How to Defeat the Darkness!

Dear Crosswalkers, C.S. Lewis began the third book in his Narnia series, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" with these words: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."  Immediately the reader is drawn into a wonder filled story of fantasy that very much speaks of reality.  Leanna and I went to a special screening of the new Dawn Treader movie a couple weeks ago.  Admittedly, I have a bias toward these stories as I read them when I was in college and then again to my children when they were young.  Frankly, while I enjoyed the first two films of the series, I also thought they were flawed in their presentation.  This third film of the series is by far the best.  The special effects are great, the story moves along nicely, and the Christian message, while somewhat understated, is nevertheless there for the discerning moviegoer to absorb.  The story goes like this:  Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia in the splashy beginning of the film with their cousin Eustace.  There they meet up with King Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship “The Dawn Treader.”  Caspian is sailing to the Lone Islands in search of the missing seven Lords of Telmar.  They journey on an island hopping adventure, meeting dragons and dwarves as they get closer to the foreboding Dark Island.  Along the way, the kids face various temptations:  Edmund by greed and power, Lucy by beauty.  They must overcome the temptations, and the evil powers of the Dark Island, in order to journey on.  Eventually, their voyage leads them to the end of the world:  Aslan’s country!  (For those who are unschooled in the ways of Narnia, Aslan is a regal lion who is a Christ figure).  I highly recommend this movie, even though parents should be aware that some of the battle scenes on Dark Island may be too intense and scary for very young children. Meanwhile, in the real world, there are competitors for your entertainment dollar.  Some of these competitors remind us of the darkness in our world.  For example, the nominees to receive the most prestigious awards in the music industry, the Grammy Awards, were recently announced. Among the five nominees for Record of the Year is a song titled "F--- You," with the F-word, of course, spelled out and pronounced.  It is a song that also contains the S-word and the N-word.  Honestly, how does a song like this get nominated for the highest of awards in the music business?  Social commentator Dennis Prager says it’s because many of those in the entertainment industry are “dedicated to lowering that which is elevated, destroying that which uplifts, and to profaning that which is held sacred.” Adding to the decay is this news item:  A week ago, CNS News' Penny Starr wrote about an exhibit in Washington DC: "The federally funded National Portrait Gallery, one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently showing an exhibition that features images of an ant-covered Jesus, male genitalia, naked brothers kissing, men in chains, Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts and a painting the Smithsonian itself describes in the show's catalog as 'homoerotic.'" Other commentators reported on the vulgar and shocking nature of this exhibit, funded by your tax payer dollars!  Reacting to this news were Congressmen John Boehner and Eric Cantor, who strongly suggested the exhibit could imperil Smithsonian funding.  Apparently, Money talks!  The Smithsonian promptly removed the exhibit and I believe it is now featured in a private art museum nearby.  There is a lot of darkness in the world today.  But this darkness has always been with us.  It was there in the garden when the Tempter whispered, “Did God really say…?”  It was there on the first Christmas, where a hate filled King Herod slaughtered the baby boys in Bethlehem in a mad desire to extinguish the light of the world.  How do we overcome the darkness in our world?  This brings us back to the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” where one of the characters gives this wise advice:  “To defeat the darkness out there you must first defeat the darkness within yourself.” This is possible only with divine help.  What are you feeding your soul?  This Christmas, let’s agree to focus on letting the light shine into our darkness.  This Sunday we will have a great day of worship.  Our series continues with “Christmas is a time to let go of our fears.”  Pastor Mike Jones is preaching in our 9:00 a.m. service on that theme, and in our 10:35 a.m. service the children are presenting a musical “MK Christmas.”  There is something for everyone this Sunday!! Love in Jesus, Pastor John Christie

What do Do When You've Dropped the Ball!

Dear Crosswalkers,

Steve Johnson is the star wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills football team.  He is having a great year.  In fact, I happen to have him on my fantasy league team.  Last Sunday, he had a perfect pass in his hands that would have given his team an overtime victory over the heavily favored Steelers.  He would be either the hero or the goat.  BAAAAA!  He dropped the ball!  Devastated, the 24-year-old watched in horror as the Steelers marched down the field for the game-winning field goal.  "I had the game in my hands and I dropped it," Johnson told reporters after Sunday's game. "Humbled. Humbled… I'll never get over it. Ever."

    What made even greater news is that after          the game, he sent a twitter message venting    his frustration and seemingly blaming God for    the dropped pass!  This is what he wrote:

    I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND THIS HOW YOU DO     ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS?     HOW?!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! 

    THX THO…

Interesting that he says at the end, “THX THO…”  Thanks for other blessings?  Or Thanks for nothing!  Only Steve knows for sure!

