Doug Tweed

Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12 NAS)

We like options. They give us the freedom to choose based upon our personal preferences. In a restaurant, I might choose to have the French fries option with my cheeseburger while you choose the baked potato. I might choose a white SUV with cloth upholstery while you choose a red SUV and leather. And when attendance is optional for an event, you might choose to go while I choose to stay home.

Even within our Christian faith, we have many options. You may choose a traditional worship service while I choose contemporary. You may choose the NIV or KJV Bible translation while I choose the ESV. We have denominational options, liturgy options, favorite author and podcast options, and the list goes on.

There are, however, matters of Christian faith that are not optional. Foremost among these is the command of our Lord we call the Golden Rule. (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31)

When I was a child, the Golden Rule was a constant point of emphasis. I memorized it this way: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Even then, it was a scripture verse I could easily understand. I want people to be nice to me, so I should be nice to them.

Now, after sixty-five more years of life and over thirty years of full-time ministry, this simple verse from my childhood has proved itself to be the fundamental requirement for Christian living on earth. Please let me explain.

Jesus tells us that the Golden Rule “is the Law and the Prophets.” The only other time Jesus makes such a statement is when He explains that all the Law and the Prophets are based upon the Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-40) The Golden Rule and the Great Commandment are, therefore, intimately connected to each other.

Although we often think of worship when we speak of loving God, the Lord says the people who “have and obey” His commandments are the ones who love Him. (John 14:21-23) What is the most important command we must obey? Loving others! (John 13:34-35) This fulfills all the law and covers a multitude of sins. (Galatians 5:14; James 2:8; 1 Peter 4:8) And, to drive this point even deeper, if you do not love others, you do not know God and cannot love God. (1 John 4:7-8, 20-21)

Otherwise put, one of the best ways to love God is to love your neighbor, not just with lip service but in truth and deed. (1 John 3:18) The Golden Rule tells us a profoundly simple way to do that – treat them like you want to be treated. And just as the Golden Rule is not optional, your understanding of who your neighbors are is not optional. The parable of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that family, friends, strangers, and enemies are all neighbors. (Luke 10:29-36; Matthew 5:43-48) In fact, Luke’s rendition of the Golden Rule comes immediately after the Lord’s commands that we love, bless, and pray for our enemies. (Luke 6:27-31)

There is no need to ask how well the world is following the Golden Rule. Over two-thirds of them are not trying to follow Jesus. But how well are we Christians doing?

In my opinion, far too many Christians in our nation believe they can satisfy God by a profession of faith, right doctrine, church attendance/offerings, and correct political views. But 1 Corinthians 13 makes it clear: those efforts may be good, but without love, they mean nothing.

Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a parable contrasting the wise and the foolish, and He says something I find frightening: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 7:21-27)

At the time He spoke, Jesus focused on people who prophesied, cast out demons, and did mighty works in His name. But because they still did not do the will of God, Jesus “never knew” them. What if those people spoke today about the political rallies they attended and the political leaders they earnestly supported in the expression of their Christian faith? One group focused on pro-life and traditional marriage and gender issues while the other focused on the rights of people of color, women, and other marginalized groups.

Then Jesus said, “Fine, but did you love the people who did not agree with you? How did you treat them? Did you obey the Golden Rule?”

We must speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) Faith works through love. (Galatians 5:6) The Golden Rule is not optional for any of us.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him [or her], he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Most of us are familiar with the parable Jesus taught of the vine and the branches, but I suspect few if any of us understand the full implications of it. The vital importance of having a better understanding is highlighted by the parable’s punchline: “… apart from me you can do nothing.”

“Meno” is the Greek word in this parable we translate into English as “abide”. “Meno” means “abide”, “remain”, “dwell”, “stay” or “be continuously joined with and connected to”. Just as a branch must remain joined to the grapevine to receive essential nutrients, stay alive, and produce grapes, so we must stay joined with Christ to have everlasting life and “bear fruit” for His Kingdom on the earth. And just as a grapevine needs branches to produce grapes, so Jesus needs His disciples to bring forth His fruit on earth.

This fruit we are to produce is elsewhere called the good works God prepared for us to do after we became new creations in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17). As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us. (John 20:21) We prove ourselves to be His disciples by producing much fruit (John 15:5, 8). And this fruit is not limited to church work or those other times we feel we are overtly serving the Christian faith. As disciples, our call to good works includes everything we do and say – in our marriage, our parenting, our workplace and elsewhere (Colossians 3:17-24). Everything is to be in the name of the Lord.

