“We’re your worst nightmare—elves—with attitude!” That’s my favorite line from the classic movie, The Santa Clause. In the scene, a specially trained squad of rescue elves have been dispatched from the North Pole to free Santa from wrongful imprisonment on Christmas Eve. The donut eating desk sergeant is no match for these highly skilled operatives. With Santa free, Christmas is saved, their mission accomplished.

Forgive the corny analogy, but as the people of God we have a mission. We often call it the Great Commission:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

To accomplish the mission, attitude makes a huge difference. The biblical character, Caleb illustrates the importance of attitude. You can read his story in Numbers 14. God’s opinion of Caleb is pretty impressive:

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. (Numbers 14:24 ESV)

The word spirit in this context means the same as attitude. Aviators use the term, attitude; it refers to the positioning of their aircraft. With proper attitude, an airplane flies right, but when the right attitude is lost, the plane is in danger of crashing.

Like Caleb, if we have a right attitude, we will stay on target, and fulfil our mission. But the right attitude is an exception, not the norm. Caleb and eleven others comprised a team employed by Moses. Their mission was to observe and return with a report about the land God had promised to give the Israelites. Ten members of the team lost the right attitude and failed. Caleb accomplished the mission and later received his reward, a large portion of the land.

What is different about a different attitude? To stay on mission, we need a different attitude about…

1. Purpose

Caleb remembered that the mission was about God—God’s promises and God’s ability to fulfil those promises. By contrast The Ten lost their attitude, became disoriented, and mistakenly believed that it was all about them—their ability and their safety.

To this point in their story, Israel had been content to be consumers of God’s provision, but when it came time to be committed to God’s purposes, they were not all in. Caleb, however, remained clear that humans exist to serve God, not vice versa. Later he could say with integrity, “I loyally carried out the purpose of the Lord my God.” (Joshua 14:8, REB)

Later, Jesus displayed the same attitude when he proclaimed, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” (John 6:38, NLT) That is the same attitude we need to accomplish the mission: It’s not about me, it’s about God.

2. Faith

While the land was absolutely beautiful and bountiful, The Ten reacted in fear; they could not get giants out of their minds. If Israel confronted this oversized enemy, defeat was inevitable. They would literally be eaten for lunch by the giants of Canaan.

But Caleb, by contrast, could only see the inevitable victory. After all, Canaan could only come up with giants. Israel had God Almighty on their side, and they would be the army enjoying the feast of the victors! For Caleb, now was the time to act in faith, not react in fear.

Plenty of obstacles stand between us and the fulfilment of the Great Commission. Hear the voice of Caleb echoing to us, “They are just giants!” No resistance to the plan and power of God has any hope of success.

3. Hope

Under Egyptian slavery, Israel lived with a collective “broken spirit.” (Exodus 6:9) The Ten crashed because they lost their hope, which was tied to their sense of home. Israel had been the slaves of Pharaoh for so long that they forgot that Canaan was their home. Canaan was not a strange land, it was their land. But under pressure, The Ten looked backwards; it was all they knew.

Caleb no longer suffered with a broken spirit; he saw Canaan with a different spirit. He was coming home, the land of God’s promise and presence. Egypt was in Caleb’s rearview mirror and he had no intention of returning to its brokenness and bondage.

When things get tough, it is easy for us to believe that we are on the wrong track. Our reflex is to fall back on the familiar. There will be setbacks, but God’s people on mission never go backwards.

It takes courage to have a different attitude. But, if we can embrace the attitude of Caleb we can look into the darkness of this world and proclaim to the Enemy, “We’re your worst nightmare—disciples with attitude!”

Do you remember Y2K! It has been fifteen years already since the dire predictions of doom and gloom when the clock struck midnight January 1, 2000. So-called experts predicted that computers would crash, the power grid would go down, and general mayhem would break out in every conceivable corner of the globe. Many stock-piled food. On December 31, 1999, we watched the century and millennium turn with our fingernails dug into the arm of the couch—but nothing happened. Well, when I returned to my office, my Windows 95 computer thought it was the year 1883. (I never had that fixed—apologies to my successor.)

And now another new year rushes toward us. They say that time seems to pass more quickly as one ages. Yep, I have a great seat on the time express these days. Didn’t we just put up the Christmas decorations—in 2010?

