I just don’t have enough faith. Let me be clear: I don’t have enough faith to believe that you and I evolved from nothing. In fact, I don’t believe that species-to-species evolutionists can answer my most fundamental question: If nothing ever was, what would there be now?

And my second question is similar: If there was ever nothing, how did we jumpstart to something?

Friends, you just can’t get something from nothing. That’s the first law of thermodynamics.

Maybe you don’t like physics. Can I interest you in a little philosophy? “Ex nihilo nihil fit.” That’s Latin, so here’s the English: “From nothing, nothing comes.” Perhaps it started with Parmenides in the 5th century, but the point is: Nothing can’t create something.

If you start with nothing, nothing’s what you’re gonna get. And keep getting.

Even the remnants of pop culture remind us that – when it comes to nothing and something – all of us enjoy a little practical philosophy from time to time …

“Nothing comes from nothing,
Nothing ever could.”
– Richard Rodgers (Rodgers and Hammerstein, “The Sound of Music”)

“Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You gotta have somethin’ if you wanna be with me.”
– Billy Preston

“From nothing, nothing comes.”

As you and I embrace 2025 for all it’s worth, we’re not standing on nothing. (Forgive me, former English teachers.) We’d have to check our brains at the door to believe something like that. In fact, the notion that an all-wise and all-powerful God created everything – and that He’s still reigning and ruling over His creation – makes a heckuva lot more sense than, “Well, poof! It just happened.”

As to the theory that nothing comes from nothing – and therefore there must exist a necessary, eternal entity – some University of Manchester scientists tried to prove that something can come from nothing. Inside a large container, they created an absolute vacuum, so secure that nothing could get in or get out. (I’m no physicist, but I think the theory is that you have to perturb the empty space until something happens.) And eureka! After some time, they found little specks of matter floating in this perfect environment. Their conclusion: Something had come from nothing. My conclusion: Those specks were undetected all along, or their vacuum wasn’t as “absolute” as they thought.

Spontaneous generation? Something from nothing? Call me crazy, or at least a skeptic, but time alone is no creator.

So I’m anchored to the ancient premise given to us by Thomas Aquinas, who died in 1274. From nothing comes nothing. Every effect has a cause, and no matter how far back we go in the material world – or how much stock we put in what some folks call the “Big Bang” – there is a cause of some kind for everything. If at some point, we discover an uncaused cause – some self-existing reality – then we know that we’re onto something exceptionally and vitally important. I would submit to you that the uncaused cause – the cause to which everything in the universe points – is God. In fact, the only uncaused cause is God.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
– Genesis 1:1

God. There’s the something behind the something. The Someone behind the something. The Someone behind all the somethings. If you and I can find security and hope in that marvelous beginning and source of everything that exists, we’ll be better prepared to wrestle with all the things this year that we can’t understand.

I have no doubt that 2025 will bring more than its share of perplexities that leave us scratching our heads – but you and I aren’t starting from scratch. We’re standing firmly on a more than reasonable foundation of truth: “In the beginning, God.”

And it gets even better, my friends. God’s Son has come to us “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Pastor Charles

We in affluent America rarely think of just “one thing” for Christmas, but maybe we should. The Apostle Paul expressed a powerful sentiment with these words (Philippians 3:13-14): “… one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

One thing.

As our celebration of Christmas proper draws near, it’s the perfect time to make sure that Paul’s one thing is our one thing: moving forward in Christ! It’s so easy for any of us to get stuck in the past, but the past is not where we’ve been called to live. We’re to appreciate the past, and to trust God with the good parts as well as the hard parts of our past. We’re to learn from the past, and to grow in wisdom from our experiences. And we’re to remember the manifold faithfulness of God in days gone by. But, when it comes to the past, you and I don’t live there anymore.

C.S. Lewis reminds us, and this is true for every follower of Christ: “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” That’s a good word for the close of one year and the start of a new one.

It’s been said, and for good reason, that our rearview mirror is much smaller than our windshield. Similarly, Paul is reminding us that, when we’re not moving forward in Christ, joy is very elusive. That’s because joy isn’t found in the things that are prized by this world, but only in our life-giving walk with Jesus. Christ alone is where our truest joy is found. Joy is born out of our life with Him. All of the lesser and temporal pleasures of this world functions like neon signs – they point us to the ultimate and eternal fulfillment for which our souls were designed to long: Jesus.

One thing.

The main message of Christmas is that Christ has come to be “God with us” forever! This was the angel’s “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). So Paul is reminding us to keep celebrating that good news, and to not let our past regrets, sins, failures, and mistakes get the best of us. We all wrestle with parts of our history that we wish had been different. It’s called being human. But we who follow Christ must always remember the “marvelous grace of our loving Lord … grace that is greater than all our sin” (Julia Johnston, 1910).

The cross is higher. The blood is deeper. The river of grace is wider.

We must keep swimming in that river. If the current of God’s grace isn’t moving us forward, then we’re moving backward. For us, there’s no holding pattern or neutral territory. Our spiritual maturity (the word Paul uses in Philippians 3:15) requires that we “press on …”

As 2025 approaches, you may be dogged by ominous feelings of false guilt. We all can get overwhelmed by agony over sins which – quite ironically – God has already forgiven. I urge you to recognize these feelings for what they are: feelings. Feelings can be very deceptive. That’s why we can’t trust them indiscriminately.

