Jesus and Religion by Chad Hess

If you've spent any time on Facebook or YouTube this week, you've probably seen the video, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.” In less than a week since its release, it has gotten over 11 million hits, over 200,000 likes, 27,000 dislikes, 117,000 comments, and a slew of response videos (as of this writing). Clearly, this video has struck a chord with many people. Some people love the attack on the hypocrisy of religion; some seek to defend religion, while others want to throw both Jesus and religion out the window.

While I don't agree with everything in the video, I do appreciate the distinction the creator is trying to make between religion and Jesus. I don't agree that they are polar opposites, but there is certainly a difference between the two. It is possible to have religion but miss Jesus. It's also possible to follow Jesus and not accept religion.

Religion is the organization of people who have similar beliefs and practices regarding God. At its best, it is a community that strengthens one another and reflects the complexity of God. At its worst, it is a collection of customs and roadblocks that block access to the very One they are supposed to lead people toward. Religion is full of messed-up people who, despite the best of intentions, often botch things up. It's a frustrating reality.

But I don't look to religion for my salvation. Jesus Himself offers me that, and it is my relationship with Him that really matters.

So why even bother with religion? Because we are social creatures following a relational God, so there is great value in group worship. There are many facets of God that I have learned through the experiences of others, things I could not understand on my own. I have also found a family in my church that has seen me through my most difficult times.

I don't need a religion that is perfect because I have a God who is perfect. Plus, I fit right in with an imperfect religion.

Chad Hess

For All We Know . . . by Greg Creek

I recently returned from a weeklong mission trip, vacation, training, and spiritual renewal all rolled in to one. I had a large part in the spiritual renewal portion of the trip. Many months ago, a team of us got together and decided on a theme for the week. I spent weeks preparing a program that would be presented by others. Each evening on the trip would be focused around a story of Christ. Even though I wasn’t the one speaking each night, I knew the topics they were covering and studied the stories extensively.

A little less than a week before I left, I started preparing myself for the reality that there would not be a whole lot of new discovery for me on this trip. I knew the stories forward and backward – even the big points that the speakers were going to make.

As I settled in the first night, waiting to hear everything I already knew, I was shocked. I had learned something from the speaker that I didn’t know. How could this be? I knew all the songs beforehand. I knew the drama beforehand. I knew the stories beforehand. I knew the speaker’s big points beforehand. I knew the small group questions beforehand! And yet, in all that I knew, I found there was plenty that I didn’t.

Some might think that I was just being egotistical, that I was approaching it like I knew everything. In my mind, I didn’t feel that way; I just felt like I had studied and learned and plumbed the depths of the topics. I was once again reminded of just how big God and His word are.

In our society, our views on many things have changed or grown deeper over time—the world is no longer flat, the sun is at the center of the solar system, fresh air is good, etc. Many people were perfectly content to just go on believing what they had always believed, but others chose to push forward, to search for deeper understanding.

Sadly, I was content to sit back and to continue to believe the earth was flat, so to speak, and I almost missed out on the blessing of knowing God better.

As I challenge myself to grow deeper, I invite you to join me in continually seeking to understand an infinite God and to approach the things we “know” with an opportunity to still learn a little more.

Greg Creek

My Occupy Movement by Tami Cinquemani

A quick Google search of the word “Occupy” reveals that Webster’s definition of this word has been enhanced. A word that once simply meant, “To take or fill up (space, time, etc.)” has taken on a unique global meaning. NPR’s Geoff Nunberg has even chosen this term as 2011’s Word of the Year.

What was once a simple phrase has come to mean something new. “Occupy” now brings visions of protest, disappointment, outrage, and deeply and desperately desired change. Those occupying various areas around our world have been moved to action, unwilling to sit around and just observe the thing they feel must be changed for the better. When one “occupies” something, they have given themselves over to a cause, regardless of how they are misunderstood, disrespected, or mistreated. They won’t give up because the price of calling it quits is far higher than the price they are paying by continuing to occupy.

Regardless of where the politics of our society have taken this effort, I believe the basic and original intent of those on New York’s Wall Street, Cairo's Tahrir Square, London’s Victoria Park, and Dublin’s Dame Street (just to name a few) has been to decry an injustice and right a terrible wrong.

I believe this was the original intent of God – to occupy us. “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)

After sin entered this world, a plan was laid to send His Son to occupy His creation in a new way. I believe Jesus came into our world to decry the injustice of His children allowing themselves to be destroyed by selfishness and pride and to right the terrible wrong of our separation from our Heavenly Father. I believe it is Jesus’ deepest desire to change our lives for the better. Rather than simply observe the self-inflicted decline of humanity, He shook our world with a protest of the status quo. Outraged that the children whom He loved so deeply would allow themselves to be degraded and scarred with sin, He was moved to action. Our Savior’s birth in a manger is no small thing; it is an occupation of the most desperate degree. The price of leaving the perfection of heaven for the battles of earth, and eventually the ultimate cost of the cross, was considered a far less price to pay than to lose even one precious soul.

