Whiteboard Wednesday

Joy is elusive. We know we should have it, and it is commanded by God (have you heard of 'rejoice always'?). Yet our circumstances and failures often seem to keep joy far away. But that's why Biblical joy is not something you choose, or get through serving. Joy comes to you, in the person of Christ. Good tidings of great joy, that hit your hear, and gives light in the darkness. Joy is a fruit not of us but of the Spirit, and he gives the trust that we who deserve absolutely nothing are adored, forgiven, righteous, holy and in his family, by his amazing work alone. May the Spirit bless you with real joy!

We long for peace, right relationship with God. We generally think that involves making good choices to do good, thereby being light to the dark world around us. And we seem to fail, which brings doubt, shame, uncertainty-- in short, no peace. So what a wonder Advent is! We worship the child born who is the light, who will be the gift of a new relationship based only on his body and blood. He has done everything for us, and thus in his light we have peace, shalom, rightness no matter what befalls us or how badly we stumble. Praise be to Jesus, our peace.

We know we're prone to being in the dark -- so we think that our goal is to get to the light. If only we could shine light, or get to light. But the Bible presents the actual truth: we are in the dark, and light comes into where we are. That is the wonderful miracle of Christmas, that light came into darkness. That Jesus came into our sin. That forgiveness and righteousness and salvation are all a gift from God, not a destination for us to attain to. Rejoice at this amazing gift: Christ for us, our light.

Thankful for... the day of the Lord? Malachi, the final prophet of the Old Testament, ends his words with announcing the coming day of the Lord. Usually we think of such news fearfully. But that's not the flavor here. God's righteous people will be leaping about like newborn calves released from the stall, prancing on the ashes of the wicked. Rejoicing that faith has become sight, that the forgiveness and righteousness and purity we have been promised is real. We don't act to build, improve, or create -- we have a God who does it all, including bringing us to the full completion of all that he has promises. So thankful that the day of the Lord is coming!

We are pretty lost. We look at circumstances and determine blessing. We see evil people get "good things" and reason that God simply allows the arrogant to prosper. What hurtful words to a loving, all-powerful God; what arrogance we have! What if we simply don't see? What if God is working exactly rightly? What if the incredible blessing that we have is God himself? The true wonder of our Savior is that in the midst of our own blindness and poor reasoning and quick judgment -- he loves us and saves us and uses us and has us forever. You can trust our fantastic God!

From Malachi 3. What a huge, insidious problem. We think that armed with the law we can determine good and evil. But our vision is marred and incomplete, and we can't see people's motives and heart. So we call evil good, and good evil. Our human response to being called out on this is to get better glasses, or improve so that everyone is doing good. God's answer is different: he brings a different judge. Jesus Christ is the judge, and he judges rightly. He shows the height of the law and our lack; and he shows the upside-down, outside-the-law goodness of God in the cross. Come, trust your judge, the one that gives forgiveness and goodness and freedom. You can embrace his judgment forever!

Malachi shows us how the law is used to lock us up -- to keep us hopeless in ourselves, needing a savior. God calls out his people for their hypocrisy in thinking that they can get blessing without obedience to the rules that he has laid out for them. His example is marriage, where they are making sacrifices but not keeping covenant with their spouse. That's convicting... because of the promises we make to each other. We promise to love and be faithful, but nobody actually is perfectly loving as defined in 1 Corinthians 13. Nobody but the one who would come 400 years after Malachi, and perfectly keep covenant. Our hope can never been in our imperfect lawkeeping... but only in the faithfulness of Christ given to us, that we might stand before God. How wonderful to trust Jesus!

From Malachi. In the Old Covenant, God keeps his people under the continued failure of trying to measure up to his law. Blind, sick, and lame animals point out our own inability in our works to actually offer up anything holy and pure. But even in the Old Testament, there is hope: a New Covenant. There is a coming forever king, in the line of David. And there is a coming forever priest, who will mediate a perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for any who will trust him. That's Jesus! He's done it all for you and me, and instead of offering up our own works, we trust, receive, and proclaim his finished work for us, forever. What an amazing gift!