Does this sound difficult? Of course it is! That is why we can only accomplish it by staying joined with Jesus. And who is the greatest example of this parable? That same Jesus, whose whole life on earth was a model for what our lives are to be. (1 John 2:6)

Jesus emptied Himself of divine power when He descended from heaven and became one of us. (Philippians 2:5-8) Then, at His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven upon Jesus, and “remained” (John 1:32). “Meno”, the Greek word from our vine and branches parable, is used here to describe what happened to Jesus.

As a result, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and power so He could begin His ministry on earth (Luke 4:1, 14). Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus became fully rejoined with the Father – “with Him” in power and purpose (Acts 10:38). Jesus was in the Father and the Father was in Him (John 14:10). They were “one”, and from that time on, Jesus spoke what the Father directed Him to speak and only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19-20; 10:30; 12:49-50).

Now the same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus lives in His disciples so that we can be in Jesus and He can be in us (John 14:15-20). His teachings and commandments can abide in us through faithful study of the Bible, and His more specific directions for our lives can come through prayer and the leading of His Spirit (Matthew 4:1; John 15:7-8; Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Just like Jesus with the Father, we become empowered to join the Lord in what we see Him doing.

Do we want to have much fruit in our marriage, parenting, workplace, friendships, and other endeavors? Then we need to join with Jesus in all those efforts, remembering that the Lord who loves everyone is living inside us to direct and empower us.

Do we want to have much fruit in our Christian outreach and discipleship both as individuals and the Body of Christ? Then we need to stop focusing on our own agendas and join Jesus in what He is doing, always remembering the vine and all His branches are together one plant – one Lord, one Body, one Spirit, one faith, one hope of our calling, and one Father who is over all, through all, and in all (Ephesians 4:1-6). As we become more one with Jesus, we become more one with each other, and together we will finally be the witness the world needs to see (John 17:20-23).

God bless you and God bless our community.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

“My house shall be called a house of prayer.” (Matthew 21:13)

I am excited, amidst the divisiveness in our nation and world, to announce a multitude of truly amazing Christian prayer and unity events scheduled for our Tri-Cities region:

1. The first ever “Tri-Cities Community Prayer Breakfast” will be held at Meadowview Conference Center on Monday, May 12, at 7:15 AM with Tim Tebow as the guest speaker. Area businesses can sponsor tables at multiple donation levels so the expense for churches and individuals is kept low. Individual tickets are $20 ($10 for youth) and free tickets will be provided to some of our area ministries to the poor. Churches can sponsor tables of ten for $200 per table. The conference room has a capacity of 1,700 people and our goal is to fill it with people praying together! This is truly a Kingdom opportunity! Businesses and churches wishing to sponsor tables, and individuals seeking tickets, should contact Pastor Steve Sneed at ssneed@kingswaypharma.com or 276-619-1494.

2. The Johnson City Prayer Breakfast will be held at Freedom Hall on Monday, April 7, from 7:15 to 10 AM. The guest speaker will be Dr. Elona Prroj, founder of the “No Blood Feud – Yes to Life Foundation”. Tickets can be purchased at www.prayforjc.org.

3. The Kingsport Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast will be held at the Farmer’s Market on the morning of Thursday, May 1, the National Day of Prayer. Organized through the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, tickets will be available sometime in April. [Note: there are also wonderful National Day of Prayer events in Rogersville, Blountville, and other communities in our region.]

4. An “Awaken America Praise Rally” will be held on Saturday, May 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Freedom Hall in Johnson City. This event, sponsored by over a dozen area churches and ministries, is about Jesus and not politics, and is free admission for everyone. You can learn more at www.AwakenAmericaEvent.com.

5. The Bristol Community Prayer Breakfast will be held on Monday, October 6, at the Delta Marriot in Bristol. It was moved from the spring to the fall so the spring focus can be on the Tri-Cities Community Prayer Breakfast. Dr. Billy Kim, former President of the Baptist International Missions Board, is the guest speaker and a children’s choir from South Korea will provide the music. Information on tickets will be available later.