One skeptic commented that players often thank God after a victory, so it’s refreshing to see God get blamed after a loss.  But is it healthy to blame everything on God?  If we’re honest, privately we do wonder why God doesn’t bless us with victory after victory.  Or at least a respite from some defeats!  We do blame God.  We do have a natural tendency to deflect blame and responsibility from ourselves and shift it to someone else.  God is an easy target.

The NT says, If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong (1 John 1:8-9).

These verses say we need to be honest with God.  Then we can experience forgiveness and freedom.  The passage goes on to say that then we are also free to be honest with ourselves and with each other. 

It’s hard for some of us to do this.  There are two great obstacles to honesty:  One is growing up in a family where honesty wasn’t valued, but appearances were.  And the other is a fear of rejection, or a fear of being hurt again. 

The Bible says it’s best to be honest and admit where we are weak, where you have sins, where we’ve blown it.  Those of you who are in a recovery program know that you’re only as sick as your secrets.  This is what I love about NA and AA – you admit your weakness and get help from the group.  You say, “This is where I’m at,” and you admit it.  Well we’re all in recovery.  We are all SIN positive people and we all need the healing that honesty opens the door for. 

One Wednesday of this week, Steve Johnson talked candidly about his controversial tweet.  “God is everything,” he said. “I feel like he’s the Creator, and he’s 100 per cent good. I simply just asked ‘Why?’ I was not blaming him or any of that. Why would I? But it happened, and the way people took it, is the way they took it. They can say what they want, it’s fine with me. I’m still going to keep doing what I have to do to keep being a good receiver.”  Johnson went on to say he’s been getting a tremendous amount of support from his teammates, friends, family, and even Buffalo’s all-time leading receiver, Andre Reed, who called him on Tuesday.  What did the great receiver tell Johnson?  “He just said it happens to the best of us,” Johnson said.

This Sunday we’re beginning a new series of messages entitled “The Time of the Season.”  The New Testament says that “When the right time came, God sent his Son....” (Galatians 4:4).  Christmas is that magical place where time and eternity met, and the world has never been the same.  In this series we will see that Christmas is the right time to receive forgiveness, release fears, rebuild relationships, renew faith, and refresh hope!  We will kick it off this week by looking at Christmas being the right time to receive forgiveness,  and as part of our service we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper! 

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

How an Athiest and a Christian give Thanks!

Dear Crosswalkers,

The great Christian writer from a previous generation, G.K. Chesterton, wrote this:

"The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank! The converse of this proposition is also true … . The great saint may be said to mix all his thoughts with thanks. All goods look better when they look like gifts … . It is the highest and holiest of the paradoxes that the man who really knows he cannot pay his debt will be forever paying it … . He will be always throwing things away into a bottomless pit of unfathomable thanks."

In the Bible, we see that a distinguishing hallmark of those who love the Lord is that they have grateful, glad and generous hearts.  For example, in Romans 1 we read about those who have decided to say NO to God.  In fact, this is a description of those who the Bible says are wicked people, who intentionally suppress the truth about God: 

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.                    - Romans 1:21

Some people, instead of being grateful that God created them in his image, have decided to create for themselves a god in their own image.  This is what we see in our world all the time.  In fact there was an interesting interview done with a well known Christian evangelist who says that people in today’s world, for the most part, don’t disbelieve in God.  They just think the God of the Bible is morally inferior to themselves.  This blows my mind! In other words, many people are aware of passages in the OT where God commands Israel to wipe some people out, or they misunderstand the Bible’s teaching on hell, and they conclude that they are morally superior to the God who made them!  In 2 Tim. 3:2 we read this about what people will be like in the end times: 

For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.                                                                                                             - 2 Timothy 3:2

Widespread ungratefulness is a mark of the moral decay which will be prominent during the last days.  By sharp contrast, throughout the Bible we are told that God's people are to be known for their thankful hearts.  A hallmark of biblical people, a core value and central characteristic of followers of Jesus is this:  We are grateful people!  The psalmist says,

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.                                                                                                                                          - Psalms 69:30 (NRSV)

This Sunday we will look at Hebrews 12:1-3.  As a result of our series, "Heroes By Faith" that we concluded last Sunday, this passage shows us some great things to be thankful for!  

May the Lord bless you and your family with a wonderful and happy Thankgiving celebration!  I am grateful for putting you in my life, and I hope to see you Sunday! 

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

How Important is Your Reputation?

Dear Crosswalkers,
A few years ago, Sports Illustrated magazine carried an interesting story about a seven year old first baseman name Tanner Munsey, who played T-Ball in Wellington, Florida.  Now what does it take for a seven year old to wind up on the pages of Sports Illustrated?