From Malachi 1. God, who loves his people, declares that he rejects their offerings. They are presenting to him less than perfect sacrifices. They teach people that God accepts less than what is holy and pure. Our flesh hears this and, under the law, can't but think the answer is to try harder. If only I could improve the "goodness" of the sacrifice! But we are never holy enough, not in what we offer ourselves. What is required is what God will actually provide, 400 years later... a perfect priest with the incredible sacrifice of his own body and blood for us. What freedom, what assurance, what hope -- not in a better try, but in the finished work of the Son of God for us.

From Malachi 1. Just before 400 years of silence, God's final word to Israel is... I have loved you. They question that, naturally -- it sure doesn't look like they are prospering. But God's word is a word of promise. A promise that he has always had them and kept them, even in the midst of their failures. A promise that he would use them to bless the world, as he promised Abraham; that a forever king would come from the line of David. Jesus is coming, and God's declaration carries the same strength to us: a promise in his own work for us in Christ Jesus. Rejoice, He has done it!

From the last verses of Romans. Paul leaves with a push for us to remain in the wondrous truth of Christ for us. We are strengthened not by ourselves or by certain disciplines, but by God himself. He brings strength through the good news of Jesus proclaimed (he did it, and it worked!); through the mystery revealed (you belong!), and especially by his own command (his plan is this!). This strengthens by bringing assurance and trust -- which is the obedience of faith. Receive this incredible gift of Jesus for you, which is all you need, forever... in Him.

From Deuteronomy 28. We get in our heads that God is helping us be selfless by doing the law. But that's just not the case. Lawkeeping is presented in a selfish context: do this and you'll get blessed, don't do it and you'll be cursed. Talk about self-oriented! There's no escaping that selfless love is just not possible under the law. What we actually need is what we get: rescue, redemption, adoption, salvation. And that's entirely a gift from God to us. We die to our own climbing and receive the wonder of God for us. Jesus died for us and it worked! His gift is what we receive, and so the good news is not our selfless activity, but his love for you and me. What a Savior!

From Romans 16. Paul seems to end his letter -- then comes back for one more appeal. And it is an appeal to avoid those who will come to put divisive obstacles to the simple gospel he's proclaimed. Jesus really has done all for us, and it worked; when people want to push us back to the law, to tell us that we need to do more and try harder now that we trust Jesus, Paul says don't fight, just avoid. Sidestep. .We have received the greatest gift ever, and our Savior isn't just for a distant heaven, but uses us here in ways we can't even see. Don't lose heart with accusations, just hold fast, knowing that we are in Christ forever!

The fullness of our Savior's blessing is that we have been freed, saved, forgiven, given righteousness, adopted into his family, along with all believers around us. That means Jesus really is enough. We don't have to now try and "figure out" how to maximize life for God. He is using us as he wills; that's part of our trust in him. Don't worry -- though your life doesn't seem to appear on the big screen, when the credits roll, your name will be securely found in having been used by God. He loves the outcast, the little, the least and the lost-- and we will be amazed to see how he has used us and accepted us into his kingdom forever!

So often we take the callings given to particular saints in the Bible and try and lay them on ourselves and others. Paul is a great example. He speak of how proud he is of being used, and we are tempted to think -- well, I'll do that too! But we aren't Paul. The wonder he has is that God used him to fulfill promises made right in the middle of the most amazing prophesy of Christ ever -- Isaiah 52 & 53. What that fulfillment means is that we find ourselves there too... as the receipients of the unmerited, overwhelming grace of forgiveness and righteousness in Christ. Knowing we are a part of God's plan lets us be free to trust that he uses us just as he wants, for his purposes and glory. Be free -- and be amazed at what an incredible savior we have!

Romans 15 is incredible. To be strong is to stand entirely on the wonder of what Jesus has done for us, and not on ourselves and our behaviors at all. Our proof is Jesus, who came not for "God's people" but in order to give mercy to the least, the little, the lost -- the pagans. So we don't have to win, or advance, or attain. We trust in a God who really has paid it all, who has us even when we are rejected and put down, who will never let us go. We receive the Gospel, we don't accomplish the law. Welcome to the upside down reality, the best news ever: Jesus Christ for us!