6. For pastors and associate pastors throughout the region, Dr. John Gregory in Bristol is sponsoring “Pastor Appreciation Day at the Olde Farm” on Monday, April 28. For the first seventy to sign up, this starts with free morning golf at an internationally prestigious golf course. For those seventy and an additional fifty non-golfers, a free luncheon banquet at the Olde Farm will follow for fellowship and to hear about pastor support, united prayer, and inter-church communication efforts in our region. If you have not already received notice of this and are interested in participating in the golf/luncheon or luncheon, please email me and I will send you the QR code for registration.

7. A planning team is working with over a dozen churches in the Bristol area to hold a series of tent revival community worship services in September 2025. This tent has a 1,200-person capacity and the planning team is also exploring the possibility of future tent revival services in Kingsport during FunFest and in other communities. For further information, contact me and I will connect you with the planning team.

8. And my friends, as if that was not enough, another planning team has met and prayed recently with the president of Bristol Motor Speedway about having a multi-day united Christian worship and evangelism event at the speedway that might include, in addition to nationally known speakers and musical artists, choirs or worship teams from each of our nation’s 50 states. A gathering of this magnitude will probably take two years to put together and may be the largest event of its kind ever held in our nation – GOD-SIZED!

Jesus told the disciples then and tells all of us now: “My Father is working … and I am working.” (John 5:17) The Lord is clearly inspiring all of this and all of us need to join Him in what He is doing. I am going to every event. Get involved in every way you can, and tell your pastor, your family, and your friends: that together [we] may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:6)

God bless you, and God, please keep blessing our community!

“And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him [or her] deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23)

Have you ever heard anyone in the Church give an altar call or invitation to church membership based on Luke 9:23? “If you want to be forgiven of your sins and have everlasting life, put your trust in Jesus, who died on a cross for you, by denying yourself, taking up your cross daily, and following Him.” “If you want to become a member of 1st Denominational Church, we would love to have you. Simply deny yourself like we have, take up your cross daily like we do, and join us in following Jesus.”

The answer to both questions is, of course, “No.” In fact, many Christians today have never heard a sermon on Luke 9:23 because your pastors know it asks more from you than you seem willing to give. The Bible sets forth the mission of the Church, not a congregational visioning committee, and that mission is to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20) We want altar calls and membership drives to be easy. Becoming a disciple of Jesus does not sound easy.

Jesus said a disciple must be taught to obey all that He has commanded. (Matthew 28:20) This is much more than Bible study. A disciple of Jesus must both have and keep His commandments because this is what those who truly love and follow Jesus do. (John 14:21) Jesus also said a disciple is not above his or her Master but must be fully trained to become like their Master. (Luke 6:40) Our mindset should be like Jesus, who, giving no regard to His status as the Son of God, obediently humbled Himself as a servant even to the point of death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-9)

To be this Master’s disciple, we must bear our own cross and come after Him. (Luke 14:27) If we do not take up our cross and follow Jesus, we are not worthy of Him. (Matthew 10:38) And Luke 9:23 teaches we will not be able to do this until we deny ourselves. So, how do we take up our own cross? We lovingly embrace and fulfill the daily service to God and others the Lord assigns to us. These good works our Eternal Father prepared for us as new creations in Christ are part of the blessed hope and future He has for us, and while our service will at times be sacrificial, the only part of us that will have to die is our selfishness. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 12:1)

How do we follow Jesus? The Greek word Luke uses for “follow” is akoloutheo, which means either “follow” or “accompany”. “Accompany” is really the better translation because while we seek to follow the teachings of Jesus set forth in scripture, we have far more than just a book. Jesus said He would be with us always. (Matthew 28:20) If we let Him, He will abide in us through the Holy Spirit and lead us through life from within. (John 15:4-7; Romans 8:14) When we are yoked to Him in this way, our burden is easy and light because He who is in us is greater than anything we face in this world. (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 John 4:4)

Finally, how do we deny ourselves? The Greek word Luke uses for “deny” is arneomai, which means to “deny”, “disregard”, or “refuse to follow”. The first essential step in becoming a disciple of Jesus is my decision to stop leading my own life and let Him lead. Let my Lord decide what is best for me, not me or my peers or my political party. Let my Lord, and not me, set both the daily and long-term agendas for my life.

