DECEMBER 2008

I love the music of Christmas! I am aware that that is a joy shared by many people. I’m one of those who likes to listen to Christmas music in the middle of summer and plans what I’ll listen to each day as we approach and then enter into the holiday season. I must admit, that my musical tastes are very eclectic. A fair amount of my Christmas CD collection includes recordings of from the 13th through the 17th centuries, but you’ll also hear Bing Crosby, Al Jarreau, and Barry Manilow singing familiar favorites of the season.

What is it that makes Christmas music so special? Is it hearing the sounds of familiar songs that evoke images in our mind’s eye of Christmases past? Is it the fact that so much music of Christmas is beautifully written and interpreted in so many ways that everyone can connect to some aspect of this season of joy?

Perhaps the main reason that Christmas music is so enjoyed is that God has made us to sing! The story of God coming to earth wrapped in human flesh is so rich and full of meaning that words alone can’t portray all the depth of emotion and wonder of God’s love. Music helps make the story personal.

Certain carols remind me of the mystery of the Incarnation and cause me to pause in awe and wonder when I reflect on the greatness of God and His incredible love. Other songs make me want to celebrate, just like the angels did when they sang on that first Christmas night, “glory to God in the highest!” Still other Christmas songs pull me back to my childhood and youth, and bring back memories of time with family members, now celebrating Christmas in heaven.

Let me encourage you to fill your home and heart with the sounds of Christmas this year. Don’t cry “Humbug!” when you hear the familiar songs of the season in the mall or on the radio 24/7. Embrace it. Enjoy it! Sing a new song to the Lord every day and thank Him for His inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Pastor Leslie

NOVEMBER 2008

What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD (Psalm 116:12 – 13 ESV).

I love November especially as we draw near to Thanksgiving. What a marvelous season to celebrate! I know that Thanksgiving brings with it the expectation of Christmas and all the joy and wonder of that season, but, Thanksgiving stands uniquely apart as a day for our nation to step back and ponder all that God has done for us.

As Christians, we should have a richer, deeper desire to express gratitude to our benevolent, merciful, abundantly giving, lavishly loving God. Not only has God given us all we need to sustain us upon this earth he created, but he has also given us the gift of his salvation and all that that encompasses, past, present, and future. You may remember the opening line of a well-known Andre’ Crouch song, “How can I say thanks, for the things you have done for me?” That is the question has often come to my heart and mind when I ponder all God’s riches poured out in my life.

In particular, I remember thinking of the great debt of gratitude that I felt I owed the LORD after I faced my own battle with cancer back in 1995-6. As I was completing my final rounds of chemotherapy, and thought back through the year of pain, difficulty, personal loss with my mother’s death, I was actually amazed at how gracious God was in carrying me through it, and now strengthening me for the future. How could I thank him? How could I repay him? I couldn’t. I realized that there was absolutely no way for me to humanly pay back this debt I owed. During those final weeks of treatment and in the weeks following, I picked up a book that changed my entire perspective on my situation, and even more so, on God’s expectations from me.

John Piper’s book, Future Grace (Multnomah Books, Sisters, Oregon. © 1995) brought me to the answer of my quest of how do I pay back God for his grace in my life. Piper puts it this way: “Gratitude for bygone grace is constantly saying to faith, ‘Be strong, and do not doubt that God will be as gracious in the future as I know he’s been in the past.’ And faith in future grace is constantly saying to gratitude, ‘There is more grace to come, and all our obedience is to be done in reliance on future grace. Relax and exult in your appointed feast. I will take responsibility for tomorrow’s obedience.’” (p. 49).

What I learned was that the only way I can truly show God how grateful I am for what he has done for me it to continually trust him for what he will do tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. As the psalmist says “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.” I will trust him. God was faithful in the past. He will be faithful in the future. I will trust him. That’s the best way to say “Thank you” to the LORD. Trust him. He’s been faithful to you in all things in the past. Trust him for each and every moment of your life as you live it. That’s living in future grace. That’s being grateful.

Grateful to God and trusting Him for future grace,
Pastor Leslie