Romans 14 is often used as a "lowest common denominator" passage: don't do anything that might offend anyone else. But that's just a return to the law. What Paul actually tells us is that we are actually free. Instead of living life by other's opinions, instead don't harm them. That means don't entice someone who disagrees with you to enter into behaviors they think are wrong. The idea isn't to exalt your own take on living, but to live in the reality that Jesus is our holiness, salvation, and life. So enjoy the incredible freedom in trusting Jesus -- and care for other believers who Jesus loves too!

You'd think that Jesus saves us so that now we can keep ourselves with our obedience to a code. Not so, says Paul in Romans 14. Those strong in faith are those who know they are free, trusting entirely in the finished work of Jesus for them. But it's ok to still struggle with judging and evaluating our own behavior and conduct, instead of simply trusting Jesus' finished work. That's because it doesn't change the truth of the the good news, or the reality that Jesus really paid it all. Our welcome to each other, weak or strong, is in the trust of the good news that acturally matters: Jesus Christ, the hope of glory.

From Romans 13. The law is for here, the kingdom of the world we live in as human beings. It limits and restrains everyone here, Christian or not. And in the flesh, we live in the dark, awaiting the actual return of our incredible Savior. Trusting his promise changes our lives. This change isn't that we become greater lawkeepers, more effective lovers of people; rather it is that we trust in the forgiveness and given righteousness that Jesus freely gives us. What wondrous news the gospel, and what amazing times ahead! Go ahead, trust this Savior!

From Romans 13. So often we get confused, thinking that we as Christians are now using the law to improve the world. But that way is closed. We've died to the law to live to Christ, our hope in his incredible loving work for us. Yet we are still in this world, awaiting for our Savior's return. Thus we continue to operate in submission to the law in this world, not to improve it, but as human beings, limiting harm to each other in following the rules of society. We don't blindly apply rules, but live knowing that in this age, law has been given for our good, to help everyone function. So go ahead, submit to authority -- but live in wonder that our life is hidden in Christ forever!

Sometimes we are so eager to get ourselves in the game that we miss what the Bible is actually saying... that is way better than our self-focus. That's the case in Romans 12. Paul gives a list of what it means to be in the body of Christ, and there really aren't imperatives in the list! Real love, rejoicing hope, good clinging, brotherly affection -- these are how God describes us, how he paints his body, not new commands to accomplish. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds, the wonder of receiving the great good news that Jesus Christ really has done it all, we are at peace with our Father. So here's an imperative: rest in the all sufficient arms of the one who has saved us forever!

From Romans 12. God's plan for us is so much better than we think! We aim at incremental small improvements, where we work on ourselves to slowly get transformed. That's not how it goes, says Paul. Instead we are radically changed by our minds actually receiving the good news of Jesus. We know God loves us and has us -- His will is that we are alive, holy, and blameless. We're freed to actually live our lives, all of us graced with different gifts, passions, and directions. But we all are transformed, because God has us every step, in Christ.

We have received and affirm the good news: Jesus Christ has done everything. We have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. Yes! And after that... so often "buts" come in. Yes, Jesus - but my sin still afflicts me; other Christians are still imperfect; circumstances are difficult; we should love more... on and on. Those "after the but" statements all reveal where our real emphasis is. Renewing our mind is to go back and put God's work after the but, not before. Yes, your circumstances are hard, your love is imperfect, others harm you... But God in Christ adores you forever, and he declares your forgiveness, your goodness, your freedom forever... in Him. Come rejoice in the real emphasis of our lives: Christ in us, the hope of glory!

From Romans 11. God's plan is incredible -- and so beyond what we think. Instead of encouraging and hoping for our obedience, God consigns everyone to disobedience, because his plan all along is mercy. Everything we have is by his mercy, because all have been disobedient. So if you have life, holiness, blamelessness before him, it is all a gift of his mercy through Jesus Christ. That's a game-changer, because we already have these things, entirely by what Jesus has done, and are free to live life as the gift of a merciful God!