Can we be brutally honest? 21st century Christianity in America has too often related to the world more like “lovers of self” than lovers of God – (1) getting our “ticket to heaven”; (2) finding the worship music and fellowship we enjoy and the tech-driven programs our kids like; (3) hearing an encouraging message about what God has done and can do for us; and (4) turning a judgmental eye on those who don’t do what we are doing. (2 Timothy 3:1-4, 4:3-4) As a result, the shrinking Church in America has, with some glorious congregational and individual exceptions, demonstrated no real power to transform lives or communities. (2 Timothy 3:5)

Jesus wants disciples. America needs disciples. And “Me first” is not what disciples say. (Philippians 2:3-4) It is time to deny ourselves. How? Simply learn enough about the Lord and about yourself to realize you can trust Him to plan and lead your life much more than you can trust you. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ….” (Philippians 1:27a)

When, as we travel, we come to a fork in the road, we generally assume one road will take us where we want to go and the other will take us where we do not want to go. But sometimes both roads will take you where you don’t want to go because you took a wrong turn at the previous fork.

This is how I (and some others) feel as we move into 2025. I have friends and family on both sides of our nation’s tense political divide. In each case, they chose their “side” because of issues important to them that side supports. In the process, they necessarily chose to either reluctantly accept or actively embrace positions and behaviors that scripture condemns – sins that are destructive and not where we should want to go.

I love my friends and family and would rather be “in the middle” than “outside looking in.” At the same time, I must maintain the integrity of my faith relationship with the Lord. The advice I need in this challenging season comes through the apostle Paul: “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

As someone who trusts in and seeks to diligently study the Bible, I am familiar with the call to and cost of Christian discipleship. Some even see me as an exhorter of trusting obedience and sacrificial service. “Worthy” was, however, a word I would normally only have applied to God, never to my own life.

Paul persuades me otherwise because he offers us this goal in not one but four of his letters. (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12) So, what does it mean to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ, or as those other scriptures might add, worthy of our God, our Lord, and our calling as His disciples?

The first thing we must understand is that we cannot be worthy of our salvation because we are not remotely capable of earning the atonement of our sins and the incredible gift of everlasting life. (Ephesians 2:1-8)

Instead, we are called to a life worthy of our Savior and His sacrifice for us, worthy of our Father’s love that sent His Son to die for us, worthy of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and worthy of our incredible calling to witness this Good News to others by all we say and do. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 4:1-16) It is not about perfection, but it is about desire and effort.

I believe a life worthy of the gospel of Christ begins with daily gratitude for all God has done and is doing for us. (Psalm 100:4; Colossians 3:15; Philippians 4:6-7) Do we find ourselves at times taking God and His blessings for granted?

The second key to a life worthy of the gospel is childlike humility: recognizing who God really is, who we are in comparison, and how dependent upon Him we are. (Matthew 18:1-4) Pride, self-centeredness, and self-reliance are the opposite of what we need. (James 4:6-10; Luke 9:23-24)

Our gratitude and humility can give birth to the third essential of a gospel-worthy life: trusting obedience. Real faith in Jesus as Lord is revealed by daily actions and attitudes, not just talk. (Matthew 7:21; John 14:21; James 2:14-26)

Trusting obedience requires us to serve the Lord by a life of serving others. (Mark 9:35; John 13:3-17) Do I expect to enter heaven and hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? (Matthew 25:14-30) Or am I at risk of hearing, “What you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for Me.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

Finally, a gospel-worthy life is a life of agape love: the unconditional, selfless, forgiving, sacrificial love revealed in Christ that we are to have for God, all others, and even ourselves. (Mark 12:28-34; John 13:34-35; Ephesians 4:30-5:2) Without agape love, we accomplish nothing. (1 Corinthians 13) And this love must, like trusting obedience, be in truth and deed. (1 John 3:18)

My description of a life worthy of the gospel may sound completely out of reach, but remember, the God who calls us to this life lives within our “clay jars” to empower it, beyond our ability to ask or imagine! (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Ephesians 3:20-21) He is ready to talk with us all the time. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) He can fill our hearts with agape love. (Romans 5:5) He can lead us into all truth. (John 16:13) If God is for us …? (Romans 8:31)

Are you truly seeking to live a life worthy of the gospel? If not, there is no better time to begin.

God bless you, and God bless our community.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man [and woman] of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)

“Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples, proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for He has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.” (Isaiah 12:4-5)

“And this gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)

The Holy Bible – God-breathed scripture – bears witness to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (John 5:39). The Bible is a “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Through the Bible, the Word of God can dwell in us richly. (Colossians 3:16) And for those who do not yet believe, faith comes from hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

How could the people of God live without the Bible? How could we even become a Christian? Yet there have been times when God’s people had to live that way.