In sharp contrast, you and I must agree with God. When our feelings contradict what God has spoken, then we must side with God. And what has God spoken? In Christ, you and I are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17)! We are forgiven and free! The “prize” of which Paul speaks is the unspeakable joy of everlasting life with Christ – and knowing that the “everlasting” part has already begun. We have been changed … we are being changed … and we will be changed! No other gift which we will ever receive even comes close.

One thing.

As we celebrate the marvelous birth of Christ – the Word made flesh – let’s remember that joy isn’t something we can purchase. We can’t wrap it up and put it under the tree. We can’t manufacture it or reduce it to a tangible commodity – because it’s not of this world. True joy comes from our Creator and Sovereign Lord. It’s a gift from God – an unearned fruit of His Holy Spirit – secured through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. And the incredible joy of which I write in late December is unshakable because it’s grounded in the truth of God’s timeless and immutable Word.

One thing.

Let this Christmas and new year be our shining moment, friends, as we surrender the past … embrace and appreciate the present … and press on in vital faith. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, we’ll learn to walk – and even run – in the fullness of joy that our Christ has come to give us.

In the manger, God with us.

On the cross, God for us.

Now and forever, God in us.

I’m on the journey with you. And we are so not alone.

Pastor Charles

This photograph captures our 2010 Christmas. We were living in Southern California, and Josh had just turned 11. In the storehouse of my memory, it was a special year, as Eileen and I enjoyed that season of our son’s life which marked the unstoppable transition from child to youth. Things were changing for him and for us, and it allowed me to relate vividly to a song written by Mariah Carey for the 2000 movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” …

“Where are you Christmas
Why can’t I find you
Why have you gone away …
My world is changing
I’m rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too?”

Yes, sometimes even Christmas has to change.

My title for today’s blog posting was inspired by “A Christmas Carol,” the classic novella by Charles Dickens. In Stave V, after the dramatic transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge has transpired, the very first thing we hear from the new man is: “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge has learned from all three ghosts who paid him a visit. And I would suggest that we who follow Christ must learn to view our lives through that same lens. There’s a very real sense in which we too must keep the past in right perspective in order to live fully in the present and be ready for the future.

In Matthew 24:36, Jesus explains that the timing of His coming again – His second coming – is a mystery known only to the Father. In the Latin version of the New Testament, the word “coming” is “adventus,” from which we get our English word “Advent.” So you and I are living between the advents. That means that our life is a mix of looking back and looking forward. A life of true faith in Jesus Christ – now – requires much of both. We must look back to see the faithfulness of God in order to face tomorrow’s unknowns with confidence and joy. When we look back honestly and humbly, we discover that the Lord who never changes with the times (Hebrews 13:8) has been faithful to us, even in those past chapters where we still feel some sadness or regret.

Here’s my point. When we fail to look wisely in both directions – backward and forward – we’re unable to experience the worth of this present moment. And it’s of inestimable value. Did you know that this Christmas counts forever?

The Vince Guaraldi Trio captured a taste of Christmas past in their song made famous by the 1965 television special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” …

“Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share …
Christmastime is here
Families drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year.”

In fact, you can see all of time represented in those simple lyrics, including the comforting “ancient rhymes” which we associate with the holiday that is upon us. All of time matters.

Here’s why the past matters: it’s rich with meaning and significance. Just like at the dawn of Creation, even on that first Christmas, God was working wonders on our behalf! The angel brought “good news of great joy” to the shepherds near Bethlehem: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). Christmas is a marvelous opportunity for you and me to recognize the incredible blessings that were initiated by the coming of Christ to us. Had He not humbled Himself to reach us, friends, we would’ve been as trapped in our sin as Scrooge’s business partner was trapped by the cruel chains that shackled him mercilessly to the past. We’d be bound by brokenness, weighed down by wickedness – ours and everybody else’s – and imprisoned by shame.

But we’re free! By Christ’s spotless life, His bloody cross, and His empty tomb, our God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). But remembering what He’s done for us is only part of our spiritual vision.

There’s also what Christ is doing for us now! At the Father’s right hand, we who are in Christ have a great high priest in heaven who understands our every weakness – He’s felt our every temptation – so that He can help us in our every need (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is actively demonstrating His love for us right now by praying for us with all zeal and perseverance (Romans 8:34). And He is leading us into all truth (John 16:13), and conforming us to Christlikeness (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:11).

And then there’s our future! Because of Jesus, you and I can live now by the unbreakable promises of God. Fears may knock on our door, but we don’t have to give them permanent residence. Knowing that we’re never alone, and that a glorious inheritance is already ours, we can rest in the goodness of our sovereign Lord – just as Jesus exhorted us … “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3). As surely as Christ will come again – His second advent is on the horizon – we can face uncertainties with confidence, knowing that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Pastor Charles

When I was a kid in Christmas pajamas – fourth grade to be exact – I decided to spark things up a bit. We had a nice fire in our South Georgia fireplace, but to me things were getting a little dull. So I went to the closet, found a brand-new bottle of rubbing alcohol, and poured the whole thing into the flames. You know what happened next. Not only did the fire rage – as I had hoped – but some of the alcohol splashed onto my nice new red pj’s. The fire came with it. I became an unintended ad for “Stop, Drop, and Roll” – though I tried running away first.

