been buried there. Never mind that The Israel Antiquities Authority has for years considered this find to be no big deal.
Never mind that if Jesus married, bore children, etc. it would mean that his disciples were running around proclaiming His resurrection and ascension and being martyred in and about Jerusalem and Judea at the same time of his alleged marriage, parenting and home life. Shouldn’t someone have told Jesus he was being trumpeted as the Savior of the world and encouraged him to get off his duff and do something Messiah-like?
Never mind all the facts. Let’s defer to the guy who makes movies and money on movies for the truth on this one. People who write books and make documentaries are the smart ones. Let’s buy into the hype and the speculation, because Christianity is a baseless faith that makes us uncomfortable about ourselves and our sin and we’d be better off without it anyway. Right?
Here are some interesting facts that we might want to consider. There are credible eyewitnesses to where Jesus was buried. According to John, who we now refer to as the apostle John, as well as a woman named Mary Magdalene (Her name sounds familiar) he was buried in a rich man’s grave right next to Golgotha, the place where He was crucified and died (See John 20). John, as well as another man named Matthew, who also participated in Christ’s ministry, took the time to write this matter down shortly after Christ’s death (See Matthew 28). Furthermore, a man named Luke, a physician and historian, thoroughly examined the matter and wrote his conclusions in two books called Luke and Acts. My friends, in a court of law, multiple eyewitness accounts to an event recorded around the time that the event happened will trump speculative, foundationless theories contrived almost 2000 years after the fact every time!
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to keep him in his tomb via a large stone. Three days later on that first Easter so many years ago the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and Jesus was alive. Those who saw him die proclaimed to the world that they had seen Him and that they were changed forever. The Christ-hater turned Christian convert named Paul put it this way in a very early creed (37 A.D.).
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.”
The skeptics of our time want to put Jesus back in the grave. They want to de-throne Him. They want to rob this history-altering figure of His deity and make Him just another good man. Over their silly objections, the voices of truth shout with relentless strains, “Christ is risen, Christ is risen, Hallelujah! Christ is risen, and the world will never be the same!”
In His Service,
Pastor Dave Watson
An Urban Christian
At the heart of this “new discovery” are 10 ossuaries (small caskets used to store bones), five of which supposedly have inscribed in them names associated with New Testament people we are acquainted with. Those New Testament names are; Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph, and Mary Magdalene. A sixth inscription is purported to read, “Judah of Jesus”. There you have it. What more evidence could we ask for? Jesus obviously didn’t die and rise as we have traditionally believed. He married Mary Magdalene, had a son and they all were buried, together with his parents, Mary and Joseph one mile outside of Jerusalem. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, right?
Never mind that this is not a new discovery. These bones in these ossuaries were discovered 27 years ago at a construction site. Never mind that a documentary had already aired on this matter in 1996. Never mind that one of the best known and respected archeologists in Israel has said for ten years that there is absolutely no way to prove that this is the bone box of Jesus. Never mind that the inscriptions are difficult to read and translate and are at best open to interpretation. (On one inscription instead of “Jesus” one scholar reads it as, “Hanun”)
Never mind that these New Testament names are the most common of the day and that there are a slew of ossuaries that bear the same names. Never mind that Mary and Joseph are from Nazareth of Galilee and would have in all likelihood been buried there. Never mind that The Israel Antiquities Authority has for years considered this find to be no big deal.
Never mind that if Jesus married, bore children, etc. it would mean that his disciples were running around proclaiming His resurrection and ascension and being martyred in and about Jerusalem and Judea at the same time of his alleged marriage, parenting and home life. Shouldn’t someone have told Jesus he was being trumpeted as the Savior of the world and encouraged him to get off his duff and do something Messiah-like?
Never mind all the facts. Let’s defer to the guy who makes movies and money on movies for the truth on this one. People who write books and make documentaries are the smart ones. Let’s buy into the hype and the speculation, because Christianity is a baseless faith that makes us uncomfortable about ourselves and our sin and we’d be better off without it anyway. Right?
Here are some interesting facts that we might want to consider. There are credible eyewitnesses to where Jesus was buried. According to John, who we now refer to as the apostle John, as well as a woman named Mary Magdalene (Her name sounds familiar) he was buried in a rich man’s grave right next to Golgotha, the place where He was crucified and died (See John 20). John, as well as another man named Matthew, who also participated in Christ’s ministry, took the time to write this matter down shortly after Christ’s death (See Matthew 28). Furthermore, a man named Luke, a physician and historian, thoroughly examined the matter and wrote his conclusions in two books called Luke and Acts. My friends, in a court of law, multiple eyewitness accounts to an event recorded around the time that the event happened will trump speculative, foundationless theories contrived almost 2000 years after the fact every time!
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day tried to keep him in his tomb via a large stone. Three days later on that first Easter so many years ago the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and Jesus was alive. Those who saw him die proclaimed to the world that they had seen Him and that they were changed forever. The Christ-hater turned Christian convert named Paul put it this way in a very early creed (37 A.D.).
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.”
The skeptics of our time want to put Jesus back in the grave. They want to de-throne Him. They want to rob this history-altering figure of His deity and make Him just another good man. Over their silly objections, the voices of truth shout with relentless strains, “Christ is risen, Christ is risen, Hallelujah! Christ is risen, and the world will never be the same!”
In His Service,
Pastor Dave Watson
An Urban Christian
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