Can We Unhijack Christmas?

It’s that time of year again.

People are fighting over giant screen TVs at Tesco, or is it Asda? Charities are making the most of the festive spirit to grab some much needed funds. Carols are being sung by all and sundry as the non-religious pile into church for their token yearly appearance. Adults are looking forward to the extra time off work as they plan menus…and ensure there is enough alcohol in the house. Children are getting excited about the impending visit of Santa Claus!

Meanwhile, Christians bemoan the fact that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost, but set about trying to make the most of the opportunity to reach their friends and neighbours with the Gospel, regardless.

I confess that I’ve been one of those serial complainers over the years as Christmas in the Western world seems to have been hijacked by the “any reason for a party” and the “spend, spend, spend” brigade.

So, what’s different about this year? you might be wondering.

Perhaps it’s just me, but there seems to be more religious apathy in the air this Christmas than usual. Granted, I have only spent one of the last six in this country, but the hard-heartedness and eye rolling is definitely more prominent than last year!

The reason Christians make a special effort to reach people at Christmas is because the opportunity is already there. There isn’t that awkwardness as you try to find a way to bring God or church into a conversation. People are already thinking about peace on earth and goodwill to all men and might well be interested in delving deeper into the matter.  

At least, this has been the case over the years as even those who can’t face any type of evangelism seem to find a way to gather the courage to invite people to their carol service.

This year, however, I witnessed contempt and mockery towards those of us who “still believe in God.” People annoyed by street preaching disrupting their shopping experience or even by carol singing reminding them of the birth of Jesus….and their sin. Others refusing the opportunity to listen to the Christmas Message or getting irritated by a Gospel leaflet offering them hope.

Mostly, though, it’s indifference rather than outright hostility: a lack of interest in anything religious and a failure to see the relevance for their lives here and now.

People are milling about, frantically making preparations for the biggest celebration of our annual calendar. Yet, so many now don’t believe the Bible story of Christmas or in the God who wrote it. 

What exactly are people celebrating? you might ask….

Why is our entire year geared towards preparing for this big event if no one remembers, or wants to know what it’s all about? Aren’t we then just akin to mindless lemmings going along with a senseless celebration because it cheers us up or gives us something to look forward to?

My brother had it right when he wrote this poem in his journal at some point before he tragically died in a car accident at the age of 18, in 2002:

“We spend our entire lives searching for happiness and never find it.

Somehow we believe in a forlorn hope that things can only get better.

As we grow old we still cannot grasp the reality of life.

We console ourselves by saying, ‘we had a good life.’

And the blindness that enshrouds us makes us believe this until we die.

What is the reality of life?

That life is meaningless without God.”

 James Vellacott (1984-2002)

We have been designed to worship the God who created us. If we reject Him, our sinful nature will just find something, or someone else to worship; food, possessions, money, alcohol and sex will all be distractions and idols for many this Christmas.

Is it even possible for the true meaning of Christmas to be presented to needy souls this year? Of course it is, anything is possible with God.

The real question is, will you be listening? and what will be your response?


"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3 vs 16

Are we Living in Luxury and Self-Indulgence?

The subject of materialism is often on my heart having lived in the Philippines for a period, and having seen poverty in other countries whilst serving on-board Logos Hope. Returning to Western culture, a touch of distaste and unfortunately judgementalism, whilst not necessarily helpful, is inevitable. But, in recent months, as I have been encouraged to spend more and worry less, I have been asking the questions, are all Westerners living in luxury and is that self-indulgent? What will God say to us on Judgement Day? 

The immediate reply of most people confronted with this question is that in comparison with their non-Christian neighbours and friends, they are pretty frugal. We cannot be expected to compare a Western standard of living with the third world, right? 

Additionally, they comment, it’s more about our attitude to wealth because it’s the love of money that is a root of evil, not money itself. And that God gives us things to enjoy and as a blessing.

Personally, I find that stuff overwhelms and exhausts me, the less things I have the better. I would happily leave my few things for a simple, traditional, missionary lifestyle when God leads, but maybe that’s just me.

I picked up the book Radical by David Platt this week and read it in a few days. It is the third book I have read by this author. Platt pastors a mega-church in America and has sparked controversy with some of his radical (biblical?) ideas. He is definitely sincere in his views and the implementation of them, but is he sincerely wrong?

Platt found himself a mega-pastor in his late twenties. He was living the American (or British) dream—successful, wealthy, fulfilling life-long ambitions. But he was suddenly stopped in his tracks when faced with the startling reality that the American dream may not be God’s way. His soul searching led to the realisation that if he wanted to truly follow Jesus, as a pastor, he would have to take his church with him—turn his culture on its head and deal with the consequence. He faced up to the blind spot in his life and ministry.