In the end, I’m happy to report, all was well. Lesson learned. Kind of.

Jesus says something mysteriously compelling at the end of Luke 14 … “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile …” Years after my fiery-pajamas incident, I learned that bakers during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry covered their ovens with salt. The salt had a critical catalytic effect – a sparking effect – on the fuel as it was burning. And the fuel was – you guessed it – dried cattle dung. Christ’s main point was this: once the salt stopped sparking, it was good for nothing.

I’ll bet I also speak for you when I say that I don’t want to be good for nothing.

Friends, when it comes to Jesus, are you and I still sparking?

Perhaps this holiday season is a time to reassess. Remember, we who trust Christ have passed from death to life! We’ve passed from darkness to light! From alienation from God and hostility toward God to gracious adoption as His sons and daughters! We understand these things intellectually and theologically … but do our lives – our real lives – still offer evidence of such a dramatic transformation?

The devil is an interesting enemy. Many believe that he focuses on shattering our faith in Jesus. That may be true, but I don’t think it’s his first step. I think that his first clever maneuver is to lure us into complacency about the things that really matter. What you and I need is the opposite of complacency – we need zeal! As Leonard Ravenhill used to preach: “One of these days somebody is going to pick up the Bible, believe it, act on it, and put the rest of us to shame!” You and I need spiritual spark. The sparks are there, if we will but listen …

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come, and behold Him, born the King of angels!
O come, let us adore Him;
O come, let us adore Him;
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!”

Sadly, we live at a time when not only the truth, but even the know-ability of truth, is under steady assault. Not only that, but an insidious eclipse of the true gospel is managing to minimize the influence of God’s people. But this Advent season is a great time to get back to the basics, like, “The Word became flesh (John 1:14)!” If we’ll start right there in Bethlehem – and remind ourselves of that glorious good news – we can push back against the paradigm shift that’s happening around us. Christ really is the Truth! And His deepest desire is for us to know the Truth – which can be known! This will get our sparks flying again.

“God of God, Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the virgin’s womb;
Very God, begotten not created;
O come, let us adore Him …”

The Infinite became finite. As our culture moves away from sound doctrine like that verse captures so beautifully, I don’t want to be part of that drift – and I’ll bet you don’t either. Think about the ancient Israelites. What happened every time God got them out of trouble? They forgot the Lord who’d delivered them, again and again, and they quickly started complaining. Grumbling. Murmuring. They complained about everything, quite literally – never thinking they had enough. They let their spark fade, because God was never enough.

Though savvy marketers seek to sway us differently, this should not be our season for wanting more stuff, but for wanting more of Christ. For us, this should be our season of rich and heartfelt worship, when we – with wide-eyed awe and wonder – make much of the One who has already given us everything. Namely, He has given us Himself. In a way that the Israelites before us could only long for, God has come to us. He who created the hosts of heaven would come to need the help of angels. Christ humbled Himself to the nth degree.

“Sing, choirs of angels; sing in exultation;
Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest!
O come, let us adore Him …”

Tiny Tim prayed wisely: “God bless us, every one!” We who are the Lord’s redeemed really need each other right now. Yes, this is a time of great celebration, but we will never live as “salty” Christ-followers without a vital connection to a vital church. It’s true: “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (First Corinthians 12:18). That beautiful promise is a distinctively New Covenant reality accomplished only by Christ’s coming to this dark world. The immortal Ancient of Days became a mortal baby – for us.

You and I are not alone, and we will never be alone. So we must help each other keep the sparks sparking.

“Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n!
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing …”

O come, let us adore Him!

Pastor Charles

What drives you?

I’ve been thinking about such things, trying to put together all of the truths that I’ve learned about human nature over all of these years in ministry. Plus, I’ve looked in the mirror.

You and I are interesting creatures, to say the least. The Apostle Paul admitted as much in Romans 7. The I’s have it … “I do not understand my own actions … I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate … I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out … I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Other than that, Paul was perfectly well-adjusted at all times and in all situations.

You’re probably, much like me, strangely comforted by Paul’s brutal honesty about himself in that chapter. It’s refreshing, because it’s where we all live. We recognize in ourselves some not-so-flattering realities we’d rather not face or admit, like debilitating weakness, blatant hypocrisy, empty promises, unchecked pride … you get my point. At least Paul told the truth.

And, yet – remarkably – the same Paul who penned that chapter brings us the very next chapter and verse (8:1): “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation! None! None whatsoever! The gospel truly is amazingly good news. In Christ, we are free from the law of sin and death.

 But we’ll never be grateful for the gospel as we ought unless we understand the depth of the rebellion from which we’ve been rescued. In other words, we have to grasp the Bible’s bad news before we can grasp its good news. So, who is this man in the mirror? Obviously, we don’t have time to plumb the depths of human depravity, so I’ll focus on just one part of our problem: we love our idols.

