Monthly Archives: December 2018

A Christmas World View

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Christmas is not just another holiday. It is not just a season for retailers to see the parenthesis disappear from the net profit/loss bottom line.

The truth of Christmas is a basic foundation of deep philosophical and theological questions about the meaning of life and our existence in this world.

In just a few decades, we have witnessed a major shift in attitudes about this traditional holiday. To show how seismic the shift has been, let me ask you a question. Why was it newsworthy that in 2017, President Trump wished everyone a “Merry Christmas?”

There is a world view on public display in a manger scene or in the greeting of “Merry Christmas.” That is why organizations like the ACLU regularly demand that small towns remove manger scenes from public property and “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” have replaced “Merry Christmas” as a traditional greeting in many places.

A Christmas world view is based on the truth of Scripture. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NASB)

That one sentence established the truth that God is the creator of all that we see. Some may mock the idea of God creating everything out of nothing.

The alternative view is that everything was already in existence and just rearranged itself, by itself, in the balanced order of nature and universe that we know today. It seems that the latter view requires a greater leap of faith than to believe in God as the Creator.

Genesis further describes God’s creation of man in the image of God. He created Adam and Eve as a special creation and gave them dominion over the earth.

The world was perfect in every way and man was perfect in every way. A perfect, holy God had created a perfect environment with perfect creatures.

His desire was a personal relationship with His creation and He had one. He walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the day.

God gave one rule to man. Imagine, living in a perfect environment with just one rule.

Adam and Eve willfully committed the first sin and broke the one rule that God gave. As a result, sin entered the world and with it the consequences of sin.

The horrible consequences included the destructive emotions of fear, embarrassment, guilt, anger, jealousy, envy, and hatred. Those emotions led to actions of cover-up, blaming others, murder, and other destructive behaviors.

Nature itself was infected by sin. Man now had to confront weeds, thorns, and pestilence that fought to kill what had been growing freely and abundantly in the perfect Garden.

Man’s sin was an incurable genetic disorder passed down to every generation. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 NASB)

Man sought for meaning through accumulating knowledge, establishing empires and building wealth. None of those ended the curse of death and none of those brought peace and meaning to life.

But God already had a plan to solve the unsolvable problem of sin. Because of His great love for man, He came to earth as one of us to reconcile man to himself.

2,000 years ago on a hillside near the little town of Bethlehem, angels appeared to shepherds in the field and announced good tidings of great joy. “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NASB)

Jesus lived the perfect life. He promised life to those who would believe in Him. He made an exclusive claim that He, and He alone, is the way, the truth, and the life.

He took the penalty of sin on behalf of fallen man. He died on a cross and was raised again from the dead. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (II Corinthians 5:19)

He defeated death and the grave by being raised from the dead. Since the time of His life on this earth, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, millions, if not billions, have believed in Him. He changed the world and is still changing lives today.

One day He will return. He will, once and for all, put a permanent end to the consequences of sin. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain.” (Revelation 21:4 NASB)

God’s revelation of Jesus Christ is the greatest message ever given. It is the message of God’s great love and His amazing grace that He has shown to man.

Christmas is not just another holiday. The images of Christmas such as the manger scene and the greetings of “Merry Christmas” carry with them a world view, the only world view, that gives hope for eternal life.

It is no accident that you are reading this blog post. My prayer for you this Christmas is that, if you have not already, you will receive Christ and forever more have a Christmas world view.

Merry Christmas.

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Senators Dodge Accountability

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Through some miracle, I am able to write this commentary in the midst of a government shutdown.

In all of the drama watching the clock tick down till midnight, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee made brief comments about the voting process.

He explained that Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona and others had reached an agreement that the next vote by the Senate would be on a bill that was agreed to by the President and Republican and Democrat leaders in the House and Senate.

He went on to say that this pushes ahead a negotiation that will yield results. At first take that sounds reasonable. But remember, this is a politician talking.

What he is really saying is that there will be a closed door meeting with a handful of people. There will not be an open floor debate and discussion.

The news keeps saying that it takes 60 votes to pass. That is not true.

It takes 60 votes to end the debate. Then there is a vote on the resolution itself. That vote only requires a simple majority.

There should be a vote to end debate with each Senator on record to proceed to a vote on the House bill. That bill funds the government temporarily, provides border security, and provides emergency disaster relief which includes Georgia farmers hit by Hurricane Michael.

If there were not enough votes to end debate, then someone could offer an amendment and the Senate could deliberate and vote on the amendment. In other words, be accountable for the vote.

The US Senate is supposed to be the great deliberative body. They should go on record so that everyone can hear and see.

Historians should be able to look back and see how our “distinguished” Senators set priorities and addressed border security. But this is not about the great deliberative body debating and hammering out these issues.

It is about allowing individual Senators to dodge accountability. Theoretically some Democrats might be persuaded to vote to end the debate and proceed forward.

I believe that some Republicans do not want to end debate because they do not want real border security. They just do not want their constituents to know that.

They want to dodge accountability. Once again, this puts on open display the hypocrisy of politicians in Washington.

They say that they can’t do away with the filibuster for appropriation bills because the Senate is the great deliberative body. Yet their actions show that they do not want the Senators to deliberate at all.

The Senators are dodging accountability. They should be held accountable.

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Kick the Can – Episode 186

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Congress hit the playing field for its favorite game, “Kick the Can.” After 185 grueling matches, they were pumped and ready to go.

The Senate kicked off with a continuing resolution that would keep the government going for seven more weeks, until February 7, 2018. It was passed by voice vote so we do not know how each member voted.

This is typical cowardly politics. If the House makes any changes, the resolution will come back to the Senate. They need to have a roll call vote so every Senator is accountable.