The Old Testament describes two times when God’s people lived without God’s Word until God gave His Word back to them. In the time of King Josiah, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law in the Temple during a time of building repairs. When the Book was read, Josiah tore his clothes in grief, inquired of the Lord, and initiated profound reforms that included restoration of the Passover feast. (2 Kings 22-23) “… [T]here was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might.” (23:25)

Later, as the Jews returned from Babylonian exile and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, God sent Ezra the scribe to read the Book of the Law of Moses to all the people, and they both wept and rejoiced. (Nehemiah 8)

History describes centuries in Europe and Northern Africa when both Christians and not-yet-Christians were denied access to reading the Bible in their own language. The Church headquartered in Rome translated the original Hebrew and Greek into their own Latin language but prohibited other translations. So, if one of those three was not your language, you had no Bible at all.

Heros like John Wycliffe were declared heretics because of their efforts to correct this travesty. Jan Hus and several others were burned alive. As a result of their courageous faith, Americans now have 450 English translations available to us. But among the 7,000 languages in our world, there are still 1,000 people groups waiting for their first translation. You can help.

Wycliffe Bible Translators is partnering with other bible translators worldwide to make the Bible available to all people in their own language by 2033, and to have a translation project initiated in all languages by the end of 2025. We have established the Tennessee/Virginia Word-Giver Project to join them in that effort, uniting the local churches in our region to fund the Tuzweyo Twake (“Arise and Shine”) Cluster Project, which will translate New Testament books for the last nine languages in Uganda needing translation. Our efforts will impact over 785,000 people at a total cost of under $450,000.

The average cost of translation (written, digital, and oral) is $35 per verse. This project makes absolutely no demand on a church budget. Instead, it provides congregational members the opportunity to personally fund one or more verses. Each congregation will determine the number of verses they choose to make their goal, along with the language and scriptures within the project they fund thereby.

For added impact, a national Wycliffe donor will match funds collected by any congregation participating with Wycliffe for the first time, up to $50,000 per church. Those matching funds will be used to complete another project.

Can you imagine a greater gift for the God-beloved people of Uganda? Can you imagine a better way for churches of all shapes and sizes in our region to unite in a common goal for God’s glory?

So far, we have spoken with seventeen churches. Six are fully committed and nine others have reacted positively but must consult with other leadership before making a final decision. Two of the six have already completed their project and both exceeded their goal!

Talk to your pastor. Every church interested can email me or text/call me at 423-863-2058. Let’s do this! Together!

God bless you, and God bless our community.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”(John 1:10-13)

“Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16b-17)

Today I bring you “good tidings of great joy”. (Luke 2:10) You do not have to approach this Christmas season cynically preoccupied with the stark contrast between the spirit of Christmas and the present spirit of our world.

You do not have to approach this Christmas with the debilitating stress of “too much to do” and “too much to buy”.

You do not have to approach this Christmas with an attitude jaded by incessant commercialism, the intrusiveness of cute but semi-pagan myths like elves and flying reindeer, or even the awareness we do not really know the day of the year when Jesus Christ was born.

You can, if you choose, approach this Christmas with a childlike heart.

Read the scriptures that begin this column. We were given a child by God so we can become children of God, but we will not truly receive the blessings of the child God gave to us until we begin to think, feel, and behave like the children of God we have become. (Say what?)

It is not enough for me to simply say I am a child of God. To think, feel, and behave like a child of God requires that I have a childlike attitude about my new and everlasting identity. I become, like every healthy child, someone who delights in my new life, eager to learn and do all the things I was previously unable to learn and do, and trustingly dependent on the ones who watch over me and love me beyond measure: my heavenly Father God; my eldest brother, Jesus Christ, the Savior King; and the Holy Spirit of the Lord, who conceived Jesus within Mary and now lives within me. 

When I approach Christmas with a childlike heart, Christmas becomes my personal celebration of my Savior King’s birthday. I take joy in my salvation! (Psalm 51:12)  

When I approach Christmas with a childlike heart, I take joy in the fact Jesus’ birthday is so special it is even celebrated by people who are not yet Christians. I take joy in seeing the preparations for His birthday stretch through the whole month of December. I take joy in hearing over and over again that God loves the world and that His desire is peace on earth. 