Here’s the story:  A kid hit a ground ball, which Tanner fielded.  He then tried to tag a runner going from first to second base.   Unfortunately, he missed the tag.  However, the umpire, Laura Benson, called the runner out.  Umpires are human!  Young Tanner immediately ran to her side and said, “Ma’am, I didn’t tag the runner.”   As a result of his confession, Benson reversed herself and sent the runner to second base.  Two weeks later, Laura Benson was again the umpire and this time Tanner was playing shortstop. Tanner again tried to tag out a runner going to third base, and Benson ruled that Tanner missed the tag and called the runner safe.  Tanner, obviously disappointed, did not argue the call and simply tossed the ball to the pitcher and returned to his position.  Benson asked Tanner what was wrong, and Tanner quietly said he’d tagged the boy.  This time, Benson shouted to the runner on third base, “You’re out!” When the opposing coach rushed the field to protest, Benson explained what had happened two weeks before, saying, “If a kid is that honest, I have to give it to him.”  He earned a good reputation, and then enjoyed the blessings of it!

This Sunday, we will be looking at the last two verses of Hebrews 11 –

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.  For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us (Hebrews 11:39-40).

How important is it for you to earn a good reputation?  That is one of the questions we will consider as we look at these important verses!

Saturday is our Men’s Breakfast.  We are looking forward to an awesome time as we look at “A Few Good Men–On Mission!” This will be a great challenge for us, and we will enjoy a great breakfast in the process!  We start at 8:30 a.m. and encourage all men to be a part of this exciting ministry!

This Sunday at noon we are offering a lunch for all who are coming to the Welcome Class.  The class will begin at 12:30 and end at 2:30.  This is your chance to learn more about Crosswalk and how you can be a part of what God is doing in us and through us.  I will be teaching this interactive class!  You can reply to this email if you would like to come, or simply show up!  This will be the last Welcome Class for the year of our Lord, 2010!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

“Pardon our Dust Once More”

This Sunday we will have one more day of minor inconvenience due to construction work in our parking lot!  Most of the parking spaces should be available to you, but please be careful to any areas under construction.

Relationships 101

Dear Crosswalkers,
This weekend Leanna and I will be leading a marriage retreat at Lake Tahoe.  One of the teaching points will be on the glaring need in marriage and in all relationship to become the right person, the person God wants us to be.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:12

The keyword here is become.  In order to become the right person for someone else, we need to become the right person for God and for ourselves.  The first step is to become a Christian.  You will never find happiness outside of yourself, until you will find happiness within yourself.  It’s all about becoming the person God wants you to be, and it all starts by saying yes to faith in Jesus Christ.  There is a third person you need to help your marriage and your friendships to thrive, and that person is Jesus.  He can teach you how to forgive, and how to heal, and how to start over.  Most importantly, he can teach you how to love.  But it all begins with inviting Christ into your life.

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son… – Romans 8:29

Again, our key word is become.  God’s plan for your life is to become more like Jesus.  It’s all about your character.  The key to developing a healthy relationship with someone else is that you are forever in the process of becoming the person God made you to be.

Dr. Les and Leslie Parrott wrote a book called, Relationships.  It’s based on a course they teach at Seattle Pacific University called Relationship 101.  It’s a very popular class.  Here’s what they tell the students on the first day of class:

“This class is pass/fail.  You don’t have to take notes.  But if you want to learn about relationships, here is one sentence we want you to write down.  It will affect every relationship you have.  However much you understand this sentence and apply it, all your relationships are transformed.  But if you don’t understand or are unwilling to do what this sentence says, your relationships will be dysfunctional.”  This is the sentence:

“If you attempt to build intimacy with a person before you’ve done the hard work of becoming a whole and healthy person, every relationship will be an attempt to complete the hole in your heart and the lack of what you don’t have.  That relationship will end in disaster.”

OK, it’s two sentences, but the second sentence is just a consequence from the truth of the first sentence.  Do you hear what they are saying?  If you are unhappy now, finding someone else will not make you happy.  What will happen is you will continually take and take from the relationship to fill your own emptiness and that will only make the two of you miserable.  The issue is to become a whole and healthy person, then and only then are you equipped to have a whole and healthy relationship with someone else.

Please be in prayer for us as we minister to marriages this weekend!  At Crosswalk, David Bolhorst will bring the message from Matthew 9:35-38.  Please read this passage in advance and come ready to hear the call of God on your life!

Also, we are beginning a 4 week drive to collect food and/or toys for the underprivileged this Christmas.  Please bring a jar of peanut butter or a can of tuna fish; or if you are a toy person, a toy for a boy or girl aged 7-12 sometime during the next 4 weeks!  Thank you for making Crosswalk a church who honors the Lord for our community!

Love in Jesus,

Pastor John Christie

P.S.  Thank you for your prayers for our Pastor to Children and Youth and their families, Peggy Graves.  She underwent successful surgery last Friday and is now on a strong antibiotic to fight the infection.  Please pray for her continued healing!  She hopes to rejoin us next week!

“Pardon our Dust”

This Sunday please avoid the construction work in our parking lot!  Most of the parking spaces should be available to you, but be sensidive to any areas under construction.  Inconveniences should be minimal.