But things have changed since January 1, 2000. A few of us owned a mobile phone then, probably no more than one per family; today, every member of the family has a smart phone. To access the Internet, we used a dial-up network. As 2015 begins, I have a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop computer—all with wireless, high speed capability. Social media has exploded and reshaped communication. The “war on terror” has raged for nearly the entire century to date. Our culture’s mores have dramatically turned since Y2K, witness the rapid advance of the cause of same-sex marriage.

When I widen the scope, and consider the changes in my lifetime, since the middle of the twentieth century, I am amazed at the change. Most would call it progress.

And then there is God. Literally, God has seen it all, from Adam to the atomic bomb, from Israel crossing the Red Sea to man landing on the moon, from stone tablets to the iPad. From God’s perspective, with all of the change, has progress been made? Have we made genuine improvements in things that matter to God?

Many things matter to the Lord, but the most important must be the people God created and for whom Christ died. God wants everyone to have a personal relationship with Him. When Jesus was born, there was one Christian—Himself. According to the Pew Forum, in 2010, there were an estimated 2 billion Christians! That’s progress. Churches are not perfect, but God is using churches to connect people to God in an amazing way.

Seven billion people live today without a connection to their Creator and Redeemer. We have an opportunity to change that number, to make more progress.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9 ESV)

Time is rushing by and time is limited. May God give us the grace of a little more time, so that none perish. And may God empower us to take the Good News to every person.

It’s happening again. The Advent/Christmas season is flying by. I have once again procrastinated on my Christmas shopping, and I promise myself that next year I will try to slow the season down and enjoy it more. Don’t get me wrong I love the season, everything about it. The images. The sounds. The lights. The chill in the air. The Salvation Army kettle. The classic, cheesy Christmas movies.

Yes, it makes me a little angry that the villain of secularism comes along and tries to steal my cherished icons. Nativity scenes disappear from the town square, the grade school Christmas Program has become a Winter Concert, and the department store cashier wishes me a Happy Holidays instead of a Merry Christmas. Christ, indeed, seems to be disappearing from Christmas. I want Christ proclaimed at Christmas.

But I must admit that I also want my cherished Christmas memories to return. If you are like me, perhaps you are guilty of making Christmas a nostalgic flood of memories. The wonder of Christmas in my childhood memories creates an ideal that reality rarely realizes. Added to that are the memories we made with our own children, now grown. I want to soak in the hot bath of yesterday’s wonderful Christmas feelings.

I have set myself up for Christmas disappointment. But wait… the Word of God confronts me with the true wonder and the unfading hope upon which the Christmas season rests. God came down to live with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1-5, 14a ESV)

Without doubt, there are agents of darkness working feverishly to extinguish the light. But it is a futile attempt. It cannot be done. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

The infant Jesus came into a dark, dark world; and the light has shined ever since. Wherever Christ is proclaimed, the light shines. Wherever a community of the Spirit lives out the reality of His presence, the darkness does not overcome it. It began to shine in a manger in Bethlehem and has spread all over the world—in some places a sea of light, in others, a small flame. But it is shining and will always shine. Christmas is the celebration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let it shine!

Where Are You Spending Thanksgiving Day? I have spent Thanksgiving Day in many different ways. So have you. Nostalgia always sends to the many Thanksgivings our family spent with my maternal relatives in Cincinnati, Ohio: Laughter. Food. Noisy conversation. Food. Football. Food. Alka Seltzer.

The uniquely American holiday that we know as Thanksgiving was only formalized in the 19th century by President Abraham Lincoln. But from the beginning of history, the virtue of thanksgiving is at the core of God’s people. One of the most memorable of all Biblical characters had a “Day of Thanksgiving” in a most unusual place. For little Trivial Pursuit, read the quote below and see if you can recall who uttered this declaration of praise and where he or she was at the time…

“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

[Don’t spoil the surprise by reading ahead… insert Jeopardy theme music here…]

Give up? The man that uttered this faith-filled song of praise was none other than—Jonah the prophet. Where was he? In the belly of a huge fish. Not ideal. Instead of having Thanksgiving dinner, Jonah was Thanksgiving dinner.

