Christmas Says

New Hallelujah!

"Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.” Psalms 149:1, 5

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Lifting up the name of the Lord God of the Universe is our duty and privilege. As saints of God (believers), we are to “be joyful in glory”. Literally, be so moved and influenced by the glory, grace and majesty of our God that we praise with exuberance and excitement. In church or out in the mission field of life we should be known for praise.

Notice that our song is to be a new song. Some would say that this means no evidence of anything of the old life or experiences before Christ. Yet those life experiences, feelings and understanding weight our praise. The truth is also old and unchanging, we must not ignore that in our new song.

I believe our praise is to be ever new and fresh, not some vain repetition of a cold and distant relationship. Praise is about our heart, our emotions, and an active relationship with our Savior! When our heart is right, we can praise with words and songs of old and yet those words and songs will not always allow us to express as fully or naturally as we would like great praise in our own language of love. God has made us unique and brought us through some distinctive life experiences. As we grow, our worship and praise should grow but never old or stale. Every day may our praise be new.

TRUTH with GRACE in LOVE

The death of an innocent life at the hands of another is always extremely sad and entirely unnecessary. Whether that life be black or white, civilian or peace officer, an unborn child or an aged saint, life is a gift from God and should be respected and treasured. Such a loss is always enormous to those who are close or can identify in some significant way.

The difficulty begins with unique life experiences that cannot be expressed in a way that will allow the hearer to be changed and impacted to the same degree as the one experiencing it. The result is that you will never be able to truly comprehend the depth of the hurt, fear and pain of another. When commenting on something that has touched a person at one of those deep emotional wounds, you cannot even imagine how much your careless and thoughtless words can hurt and enrage. For example, those never suffering sexual abuse can ever really know the depth of the injury or the impact it has on every relationship for the rest of their life. Many have suffered great injustices because of their religious beliefs or their cultural background that you may think you understand yet, cannot truly know the toll that fear can take. In the same way, those who have never suffered from the very real racism that is rampant in our society cannot comprehend never feeling safe and secure in public.

It is critical then, that we as Believers in Jesus Christ always speak with compassion and consideration.

We are told to speak the TRUTH not opinionated commentary.
We are to do so with GRACE seeking to bless even the undeserving.
And to do it with LOVE, real heartfelt compassion and concern for every living soul.

Strive always to be the hands and lips of our loving God NOT the destructive and divisive ones of the great destroyer, Satan himself.

Love one another as God has loved you,

Jay Cubbison

LEGACY

 “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” 1Thessalonians 1:5

Do we really think enough about how our behavior impacts those around us? The Apostle Paul wrote that those in the church at Thessalonica knew what kind of people his team were. They had witnessed attitudes and actions in many different conditions and stresses while they were with them and that testimony should not only linger but inspire faithful and courageous living for Christ; then and now.

I am reminded of another Paul, my wife’s father, whose testimony in the factory must have been significant. Several years after his retirement and sometime in the year after his death a former co-worker visited our church and asked if it was Paul Boise’s church. He told us that Paul had spoken to him many times through the years about Christ. Even though he had been deeply religious, he now realized that he wanted what Paul had. We lead him to Jesus and he and his family were saved!  Remember, people are watching, who will your legacy inspire?

LOVED

We are blessed in so many ways. One of the greatest of these blessings is that as we come together to worship our God, we come before a God that is LIVING LOVE! “…God is love.” 1John 4:8. An empty cross, an empty tomb, and a God full of love. We do not need to come in terror or with debilitating fear for we come to worship at the feet of Love Itself. Love that loved wicked humankind so much that the Only Begotten Son of God shed His life’s blood that we might be forgiven. We who were born in sin and have lived sinning against God have no right nor should we have any expectation that we would go to Heaven. Nevertheless, believers, by God’s grace and love we have been given that promise.

So I ask, shouldn’t those attributes of God (grace and love) be evident in our lives? Shouldn’t concern for the lost be a great motivation in us?

Easter, Resurrection Day is coming. Let us celebrate everlasting life by reaching out and bringing someone with us to worship. Celebrate Love by loving someone to Jesus.

Dare to Inspire

INSPIRATION

Jesus is our greatest inspiration and guide. When we consider that He is Love and that He is also the All-powerful Creator it may seem surprising that He chose to lead and inspire us not only with words but by example. Jesus often voluntarily limited His actions and training to those things that we would be able to repeat. This way we would be able to follow in His footsteps as we win the lost, disciple the faithful and inspire another generation of the Children of God.

Jesus walked the dirty roads, rubbed shoulders with the lost and needy of that day. He ate and slept and worked as the common men did. He was the LORD God in the flesh that He might save us and inspire us to love others enough to reach out as He did. He taught the truth with everyday examples, lead the disciples through perilous times, even washed their feet as the perfect example of humble leadership.

May His life INSPIRE us to inspire others through humble, active, loving service.