I take joy in the fact so many families come together for Christmas, despite being scattered the rest of the year, and in seeing how much love can flow as they share traditions, memories, and the new things happening in their lives.

I take joy in watching the happiness that comes from the thoughtful giving and receiving of gifts. I take joy in singing and listening to beautiful songs. I take joy in the lights and greenery that brighten up an otherwise cold and barren winter. I particularly take joy in watching children laugh and play because it reminds me how much my heavenly Father wants me to laugh and play. 

When I approach Christmas with a childlike heart, the blinders come off and I no longer tune out or take for granted the things I have “become used to.” I look at the Christ child in the manger, surrounded by the poor and the rich and the angelic, and I see the billions of children in there with Him. We will follow the Christ child from those most humble surroundings into a spectacular place of eternal glory. (Philippians 2:5-11; John 14:1-3)

My dear friends, “set your minds” to approach this Christmas with a childlike heart, and you will truly have a Merry Christmas! (Colossians 3:2) 

God bless you, and God bless our community.

… [S]peaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head,vinto Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it isvequipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up invlove. (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love. (2 John 1:3)

I have engaged in pastoral “prayer & counsel” ministry for over twenty-five years. The people I meet in this capacity primarily struggle with a combination of anxiety, depression, frustration, negativity, and/or poor self-image. For most, the origin of their struggles was a childhood spent in a home where anger, fear, and distrust were the daily norm.

What is true for a homelife can also be true for a culture or nation. Our television and social media screens have, for longer than we care to admit, incessantly poured out one-sided messages that provoke anger at what “the other side” is doing, fear at what will happen if “the other side” gains power, and distrust of anyone who does not agree with the person on the screen who is speaking. Since the average American spends seven hours per day looking at a screen, these messages of anger, fear, and distrust are our daily norm.

Polls suggest 70-75% of Americans believe our nation has been on the wrong track.
While most people relate this to issues of the economy, immigration, and abortion, we must also remember how our general mood toward life impacts how we look at every issue. Life in an atmosphere of anger, fear, and distrust will hardly ever produce happiness, peace, or optimism.

As is always the case, God offers a better way – the way of Jesus – that combines truth and agape love. (John 14:6; 1 John 4:10) Our Father and Jesus send us grace, mercy, and peace in a package of truth and agape love. (2 John 1:3) Paul tells us that we grow up from childishness into knowledge of and intimacy with Jesus as we speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:13-16)

The Bible will not allow us to separate these life-essential ingredients of truth and love. God is love. (1 John 4:8, 16) He is also the God of truth. (Isaiah 65:16) God so loved us that He sent Jesus to save us. (John 3:16) Jesus is the truth. (14:6) Our faith in Jesus allows us to know the truth that sets us free. (John 8:30-32) Our faith works through love. (Galatians 5:6)

Jesus declares the Father and He are one. (John 10:30) Since Father God is love and Jesus is the truth, we can even argue that God’s love and God’s truth are “one”. And while that may seem a stretch, the Bible very clearly states that you cannot have one without the other.

1 Corinthians 13:2 says we can have incredible amounts of truth, but if we do not have agape love, we are nothing. Four verses later, 1 Corinthians 13:6 says agape love does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Truth without God’s love is not God’s truth, and love without God’s truth is not God’s love.

We are emerging from an election campaign where a little more than half of our nation wanted former President Trump to be President again, and a little less than half did not. Both God’s Word and our nation’s Constitution tell us to honor our election outcomes, and God urges all Christians on both “sides” to pray for all our elected governmental leaders. (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17) I hope all of us will do so.

My greater concern, however, is whether we can do anything to change this national
atmosphere of anger, fear, and distrust. Jeremiah asked whether a leopard could change its spots. (Jeremiah 13:23) But Christians are not leopards. We are new creations in Christ, and scripture tells us repeatedly to change and live as who we really are, not as who we once were. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:20-32; Colossians 3:1-17; Galatians 5:13-25; 2 Peter 1:2-11) All of these wonderful scriptures describe humble lives of truth and love: treating other people the way we wish to be treated. (Matthew 7:12) If enough of us do that, the atmosphere can change.

As a small part of this effort, my daughter Jes Williams and I launched a new podcast on November 1 called Let’s Talk: Truth in Love. It is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and through a link on our ministry website (Please pardon the plug). Our goal, just like my goal with these columns, is that we can encourage a better way to live and live together.

God bless you, and God bless our community.