Jonah found himself in this cozy spot because he had disobeyed the direction of the Lord. He had been given a mission to preach the word of the Lord to Nineveh, the capital city of the dominant oppressive regime at the time, the Assyrians. Instead, Jonah booked passage on a ship in the opposite direction. God intervened, Jonah went overboard, and a fish swallowed him up—or, down. With some time to think, Jonah finally began to process what had occurred to him. It was God’s grace that placed him where he was; he should be floating face-down in the Mediterranean Sea. Instead, Jonah was alive and well and about to receive a second chance to do the will of God.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope that you are in a far better place than Jonah was. The fact is however, you may be wondering what you could possibly be thankful for. Alone? Discouraged? Hopeless?

Several years ago, my wife and daughters spent Thanksgiving in a Ronald McDonald House in Chicago. A few blocks away, our son was in a hospital bed fighting a life-threatening infection. The day began with a festive spirit; several families worked together on side-dishes and a local corporation supplied turkeys. With all the preparations made and the dinner prepared, suddenly a wave of quiet sadness swept over the room. Perhaps it was just me, but I believe all of us in that instant remembered that we were missing someone special at the table. Our sons and daughters were not there. That day, thanksgiving was not a celebration, it was a decision. We discovered God’s grace had not abandoned us in our difficult time. From the belly of my fish, I was compelled to give thanks, a sacrifice of praise.

Thanksgiving is foundational to worship. Follower of Christ, we give thanks, not because life is good, but because God is good. Even if you are in a most difficult time of your life, know that God has not forgotten you. Take a moment today, and every day, to give thanks with a grateful heart.

“Okay, we go back to the basics this morning. . . .”

The red-faced coach held a football high overhead, so every single player on the championship team could clearly see.

“Gentlemen, this is a football!”

If you follow sports at all you have heard a passionate speech about “fundamentals.” You see, it’s easy for fans to get caught up in the things that have nothing to do with becoming a successful team. For example, I have a childhood memory of my mother, on rare occasions sitting down on the couch and watching a football game. She liked watching the Vikings because she loved their purple uniforms. I sometimes yell at the coach, through my television, demanding different plays. Doesn’t the coach see that these plays don’t work? The truth is that stylish uniforms and well-designed plays do not result in winning games. Well-coached teams, comprised of talented players, perform at their best when they execute the fundamental disciplines of their sport better than their opponent does. Pay attention to the fundamentals, and winning will take care of itself. The next Super Bowl champions began their journey years ago, by learning how to tackle, block, pass, catch, and kick. And, yes, what a football looks like.

Who was that frustrated coach? Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers, champions of the National Football League. One day earlier, a clearly inferior team had defeated them badly. Even the best need to be reminded of the fundamentals.

As a Christian leader, I am a coach. There can be no question about the missions that Jesus gave His disciples. “Go and make disciples,” was the clarion call and it continues to this day. If a good football coach clearly understands the basics of the game and how to teach those skills to his players, what are the fundamentals of disciple making? Am I clear about what those fundamentals are, and can I teach them to those I serve as a leader? Leader, if you have not done it for a while, sit down with a legal pad or tablet and make a list of non-negotiables for making disciples.

First, what qualifies as a “fundamental?” A fundamental is something that is basic and so critical to the makeup of the disciple-making process that it must be included in the process no-matter-what. Without it, you might be leading, but you will not be making disciples. Compiling a list of basic discipleship Sounds easy. It isn’t.

After much thought and after wearing out an eraser, here is my list of fundamentals of discipleship…

1. The Bible. This is where it all begins. Nothing else matters without an authoritative source, the final arbiter of truth and practice. For followers of Jesus, the Bible is that source. When we correctly interpret and diligently live out the directions of the Bible, we are hearing from God and doing God’s will.

2. Faith. Often, we speak about the beginnings of our discipleship as “coming to faith.” Faith is the realization that the gospel is true and that Jesus is trustworthy. Disciples, after all, are known as followers of Christ—Christians. Having come to faith, we continue to live by faith—trusting the Lord and the Bible.

3. Worship. Humans are created to worship, and we do. When a person follows Jesus, they acknowledge that only God as his or her Sovereign. Worship is proclaiming the worthiness of God, declaring our allegiance to God, and living under the Lordship of Christ through words, actions, and attitudes.

4. Jesus. The “second person” of the Holy Trinity was born into humanity; lived a sinless life; died to pay the penalty of universal human sin; rose from the grave; and is returning to rule the earth and to receive all disciples to Himself.

