#robbenson

As Christmas is fast approaching I’ve been surprised by momentary glimpses, into the ‘Reason for the Season.”  It’s real meaning seemingly more and more obscured, God choosing to step into humanity, literally the Divine willingly entering into the flesh and bones of a man as a gift for all men!

What does this mean?  Why does this ACT of God matter?  How does this change the game for humanity, for me?

If this is true…why are we, as a culture, as living and breathing miracles, each one of us, running head long away from this most beautiful and meaningful reason?

Those are the questions that have been haunting me…in quiet moments…I find myself caught up in awe and wonder as I wrestle with the overwhelming flood of possibilities that cross my mind.  They bring hope…light…life…purpose to my being…to your being…yet I still run.

John, one of Christ’s closest friends, left us with these thoughts… “Christ became human flesh and lived among us. We saw His shining-greatness. This greatness is given only to a much-loved Son from His Father. He was full of loving-favor and truth (John 1:14, NLV).”

Perhaps in the confusion, weightiness of pressures and pain of life it just seems too impossible to believe that God stepped into humanity…that He chose to incarnate as a man because He is for us?  In all our fixing, buying, working, crying, thriving, surviving and even dying we just can’t pick our heads up enough to see this TRUTH.  But I do believe it’s right in front of us, we just aren’t used to seeing God, His TRUTH and that He is for us, so we miss it.

The day after Thanksgiving the Arbutus Town Hall, The Greater Arbutus Professional and Business Association and caring citizens came together to decorate this small town, that seems buried in the surrounding urban and suburban sprawl, for the coming Christmas activities and celebrations.  This year was no different than any other, but I was blessed to glimpse Jesus in the flesh as I served alongside those who gave of their time, talents and finances to transform Arbutus into a special place…a place where it’s possible to touch and see God incarnate.

This might sound CRAZY, but I encountered God…  And you can too!  You can see Him at work in the unity of heart, as different folks from different walks of life gather to serve to love on their community.  Their were the homeless, the addicted, a dentist, small business owners, construction workers, florists, fire fighters all working hand in hand to make something beautiful happen down on East Drive.  There is more evidence to consider the up coming festivities: The Train Garden at the Arbutus Fire Hall, the gathering of children at the Santa House where they receive gifts, Southwestern Emergency Services annual Christmas shopping spree for the poorest in our community so that they might be able to have a heart felt celebration in their homes this Christmas.  All this begs the question why?  What are we preparing for?  What are we looking forward too?  What are we celebrating?  Why are we serving?  Why are we giving?  And, Why are we caring?

I think deep down inside we all know the answer, but we’ve chosen to minimize it…reject it…or just plain ignore it…yet it haunts us…there are glimpses of the TRUTH all over and it oozes out during our Christ-mas celebration.   While your wondering the streets of Arbutus this year listen and hear the lyrics of the toons being played over the loud speaker system…there you will find a glimpse of the reason for the season; or catch a glimpse of the used to be homeless-alcoholic sitting on the bus stop encouraging another lost soul to find restoration like he did…again the reason for the season becomes obvious; or maybe you’ll catch it in the eyes of a child as she is given a gift by a stranger for no other reasons than…it’s the reason for the season; or perhaps you’ll catch it when you see the volunteer army that comes together to make Christmas possible for hundreds of families that never dreamt it possible…the reason for the season; and maybe…just maybe you’ll stumble across the reason yourself like I did time and time again while hanging around that beautiful small town hidden on East Drive and Sulfur Spring Road…the reason for the season as far as I can see…God loves us.  

Can you see it, in the love, the love for one another, that’s the reason…the truth…that’s a glimpse of God’s greatness…of His love and His favor for mankind.  

As we focus on Paul’s Letter written to the church in the small town of Colossae, located by the Lycus River, in the then Roman Province of Asia, today’s modern day Turkey it is important to recognize that Colossae was once a thriving “populace city, wealthy and large,” during the Persian and Greek empires rule and reign, but the system of roads changed, and Colossae was reduced to an insignificant market town by human standards, God had not forgotten the Colossians! (Lightfoot, “St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians and to Philemon,” London, Macmillan, 1879, p.16; Vaughn, EBC, “Colossians,” p.163).