What/Whom God “occupies” can’t help but be changed (“And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart . . . “ Ezekiel 11:19), and this occupation is available to all (“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . . “ John 1:12)

Though there are many times I try to clear Him out, my heart’s desire is to allow Jesus to completely and fully Occupy me.

Tami Cinquemani

Hearts Desire by John Monday

Christmas Eve, 1971. The boy was six years old and up much too late. But honestly, what child in his right mind can will himself to sleep when Santa is due? Of course, Mom and Dad wanted him to go to bed, as did his older brother and sister. They had other Christmas obligations as yet unfulfilled. But all he had to do was go to bed.

He knew it was a thin edge, but he’d make it to bed before the jolly old Elf arrived, and if he played his cards right, he might even catch a glimpse – or at least hear him. It was 10:00 pm, and the schedule was clear: Santa comes at midnight. How exactly that important fact came to be known he wasn’t sure, but it was a fact nonetheless.

His sister heard it first, and he thought she was just pulling his leg, but then Mom heard it too. Everyone got very quite and, low and behold, there it was – the sound of sleigh bells. It was high overhead and barely audible, but it was there. SANTA WAS EARLY!

He must be in some kind of circling pattern, perhaps heading to Bermuda then back to Florida. Surely there was still time! Anxiety was building, but the plan was sound, so the boy stuck to it. Then Santa landed! Right outside the house! There was no mistaking the banging and clanging. And as if that weren't proof enough, Dad came flying into the house. He had seen him land! Santa was on his way in!

The gig was up; it looked like all was lost. The boy ran to bed as fast as he could. He didn’t peek, or open the door, or even brush his teeth; he just went to bed. This was much too close a call.

Had he not known that Santa was coming that night, he might have missed it. The sleigh bells could have been mistaken for a distant train. He could have imagined the reindeer landing to be a ladder clanging, or rocks on the roof. But he believed, and it was that belief that gave clarity to the evidence. Not only did he believe . . . he wanted it. As much as a six-year-old can want anything, he wanted Santa.

In the following years, the boy thought he heard Santa a few more times, but never again was the encounter quite so close.

I’ve learned something about the value of “want,” and its effect on faith. We see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe. While some may think this is cynical evidence that the objects of our faith are mere fantasy conjured up in juvenile minds, it’s just the opposite.

The fact that we want love, acceptance, joy, meaning, and forgiveness is powerful proof that fulfillment of these desires exists. The want for these good things is evidence that either there is satisfaction for our deepest desires, or life is a chaotic, meaningless accident. What a cruel and senseless creator; what a cruel and senseless creation – if we’ve been imbued at our deepest level with a desire that cannot be satisfied.

Deep in the heart of every person is a desire – a want – for the good and pure and true. Those desires of our heart are placed there by God that they might drive us to seek Him. For a six-year-old, that want might be personified in a kind and strong man that brings toys and happiness, but there is a deeper answer – a true satisfaction.

God created us to love and to be loved. He loves us so much that he granted us the freedom to turn from him, and we did – every single one of us. But his love was so boundless that, despite our faults, flaws, and self-centered depravity, He reached across eternity to rebuild what we destroyed, to touch that deep desire in us that is a broken reflection of his image. In his wisdom, He didn’t do it through punishment and retribution. He did it through a baby. He became one of us that he might be one with us. He suffered our pain and endured our punishment that we might be eternally restored to him in love, acceptance, joy, meaning, and forgiveness.

There are a thousand good reasons to believe in this God we call Jesus, but today I am focused on this one: There’s no other story that I so desperately want to be true. Of all the myths, stories, and religions, there’s no other that resonates so completely within my soul.

During this Christmas season, I hope you’ll take time to consider this Jesus, this Immanuel, this God with us. Is he the one your heart has been seeking?

John Monday

Extending Christmas by Andy McDonald

What is it that anchors us to the joy and good feelings of Christmas? Okay, I know that for some there is no such anchoring, but for most of us it is the “Hap—happiest season of all!” This year as I’ve been looking at Christmas from a little different angle, it has caused me to wonder what the emotional ties are to this holiday.

Of course, as the pastor, I’m supposed to say Jesus is the reason for the season—and few would argue with that proposition. But whether we recognize it or not, I think the secret to the spirit of Christmas is the simple exercise of giving. For the few weeks surrounding Christmas millions of people are planning and creating and sneaking and wrapping and hiding and finally presenting gifts to people they love.