 The older I get, the more I realize that a sinful and selfish heart – which we all possess – majors on making idols out of the needs which we perceive to be unmet. “I don’t have it, so I must get it.” This is particularly true when it comes to unmet needs from our childhood. When we’re kids, some desires aren’t wrong in and of themselves – we all need love, care, and attention of course – but somehow the “needs” became larger than life. It doesn’t take long for any of us to become obsessed with what we want but we don’t have. That’s idolatry, and we’re all good at it. John Calvin rightly called us “idol factories.”

 I’ll share with you the three idols that I see in the mirror, and that I’ve seen in the lives of people I’ve loved and served from coast to coast: Approval, Acceptance, and Affirmation. All A’s, so they’re easy for us to remember. Of course there are other idols, but these three tend to hold tremendous sway over us. Our brain tells us: “I need approval to feel worthy.” And it speaks with a powerful voice.

We all want to be loved. That’s normal and healthy. But what I’m talking about is craving the validation of others. That’s unhealthy. It’s also a very common trap into which our sinful hearts let us fall. If you’re there right now, don’t beat yourself up. You’re in good company. But I’d urge you not to settle for staying there – living there for the rest of your life. If you’re trusting in Christ, God wants you to live as the free person He already declared you to be.

 One of the passages that I find helpful is Colossians 3:1-17, which – amazing grace again – Paul also wrote. In light of God’s Word, when we ask ourselves … “What am I greedy for?” … it helps us identify our idols. After all, you and I can’t escape our idols if we don’t even know what they are.

 Here’s why we can’t let our idols win the day. They’re against God. They lure us away from the Lord. They cleverly trick us into thinking that we can find validation … and purpose … and meaning … and joy … apart from Christ. Paul tells us to put our idols to death – that’s strong language – because they’re stealing from us the wholeness and peace for which Jesus lived and died. For us.

 If you want to know who the real Grinches are, they’re our idols. So read that passage slowly and thoughtfully, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you important insight into your own soul. “Show me my idols.” And ask yourself: “What am I greedy for?” That’s a new and better way to look in the mirror, friends.

 At least to some degree, you may find the idols of Approval, Acceptance, and Affirmation.

 As we learn to “set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” – and to “put to death” and “put away” those idols that are at war with God – we’ll find room in the inn to “put on … compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Talk about spiritual progress. That’s the real deal.

 When Paul wrote to encourage the believers in Ephesus, he explained to them the one true source of their worth. This Christmas season, and in every season, these beautiful words are no less true of us … “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God!”

 So, let’s come to our senses and agree with God. As we’ve been loved, let’s put on love for those around us, and for a lost world. Let’s forgive as we’ve been forgiven. Let’s seek the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts. And let’s give God thanks for such grace, and mean it.

 Fair warning, idols: you’re going down.

What drives you?

Pastor Charles

Nearly 80 years have passed since World War II. Those eight decades have included some close calls. The Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973 pushed international conflict to the brink of another world war – not to mention some other powder kegs which could have exploded. I would submit to you that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, subsequent to Russia’s 2022 invasion, similarly pushes us to the edge. It’s more than the mind can handle to really think about such dangerous times. The concern is not just nuclear weapons – and who has them – but biological weapons, chemical weapons, killer drones, and hypersonic cruise missiles more than capable of mass extinction.

Of course the Bible doesn’t mention World War III by name, but Jesus makes it very clear that unprecedented trouble is coming to Earth at some point (Matthew 24:21-22): “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

These are horrific realities prophesied in the Scriptures … false Christs … spiritual deception … widespread war and destruction … famine … natural disasters … intense persecution of believers … death in unprecedented numbers. It’s not a pretty picture. At the same time, our Lord cautions us against over-reacting to every instability on the world stage (Matthew 24:6): “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

“See that you are not alarmed.” How can that possibly be?

We can be “not alarmed” because we know where our ultimate security is found. A competent neurosurgeon will tell you the truth about your upcoming procedure, but he’ll also remind you that you’re in the best of hands. If that’s reassuring news from your doctor, and we know it is, how much more comforted ought we be by the enduring and unbreakable promises of God! Tribulation is part of the story that God has written – and that He is unfolding before us – but  you and I must never take our eyes off the One who loves us always and forever. He is faithful!

When it comes to our lives here and now, we can expect some suffering. The Word of God calls us to remember, and to stand upon the truth: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13). You and I, because of Jesus, are to walk through the “wars and rumors of wars” of this life so radically transformed by His Spirit – alive in us – that we can celebrate His grace even when things seem to be falling apart.

Alertness, but not alarm.

It’s that time of year when we put up the Christmas decorations. Amidst the lights and tinsel, it’s sometimes easy to forget that we inhabit a fallen planet that’s ravaged by the wages of sin. We live in a steady contrast between the ideal and the real. King Solomon expressed the paradoxical tension like this: God “has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You and I presently possess a dual citizenship. Even as our physical bodies are earthbound, our spirits echo with the passion of heaven. We sing “How Great Thou Art” and we sing “This World Is Not My Home” – and we know them both to be true. But one day, friends, that dual identity will give way to the singular identity for which we were created and have been redeemed. It’s as good as done.

