As we prepare to turn down the path of 2013,  I encourage you to examine this New Year before you step out into it. What would your life look like this year if I could tell you on the authority of God Himself that this year would be your last?  Are there things you would do differently? Well, beloved, we can’t know with certainty the time or place of our departure from this world, but we do know with certainty that that time will come.  Some day, we will be called to account of our stewardship of our lives for the Lord.   As we enter 2013, let's dedicate it to the Lord with three ideas in mind:

• This New Year is  a door through which we might reach new fields of service for God and new opportunities to serve Him by serving our fellow men. Through this door we can explore the talents and gifts God has entrusted with us, honing our use of them in order to bless our world. And, behind this door lie the sheaves of the harvest God has prepared for this year. We must go through the door, out into the fields to gather in the fruits that faithful witness has sown. Greet 2013 with JOY for the opportunities that are prepared in it for you!
  
• This New Year is also a task. We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that God has prepared good works for us. We have appointments to keep, set by the Master Himself. We must go out into this year purposing to bring the love and grace of Jesus to those we meet through our words and deeds. For, God has set it so. Greet 2013 with EXPECTATION, eager to greet the new people and new experiences that lay ahead.
  
• This New Year is a blank journal, full of clean, white pages on which to write.  As we live each day, the record of our thoughts, words and actions are written down.  Oh, how I desire that the book of this year would be pleasing to God, and would bring glory to Him.  Let us set our minds to live so that God will be pleased, and God will be praised. Greet 2013 with PURPOSE, desiring to serve and glorify the One who loves us beyond our comprehension.
  

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

     Happy New Year, dear friends. Let's meet it with joy, expectation, and purpose as we "seek those things which are above." Make it your resolution just now to pause to include God in your planning, in your decisions, in your everyday lives. Practice being conscious of His presence in your life this year, and it will be a very blessed year indeed!

Dear Lord, I come humbly asking Your help in this New Year, that I might bring honor and glory to Your name as I dwell in this land.  Help me to consider well how my words and deeds reflect on You. This year, may I truly “seek those things which are above.”  For Christ’s sake, Amen.  


Happy 2013!
Cara & Patti
Classic Christianity

     Christ came not that we might glimpse the glory of God for a few years, but He came that God might dwell forever among men and that dwelling among us; His righteous law might exercise its sway over our lives. The Coming of Christ is in the most vital sense the coming of God’s Kingdom.       “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:3 
     The Kingdom of God does not await the second coming of Christ and the final, full manifestation of His sovereignty, for the prophet is here speaking of His first advent, when he came announced by His messenger John. Christ’s birth began that kingdom in which men of every tongue bow and confess that He is Lord. And if we cannot bear His coming, how can we bear the coming of His Kingdom?
      Thus, we can see that the coming of Christ is the coming of the King of righteousness, not some abstract far-away concept, but, like the refiner’s fire or the fuller’s soap, a most concrete and personal design.
       Malachi had just reminded the people of their transgression against the law of God, and when he hears them express a desire for Messiah’s coming, he cannot but remind them that the One in whom they profess delight will, when He comes, deal harshly with their sin. The refiner puts his metals into the fire to burn out the impurities. The fuller soaks his soiled cloth in soap and water and then tramples it up and down to remove the dirt from the very fibers. And it is the essence of the Kingdom of God to deal with sin. Christ came not only as the Prince of Peace, He also came as the King of Righteousness and He must perform His work of righteousness in order that His work of peace might appear.
      In His first coming, Christ was Himself consumed by that refiner’s fire. He became our sin bearer and bore the wrath of judgment for us. In His Second Coming, that work of judgment will be completed. Then the dread that is expressed in these words of Malachi will be upon the lips of all those who have turned from His righteousness.             
     Who is sufficient for these things? Who can stand such an appearance as this? The coming of God Himself to establish His rule of perfect righteousness over the life and thoughts of men? 
     We say we want and we need the celebration of Christ’s birth. The Christmas spirit, we say, will warm the earth with kindness and love to one another. Oh, yes, let us have Christmas, for God forbid that we should ever be indifferent to the coming of His Son. But, welcome His coming for what it is. Worship Him who was born Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.         
     One day He will come again in power, but our King has already come and is sovereign of all our lives.  Submit to His refining, cleansing work. Fill your minds and hearts with His Word that in you may appear the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness and self-control.
      So may we welcome the news of His coming and sing with new meaning, “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!” 