From Romans 11. Paul uses Israel as an example of how God's plan is so different than ours. He nurtured and grew Israel, went before them and was always their God; he also has always had the plan that they would deliver over his Son to be crucified. Their greatest action wasn't their faithful living but their sin, used by God to bring in the Gentiles. And how much more amazing and sweet is it that he also forgives them, bringing life from the dead! God works in ways I just can't wrap my mind around; my hope is in trusting that Jesus has done is all, that it worked, and that he is using me even when I only see my failure and falling. He's that amazing!

In the giving of the Law, Moses wiped out all the Israelites' excuses. You don't have to go get these commandments, God has brought them right to you, he said. You just have to do them. Obey and be blessed, disobey and be cursed. Logically we're tempted to think then that Jesus just brings the power to obey. But instead, Paul makes a deeper, more amazing move in Romans 10. He says our 'doing' is not how we get blessed. Jesus came down from heaven on his own; he rose from the dead for us without any obedience at all from us. So our lives aren't about 'do,' but about 'done.' We trust that Jesus really has done it all -- and it worked! Hallelujah, what an incredible Savior!

From Romans 9. We think that God's grace is bound up in our actions; a life that is moving upward in holiness and success is what God's after. But God has other ideas. We are simply drenched in mercy, by promise, without reservation. As our lives go up and down, through crashes and achievements, and even death, what is key is that it is all God's hand at work in us. He does what he wants through his actions. We continue to speak the truth to each other: that we are loved and cared for and in the his family, not by the evidence of our lives or the successes we see, but by the word of promise: mercy for all who turn to Jesus Christ.

Romans 8 has incredible and reassuring news. Instead of us seeking after Holy Spirit power to go back and "get 'er done', our main task is to trust that the gospel is true. The truth is not just that we are headed for a distant heaven, but that the Holy Spirit is in us now, using us as he desires. He is the Spirit of Life, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of adoption. It is by his power and activity that we are actually in God's family forever. The powerful Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead also gives life to us -- that's great news for trusting that our daily lives are never useless or alone!

From Romans 7. What shocking truth -- that what the death of Jesus did was release us from the law, like when a married spouse dies and the law of marriage is done for that relationship. So the death of Jesus means we died to the law; we are released in order to belong to the risen Jesus. Our relationship is by the Spirit, and we bear fruit to God, not in returning to the law, but in trusting that we died in Christ, and we have life in Him apart from our own work at all. Welcome to the scary freedom of trusting that Jesus did it all, and it worked!

From Romans 6. We naturally think that our Christian lives are about sin management. When we hear the actual gospel -- the good news that all of our sin has been forgiven forever, and we have been gifted Christ's goodness -- it sounds too good to be true. "Should we then sin even more, so that the gift is bigger?" is actually a question that understands how incredible the gift is. And Paul's answer is no! But that "no" is not a direction to go work on sin, but rather to trust in the new life given, and not even worry about self at all. Trust in Jesus, and don't go back to sin management!

From Romans 5:12-21. What an amazing link: that Adam, in the garden, set the conditions by which everyone sins, and so everyone dies. And the one who overcomes our death is the one who gives life as a free gift of grace, without regard to the sin and death we are in. This would all seem like a wonderful philosophical discussion if it weren't for what it means: life for us forever, by the once-for-all gift of Jesus, and the law there to push us to Jesus rather than guide us to sin-free life. What incredble good news for us: grace reigns through Jesus Christ!

Jesus died, and three days later rose again. We celebrate and worship this incredible event (and our real savior!) every Easter. Less celebrated but no less important for us is what happened in our relationship: Easter is the start of the New Covenant. Jesus' blood, his sacrifice, inaguarated a new relationship, where we
are given new hearts, and all our sins are forgiven forever. It's not a "new car" replacement of the requirements of the Old, but something entirely new, where we are "in Christ," united to him, and everything is about trusting that he has actually done it all. Forget the car, jump on the plane -- where we are clean and close by the work of Christ alone. Easter rocks!