But before we talk about Colossae and the Colossians lets remember Paul, writer of this letter and the troubled times he lived and died in. Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned in Rome, probable around 62-63AD. Nero began the first of ten rounds of persecution and execution of Christians.

Paul would eventually be summoned to his execution by Nero, an eye witness account, by Abdias reports that Nero sent Ferega and Parthemius to tell Paul that he was going to be put to death; both they and others gathered asking Paul to pray for them, so they might believe, after which Paul instructed them to be baptized; then the Roman soldiers came and took Paul escorting him outside the city to the place where they would execute his death sentence, Paul again prayed, Abdias reports, “he gave his neck to the sword” (Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, p.13).

Take note, these words Paul penned were some of his last! He was not fainted hearted, fickle, or a Follower of Christ for convenience sake ONLY, NO Paul was absolutely committed to Christ and His Gospel and it cost him his comfort, security, and ultimately his life.

As we explore this Letter of Paul’s to the Colossians lets not forget the back drop, following Jesus and sharing the Gospel just might cost you everything, even your life. The times were serious, the church in Colossae was being attacked from within also, a group called the Gnostics were bringing a New Gospel, fundamentally different from Christ’s Gospel. The Gnostic Gospel focused preached a new, but old way to salvation; a salvation NOT through Faith in Christ, but a salvation obtained through acquiring special knowledge, and the practice of superstitious rituals, and astrology and angelology; this salvation was a mystical and magical experience to become a “Gnostic” or a “knowing one.” They believed the material world, including the flesh was evil, and therefore, attacking Christ’s Incarnation and his Deity, Christ could not be both God and Man, because the two could never co-exist. Paul as a counter, to their teachings/philosophies writes this letter to the Colossian church and encourages them to stand firm in their faith, beyond belief, proven in their action to love and care for one another through self-sacrifice...faith in action!  Paul in his opening lines, commends these Christ Followers for their dedication to their God and the tangible results.

Temperature Check...

Where is your Dedication to God...Your “All In” commitment to your life being IN HIM?

The "Truth" bites! All of us have tangled with truth, if your human that is, and it most often is NOT EASY, but if we deal with it we change, life gets simpler!  But we aren't always looking for simple or less confusing, or less painful living are we?  I often think I like confusion, pain and hardship...how about you?

What I love about the "Truth" is that when I ignore it long enough...when I've run myself to exhaustion...when I've excused, justified and lied myself into a corner...and when I've let the sharp teeth of "Truth" bite deep enough then I finally cry-out "enough is enough" Jesus I SURRENDER!  Jesus I'm ready to listen to your life restoring WILL and live according to your life giving WAY!  The hardened mud in my life that covers the Master Piece that God made me to be must be chiseled away when I don't let Jesus wash it away.  Thankfully Jesus doesn't give up on me, He never stops pointing me to His TRUTH, He never stops wanting to lead me down the road of His WAY, He never stops trying to pour His LIFE into mine, but we MUST be WILLING to PARTICIPATE because He does nothing against our WILL.  

A Hard head and a Hard heart that WILLS against what is:  Absolute TRUTH, The only right WAY (Path), and living a never ending LIFE that is abundant and being restored to perfection REQUIRES "The Hammer of Truth" to bust away the hardened mud that obstructs the view of the beautiful Master Piece that YOU ARE.

How have you been hard headed and hard hearted...running from the inevitable, ever deepening bite of TRUTH in your life?  Look the at areas in life that cause you the most pain, what TRUTH are you not seeing or are you intentionally ignoring?