Until we’re home, through whatever level of tribulation we’re called to witness or endure, we stick with the plan. Our mission is unchanged. As long as we have breath, we’re to be all-in, joyful gospel ambassadors – even in the toughest of seasons. “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good (1 Peter 4:19).”

There’s still plenty of good for us to do. As we continue to make Christ known, and to lift high the name of Jesus, we can keep praying fervently, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” … as we long for that time when people who once knew only the way of war will be all about the way of peace. For now, you and I can rest assured that the Prince of Peace has come, that He’s still sovereign and kind, and that He’s still changing hearts and lives.

We’re called to alertness, but never to alarm.

While it remains to be seen if a future conflict might be labeled World War III, there’s an even more sobering reality for us to consider. In the times leading up to these prophesied events, we can expect many around us to be completely oblivious to God’s plan. Jesus reminds us: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:36-39).

Such complacency, ignorance, and apathy are not who we are, for our God has called us by name. In sharp contrast, you and I are off the sidelines and on the playing field. We are wide awake, watchful, and ready for duty. We are fully engaged in the only battle that will count in the end.

By Christ’s grace and for His glory, we are hopeful beyond measure. Come, Lord Jesus!

We are alert but not alarmed.

Pastor Charles

It’s the time of year when Christmas movies begin to beckon our attention, and I’m wondering if you’ve ever watched “Holiday Inn.” For a lighthearted evening, it’s one of our family favorites. Irving Berlin wrote twelve songs for the 1942 film, including the best-selling single of all time, “White Christmas.” (The “White Christmas” quasi-remake movie followed in 1954, but the setting was changed to Vermont.)

Back to “Holiday Inn” … Jim Hardy, played by Bing Crosby, has given up the world of show business  to work on his Connecticut farm. He converts the farm into a country inn, open only for holidays. As Jim goes through his first year at the Holiday Inn, there’s a song for each season, and the music figures prominently into his life experiences. When Thanksgiving rolls around, Jim is thoroughly depressed. The inn is closed, and Jim barely touches his Thanksgiving dinner. (Don’t worry, there’s a happy Hollywood ending after all.)

All that to say, the film’s song for Thanksgiving is “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For.” It tends to get lost in the movie’s zaniness, but here you go …

“I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I haven’t got a great big yacht
To sail from shore to shore
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
No private car, no caviar
No carpet on my floor
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for”

Literally hundreds of times, the Bible exhorts us to be thankful. An attitude of continual thankfulness doesn’t come naturally, but it’s a key part of our calling in Christ. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). I’m just starting to understand that thanksgiving is our heartfelt acknowledgment that the things which Christ has done for us are true and real. It’s a heart posture of “Amen” to the things of God. It’s a humble acknowledgment that God always has our best interests at heart, so we are free to thank Him for everything – and to mean it.

The “original thanksgiving” in Plymouth followed a terrible year – humanly speaking – and untold amounts of loss. Many Pilgrims had died from hunger and disease, but that didn’t stop the praise to God. The first “national thanksgiving” dates back to 1777, while the British still occupied Philadelphia, New York, and other cities. But hard times didn’t thwart the thanks, prayer, and celebration. So it’s no surprise that the Civil War sealed the deal. President Lincoln proclaimed the first “official thanksgiving” at a time that was nothing less than desperate. Sisters and brothers, America’s “Thanksgiving” was born out of hardship. My point is that thanksgiving is our high calling – no matter what.

Maybe you tend to hop in your morning shower with less than a hop. Perhaps you feel tired, grumpy, or irritated by the fact that a thousand responsibilities are already calling your name. It’s the perfect time to start thanksgiving … thank the Lord for the hot running water … thank Him for the soap … thank Him for the towel. Next, it might be a good idea to thank God for the bathroom. Before you know it, you’ll be thanking Him for your socks and shoes and house and family. That’s how Thanksgiving works. It works on us.

Thank Him for everything, large and small …

“I’ve got eyes to see with, ears to hear with
Arms to hug with, lips to kiss with
Someone to adore
How could anybody ask for more?
My needs are small, I buy ‘em all
At the five- and ten-cent store
Oh, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for”

I like that song from the inn. But my favorite Thanksgiving song doesn’t come from a movie. Folliott Sandford Pierpoint penned it in 1864, and my favorite verse is this one, directed to Jesus …

“For Yourself, best gift divine,
To the world so freely given,
Agent of God’s grand design:
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Christ, our Lord, to You we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise!”

I’m thankful for a Savior and King who’s more into grace than I could ever imagine.

I’m thankful that I don’t have to run the universe.

I’m thankful for a job, and the joy of a hard-day’s work.

I’m thankful that God made bacon taste so good – on anything, in anything, or all by itself – and that it tastes even better when it gets just a little bit burned.

I’m thankful for my favorite songs, and that some of them still make me want to dance.

I’m thankful for the warm sun on my back.

I’m thankful for the preschoolers who roam the hallways outside my office.

I’m thankful for the family photos hanging above my computer screen.