The House has possession and expected to have a wide open field to quickly seal the deal. Some Freedom Caucus members; however, are not going with the deal and will make a goal line stand to try to run out the clock.

Congressman Mark Meadows sent a pointed and common sense tweet:

“Punting to Feb. 8 on a CR not only gives Democrats a Christmas present, it offers them a Valentine’s Day gift. Democrats will win, the wall will not be built, and Congress will once again have punted when we should’ve been taking a stand. The time to fight is now. Zero excuse.”
Even though Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, Democrats can block any legislation with just 40 votes. So, in reality, it takes 60 votes to get anything past the Senate.

Republicans say that they cannot get those 60 votes. The next Senate will have a stronger Republican majority but still will not have 60 votes. The next House will be in the Democrat control so Nancy Pelosi will just stop any legislation there.

So, let’s keep this simple. President Trump said that he wants a wall.

This is what he said to Pelosi and Schumer on December 11, ” If we don’t get what we want one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government.”

Five billion is the cost for building the wall. Five billion is pocket change relative to the budget. Republicans could put that in the budget.

Today it would pass the House. Then in the Senate, the Democrats would threaten to refuse to act. If the President did not sign a budget by midnight tomorrow, the funding would lapse.

Critical government functions would continue and non-critical functions would not. We are right in the middle of Christmas holidays so the reality is that no one would even notice that the government was “shut down.”

So, Republican “leadership” strikes a great compromise without even trying. They would rather play kick the can, than take a stand and get the job done.

There is one issue and only one issue that is holding things up. Put 5 billion in the budget to build the wall.

I saw reports of some Republican leaders saying that they did not know what the White House wanted. It appears that they don’t know because they don’t want to know.

President Trump has been clear. The American people know what he wants. Fund the (expletive deleted) wall!

If Republicans in Congress will take a stand, President Trump will have their backs and the wall would be funded.

Their 186th episode of kick the can reveals that while Trump has their back, Republican leaders in Congress don’t have his.

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Trump’s Line in the Sand

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Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer met with President Trump to talk about the budget. They got a couple of surprises in the meeting.

The President had press in the room with the cameras rolling. He made introductory remarks about positive legislation such as Criminal Justice Reform that had support of Republicans and Democrats alike.

He also gave a status on several areas where portions of the border wall were complete. Illegal traffic into the United States was down where the wall was in place.

San Diego dropped 92%. El Paso dropped 75% and then when the wall was up, dropped 95%. Tucsan dropped 92%. Yuma dropped 96%. President Trump pointed out that the only reason it was not 100% was because illegal entrants would go to the unfinished areas and go around.

Normally after a few introductory remarks, the President would excuse the press and continue with a private meeting. This time he did not do that. The cameras kept rolling.

Like a pit bull with a bone, President Trump hunkered down on his position. He made it clear to Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer that border security was non-negotiable.

Nancy Pelosi realized what was going on. She complained that it was unfortunate that the cameras were rolling. Pelosi said, “We came in here in good faith and we are entering into this discussion in the public view.”

President Trump simply replied, “It’s called transparency.”

Both Pelosi and Schumer insisted that they did not want to have a government shutdown. Schumer said that President Trump had called 20 times to shut down the government.

In the past, Republicans have recoiled in fear and retreated when Democrats threaten a government shutdown. Pelosi and Schumer got an unexpected response.

President Trump did not recoil and retreat. On the contrary, he picked up the gauntlet and ferociously charged ahead. When Schumer said that President Trump would be responsible if there was a shut down, President Trump boldly took ownership and leadership.

I’ll take it. You know what I will say? Yes. If we don’t get what we want one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government. And I am proud.

I’ll tell you what, I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck. Because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country.

So, I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down it didn’t work. I will take the mantle for shutting it down and I will shut it down for border security.

President Trump drew a line in the sand. Republicans in the House and Senate need to stand up with him. The American people are standing with him.

The only ones who are not standing with him are the mainstream media and some Democrats in Congress. This time they will be the ones who make the compromise.

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The Empty Chair

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Throughout this past week our nation mourned the loss of President George H. W. Bush. America watched the services and we saw the very real expression of grief by his son, George W. Bush as he shared from his heart.

As I looked at the flag draped coffin, I was reminded that there are many others who have experienced the same loss of a loved one during this past year. Perhaps you are one experiencing this Christmas without the familiar face of a loved one.

I first wrote the article below in 2016. If you are one of those who are missing a loved one, this is for you.

The Empty Chair

Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy and happiness. This year is different for many. You probably know some for whom it is different but do not realize it, or maybe it just slips past you in all the hustle and bustle of the year. It is quite possible that you are one of those for whom Christmas is different.

There is a special chair in someone’s home that is empty this year. It may be the straight back chair at the dinner table, the office chair at the desk in the study, the lazy boy in the den, or some other special spot. It was a favorite for him or her.

You may have seen it on a daily basis. It may be in a place on the other side of the country. It may be a memory from years ago.

Last Christmas there was someone sitting in that special chair. This year it sits empty.

It is that empty chair that consumes your mind. Everyone else is buying presents and talking about celebrating the season with family and friends.

All of that joy and celebration only intensifies the absence of the one who should be in that empty chair. You may feel guilty and hypocritical because you do not feel very merry at all.

King Solomon said that for everything there is a time; “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;” (Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV)

If you have an empty chair this Christmas, it is okay to take some time in the midst of the celebration to also weep and mourn. If you do not have an empty chair this Christmas, pause for a moment and think of someone who does. Your most meaningful gift this year could be to let someone know that you also notice the empty chair.

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