Platt believes Western Christians are living in luxury. He proposes that God doesn’t make us rich—“if your family income is $10,000 a year, you are wealthier than 84% of the world. So you can call yourself blessed and get a bigger house, better car and more stuff.” He proposes, based on Scripture, that God gives us more than we need, so we can use it to bless others. He reminds us that God is not likely to one day admonish us, “I wish you would’ve kept more for yourself”

If nothing else, material wealth and the stuff that we accumulate distracts us from pursuing God wholeheartedly. There are a lot of ways to waste time with these things which can cause us to lose focus on our mission—to see lost souls come to Jesus. Platt reminds us of the billions of “unreached” still out there and points out that a huge percentage of missionaries are serving in “reached” areas. He quotes older missionaries like John Paton, C.T. Studd and Jim Elliot who literally gave up everything when they went to the field. “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” (Elliot)

There is a great need for Christian church leaders that are willing to confront cultural trends with biblical truth. Platt’s “Radical Experiment” challenges readers to initially dedicate one year to God—pray for the world, study the Bible (cover to cover,) sacrifice money for a specific purpose, spend time in another context (missions) and commit their life to a multiplying community (local church family.) But the issue that has caused the controversy is that Platt suggests that all Christians should be doing these things anyway because they are biblical. Is he right?

Platt’s critics cry legalism and salvation by works. The out-workings of some of his suggestions seem to have led in some cases to spiritual burnout and a mass exodus from his church. But couldn’t that just be the enemy causing confusion and chaos in an otherwise God ordained situation? In a mega-church congregation there are bound to be some that do things with the wrong motivation or who miss the heart of the call to action. Is that the fault of the pastor? 

Platt makes it clear in this book that salvation is by faith alone and that works should be a natural outflow. He highlights the centrality of the Gospel message when involved in social action or when deciding which projects to support.

His church community seem to have literally taken responsibility for all of the “people- needs” in the area and further afield. Surely that is what a local church should be doing—teaching believers within and proclaiming Christ on the streets, combining help with hope in the community. 

God does place different calls on the lives of individuals and gifts them specifically. But surely that is the point of the church family—to accomplish his work together as a body. Is that really so radical?

I was personally encouraged and challenged by this book and the life and testimony of the author.

The Danger of Labelling a Christian a "Legalist."

There is no doubt that Christian standards of holiness are lowering across the globe. We shouldn’t be surprised by this as the Bible tells us that there will be a progressive decline into worldliness. As individuals we can probably see that our “willingness to compromise” in some areas has grown stronger as we succumb to cultural influences and pressures over time. We eventually give in because we are fed up with standing alone on a particular issue or because we forget why we took a stand on that issue in the first place or because we wonder whether taking a stand is really that important. We become distracted and, like the Church at Ephesus, forget our “first love.”

But what will happen if Christians continue to “blend in” with those around them? When there is no visible difference between us and our non-believing neighbours, friends and colleagues, what happens to our message of HOPE in Jesus? It is nullified and becomes void and irrelevant. Unless our lives are visibly different, people will simply not be interested in hearing our message. How can we proclaim the life transforming power of God if our lives have not been transformed and if we are the same as our worldly counterparts?

I’m not speaking here of pretending to be people that we are not; pretending everything is fine when we are facing trials and struggles to create the illusion of happiness so that people won’t lose confidence in God. This is spiritual pride and a reason for a lot of loneliness in some churches where people feel they have to pretend they are okay as everyone else seems to be okay. So we all walk around telling each other we are okay when actually we are not. That is not biblical Christianity. Being real and honest about our problems and showing vulnerability at difficult times shows humanity that makes our message more authentic to non-believers. It also helps them to trust and confide in us as they realise, we can empathise with them when they are struggling. The point is that even in the midst of our trials we should be seeking to trust God as we know that He is faithful and will not leave or forsake us even when we fall into sin or other difficulties. Our hope is always in Him even when we face hardship or have a tough time understanding our circumstances. We believe that God is teaching us something through any and all troubles, so they are not in vain. We are looking for the spiritual life lessons that we can learn.

Every day as Christians we make decisions that impact those around us, those who are still walking in darkness, whose spiritual eyes have not yet been opened to the truth of the Gospel. The reality is that these people are on a broad road to an eternity in Hell. Do we really believe this? Do we have any care or concern for those people? Do we constantly remind ourselves “there but for the grace of God go I?” or do we sit in judgement over them and leave that conversation for another day?

Why are we allowing ourselves to compromise in areas that in the past would have been unthinkable? There is a danger that in trying to be more “relevant” and “progressive” we are wandering into sin and taking others with us. Have God’s standards of holiness changed? The obvious answer is “no” because God Himself does not change. Non-believers are closely watching us and our lifestyles to see whether our message is genuine. Subconsciously they are looking for an excuse to reject God and Christians who are not seeking to live holy lives can easily be used as that excuse. You may not even be aware that your conduct has resulted in a life-changing decision for another person, but God is aware as He cares for every soul. We are His representatives here on earth.