I can more easily remember gifts given over those received. Receiving a gift is nice and fun – sometimes down right amazing. But Christmas giving is a reminder, one with concrete evidence, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Just think about a gift you gave. You planned. You thought. Then you carefully acquired, wrapped secretly, and then slipped the gift under the tree. The giver’s anticipation of Christmas morning trumps the hopes of the recipients.

I remember some Christmas mornings when one of our children would be so excited to have us, as parents, open what they were giving. They would be so caught up in their gift-giving that we had to go ahead and open their present to us so we could continue opening gifts.

There is a joy unspeakable and full of glory when we give, and Christmas brings this all to life once a year. So what if we kept it going? What if every day, each week, at least once a month we intentionally thought of someone and gave them a gift? It might be some physical object we make or purchase, or it might be the conscious gift of friendship, a smile, an invitation for lunch, a word of encouragement, or introduction to a new friend. Maybe, just maybe, we could extend the spirit of Christmas to the other 364 days this year just by continuing to give. After all, why stop all those blessings that fill the air at Christmas when we could cash in 24/7 on the reality that it is more blessed to give than to receive? And maybe the spirit of Christmas will follow us through the whole year.

Andy McDonald

Christmas Stories by Richard Hickam

Pastor Andy’s current sermon series is on Christmas stories. I have a Christmas legend that came by way of one of my favorite authors, William Barclay. The story goes like this:

When Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus were on their way to Egypt, as evening came they were weary and sought refuge in a cave. It was very cold – so cold that the ground was white with hoar frost. A little spider saw the little baby Jesus, and he wished so much that he could do something to keep him warm in the cold night. He decided to do the only thing he could – spin his web across the entrance of the cave to make, as it were, a curtain there.

Along the path came a detachment of Herod’s solders, seeking for children to kill to carry out Herod’s bloodthirsty order. When they came to the cave, they were about to burst in to search it, but their captain noticed the spider’s web covered with the white hoar frost and stretched right across the entrance to the cave. “Look,” he said, “at the spider’s web there. It is quite unbroken, and there cannot possibly be anyone in the cave, for anyone entering would certainly have torn the web.”

So the soldiers passed on and left the holy family in peace because a little spider had spun his web across the entrance to the cave. And that, so they say, is why to this day we put tinsel on our Christmas trees. The glittering tinsel streamers stand for the spider’s web, white with hoar frost, stretched across the entrance of the cave on the way to Egypt. It is a lovely story, and this much, at least, is true – no gift which Jesus receives is ever forgotten.

As you are in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, what gift to do you have for Jesus? A thoughtful gift for Him this season will not be forgotten.

Richard Hickam

Angel Tree by Shae Beery

When I was a child, my family fully embraced the traditions of Christmas. We decorated our home with the most cherished ornaments, lights, and bows. We handmade or purchased gifts with much thought about the receiver. We made plans to go to Grandma’s house for Christmas Eve, and my mother allowed us kids to be a part of the month-long baking of cookies, cakes, and holiday pies. Our home functioned much like every other home in our neighborhood. However, with all that holiday excitement occurring in our house, there was one tradition I looked forward to above all the other activities, and that favorite activity was the day my mother would take me to select a child off of the Salvation Army Angel Tree.

I always selected a girl who was most like myself. Then, with a budget clearly spelled out (Yes, I understood the parameters of a budget at 8 years old and I was a thrifty shopper even then!), my mother and I would purchase one toy, one stuffed animal, one outfit, hygiene products, a bag of candy, and a box of candy canes! I loved rushing home and watching my mom carefully wrap each individual gift with colorful paper and Christmas bows. But before we would seal up the box, I would go to my drawer and pull out my most favorite pair of pajamas. I would select the pair that was most like new, and I would wrap them up myself. My mother told me that I should give something of my own to this child and not just buy everything. And so, every year I would carefully select the perfect pair of pajamas and include them in the box. And I loved it. Of course, later in the week I would forget that my beloved PJ’s were given away and riffle through my clothes for a second in search of something to wear. But then a smile would come to my face as I realized where they had gone.

I haven’t selected a child off of the Salvation Army Angel Tree for many years now, but I’m thankful my mother began this tradition of giving that has lasted my whole life. As I’ve gotten older, the opportunity to give has taken on various forms: visiting nursing home residents, assisting in children’s classes at church, getting involved with groups that help to clean up the devastation of a natural disaster, and even traveling to other countries to build schools, help orphaned children, and give medical attention to those in need.

These experiences have taught me many things, but the greatest one is this: The spirit of giving doesn’t have to be confined to the Christmas season. Additionally, blessings are not only reserved for the receiver but are also poured out to the giver. Don’t be afraid to give of yourself this Christmas and throughout the year—there is no shortage of blessings to be given . . . or received.

Shae Beery

FHC Member and Guest Blogger