I’m thankful for the semi-sweet iced tea sitting on my desk.

I’m thankful for more than six decades of life.

I’m thankful for more friends than I ever deserved.

I’m thankful for the chance to pen a few sentences today, and to share them with you.

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for!

Pastor Charles

Sometimes God does amazing things when His people start to pray.

In January of 2023, Tonya Prewett – married to Auburn University Assistant Basketball Coach Chad Prewett – became vividly aware of the opportunities that were under her nose to reach Gen Z with the gospel. As a coach’s wife with a love for campus life, Mrs. Prewett was already involved in the lives of college students, but the Lord gave her a particular awareness of the anxiety and depression that many of them were experiencing.

Beginning with an unassuming Bible study hosted by Tanya, God began to stir a magnificent movement of His Spirit at Auburn. At first, five young women attended Tanya’s study, but within a month that number had grown to over 200. Everything I’m describing was fueled by humble, intentional prayer. You may have seen national media coverage of the powerful worship and preaching that took place at Neville Arena – with about 5000 in attendance – that resulted in a couple of hundred unexpected baptisms in the lake at Auburn’s Red Barn. As you might imagine, as is always the case, that didn’t happen without some very public pushback.

When I first read about what was happening among university students in Alabama, I remembered what I had witnessed the previous year at Asbury University, when Eileen and I traveled to Wilmore, Kentucky, to the very chapel where my seminary studies had begun in the 1980s. In that place very sacred to me, it seemed undeniable that the Holy Spirit was doing something new and marvelous among young adults – among the very people whom many in my generation assumed to be “the least spiritually inclined.”

Not true. Not true at all. When Auburn hit my radar screen, I found it marvelous that – whatever God was igniting – the flames of it were spreading from a safe Christian institution to a riskier “secular” environment. God was moving among Gen Z in America!

A revival is a spiritual awakening. It’s a work of God’s unearned sovereign grace. You and I can neither manufacture it, nor accomplish it, but we can – and we must – pray for it. Revival comes from God’s hand, and in God’s timing. J.I. Packer defined revival as “a characteristic work of God visiting communities of his people to deepen his work of grace in their lives and to extend his kingdom in this world.” Jonathan Edwards, a vital participant in the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 40s, described revival as “a recurring work of sovereign mercy, like successive waves breaking on the seashore.” Closer to here and now, I’ll quote Dr. Ben Carson on the subject: “As Tanya and her team have shown, a small prayer group can lead to a movement that transforms lives and brings hope to a generation … Revival is not just a distant dream; it is within our reach.”

Perhaps Asbury and Auburn were just the beginning of what may well be an awakening in our day. Could we really be experiencing a new wave of the mercy of God?

This fall, credible reports continue to pile up that God is doing great things among widespread pockets of college students, particularly in the Southeast – but well beyond. Campuses recently impacted include the University of Arkansas, Baylor University, the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of Georgia, Mississippi State University, the University of South Carolina, and Texas A & M Corpus Christi. One evangelical organization reports a total of 70,000 students who’ve gathered for worship on eleven campuses, but representing within their mix students from at least 400 colleges and universities, including international students – who in many cases will take the gospel home to their countries of origin. Data collected from the aforementioned ministry translates to more than 5000 professions of faith in Christ, and more than 2000 baptisms, in their camp alone.

And it keeps happening. On October 30, more than 10,000 students packed into the basketball venue at the main College Station campus of Texas A & M University, where hundreds of eager young people rushed to the altar to publicly commit their lives to Christ. A social media post by Unite US reads as follows: “We are absolutely blown away by how God moved tonight in Reed Arena as over 10,000 college students gathered to lift the name of Jesus!”

I don’t have to tell you that – among these statistics – are more than a handful of real-life future world changers. That’s how our God does things! Behind the scenes, He’s always moving in ways that are more astonishing than we could ever imagine.

Let’s do our part to love these Gen Zers. They’re completely enmeshed in our fast-clipped digital age – they’ve never known anything else – so they’re quite familiar with the vast brokenness of this world. If our inquisitive youth here in Green Hills are any indication, they’re not afraid of hard questions. Smartphones open up a world of possibilities, but also a world of mental health challenges. Feelings of helplessness and panic are not foreign to this generation. But I believe that they’re craving authentic community. That’s where we come in.

But, when it comes to helping young adults answer their hard questions, you and I have to learn to stop talking and start listening. This isn’t particularly easy for us, as we’re generally uncomfortable with conversational dead space of any kind. Societally and deliberately, Gen Zers have been tilted toward an atheistic worldview. Social media platforms are like a Broadway stage on which Gen Zers feel like they must perform and – don’t miss this part – compare themselves to everybody else. The comforts of tradition – including traditional understandings and underpinnings of faith – get regularly sidelined by the latest trends. Such pressure to forsake the past and keep all options open is enormous and relentless.

Your relationships with Gen Zers will require time and patient investment on your part. There are few immediate successes. What I’m calling you to today is the long haul of love. In time, once a relationship is established, God will give you the creativity and opportunity to speak gospel truth into the struggles that your Gen-Z friend is almost certainly experiencing right now. As you share honestly your own struggles with guilt, shame, and unhealthy comparisons, trust that the Lord will open the door of your friend’s heart. And never forget that, when it comes to impacting every generation, your joy in Jesus is highly contagious.