In a recent discussion a fellow believer commented that it would be good if we could have a “24-hour break” from being Christians. This person was struggling with the constant pressures of the Christian life; attempting to be different and to not conform to worldly standards. His comment will resonate with true believers as if we are striving for holiness in our Christian walk our lives will always be hard. The Christian life is a constant battle and “we are not wrestling against flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6.) But the reality is that there is no break, certainly there are times of rest and reflection, but even during those we are still Christians and should still be seeking to trust and follow God.

Sometimes it seems that new believers have an advantage here as they see things with greater clarity than those who have become weary of the battle. Some relatively new Christians said to me recently that they didn’t understand why Christians were arguing about a certain topic in the Bible as God’s instructions on this topic were clear. Their faith has not yet been corrupted by worldliness so in their minds there was no debate, they accepted the Bible as the inspired and 100% accurate Word of God. How different would our churches be if we all did that? If we stopped listening to the enemy asking us “Did God really say?” to justify our sin and returned to a simple belief in God’s Word.

Maybe as Christians we should examine our current standards and see whether we have lapsed into worldliness or conformed to our various cultural standards over time. What we eat, drink, listen to, watch, say, wear, read, write, think, and how and where we spend our time and who with, is important to God and does impact those around us often unintentionally. Sometimes not doing or saying something when we should is just as damaging and stops others being bold and speaking out.

We should then ask the question whether the changes in our behaviour/lifestyles are acceptable in light of God’s Word or whether we need to re-evaluate our standards.  This may involve swimming against the tide and standing alone for a time, but this is what God calls us to do. Think of Paul, Daniel, Joseph and Job and the many other Scriptural examples of those who took a stand, or the more modern examples of the McArthur family in the Asher’s Bakery case and those individuals who have stood against Sunday trading. If more of us supported these individuals instead of hiding away or distancing ourselves then none of us would be forced to take the stand alone.

I will end with a word of caution as per my post title. Sadly, it is often opposition from within our own ranks that does the most damage to a Christian seeking to live for God. How careful we must be before labelling a fellow believer as a “legalist.” Surely, we should seek to encourage that believer and should not be doing something that might harm their conscience (Romans 14 vs 13-23.) In any case we should first make sure that whatever it is they are doing that has so offended us is not just our own sinful conscience seeking an excuse for our own sinful behaviour.

Let us pray that God will help us to humbly examine our behaviour in light of Scripture and seek ever increasing standards of holiness for His glory.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

There are those who will freely admit that this sentence concludes with a material item or items; a new book, item of clothing, CD or game or for some with bigger aspirations (and incomes); a new music system, item of furniture or even a car or house!

Then there are those who congratulate themselves by finishing the sentence with non-material things believing they are somehow better people for escaping the trappings of materialism; good health, success in business, and of course the ever elusive happiness.

There are even those (usually with some form of faith or moral conscience) who would answer with the less selfish desire for the health, wealth, success or happiness of someone else that is important to them.

But how many of us would answer that our only true desire this Christmas is for the salvation of a sister, brother, mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, colleague, neighbour, friend or stranger that we pass every day on the street? And if we were to answer that this was our only true desire, how many of us would be answering honestly? To take it one step further, how many of us have been actively preparing for the opportunity since September when the Christmas shopping usually begins? How many of us have been sincerely praying and seeking God for an individual that is important to us in some way or another? How many couldn’t wait for Christmas to come in order to take the opportunity to send that person an evangelistic card or book, to invite that person to Church or to Christmas lunch or even just to have that conversation about the meaning of Christmas for a Christian? How many of us are excited about this opportunity even if we know it will be inconvenient in some way for us?

Mostly at Christmas, as Christians, we behave in the same way as non-believers with ever increasing budgets and excessive celebrations. We forget what we are doing and miss the opportunities for evangelism. We don’t take our calling seriously. We feel good if we go to Church, avoid drinking too much or spending too much and we believe that somehow this is a witness to non-believers. Maybe they will respect us more or think that we are morally more upright than they are for our stance but what does that really achieve if we don’t communicate the reason for our different behaviour. If we don’t tell them that Jesus is the only true hope this Christmas and if we don’t remind them who and what we are celebrating.

Bizarrely at Christmas we tend to focus on ourselves and our families (personal or Church) and forget those outside our circles who are likely more unhappy at Christmas time, and just after, than at any other time of the year. There is much disappointment, sadness, loneliness and tragically suicide at Christmas and yet as Christians we remain silent or take a “well deserved” break and withdraw from the hopeless and helpless souls that need us most.

We have the only message of HOPE for those still living in darkness but

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10 vs 14

With just ONE WEEK to go there is still time to reach out to that person(s) that God has laid on your heart OR you can let another year slip by and hope that God is patient with you and with the person whose heart He has already prepared.

Let’s be bold and reach out to those with whom we have contact as it may be our last opportunity to do so.

Have a blessed and fruitful Christmas and a peaceful New Year.