5. Holy Spirit. The “third person” of the Holy Trinity is God’s divine presence with and within the followers of Jesus. The Spirit accomplishes the new birth, transforms persons into the image of Jesus, and empowers Christ’s followers to accomplish the works of God in this age.

6. Grace. All that disciples receive from God and do for God are a result of grace—God’s unmerited favor. Human beings, as fallen beings, are incapable and unworthy. Grace transforms us and qualifies us for divine blessing.

7. Prayer. Followers of Jesus have direct access to God through prayer. Prayer is a two-way communication between God and God’s people.

8. Church. No one follows Christ alone. The Church exists as the community of the Spirit. It is the family of God, an inseparable source of nurture, support, and accountability.

Fundamentals are basic; that means that they are the foundation upon which the disciple constructs a life of integrity and service to the Kingdom of God. Effective disciple makers never leave the fundamentals, they build upon them and reinforce them often.

Work on your list, and may God bless your leadership.

“What about Christians with a broken heart?”

If you have read the first three posts, by now you are beginning to wonder, “I have come to faith in Christ and my sin is forgiven. Why does my heart still hurt? Is there something wrong with me?”

Remember that the heart is what makes you who you are—from the Bible’s perspective, the heart is where we think, feel, and desire. The brokenness of sin is one cause of heart pain, and is the cause the Bible speaks of most often. There are many more.

Empathy is one source of heart pain. We feel, sometimes quite strongly, the pain of others. This is especially true when someone we love hurts. When my child suffers disappointment, I feel that pain with her.

The most common source of heart pain is grief—the pain of loss. Usually, we associate grief with the death of a loved one. Certainly, on those occasions, we feel the pain of grief most acutely. But life is a series of losses. Some losses are disappointments that we can manage out of our emotional resources, but others are deep wounds that stop us dead in our tracks.

Much has been made of the so-called stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Recognizing how humans respond to loss is helpful, especially if you are experiencing it yourself. Nothing is wrong with you when your heart hurts from grief.

Does Jesus heal grieving hearts? Yes, in a much different way…

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4 ESV)

When your loved one died, or when your job was downsized, it was not because you failed or sinned. Your heart did not break, but it feels the emotional sting of loss. Jesus does not wipe the pain away, but he will bring comfort to your mourning.

Sure, the Lord can wipe away the pain in an instant. Instead he gives something much sweeter—His presence. Just as grief will surprise you when a sharp pain comes, seemingly from nowhere, so the presence of God will surprise you with his grace, peace, and affirmation.

If you are grieving, find some time—both quality and quantity—to be with God. Make sure you have a quiet time to read the Bible, to pray, to journal, and to listen to the gentle whispers of God. And stay involved with the people of God by attending church services, small groups, and service opportunities. God will love you through the church.

Jesus heals hearts!

How do you fix a broken heart?

In Part One, we came to grips with the difficult truth that humans follow their broken hearts, and we all have one. Part Two described how our hearts broke, and why we feel our brokenness so strongly. We also learned that God is drawn to broken hearts, not offended by them.

So, let’s ask the question again, “How do you fix a broken heart?” The only answer is, “You can’t.”

Not the answer you were looking for? To get the right answer, first ask the right question. Let’s try it again, “Who fixes broken hearts?” The only answer is, “Jesus.” He described his mission like this…

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:18 KJV)

That’s right, God the Father sent Jesus the Son to fix your broken heart and mine. Jesus came to earth, not in spite of our broken hearts but because of them. When Jesus died on the Cross, he absorbed the punishment of our sins—that was Phase One that erased our record of sin. To complete Phase One, ask God to forgive you and invite Jesus to become the center of your life.

Phase Two is the miracle of a healed heart. The same grace that saved you from the punishment for your sin, transforms your heart. Read this great promise again…

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

We are tempted to sell grace short, as merely the absence of punishment. But God’s favor toward us is so much more; in fact, grace is an active force in our lives. Ironically, we find ourselves trying very hard to correct our own behavior, hoping in vain to live up to the grace of God. It works in just the opposite way; the more grace heals our hearts, the less we live broken lives.

