Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Hopeful and Desperate

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas PCC!

We are locked and loaded with Christmas Eve preparations, ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior four times on Christmas Eve.  Since it is good news for all people, let’s join God in inviting all people to the gatherings!  Be bold with your inviting spirit! Times and information on the four gatherings can be found here.

What’s so good about the good news?  The reality of the human condition is that we need Jesus like we need oxygen. Like we need water. Like the branch needs the vine. Jesus is not merely a figure for devotions. He is the missing essence of our existence. Whether we know it or not, we are desperate for Jesus -- more desperate than we realize.  I see, read of and hear the desperate cries through the headlines on my homepage, through the ethnic unrest in our communities, through the justice disparity that exists on the Peninsula and around the world, and through all the “…isms” that have become commonplace. Sin is insidious and has permeated vast aspects of our whole existence. Oh friends, I am an upbeat person by nature, but don’t mistake temperament for contentment. I am hopeful but desperate.
         
To have Jesus’ life, joy, love, and presence cannot be compared. To know Him as He is, is to come home. A true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest need and our greatest happiness. The very purpose of our being here on this planet, at this moment in time, taking up space and filtering air through our lungs, even reading this missive comes down to three things:


  • To love Jesus with all that we are: This is the first and greatest command. Everything else in life flows from here.
  • To share our daily lives with Jesus: To let him be himself with us. At the office, at supper, as we recreate, along the way—just as the disciples did.
  • To allow his life to fill ours: To heal and express itself through ours. There is no other way we can hope to live as He did and show Him to others.


As I close out 2014, my prayer and exhortation for us who call PCC home is this:  Love Jesus. Let Him be Himself with you. Allow His life to permeate yours. The fruit of this will be . . . well… breathtaking.

Finally, may I also ask you to be bold in joining the PCC community asking God for His favor financially as we end this year?  We need a God-sized increase this month!  You can watch a short video and glean more information that will help us all pray here

Thanks for an amazing 2014, PCC, and trust me when I say God has some amazing, faith-stretching, disruptive ventures ahead of us as a community in 2015.  I look forward to worshipping together tomorrow night.

I love being your (hopeful and desperate) pastor!