From Romans 5. Three times Paul tells us to boast. That's hard for us to hear, because to us boasting is all about ourselves. Our accomplishments, our hard work, our character. We think perhaps it is ok to boast of those things if we acknowledge God helped us. But that's not what we are to boast about at all. Instead we boast in God's love for us. Our hope of glory, which is entirely dependent on him; our afflictions and weaknesses, which highlight that everything is based in his incredible love for us, and in him reconciling us and making us new in Jesus. We have so much to be boasting about, and all of it centered exactly on Jesus Christ for us, now and forever!

From Genesis 27. Jacob strikes out in deceiving his father over and over to get a blessing. That's par for the course of his life, though -- he falls down over and over. We'd expect him to be done, rejected, and not part of any blessing whatsoever. And that's where we're wrong. God blesses Jacob (and us!) not by our merit, our good decisions, or moral behavior, but by his promise. And he has promised life and usefulness and blessing forever to those who simply trust in the promise of Jesus Christ. What a surprising -- and amazing! -- God we have.

From Romans 2. We study the commands of God, working to know them and apply them. We judge those who don't measure up. But the issue isn't how much you know. It's whether you do what the law says. And Paul's flat statement is that no one does... especially not anyone who judges others. We are all under the same condemnation: we do not do the substance of the law from the heart. Our only hope is a gift, outside of ourselves... which is why we aren't ashamed of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ as an amazing gift of new life to us. Trust this incredible Savior!

From Romans 1. Our inability to fully and from the heart desire to do exactly what we were made for is easily seen, says Paul. And that's not God's anger. Rather it is evidence that he is indignant, because he could change it all, but allows the mess that we are in. He shows us that our current merit-based system of pleasing and doing just doesn't cut it. We need a whole different way -- The Way, which is rescue by trusting in God become flesh, Jesus Christ. He's the perfect gift and the revelation of God's amazing love toward us all!

The trailer to Romans, that is. Paul starts the letter making these incredible statements on how the gospel is everything! He says that his goal is to bring from all nations the obedience of faith. We are tempted to make this mean that faith brings obedience, but Paul means something very different. He declares the good news to bring about trust in Jesus, which is what obedience is. Faith isn't in order to work, rather faith -- simply trusting in the finished work of Christ -- is the actual obedience produced by the proclamation of the gospel. Rejoice! He has done it all!

Faith is everything. But so often we don't know what it means. We have faith in the Bible, or a creed, or healing, or some attribute or fact we know about God. That's not THE faith. Faith is belief, simple trust, and it is in the God who came down for us. He paid it all; he loves us; he forgives all our sin. Our faith is in a person, Jesus Christ, and in all he he has done for us. That's why it is a gift, received. Him for us, forever. Rejoice, we don't trust bunch of fact, but a living person who promises rescue and resurrection and life.

Oh how we long for joy. We hear lots of advice on how to get it: serve, do good, choose it. Yet the Bible has a different view of joy: it is in the gift. Undeserved favor to those who have no hope, a gift that lifts our heads and gladdens our hearts because it has nothing to do with our actions at all. This is the gift of Jesus for us. He has done it all, and so we can read the Bible and all the blessings of God for us... are actually true. He is for us, forever, in Christ. Merry Christmas... and may the best gift you'll ever get blow your socks off this season!

Peace is way more than the absence of war. It is relational wholeness, well-being, freedom from turmoil, being at rest. We've tasted it, but we tend to be constantly evaluating if we are getting enough, or being enough, to be at peace. Into our cycle of seeing peace based on our own actions, God himself acts. God became human and dwelt among us, and his actions secured our peace forever. Rejoice in this incredible gift: peace not based on anything we've done, but only and forever on the love he has for us. Peace arrived!

Hope is often used as a synonym for our wishes, dreams, and desires. As they relate to God, there is uncertainty -- because we aren't sure what he will do in our lives. We struggle over what choices we might make to ensure our hopes become reality. But the hope of advent is entirely different. The greatest event ever -- God himself becoming human -- marks a promise and activity that is entirely on his side. It is finished because Jesus Christ actually came, while we were sinners, and lived and died and rose to rescue us. Our hope isn't some dream dependent on our right activity: it is a confidence of God for us, forever, because of Jesus!