When my car needs repair, I turn the keys in to the mechanic and leave him to do his work. If I could fix the problem myself, I wouldn’t need to bring it to the shop in the first place. The worst thing to do is to bring my car to the mechanic and then fight for the wrench and keep trying to make the repair on my own. If your heart is broken bring it to Jesus and let Him do His thing. Where is Jesus’ heart repair shop? Wherever Jesus is. But I have found He works on my heart when I read and think about the Word of God, when I pray, when I go to church and worship with other followers of Jesus, and when I give of myself to another person.

Jesus heals hearts. All hearts. Let Him heal yours.

You remember the last time you dropped a drinking glass on the ceramic tile in your kitchen. It shattered into a million tiny pieces, some so small that you couldn’t see them—until the next time you walked into the kitchen with bare feet. There is no fixing a shattered glass. Even if it was your favorite, could not glue it back together again. You swept it into a dustpan and threw it in the trash can.

In the last post, we discovered who could do a horrible, hateful, and violent act—anyone. Anyone, that is, with a broken heart. But unlike the shattered glass, Jesus heals broken hearts…

“…He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…” (Psalm 61:1 NIV)

What is the human heart, and how did it break? Read the Old Testament and you find that the Hebrew term for heart appears no less than 590 times! It refers to the “you” underneath your skin. Your heart is what makes you human and what makes you uniquely you. A human heart governs the three functions of personality: thought, emotion, and will. In other words, our heart determines what we think, what we feel, and what we desire.

The Bible tells us that God created the first humans, Adam and Eve. Genesis Chapter Three records the origin of sin. When tempted to disobey God, Adam and Eve gave in. Their story has been known as “The Fall” ever since. When Adam and Eve fell, they crashed hard, their hearts were shattered by their sin. Every person born since The Fall has been born with Adam’s broken heart.

Since the heart controls our thinking, feeling, and wanting, we act out of its brokenness. We can’t help it. In fact, except for Jesus, no one since Adam has known what it is like to be born whole. We try so very hard to act right, but never quite succeed, because it is futile to fix behavior without addressing the core issue, the heart.

Our sin is explained—but not excused—by the fact that we are born this way. It explains why a grandfather shoots his daughter and several of his own grandchildren; why a wealthy businessman files an inaccurate tax return; why a spouse is unfaithful to a husband or wife.

It is in our emotions that we experience brokenness most profoundly. So much so, that we equate emotional pain with a broken heart. It is with our emotions that we feel deeply our broken hearts. The most important question of my life and of yours, is where do we go to fix a broken heart?

The tragic irony is that most people with broken hearts misunderstand their relationship to God. Because I am so broken, the thinking goes, I must be rejected by God. In fact, the opposite is true...

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

If you have a broken heart, you are not rejected by God, you have a reserved place near God. There is a healer—Jesus—for your broken heart.

In the next post we will seek to understand how Jesus heals hearts. In the meantime, you can reach out to Jesus through a simple prayer like this one…

“Jesus, my heart is broken. The more I try to do what is right, the more I end up making things worse. I am truly sorry and need your help. Please, forgive me, and fix my heart.”

Terrorists behead their prisoners and broadcast the video. A gunman invades a grade school and begins to murder small children and their teachers in cold blood. Children are kidnapped and sold into the sex trafficking industry. A father kills his own wife and children before turning the gun on himself.

These acts shock us. We try somehow to explain how these things can happen. How can things go so dreadfully wrong in a person’s life? What compels a person to leave the rails and commit such unthinkable and horrific behavior? We search endlessly for a person to blame or a systemic problem to fix. Desperately, we try to find a way for humans to quit doing these inhuman things.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I ate lunch with my mother-in-law, a godly woman who has served the Lord faithfully for all of her life. One of those dreadful crimes had just occurred and we wondered out loud who could do such a thing? Softly, a scripture memorized long ago tumbled from her lips, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)

She nailed it. Who could behead a man or shoot a child? Me. You. Anyone. As it turns out, these terrible things are not so inhuman, after all. People follow their hearts, and we have a heart problem. Some of us can pretty up the top layer good enough to fool others and even fool ourselves. But dig deep enough, and the ugly stuff starts to show.

So, here is the bad news: The human heart—every single one—is sickened by sin.

But, here is the good news: Jesus heals hearts.

Have you ever heard the expression, “There, but for the grace of God, go I”? It’s true.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

While politicians, law enforcement, the media, and behavioral scientists are wringing their hands in angst, God’s Word gives the solution. Now, more than ever, let us introduce people to Jesus, because Jesus heals hearts.