           Dearest Father, the baby dear in the manger was come as a conquering King to reign in the hearts of men. Please help me to give Him his rightful place in mine. In His Holy Name, amen. 


It is our sincere prayer that God would bless you and yours as you seek Him today. Merry Christmas, dear friends!
Cara & Patti
Classic Christianity

 “… The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom ye delight. Behold He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  But who can endure the day of His coming?  And who can stand when He appears?  For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap.”  Malachi 3:1-2

              This delightful Saturday Evening Post illustration pictures a salesgirl in the toy department of one of our great stores. In the full picture, the date on the calendar is December 24th, and the hands on the clock point to five minutes past five. The poor girl has slumped upon a pile of toys behind the counter, dress askew, hair disheveled and arms limp at her sides. She has slipped off her shoes and her eyes have rolled back as if she were to breathe her last. She has just made it through another great American Christmas! And, many of us know just how she feels. There are moments when we glimpse that marvelous childhood Christmas again, but the mad crush catches up with us and we find ourselves asking, “How can I stand another year of it?”
            There is, however, a far deeper sense to the question, “who can stand Christmas?” Quite apart from the customs that have grown up around the celebration of Christ’s birth, the question must be asked about that event itself. Who can stand before the birth of Jesus Christ? This is the question Malachi is asking in our text, posing it to warn a people who thought themselves quite ready for Christmas. But the answer to their prayers was dreadfully more than they had asked. They sought the Lord as an end to troubles; they wanted a Messianic panacea for peace and prosperity. But the coming One was the Lord indeed, and as the Lord they must meet Him. 
            He comes not to play favorites on their terms, serve their dreams, and establish their kingdom. He comes to bring peace through judgment, to deal not only with the sins of their enemies, but with their sins. Could they abide His coming? The One whose coming is the subject of prophecy. The Word, Who was in the beginning with God, by Whom all things were made and Who is very God, this is He who became flesh and dwelt among us. Only because He veiled His majestic glory behind the curtain of His flesh could men even look upon Him. 
            Even so, think how those times came when His majesty and might flashed forth in overpowering manifestations. Think of how those moneychangers fell back under the lash of His scourge as He cleansed the temple. Think of the moment of His arrest in the garden when he said, “I am He” and those who would seize Him fell to the ground. Or think of the centurion who stood beneath his cross as the earth quaked and the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled in tribute to His deity. Think of that hardened soldier crying out, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” 
            Yes, Christmas declares to us the unveiling of the invisible God. Ponder that today, beloved. And tomorrow, let us consider the implications of God, with us.

           Dear God, the reality of the incarnation is overwhelming. Please help me this year to prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth with all its implications for my life and for the world. Guard my heart against the crowding out of Your Son by the urgent everyday things of the season. Protect my mind; keep my thoughts clear, as I seek You. Amen.

(from Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions, Vol II)

