ABC Messenger

December 24, 2007 & December 31, 2007

“Done!�?
By Pastor George Van Alstine

We have a New Year’s tradition of making resolutions. Sometimes these resolutions make a difference in our lives. Most of the time they don’t. They just leave us frustrated with another failure because we haven’t followed through.

So for me, my 2008 New Year’s resolution is not to do anything new or different. My resolution is to finish a lot of the things I’ve started. I don’t need any more items to add to my bag of unfinished projects; I need some successes to help empty my bag a little. I’d like to be able to spend January and February stamping a number of long-term projects “done!�? At the same time I’d like to reduce the number of things—on my desk, in my car, around the house, at the church, in my mind—that have the label “unfinished.�? In many cases, I’m the only one who can see the label, but these things are all part of that bag I carry.

Jesus told a parable about the need to count the cost before you begin a project, so that you will actually be able to complete it (Luke 14:28-30). Unfortunately, life doesn’t allow us to focus entirely on one project until we see it through to completion. We have many things to work on at the same time, having to move continually between home, work, hobbies, and life goals. Most of us are juggling lots of these balls at the same time. But some of us seem to be so intent on keeping all our multitude of projects in the air that we’re never able to hold any one still long enough to stamp it “done!�?

I envy the Apostle Paul, who was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race . . .�? (2 Timothy 4:7). Certainly, he still had many loose ends and unfinished projects. But he had a sense of proportion, so that he could stamp his major mission in life “done!�? That’s good.

The Lord Jesus said from the cross “It is finished.�? He didn’t mean, “I’m finished; I’m defeated.�? He meant, “My work is finished; I’ve accomplished what I came to do.�? Only three years of public ministry? Many parables still untold? Many people still unhealed? Yet, at the age of thirty-three, he could stamp his work “done!�?

I don’t have as clear a focus as either Paul or Jesus. Sometimes my list of unfinished projects seems overwhelming. So I’ve decided not to start with the big things, like my life’s mission. I’m going to attack my desk! I’ll have my “done!�? stamp in hand, and I’ll have a wastebasket nearby with “really done!�? marked on the side. Then, by God’s grace, I’ll deal with it item by item. No new resolution; just a determination to complete some old ones and stamp them “done!�?

December 17, 2007

God’s Only Begotten Son
by Pastor George Van Alstine

Two weeks ago in church I had the congregation quote John 3:16 from memory:
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.�?
This is from the New Revised Standard Version, which is the Bible we have in our pews and use in preaching. However, most people who were present had learned the verse as children from the King James Version, and with few exceptions, they said out loud, “he gave his only begotten Son.�?

Maybe you wonder what that change is all about. I’ve heard it said that modern versions water down Jesus’ relationship to the Father by dropping the word “begotten.�? But if you ask the same people what that magic-sounding word means, they don’t have a clue.

Actually, there’s been 2,000 years of struggle among scholars trying to translate this word adequately from Greek into other languages. In the original, the word monogeneis, is a compound of mono, “only�?, and genesis, “birth�?. So the King James’ “only begotten�? is a very literal translation. But it also seems to imply something deeper, a profound character connection between Father and Son. We may think of this through the saying in English, “He’s made of the same stuff as his father.�? In the twenty-first century, we might say, “He has his father’s genes.�? (“Genes�? comes from the same Greek root.)

The Gospel-writer John applied this word to Jesus five different times: John 1:14 and 18, John 3:16 and 18, and 1 John 4:9. His use of this strong term was intended to convey something that was difficult for John to express. He wanted to say that this Father/Son relationship was unique and intense. The Bible frequently refers to humans as children of God, usually with the idea that he created them. The creation account goes so far as to say they were created “in his image.�? But this relationship falls far short of the bond between the Father and his monogeneis Son.

One implication of this word has created problems for some: If Jesus was “begotten,�? does that mean he came into being at some point, rather than eternally existing as a Person in the Godhead? Actually, this twist on the word was not the most prominent in early theological debates. There was a teaching in the second century known as Adoptionism. These people developed the hypothesis that Jesus was born a man, but was filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism and adopted into the Godhead after his resurrection. John’s writings were used as a powerful argument against this teaching: Jesus was not an adopted son, but the truly and uniquely begotten Son (monogeneis).

Since these early discussions about who Jesus was, the Trinity has emerged as the orthodox belief among Christians. The fourth century Nicene Creed says this about Jesus:
“I believe . . . . in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, Begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God, Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.�?

This is the Baby who entered the world through the womb of a poor Jewish girl that first Christmas! Mary’s little baby; God’s monogeneis.

December 10, 2007

“Our God for All Seasons�?
by Pastor George Van Alstine

The past two days it’s really been cold in Southern California. I actually turned the heater on in my car this morning. As I tried to get my fingers moving, a memory came to me of one morning, not too long ago, when I got in the car to go to work and turned on the air-conditioning. On this nippy morning, it was hard to imagine that very recently it was blazing hot in our area, and all the talk was of Santa Ana wind-driven fires.

If you walk in the woods in the middle of the night, there seem to be scary shadows all over the place. Every tree seems to hide a potential enemy. Walk in the same woods the next day at noon, and the warm embrace of the sun is likely to make you feel totally safe and secure. It’s hard to believe that these graceful trees hid potential assassins the night before.

When you pay your rent and utilities and still have a bit left over, it’s hard to remember what it felt like a couple of months ago when the paycheck seemed miles short of covering the bills.

If you’ve just fallen in love, the feeling of loneliness that dominated you two days ago seems light years away. But when you see her with another guy, you feel twice as lonely as before.

