“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

In the movie Talladega Nights, there is a scene in which Will Farrell’s character, Ricky, prays to baby Jesus. Ricky prays to the baby Jesus because he is so much safer than the grown up adult Jesus. Scene goes like this:

[Ricky] ‘Well, look, I like the Christmas Jesus best when I’m sayin’ grace. When you say grace, you can say it to Grown-up Jesus, or Teenage Jesus, or Bearded Jesus, or whoever you want.’

[Carley] ‘You know what I want? I want you to do this grace good so that God will let us win tomorrow.’

[Ricky] ‘Dear Tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers with your tiny, little fat balled up fists…Look, I like the baby version the best, do you hear me? I win the races and I get the money.’

[Ricky] ‘OK. Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent. We just thank you for all the races I’ve won and the $21.2 million dollars… LOVE THAT MONEY that I have accrued over this past season. Also due to a binding endorsement contract that stipulates I mention PowerAde at each grace, I just wanna say that PowerAde is delicious and it cools you off on a hot summer day and we look forward to PowerAde’s release of mystic mountain blueberry. Thank you, for all your power and your grace, Dear Baby God, Amen.’

Fantastically funny scene. I love baby Jesus! Who doesn’t love baby Jesus? What’s there not to like about baby Jesus?

Only one problem. The baby Jesus, the cute cuddly, no crying he makes baby Jesus is not the Jesus of scripture.

You see, Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus came to take on human form in order to save us from sin and usher God’s children into God’s eternity.

Jesus wasn’t merely born. Jesus was sent.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Jesus lived that he might die, and died that we might live.”

When we lose sight of the life, ministry, death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ all we end up with is a made-up version of Jesus. And the greatest problem with the made-up version of Jesus is that he is powerless to save us from sin and judgment.

Believe in the Christ of Scripture. Put your faith in the Jesus of God’s word. “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed” (Isaiah 54:10).

One of the things I do on a regular basis is to check in with five people from the Little Church every day during the week.

This has been a long and difficult season. And there are some who are going through very difficult times. We have folks who are facing incredible hardships.

More times than not, when I call to encourage those going through the difficult times, I end up being the one who is encouraged by the very people I called to encourage.

You see, the promise of the verse of day is not just a nice thought for our folks. These are lived out realities. What our people have seen and experience in the midst of decline and suffering is God’s amazing unfailing love and God’s covenant of peace.

This is a peace that surpasses human understanding. This is a peace that roots the people of faith in the midst of hardship. Such a peace cannot ever be shaken. There is nothing in the created universe that can separate God’s children from his love and peace. This peace comes from the sure reality that Christ has already reconciled us to God, that sin has lost its grip, that death no longer has the last say.

I thank God for his unfailing love. I thank God that you are a people rooted in the sure foundation of God’s promises.

There is no question that these days have been difficult. I can’t imagine facing these days without the assurance of God’s promises.

This Advent season, I challenge you to invite others to discover God’s unfailing love. There are several ways you can do this. You can invite them to worship with us online. You can forward these “Verse of the Day” to others. You can pray that they too come to find their place in the love of God.

Finally, I encourage you to check in regularly with the people in your neighborhood groups. Make it a point to check in with at least one person every day.

God is at work through the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace. I get to see that first hand.

What an awesome God we serve!

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).

This week we have been looking at some spiritual practices we can undertake to prepare ourselves for God to work through our lives. This is a fitting discussion for the season of Advent, as the church prepares to remember the work of Christ and his coming.

Today, we are going to be looking at the spiritual discipline of giving and tithing.

Tithing comes from a Hebrew word meaning “tenth.” It’s the spiritual practice of setting aside the first fruits, the first ten percent for the local church.

As we enter into this Advent season and as we prepare for the new calendar year, I encourage you to look at your practice of giving and tithing.

• We give and tithe because God commands us to do so.
• We give and tithe because God is the giver of all good things.

The first thing about giving and tithing in a God-honoring way is that it has to be planned and intentional. Giving and tithing in a God-honoring way doesn’t happen haphazardly. It takes thought. It takes planning. It takes intentionality.

Think of it this way: Christmas is right around the corner. By now, most of you have been thinking about what to get for your spouse, children, and people you care about. Why? Because you want your gift to represent how much you love them and what they mean to you. What would happen if you showed up Christmas morning and realized that it was time to exchange gifts and you fetched out whatever you had at home and gave that to your spouse. How would that make the receiver of the gift feel? How would that go?

Yet that’s some do when it comes to giving and tithing. They show up to church and then realize it’s time to give and you give whatever you think is right and appropriate on the spot.

When there is no thought and planning to your giving to God, there is little chance such giving honors God.

Tithing and giving doesn’t happen haphazardly. You have to have a plan for giving, generosity, and tithing. You have to think it through. You have to budget.

As we prepare ourselves for the remembering and honoring the coming of Christ into our world, I challenge you to create a plan for tithing, giving, and your generosity. Don’t be haphazardly about it. Be very intentional. Give your best planning to how you will honor God through your tithing and first fruits.

In fact, the only way you’re going to be able to manage to tithe is by planning and budgeting.

Prepare to honor God through your spiritual discipline of tithing and giving this Advent season.