I was talking to a friend last night that is being choked out by the strangle hold of his addiction to drugs.  He is literally being suffocated to death, though he has so much to live for: a girl who loves him and hasn't left, a new baby on the way, and two other children that need his love and attention, but he refuses to see these life giving gifts in his life.  Why?  His dad walked out on him when he was two, yes, he had a step-father who he calls his dad, yes, his dad suddenly re-appeared a few years ago and apologized for disappearing, but my friend still hasn't acknowledged the reality that he lives out of a mentality of worthlessness.  Why does he feel worthless, because he still hasn't acknowledged and worked through the reality that he was abandoned by the man, his father, who was supposed to be there for him...who was supposed to love him unconditionally...who was supposed to really protect...care for...and provide for him.

His unresolved "Abandonment" and subsequent feeling of "Worthlessness" have caused great pain and suffering in his life.  Crime, jail, homelessness, joblessness and addiction are all the baggage or the bite of the HAMMER of TRUTH that he must face.  His daddy abandoned him, but that TRUTH doesn't make him "Worthless" it just points to the brokenness that requires restoration.  My friend's need can only be met in Christ Jesus...who NEVER abandons, NEVER leaves, NEVER stops loving and always through the TRUTH points to the only WAY (path) that always leads to NEW LIFE, now and FOREVER!  

Our new series, based on John Burke's, book, "Mud and The Masterpiece" will take us on a journey into our own mess, and God's deep desire to bring restoration at the Master's hands and it will help us to be more like Christ in how we demonstrate the love of God in a broken and messed up world.

Have you ever asked yourself why so many people, when asked about Christians, label us as hypocrites, judgmental, egotistical, self-righteous, stick in the mud, Bible thumping, unkind people?  Now on the flip side, when you ask folks about Jesus, even those who don't follow Him, they describe him as: kind, gentle, wise, morally superior, caring, sacrificial, compassionate, merciful, etc., etc., etc...

Why are Christ Followers described so differently than the one they claim to Follow?  How did we get here as Christians?

The Holy Ghost, isn't just an insignificant part of the Triune God Head!  He's the tangible guarantor that God is with us, He's the voice that speaks healing and life to our thirsty souls, He's the power that changes us, He's the promise that connects us to the hope that awaits, He's the comforter and the guider.  He is "I AM!"

The Holy Ghost, often even in Christian circles, is a part of the God Head we reference but avoid getting to know, because we Greek trained thinkers of the western world, are enraptured by the "Enlightenment."  Our way of thinking, our incredible "Reasoning" skills and mental prow-els often restricts us from subject matter that defy's our "Reasoning."  If we can't see it, if we can't touch it, if we can't smell it, if we can't somehow make something our "Bit#$" we ignore, we excuse, we minimize it into insignificance, thus the Holy Ghost remains unknown, and we remain ignorant of this powerful part of the Trinity who has so much to offer our empty souls; and who can and will enable us to live the abundant life Christ promised those who are adventurous enough to Follow Him.

Yes, I'm one who likes clean answers, that I can somehow master mentally.  It makes me believe the illusion, or should I say, delusion that somehow I'm in control, I'm safe, I'm secure, I've got the intellectual "where with al"l to KNOW it all, yes I AM Rob Benson.  But, really deep inside I know, just like everyone else that I don't know everything...so I'm left wanting to know...I'm limited.

How about you, do you find yourself coming up short of all the answers sometimes.  Do you find yourself without the necessary, reasonable explanation...

Well, God does have the answers, the question is will you admit you don't, and seek something beyond yourself, something bigger than you to gain insight you don't have, give you the comfort you need, the healing and understanding that man can't give, how about, POWER that is in-explicable in the natural and opens you up to the super-natural.

A Grateful Love!

26 years later, I'm still grateful for God's gift! Not only a partner in day to day life, but a partner in the highest priority any life can have...to bring the Gospel of Christ to a hurting world that desperately needs it's message, "God Loves YOU!"  "God is for YOU, not against YOU!"

Grateful today to have a partner that has the same passion and priority I have, to be loved by God, to love God and to love others by making Christ known not just in word, but deed!

Thank YOU God!