Overwhelmed at the depth of how God loves and uses us, that is. Ruth 4 is an incredible example. Naomi, leaving God's house of bread and experiencing the death of her husband and children, left only with the seemingly insignificant loyalty of an unconnected daughter-in-law. And then God using even the difficult circumstances and unknown connections to not just bless Naomi... but put her and Ruth in the actual line of David... and Jesus Christ. What an amazing God we have, who not only adores us but brings in the seemingly insignificant (and even wrong!) parts of our story, redeeming it all, enveloping us into his story forever. Overwhelming!

The pathway from bitter to blessed doesn't go as we'd think. We are often caught up in the religious "obey/be blessed, disobey/be cursed" that flavors all our thinking. That's why the book of Ruth is such incredible good news. Redemption comes not from good choices but from a seemingly unimportant connection (the gift of surprising loyalty) and the introduction of an actual redeemer. This is what God provides: not help with better choices but a Redeemer. This is the gift of our Savior, who has paid it all for us and covers us in forgiveness, righteousness, and redemption forever.

From Ruth 1. Naomi has made terrible choices. And she has lost her husband and her children. Famine follows her. She heads back to Bethlehem in shame, only a foreign daughter-in-law with her. Don't call me pleasant, call me bitter, she says. Yet we know something she doesn't. That God is at work. Her self-evaluation is wrong, not because she hasn't suffered, but because of the incredible things God is doing through and around her. Would you receive this gift: that Jesus Christ is for you, now and forever, and he has blessed you beyond what you will ever see!

So often we think the goal of Christian living is to become stronger and better. The law is our ladder to improved flesh. But Paul ends Galatians insisting that those efforts simply aren't our goal. Instead we die, and are brought to new life in Christ by the Spirit. What matters is the new creation, and that is entirely a work of God in Christ. Come, trust him, receive the wonderful news that the gospel is true, that Jesus Christ brings forgiveness and righteousness, that he has us now and forever.

From Galatians 6. "You reap what you sow." The phrase strikes fear in us. Are you sowing good so that you will get good? But that's not the point. The point is that sowing to the flesh -- our own righteousness, holiness, advancement, our focus on ourselves -- leads to corruption, even though you don't see it now. And to sow to the Spirit -- trusting Jesus and all that he gives us in forgiveness, righteousness, and freedom -- may not look like much, but it will reap life. Hear the good news: Christ for you, forever.

Galatians 5. We so often think God's goal is to improve us. So we see the Holy Spirit as a divine power source, which we tap into to make ourselves better, stronger, holier, whatever. But in actuality the Spirit is in conflict with the flesh. We can't "use" the Spirit to improve. That path leads nowhere. Rather we turn from ourselves, and trust the Spirit will produce all the fruit that God desires. We really have a new way of life: trusting this incredible God who declares the good news of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5. Our freedom accomplished by Jesus is the ground for seeing everything differently. Instead of getting to work on our righteousness, we have the hope of righteousness, a gift from Jesus. Instead of trusting so that we can obey, we see that trust is the obedience, because Jesus has done it all! And we don't return to the law, even the great law of love. Instead we trust the perfect love of Christ, for us and for our neighbor. So we don't have to impose our way -- instead we believe the Way, which is the good news of Jesus Christ our Savior.

From Galatians 4. One of the most practical -- and oft misunderstood -- areas of Christian living is our freedom. We are free. And that freedom is not to be a better person, to avoid sin, or to accomplish for God. No, we are free from the law, free to drop our guilt and shame, free from measurement and accounting. This is the division between law and gospel, and they cannot be mixed, says Paul. The law makes children for slavery, working through the flesh; the gospel brings children of promise, through the Spirit. Rejoice, because Jesus really has done it all!

From Galatians 4. Incredible news from outside of ourselves: we are heirs and children of God, adopted into his family, by what Jesus has accomplished. We have been freed from the basic princples of the world -- where we were kept under the law -- and are now in Christ. This is so hard to believe that the Holy Spirit testifies to our hearts that it is true! There's a 'so what' to all of it -- so don't go back. Don't add yourself back in. Receive and rest in the promise of Jesus for you, forever!