Blessings to you and yours,
Cara and Patti

      Whatever their reasons, there are men today who propose a revolution against Jesus in thought and life, in word and action. When I ponder this, I wonder where would we go in our hour of deepest need if there were no Christ, if Christ had never come to earth? As our bodies need food, our intellects crave truth. But where shall we find it, if the truth were taken away? When men were starving in World War II, they sought a substitute for wheat in the roots of the trees and field. But what could you substitute for Christianity? It cannot be found in religions with dead leaders, for only a Living God can meet our needs. 
            No, you know as do I that the living Christ has the only rational explanation to the problems of life. He gives the only antidotes for human selfishness and greed. He gives the only true and blessed philosophy of life. He gives the only true motive for service and heroism. If there had been no Christ, there would be no hope, for immortal hope perishes with Him. 
            If it should be as these men wish, and the light that was given was withdrawn, why then henceforth for love there would be hatred, for peace there would be war, for hope there would be hopelessness and for liberty there would be license.
            The brilliant author Henry Rogers once wrote a book called The Eclipse of Faith.  In it, he imagines that some powerful hand has wiped the influence of Christ out of civilization, as a hand wipes chalk from off the classroom board. First he discovers in his library that every vestige of Christ’s life and words has wholly disappeared. The law books are emptied of laws safeguarding children and labor, the art history books showed only emptied frames where masterpieces had been depicted, and the greatest poems of Dante, Milton, Wordsworth and Browning were just empty leaves of paper. As Rogers continued his imaginary journey of discovery, he discovered to his horror that the great cathedrals were nothing but great gaping holes; schools, hospitals and beautiful philanthropies were all perished as if shaken down by some cosmic earthquake. No, Rogers concluded, he would not want to inhabit an earth where the influence of Christ was not known.  There, death would be only a leap into the dark.
              When Jesus’ feet stood on our earth, His message concerned life immortal. What others talked about and questioned, He answered authoritatively. With a personal knowledge of that which lay beyond man’s horizon, He plucked fear out of men’s souls. He taught men that dying was a home going, and that heaven was the Father’s house. The sweetest music that ever fell on the ears of humanity was the words, “In my Father’s house are many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you.” 
             It is His coming into this world as a babe, in the glorious quest for salvation for man, that we honor this Christmastide. It seems to me that we should be greatly concerned that our devotion for Him and our gratitude to Him increase. As we plan our Yuletide festival this year, let us make Christ the very center of it, as is proper and fitting. It is His birthday we celebrate, so let us join the celestial choir and the great Christian host throughout the world in acceptable worship to Him, whose name is Jesus.

Dearest Father, Your love has infinite reach.  Thank You, Lord, for reaching out to me.  Amen.


(From Classic Christianity: A Year of Timeless Devotions, Vol II.)

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.” Luke1:31

              “Call His name Jesus,”- how enduring this name has been! When Pilate stood up that day and washed his cowardly hands he thought he was washing Jesus off the pages of history, but one hundred years from then nobody ever thought of Pilate except as he appeared in the presence of Jesus. His name lives on in spite of the Hitler’s, the Stalin’s, Khrushchev’s, Marx, and all the rest. And Jesus and His name will prevail against future figures in history who rail against God and His people. Yes, count on it, there will always be such figures in the history of man. The name of Jesus will last, they will not.
            Do not be afraid. The name of Jesus, and the bride of Christ will last. The church is neither dead nor dying, for He is Lord and leader of it and He is alive. The only reason we fear is that we forget Jesus. “Do not be afraid” He has said. “I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of Hades and of death.” Also, He proclaims in Matthew, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
            Does sin look very dark in the world today? – yes it does. For the tares have grown to maturity in the field. But has the name of Jesus reached into countries and cultures that had been closed to it in the past? – YES! – for the wheat is reaching maturity as well. That parable of the tares and the wheat is nearing harvest in our old world today, dear friend. Do not be afraid. Rest in the hope represented by the name of Jesus.
            Think how gracious the name of Jesus is. It is the first name we teach our children while they are still in our arms. It is the name that weaves like a scarlet thread in all our prayers and praise. How divine is the name of the Babe announced by the heavenly host. So divine that upon that authority we sanctify the couple joined in marriage, dedicate the baby, and commit our dead to His care. All rites are given under the authority of that name.
            Jesus is the one given and named by God Himself. Fold Him into your life and all the faith, courage, joy and authority of His name will fold into your life as well. It is the very first “Merry Christmas” ever conferred.

           Father, in this Christmas season, help me to remember the Name above all names and the One that name represents. Time is short, circumstances might be fearful and distracting, but let me focus my heart and my hope in Jesus. Amen.


Blessings,
Cara & Patti
Classic Christianity

God’s word is the absolute revelation of His will and His way. Scripture itself tells us of its benefits – from “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” to “Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness...” – from Psalms through Timothy, from Genesis to Revelation, from the beginning to the end. God’s Word is precious, priceless, and irreplaceable in our lives.

That is why it is so breathtaking that in John 1:14 we are told of Jesus, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.”

Jesus, the Word, dwelt among us. Jesus, Name above All Names, was made flesh. Jesus, our Emmanuel, was born here for us! That is indeed glorious!  