I appreciate the paraphrased version of Proverbs 36:5-6 that’s found in “The Message”: “God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.”

Friends, let’s pray for these young people like they matter. Because they do.

Surf’s up!

Pastor Charles

Like many of his childhood friends, when our Josh was a little guy, Buzz Lightyear was among his notable heroes. “To infinity and beyond!” I may or may not have teared up during one of the movies in the spectacular “Toy Story” series. I plead the Fifth.

Like Buzz, I can vacillate between courageous and insecure. My rhythm isn’t entirely predictable, but suffice it to say that I’m not always in the mood to conquer the planet. Instead of blasting off and taking on the world with the joy of the Lord, I can get stuck on the launch pad or diverted in flight by my own inner world of negative and self-condemning thinking.

I can forget my coordinates, or fail to follow the Master flight plan. Here’s how I generally get off-course … I start worrying that I said the wrong thing in this particular situation or that … or I start remembering my past sins in high definition … or I start focusing on how much I think I’ve disappointed God … or I start obsessing over the thought that I’ve disappointed someone else, or disappointed everybody … or I start fixating on the solid conviction that I don’t measure up, and that I’ll never measure up … or I start feeling weighed down by some combination of these thoughts, or by all of them at once.

I know that I’m created in God’s image, and I know that God has claimed me as His own, but sometimes I just can’t feel that in my bones. Something feels shattered and distorted. Something feels cold and gray. Something feels heavy and haunting. And I need a fresh and powerful and reassuring word from Mission Control …

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

No condemnation. Could this really be true? Friends, if this is true, it’s the best news in the universe. And I’m here to tell you that it’s true!

If I were asked to summarize the book, I would say that the overarching theme of Romans is justification by faith. That glorious doctrine – how God declares undeserving sinners like us forgiven – fuels Paul’s opening line in this great chapter. I think of it as a feast of gladness in one verse: no condemnation! This unbreakable promise – God’s unbreakable promise to us – weaves together all of the threads of salvation truth that Paul has described in detail in the previous seven chapters.

For starters, Paul has carefully explained that justification is a forensic event – a legal transaction – by which a holy God pardons the sins of those who trust in Christ, and imputes to them instead a perfect righteousness. As a free gift, we receive the complete pardon earned by Jesus on the cross. Paul doesn’t mean only that we aren’t condemned. His point is stronger than that. He means that we’re completely free from any debt or penalty whatsoever. Not only are we not under condemnation any longer, but the verdict against us doesn’t exist. It’s gone forever! No charge against us can ever stand again.

And no one can condemn us. Such false charges are to be laughed out of court.

This is the gospel that we must preach to ourselves when the going gets tough between our ears: nothing but the blood of Jesus! Paul has already described believers as “those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered” (Romans 4:7). In Christ, you and I are spotlessly clean and absolutely free, as the Lord no longer takes our sins into consideration (Romans 4:8). Not just the penalty for our sins has been eradicated, but Christ’s perfect score of righteousness has been credited to our delinquent account (Romans 4:11). Christ died for us, and He lived – and lives – for us.

Amazingly and wonderfully, we can now face God with no fear of His judgment whatsoever – the judgment and condemnation we lawfully deserved – because Jesus self-sacrificially took the full weight of our guilt and shame upon Himself. Though “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), the grace of Christ has triumphed by securing our eternal life (Romans 6:23), as Christ’s empty tomb validated forever every dimension of His incomparable good news! To infinity and beyond!

I’ll confess that this is the renewed vision that I urgently need when the self-accusations spin out of control. Only God can help me see and believe what is really true. We must keep in mind that the enemy strategizes to erode our hope and inhibit our strength. As we try to navigate disappointment, confusion, unmet expectations, sadness, suffering, and loss – all of which are part of this life – we can move away from our faith in Christ without realizing it. Satan wants our problems to feel overwhelming, and our God to feel distant and aloof. He wants us to distrust the awesome Savior who gave us life. If hell’s agents can provoke us to question the love or the power of God, then we’ll shrink back in despair and unbelief. Satan wants us sidelined, defeated, and out of the race.

But that’s not who we are. You and I are worshippers of the Christ who never changes, meaning that He is willing and ready to do in and for us all of the glorious things that we read about in the Scriptures – more than we could ever imagine: to infinity and beyond! When the lies and deceptions come our way – and they will – our job is to humble ourselves and seek the face of our merciful Father, who stands ready to fill us with His faithful Spirit and His steadfast hope. We’re His beloved sons and daughters. God disciplines us in love, and that includes convicting us (speaking to us heart-to-heart) when we need redirection, but He will never – ever – condemn us.

These are the compelling truths that, when celebrated as they should be, set me free – and empower me to fly high again. Friends, they are your truths too, because they are God’s. Intense thoughts of condemnation, including self-condemnation, will come against you more than once, but they are nothing but phony accusations (Romans 8:2). Because the grace of God in Christ has liberated you entirely, you are never to be condemned again (Romans 8:31) – to infinity and beyond!

