An Unconventional Christmas Eve Message
December 24, 2024
Have you been disappointed in Christians lately? I have. Christian students, employees and parents are supposed to be marked by excellence. Not perfect, but excellent.
And I am disappointed every time we are not.
We are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:45), answer those who revile us with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15), exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God in all we do (Galatians 5:22-23), and work wholeheartedly to the gloof God:
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men: (Colossians 3:23); So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Are my standards too high? I don’t think so. The Holy Spirit of God lives in us and He is perfect, powerful and personal.
The Spirit can shine through us!
Many know the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, but I was captivated recently by the description of Daniel just prior to this miraculous event. Darius the Mede chose Daniel and two other administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests.
As you read about Daniel, might this describe you as well?
Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. Then the other administrators and high offices began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn.
They couldn’t find anything to criticize.
Are you kidding me? Nothing? I wrote in the margin of my Bible, “Me too, Lord. Please.” I was invigorated afresh with a commitment to strive for excellence in all I do. It’s wording I use with my son: Don’t just do the job, do it with excellence. Finish the chore. Write your best while doing homework. Greet people with energy and a smile. It’s wording I use with myself. I pray for the ability to grade and teach well, write and speak well, and love people well. Whatever it is, I want to do it well. I want to do it so well,
…that there isn’t anything to criticize or condemn.
My family would laugh reading these aspirations of mine, and maybe my students and colleagues, neighbors and friends too. I make mistakes every day and speak honestly about my struggles. But I also hope people see me trusting God to be excellent in all of my work, caring so much that I am quick to apologize when I mess up and quick to give God credit for anything that “works out.”
When someone is excellent, what can they criticize?
So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
The only thing they could go after was His faith.
Nothing else.
Our faith in Jesus will offend, and when we are criticized, may these principles bring us comfort and joy:
Okay folks, let’s do this.
Let’s up our game and pray for a life of excellence like Daniel: Lord, we ask for your hand to be upon all we do so our life is marked with excellence for Your glory. May people not find anything to criticize or condemn except our faith.
“Us too, Lord. Please. Us too.”
Picture Explanation: We got out of suburbia to see some trees and tour a gold mine in one of our favorite towns. Yes, the Aetna inscription on the wooden boxes is the same Aetna we now know as a medical insurance company, which our family greatly appreciates. The company made dynamite for gold mining way back when.
© 2020 by Oaks Ministries. All rights reserved.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6
4 Responses
Amen Laurie! I can sense the fire in your soul on this subject. I too have been made numb by seeing and reading about the actions of some “Christians “. Have they misplaced their Bibles in all this chaos? My prayers have been for this country to turn back to decency and respect for others and to Show love . Miss you My friend.
Yes, there is fire in my soul over this subject. I am glad it came through. I had to smile at your, “Have they misplaced their Bibles in all this chaos?” Seems so, perhaps because we have lost the desperation in our hearts to stay connected to the Author of the bible. May we not succumb to the same. It can happen to each of us. What a sobering thought.
I miss you too, and I am praying for your country too. Lord, help us.
Hi, Friend. We are hearing about the fall of another “giant of the faith.” I think of the words of Casting Crowns, “It’s a slow fade when we give our hearts away. . . People never crumble in a day” (https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/castingcrowns/slowfade.html).
When we walk away from excellence, from excellently obeying, excellently trusting, excellently staying accountable, excellently engaging in spiritual warfare, excellently calling out sin in ourselves and others, and excellently repenting, the suffering is great; the damaging is great.
Lord, help us to care about excellently following you and excellently obeying you. Deliver us, Lord.
Thank you for this message, Laurie.
Thank you for the affirmation, LeAnn. I can be made to feel “extreme,” too passionate, too “out there,” but in surrendering our entire hearts to Jesus — every inch — there is no such thing as being too surrendered. We can each feel those slips start to happen. Catching them early is key…not because God says, but because God’s ways are life and safe and lead to greater intimacy with Him, whom we love. To do anything else is a path toward destruction. It’s what He spared us from! To Him be the glory.
Thank you for sharing the song.