When you see that new baby boy, there’s so much joy that nothing else in the world matters. But sixteen years later, when you discover drugs in his room, it feels as if he’s never meant anything but sorrow to you.

You may have had a great day—accomplished a lot at work, received good news from an out-of-town relative, looking forward to a quiet evening at home with your family. But you rolled through that stop sign, didn’t quite stop. And your heart sunk when you saw the flashing blue light behind you. Now the whole day’s ruined. You feel like a total failure.

Aren’t you glad your spiritual security doesn’t depend on your circumstances, whether or not things are going well? Aren’t you glad your salvation isn’t determined by your fickle feelings, up one moment and down the next? Aren’t you glad the old favorite hymn you sing isn’t “Great Is My Faithfulness?

The familiar passage from Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament reminds us that in our lives we will experience many ups and downs:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.�? (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4, 7-8)

The God of the Bible is there for us in every one of these “times.�? He is the God of the good times and the God of the bad times. He is the God for all seasons.

And he’s always the same. We aren’t. We keep changing. Our thoughts and our feelings are all over the place, depending on our circumstances. But he is “the same yesterday and today and forever�? (Hebrews 13:8).

December 3, 2007

“When a Halo Slips�?
by Pastor George Van Alstine

“A halo has only to fall eleven inches to become a noose.�? (Source unknown)

In the recent past, we’ve seen TV evangelists, Catholic priests and elected officials involved in scandals that have made headlines. And we love it!

Why do we take such delight in the public humiliation of popular and influential leaders? Part of it comes from the petty jealousy average folk feel when some among us emerge from the pack to become achievers. Rather than using their example as motivation to do better and strive for higher goals ourselves, we secretly long to bring them down to our level. When they fall, we somehow feel vindicated.

But there is another dimension to our glee at someone’s fall, when the person has had a pattern of projecting holiness or self-righteousness. This is the case for all the religious leaders who have crashed over sexual sins. Whether they are TV evangelists who have preached against the sins of the flesh or Catholic priests whose vow of celibacy has indicated a holy lifestyle, we feel righteously indignant when they offend their own high standards.

“Hypocrisy�? is the word used to describe the political leader who proclaims the importance of “family values,�? then seeks casual homosexual companionship in an airport restroom. He has failed to practice what he preached, and all of us recoil from such double standards in our leaders. The halo has slipped down eleven inches and become a noose.

It’s always dangerous to say “Let this be a lesson to you!�? without also saying “Let this be a lesson to me!�? When I delight in the noose around the neck of a fallen leader or celebrity, I am at the same time placing a halo of righteousness above my own head. By condemning him, I’m saying “I would never be caught doing what he did.�? Well, there are two cautions I should remind myself of. First, I may be emphasizing the “I’d never be caught,�? as sometimes I feel proud about how clever I am at hiding my sins. Second, while it may be true that I’d never “do what he did,�? maybe my secret sins are even worse than his, in God’s eyes.

So, as soon as the halo begins to form over my head, I need to have a time with the Lord to be open with him about my own failings and to seek his forgiveness, both for my sin and for my self-righteousness.

Jesus’ words are just as relevant today as they were when he first spoke them on a mountain-top in Galilee:

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.�? (Matthew 7:1-5)

November 26, 2007

Put the ‘X’ Back in ‘Xmas’
by Pastor George Van Alstine

For seventy-five years, Southern California’s way of ushering in the holiday season has been symbolized by the “Hollywood Christmas Parade.�? During its heyday, the parade drew hundreds of thousands of movie fans trying to catch a glimpse of Bob Hope, John Wayne, Gene Autry or Elizabeth Taylor. They always got to see the real star, Santa Claus himself.

This year the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce voted to drop its sponsorship of the parade, because of lagging interest and financial realities. The City of Los Angeles decided to keep the tradition going by sponsoring it and dedicating about a quarter of a million dollars in public funds to support it. Of course, as a government agency, the City had to be concerned about church/state issues, so last Sunday Hollywood experienced its first “Hollywood Santa Parade.�?

According to officials, about 125,000 people showed up for the festivities. Who didn’t show up were movie stars! One parade-watcher was quoted in a UPI story as saying: “It’s really C-list. They got Bob Barker, but he’s been around forever.�?

Some Christians may feel this is just one more step in secularizing the holiday. Christmas is about Jesus, and now they’re removing his name from the season altogether. But the truth is, the Hollywood Christmas Parade was never about Jesus. It was about stores opening their busiest shopping season on a high note. It was about people spending money on the latest toys, styles and gadgets. Let Santa and his Hollywood movie friends have their parade.

I was a kid during the post-World War II years when the commercialization of Christmas really took off. Discount stores were a new thing, and their advertising was aggressive and in-your-face. It was shocking to see in ads the new shorthand way of referring to Christmas as “Xmas.�? The marketing people answered criticism by pointing out that this was not a term of disrespect. In Greek, they said, “Christ�? is “Xristos,�? and the “X�? is just an abbreviation. But we all understood the truth: there was a new market to be reached, Jewish people, and people with no religious inclinations. These people wouldn’t spend money on Christmas, but Xmas could open their purses and wallets.

We don’t see the term “Xmas�? much anymore, but it might make sense to bring it back. Then the commercial, entertainment, Santa/Rudolph/Frosty people could celebrate Xmas and leave Christmas to true believers.

I don’t feel bad that the Hollywood parade has dropped the word “Christmas.�? I don’t take it as a rejection of the Jesus-message. Why should we expect those folk to preach our gospel? They just water it down and put tinsel on it anyway. Let them tell the Xmas story in whatever feel-good way they want. People enjoy a warm, fuzzy holiday experience.

But leave it to true, believers in Jesus to tell the Christmas gospel story to those who are ready to hear it.