This is too good to be true. Except that it is. Hallelujah!

Move over, Buzz.

Pastor Charles

“L’chaim!” – “To life!” – is a Hebrew celebratory toast. Anybody remember Tevye and Lazar in “Fiddler on the Roof”? Much richer than our English “Cheers!” or the Spanish “Salud!” is this popular and warm-hearted sentiment shared among family and friends within the Jewish community. It’s a simple but profound blessing by which people speak glad tidings of life to each other, for each other, and over each other. “To life!”

This toast to life makes perfect sense, as the gift of life permeates Hebraic culture and tradition. In fact, the sanctity of human life permeates the Word of God. So “L’chaim!” is an expression of mutual thanksgiving. It’s a verbal acknowledgment that God has been good to us by giving us each other – by allowing our lives to intersect. It’s an expression of appreciation for the blessing that is ours to spend some time together in this life. It’s a collective “thank you” to God for something as simple as the shared meal which gives us the chance to raise a glass with our friends.

“L’chaim!” should serve as a reminder to all of us that God values life. From the moment that our Creator breathed life into Adam until that moment at the great Marriage Feast when Christ will speak “L’chaim!” over His bride, life matters. We who are the Church – Christ’s bride, whom He will celebrate at the joyful supper I just mentioned – must revere life as a sacred gift to be celebrated, honored, and protected.

The premise of the sanctity of human life is as old as time itself. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth …” (Genesis 1:27-28).

But, in many corners, life is anything but celebrated, and here’s the hard and awful reality. Abortion in America is a dirty, dangerous, and deadly business. Its origins are undeniably steeped in the ugliest forms of racism and hatred. (If you have not done so, please research Margaret Sanger.) Since 1973, over 60 million lives have been lost to this pagan sacrament. In 2021-22, Planned Parenthood performed 392,715 abortions, an increase of 20% over the previous ten reports. In its 2022-23 report, Planned Parenthood listed nearly $2.1 billion in income and over $2.5 billion in net assets. Taxpayer funding in the form of government grants, contracts, and Medicaid reimbursements hit $699.3 million. Friends, that translates to almost $2 million per day. Sadly, the organization’s taxpayer funding has increased by 43% since 2010.

But what’s most concerning to me is the absolute fever pitch with which many people seem to desire to enshrine abortion rights permanently into the cultural and legal framework of our already-broken society. With a passion akin to unchecked spiritual fervor, pro-abortion warriors seem willing to participate in and encourage a moral atrocity to which every other genocide in history pales in comparison. By way of example, in New York City, 60% of all African American pregnancies now end in abortion. 60%.

I’m reading and hearing lots of political rhetoric about the rights of women to control their own bodies. Believe me, if this issue were simply a matter of personal autonomy or freedom for women, I’d be staunchly on the “pro-choice” side. But let me ask you a simple question: How many noses does a woman have? One. How many noses does a pregnant woman have? One. When there’s a pregnancy, the woman’s body is not the only body to be considered. There’s a baby’s body that’s been created in God’s image. The developing fetus (that’s Latin for “little one”) has its own complex circulatory system. The baby has its own arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Wondrously, it has its own complete set of human DNA that is unique, and different from the mother’s. The growing baby is clearly not just “part of the woman’s body.” Laws against abortion are designed to protect the baby’s body, and we can’t lose sight of that.

I am not ashamed to tell you that the pro-life position is the most pro-woman position on the planet because it’s the most pro-human. It speaks up for the smallest, the most vulnerable, the most defenseless, and the most voiceless on Planet Earth. It speaks against a tragic violation of fundamental human and civil rights. And, primarily, it recognizes basic and intrinsic human dignity and worth. It acknowledges that the silent unborn are created in God’s own image, and it allows those precious image-bearers to live. “To life!”

Surely, we who follow the Lord Jesus Christ can do our part in the public square to articulate – with humble grace – that every life matters. We know that it won’t be easy, but that’s a small price to pay in light of how God has celebrated, honored, and protected us. Who knows? Maybe the Lord will use our conviction and courage to usher in a season of life-giving revival and renewal in our land and in our day.

“L’chaim” is an intentional celebration of life’s beauty, vitality, and resilience. The spirit of the blessing commemorates not just a past that has been difficult, and often laden with trials and tears, but a faithful and undeniable perseverance that has won the day in the end. In my humble opinion, this sounds great for America right now! Let’s lead the way, Beloved of Christ, in humble gratitude to our God – and the God of Abraham – for life’s manifold blessings. And let’s covenant together not to waste the gift of life, but to make every moment count.

Because of a special plural ending in the Hebrew language, “chaim” means two lives. Literally, it refers to a pair of lives. So we should understand that the powerful blessing of “L’chaim!” encompasses not just this life, but the next life as well. Life is forever. What I’m saying is that how we uphold the sanctity of life, right now, matters for eternity. My prayer is that we will reject the heartless and self-absorbed spirit of this age for what it is, and that our hearts and lives will reflect – counterculturally and deliberately – the character of the selfless Jesus over whose impending birth the unborn John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb.

“To life!”

Pastor Charles