From Galatians 3. Often we fully accept that our conversion is by Jesus alone. But we have trouble trusting Christ for our daily living. It's like we've been delivered from a burning building but want to spend our time putting out the flames, managing sin, improving the flesh. Instead, Paul urges the Galatians (and us!) to take the leap, scary as it might be, to an entirely different foundation: trusting that we live now by the Spirit, who produces fruit in us and is with us for our entire lives. Our only hope remains in what Christ has done, him alone. May we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus!

It's the final word of Ecclesiastes: fear and obey God. That's because you are in a state of decay and decline, followed by death. Everything you do will be judged by the creator of all. Ecclesiastes, the best of man's wisdom, is deep and true. But God's final word, wisdom from above, is deeper and more amazing still: we have a Savior. Jesus upholds the need for perfection, but then provides it. He declares forgiveness and righteousness and life... simply by trusting in the one who loves us and dies with us and is with us forever.

Ecclesiastes 11. The golden rule of investing is to diversify. That's because we don't know what God will do, in any of the areas of life we think we have control over. Yet while we don't control outcomes, we are told in the Bible that God will judge our inputs -- both external actions and internal motives. This leads to a life of fear and uncertainty, seeing God as mostly unhappy with us. So what good news the gospel brings! Jesus announces that the judgment is finished, not by our improvement but by forgiveness, trusting his Word. We're moved from fear of judgment to life as an amazing gift. Because it is. In Christ.

Ecclesiastes 7. Denial is a fool's game, so we contrive many ways to try and control this life under the sun. The most common is to be righteous, good, so that God and others will bless us. The difficulty, says the wise writer of Ecclesiastes, is that no one is righteous. Humbled and forced to live a daily life, we turn to our only real hope -- the one who redeems and rescues and saves. Our incredible righteous one, Jesus Christ. He gives full and free forgiveness to all who receive him. Can't wait to be with him forever!

We long for justice and want to end oppression. In Ecclesiastes, the Preacher looks at the world and doesn't find a way. Power corrupts; overthrowing regimes leads to new regimes, all exercising power over others. It is hard for us to hear, that in our longing for justice and getting power we become part of the problem. Yet as we recognize our inability, we can see a true hope: the one who became oppressed for us, God who had everything giving up his power for us. In our weakness, he is our strength, both in life now and forever.

From Matthew 7. Judge not, that you not be judged; ask and you shall receive. Those don't seem like connected thoughts, but they very much are. Jesus identifies our problem, not that other people aren't guilty, but that we all are crushed by the standard of the law. Our hope is not in being better in ourselves, but in receiving a gift. And the Father delights in giving this gift to any who ask: the gift of Christ himself, our Savior, his rightness and goodness ours forever. Great news for lost, broken, outcaste losers like us!

So often what is presented to us as Christians is that our life is one of self-improvement, with some help from God. We try to climb a ladder to God, to get to his level, to be approved, stronger, complete. Yet the ladder the Bible presents is a down ladder. Our incredible news is Christ come down to us. Life is not strengthening the flesh but a new creation, one that he creates through death and resurrection. Our direction looks aimless and foolish but is actually towards an incredible life in trusting Him, not us.

God is love, and Jesus came to earth because of the incredible love he has for us. You might think that his love is like ours -- attracted to what is beautiful, strong, upright, good. But God's love in Christ is different. His love isn't attracted to what he likes; rather it creates what he desires. God's love is for losers, because there's nothing attractive in us, just a one-way action for our good that doesn't care at all that we are lost, little, wicked, dead. Christmas is the best news ever -- because there is love for losers!

Reason serves us well. We know that judgment is coming, Paul says, so we persuade people. We know that God looks at the heart, not just the outward behavior, so we too logically move toward internal virtue. But in the midst of our reasonable rationality comes an explosive grenade that defies all logic. It is a message. A proclamation. That Jesus was made sin so that we might be made the very righteousness of God. And this is so far beyond reasonable thinking that it must simply be received. By faith in a God who is wonderfully beyond logic.