All the benefits of the Word – lighting our way, keeping us from sin, instructing us, training us, giving us hope – all of this and so much more, is manifested in the God-Man Jesus. All of this is caught up in the swaddling clothes in the manger at Bethlehem. All of our hope, all of our future, all of our eternity’s fate, lay in a stable behind an inn long ago. Neglected by mankind at his birth and scorned by them later, He is not surprised that men pass Him by today.

But we, we are blessed indeed. For where the world sees only a nativity scene, we can see the Word, made flesh. We can behold His glory. Praise His Name!

Blessings,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity

It’s Pearl Harbor day today, the 71st anniversary of the attack that landed the US square in the middle of World War II. In a way it was a wake-up call. Studiously minding our own business, we had ignored the inhumanities being perpetrated across the waters. Just because we stuck our heads in the sand, didn't make the evil around us go away.

Evil exists. That fact is a stumbling block for some; people who say they just can’t believe in a God who allows such horrible things to happen. Yet, we can see through recorded history that God can use every evil planned against His people to further His own purposes. The dispersion of the Christians from Jerusalem in the first century came with much suffering and hardship. Yet the dispersion of the Christians from Jerusalem spread Christianity across the map. God used even this.

Way back in the Old Testament, we see this principle time and time again. Joseph, tormented by his brothers and sold into slavery as a result of their jealousy, winds up near the pinnacle of power in Egypt. Having only a human perspective, we question these events as cruel suffering. God, however, used Joseph’s time in Egypt to remove the Children of Israel from the abominations occurring in Canaan. The sons of Jacob were better off being separated from the people in Canaan, and Egypt was the perfect place. The Egyptians wouldn’t have anything to do with the Jews, which helped them remain God-fearing until their return to the Promised Land.

Evil exists. This world is fallen and saturated in sin. Why are we surprised by the evil men do? Sin is in our nature, and only when we become a new creation in Christ are we able to live victoriously through Him, triumphing over that which had enslaved us.

We know that one of the names of Christ is “Light of the World” – yet too often we don’t stop to truly understand the need this old world has for the Light. Education is a great thing, but it won’t light the world. Helping the hungry, clothing the homeless, bringing medical care to the hurting – all of these are fine propositions, helpful to those in need and showing love and care in Jesus’ name. Yet you can’t push the dark out of a room by bringing in dinner. You cannot illumine a cave with medical care, or education.

The only way to get the dark out of a room is by turning on the light. Just so, the only way to illumine this old world, to cure her spiritual ills, is by Jesus. He is the Light of the World, and without Him, people still stumble through this world in the dark. Praise God that He left behind the perfection of heaven to be born as a baby, live as a man in this old world, die for our sins, and be raised – conquering death and sin in the process. Praise the Name of Jesus!

“His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” Genesis 50:18-20

Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." —John 8:12

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28


Blessings this season to you and yours,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity

Jesus was born in a tiny stable, surrounded by family and shepherds who came to find Him. This Saturday Cara and I will be under a small canopy at the Christmas "Santa's Village"  in Camarillo, CA. We will of course bring our devotionals from our Grandfather’s writings, and some original scripture art with beautiful scenes enhanced by a meaningful verse from scripture.

     Just as the shepherds found Jesus in an unassuming stable, we are praying that many others meet the Newborn King as they come into our booth. It has happened before. A wife took the devotional books to her young husband who was praying about a call to the ministry. An older engaged couple took the books home to begin their married life worshipping daily – together. Many have come because they saw the banner over our booth announcing “Classic Christianity – A Year of Timeless Devotions” – they were drawn by the word “Christianity” – and led by the Spirit they came to confess how they’d wandered away from the Lord and needed to find their way back.

    What a privilege it is to stand under the banner of Christ and surrender to the divine appointments He arranges for us. Simple, unlikely servants, yet when His Spirit moves, fishes and loaves multiply, and people find their way to Jesus. Glory to His Name!

Won’t you join us as we endeavor to get the people into the Word and the Word into people as we join the local Christmas Festival and represent Him? If you’re in the area please come by and tell us that you’re a follower of the blog. We’re so thrilled to meet friends – old friends and new!

Joy to the World!

Patti and Cara
Classic Christianity

Bing Crosby may have dreamt of a glittering white Christmas, but long before he sang that song people were dreaming dreams of Christmastide. In fact, I've always thought that one of the very first recorded dreams in Scripture was a sort of Christmas dream.

Picture this: along and far from home, Jacob is tired from his journey. He is a fugitive, in a sense, running away from his brother’s anger. His mother is manipulative and has pulled him into her disgraceful schemes, tricking his father, disinheriting his brother, and behaving deceitfully in all. An unlikely candidate for a comforting dream from God, you say? Well, yes, seen from our perspective! Jacob would not have been my top candidate for ancestor of Christ at that moment. Thankfully, God has a better view on the annals of time.

So, when Jacob made a pillow from a stone and closed his eyes, God sent a dream. This was not just any dream, either; it was a dream of Christmas. You see…Jacob dreamed of a ladder – a ladder filling the expanse between heaven and earth. On the one end stood poor, helpless, troubled Jacob – just like the rest of mankind. But on the other end, on the heavenly end, ah…there stands the Lord himself.

God sent Jesus to provide for us – poor, troubled mankind – access to Him. Because of Christ’s incarnation and death, that uncross-able gulf betwixt God’s presence and our present was filled. Jesus fills the gap; He literally stands in the gap for us. Dreaming of communion with God, of fellowship with Him, Jacob was in a sense dreaming of Christmas.

That’s what Christmas is, friends! Christmas is Jesus, coming to bridge our way into eternity. Christmas is sin, conquered. Christmas is God’s great love reaching out to poor, troubled, disgraced mankind in tenderness and compassion! Praise His Holy Name – Jesus is come!

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15

Merry Christmas to All!
Cara and Patti

Classic Christianity

Years ago, one of my little ones stared with wide eyes at the decorating aisle at Home Depot. We were looking for an outside decoration for our little home, something to go with a few strands of light to perk up our front yard, to show that we were celebrating Christ. I can still hear her little precious voice, overwhelmed at the huge blow-up lawn decorations, the loud Christmas carols playing, and the glittery boxes stacked nearly to the ceiling, “But, Momma, where’s Jesus?”

Where is He today, in our lives? Where is the Savior of the world in our thoughts, our speech, our actions?

Long ago, a man’s faith was tested by a direct command from God. Abraham, who had faithfully received the promised child, Isaac, was called by his Lord to take that boy up to the top of Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac. Have you ever thought about why God would even suggest such a thing? We know that Abraham was confident in God. We know that Abraham believed that the promise would be fulfilled through Isaac, because he said to the young men who accompanied them, “Stay here…the lad and I will go…and we will come back to you.” He believed God was going to do something miraculous, and he walked forward in obedience to do his part. Abraham’s unswerving faith in God in this passage is so inspirational!

When God stayed Abraham’s hand and provided a ram to take Isaac’s place on that altar, He provided an amazing example of the Doctrine of Atonement. God was preparing His people to understand the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, in our place. What a Lord we serve!

The ram was a type – a symbol – of Christ. From the top of Mount Moriah, we can just glimpse the sacrifice of the Son of God on Calvary. As John the Baptist foretold so poignantly when he saw Jesus coming towards him in John 1:29, “…Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” It is altogether fitting that at the death of Christ the veil in Solomon’s temple – located on Mount Moriah – was torn, symbolizing the final end of the sacrificial system. The perfect sacrifice had been offered, no else would ever be required.

We don’t often think of Abraham, or sacrificial lambs, as we celebrate Christmas. But truly, when we see the baby Jesus portrayed lying in that manger, it would do our souls good to remember, “Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” When that knowledge makes it all the way from our head to our hearts, then Jesus will be very visible in this world indeed.

When people look around them, and wonder where Jesus is in this old world today, I want them to see Him shining through my life. When people are overwhelmed, and cry out, “Where’s Jesus?” I want to be the hand of Jesus to comfort them. That is only possible if I know, as surely as Abraham knew God would provide, that truly Jesus is not only the babe of Bethlehem. He is also “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.”

With our prayers for you and yours this season,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity