The question, “Are you ready for Christmas?” comes up every year! You find yourself asking others in the break room at work or in the church parking lot on Sunday mornings; or others ask you the same question at sporting events or holiday parties. It is, essentially, an inescapable inquiry, especially if you find yourself asking it inwardly: “Am I prepared for Christmas?”

Answers may vary as you think through the shopping list in your head — whether the Christmas cards were sent, the presents are wrapped, or if you bought a new string of lights because the old ones mysteriously tangled themselves after sitting untouched all year. Whatever to-do list you’ve created is fine and even enjoyable, but if that list is only filled with busy holiday tasks, then you may not actually be prepared. Christmas Day will come and go, presents will be opened, halls will be decked, and eggs will be nogged; but you might feel like the month disappeared, leaving you stressed from the busyness of the season — wanting nothing more than to hide in a hole until next year.
There is nothing wrong with the physical aspects of the celebration. I look forward to getting my wife a gift, taking my boys to visit different light displays, and gathering with family and friends. But there is a greater need — to be spiritually prepared for the celebration of Christ’s incarnation. The birth of the Messiah absolutely deserves to be celebrated, for it is the incarnation of our Savior and the bodily presence of a holy God: Immanuel (Isa. 7). That is what we celebrate on December 25th — God’s arrival in the flesh, the doctrine of the incarnation.

There is first a reality we must face if we want a solid biblical foundation and a fuller view of Christ’s advent. As we enter this season, let’s truly begin the preparation process.

That chief reality is a question of purpose. Why did the world need the Savior to be born? The birth of Christ is, as John Piper notes in his devotional Good News of Great Joy, an indictment on us. The very necessity of Jesus points to humanity’s failure. So thanks be to God for his Son Jesus, whom we accurately call our Savior — but what did we need to be saved from?  Well we came up short according to God’s law; even our best attempts at pleasing Him were a “burden” or “detestable” (Isa. 1:10–15). Both in heart and in deed, there was nothing we could do to save ourselves from sin and its wages — death. We needed a Savior, we needed to be saved from our own nature. And we could not save our selves.

The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” In Matthew 1, the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, comforting his fears while giving him a command in verse 21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” It is no coincidence that Matthew’s account of the incarnation includes both His title, Immanuel, and His name, Yeshua. Matthew was intentional in quoting the prophet Isaiah; as Isaiah prophesied this very event and he was shown a very important truth. We needed Jesus to take on human flesh in humility, live the perfect life we could not, and die the death we deserved — paying for sins He never committed. We needed God Himself to intervene; we needed Yahweh to save us from our sins. Which he did.

This is the preparation that truly matters for Christmas — a sober look at why we need Jesus, leading to a joyful celebration of His mercy and grace. When we grasp this, we can delight in the Lord’s provision and providence, celebrating Christmas not merely as a holiday, but as the glorious arrival of the Savior we so desperately need.

The name Immanuel is not merely an identifier; it is a profound theological statement that encapsulates the entire narrative of divine presence. The word itself translates directly to the very essence of the promise: “God with us.” We often take the simple act of calling someone by their name for granted, forgetting the deep intimacy and recognition that it implies.

Think of the universal joy and anticipation when new parents prepare to announce their child's name—it is a momentous unveiling that welcomes the child into relationship. In a far more wondrous way, God has chosen to unveil His own name to us. He has given us the ultimate invitation, bringing us into the inner circle by revealing the name Jesus, which is the fulfillment of Immanuel. Knowing Him by name is the most personal and intimate connection possible, describing not just what He is, but who He is to us: the accessible, relational Divine.

Beyond being a name, Immanuel is a profound statement of divine intention and decisive action. It reveals God's relentless desire to bridge the gap between the Creator and His creation, demonstrating that His primary purpose is presence. God deliberately named Himself “God with us” so that every time His people call upon Him, they are immediately reminded of His guaranteed, physical, and emotional availability.

This promise transcends the simple act of sending an external delegate or a distant intermediary. Instead, Immanuel signifies that God Himself became the Helper, the Savior, the King, and the Friend, stepping fully into our human story through the Incarnation. It asserts the core truth of salvation: that God's plan centers on His intimate, unwavering, and personal presence among us, fulfilling the deepest human need for connection with the divine. This name assures us that in every circumstance, God has already committed to being right there.

Community: Sheep of His Pasture

“All this is on me.” “What if I fail? What if I can’t meet the expectations or what if I ruin the friendships?” “Am I going to end up divorced and alone?” Anxious, loud, powerful thoughts raced through my mind like a train without a conductor and a madman shoveling heaps of coal into the furnace laughing maniacally. It was 3am.

You know what the wild thing is? The day prior was a great day! It was a Sunday and although we had to maneuver like the matrix to cover the bases; we matrix’d ourselves and it was a good day. So what was with the anxiety attack? I pondered this as I got up from the bed only to lay back down a few moments later. I began to panic more and eventually, in desperation, I woke my beautiful sleeping wife. She groggily asked what was wrong and I broke into tears.

The World On My Shoulders

Later in the morning, my family had left the house and I laid in bed feeling like a husk of a human completely drained of all energy and emotions. Honestly, it was a pathetic sight in the mirror so I rolled on to my back then it hit me: I’m Elijah! Before you get all huffy, I didn’t mean the cool false prophet slaying, false god-mocking, stops the rain, starts the rain, known to have a habit of teleportation, Elijah. I mean the running through the desert to Mount Horeb Elijah; scared for his life because Jezebel said she would kill him, Elijah. I opened my phone and began listening to 1 Kings 18 because reading was too much for me.

I listened through chapter 18 then through chapter 19. The usual things stuck out and some not so usual things (18:46, I’m looking at you. Is Elijah the first speedster in history?) but two big things grabbed my attention. In chapter 18:3-4;13, Obadiah is a faithful man who hid a hundred prophets of the Lord and cared for them and he tells, or reminds, Elijah of this. Then in chapter 19:10;14 Elijah cries out to God that he is the only prophet left. I initially chuckled in a tired way and mumbled something about Elijah being a whiner. Then I regretted it because the Lord is faithful, merciful, and compassionate. Which is amazingly displayed in his ministering to Elijah. The Lord is so merciful and loving, so much so, that he wouldn’t let me be so arrogant and prideful in my anxiety and pain to think the world rests on my shoulders anymore than he let Elijah believe this. In 1 Kings 19:18 God tells Elijah that he will leave seven thousand who will not bend the knee to Baal.

Listen, we are not alone. Even when it feels like we are; we aren’t. Obadiah hid a hundred prophets and God has seven thousand who are faithful. Personally, I have my wife and I serve on the team of pastors and team of elders here at Centerpoint. That is clearly to state the fact that I am not alone. So why did Elijah think he was the only one? Why did I anxiously think it’s all on my shoulders? Because both of us forgot, for a variety of factors, the crucial reality of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all I need.”

The Lord Is My Shepherd…

This crucial reality was forgotten by Elijah and I. Speaking for myself, and quoting Paul Tripp, I had gospel amnesia. See, the Lord, He, is our Shepherd and he leads us. I’m not the shepherd but the Lord is my shepherd. Pause for a second and drink that in: “The Lord is my Shepherd.” When I hear this I get a picture of a shepherd and a sheep. One Shepherd. One sheep. Me and God. And this is true but incomplete. God’s flock is not just me as an isolated sheep; Psalm 100 says, “we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” So, Elijah and I both are sheep in God’s flock and God has a bunch more sheep in his flock.

For Elijah, there were the one hundred prophets that Obadiah hid on top of the seven thousand that God declared remained faithful and did not bend the knee to Baal. For me, my wife is right there and there are three other pastors on staff here at Centerpoint and five additional elders. God has not led me to isolation and given me tasks to complete by myself. No, the Lord is my Shepherd and he has brought me into his flock, to his pasture, to complete tasks in community with his people.

Spoiler alert, we are not the main character. We act like the hero of our own story, but Scripture keeps reminding us that Jesus is. The Bible points to him and shows how the Father uses broken humans to reflect the glory of God manifested in Jesus the Christ. Elijah is not the main character and God reminds him of this in 19:15-18. The Lord is our Shepherd; he leads us.

He Leads Me…

“Anxiety attack” was all I could say as my wife wrapped her arms around me that night. I sobbed and drifted to sleep. When I woke up the attack was still on but lessening. I remembered Pastor Steve talking about how Psalm 23 ministered to his soul in the hospital. So I opened to 1 Kings 18.

As chapter 18 challenged me in my thoughts of being all alone, chapter 19 concludes with Elisha becoming Elijah’s protege, which reinforced that Elijah is still a sheep whose Shepherd is the Lord. Then I turned to Psalm 23. “He leads me,” rang in my head and echoed around the exhausted chambers of my heart and mind. “He leads me.” I am a sheep. I am his sheep and he, only he, is my Shepherd. There is much for me to do in life. But, I am not to do what my Shepherd has not laid before me. I am to be led by my Shepherd. Truly, there is no other way to live than to be led by the Lord. My anxiety attack caused me to react to life like a sheep when startled. “I alone am left!” Elijah and I cried out. But where Elijah was told of the seven thousand, I was reminded of my wife, my fellow pastors, my wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ at Centerpoint.

The Way Together

Do not misunderstand, this story is not about me or Elijah. This story is about God invading the dark valleys of life and leading his people, the sheep of his pasture, through them as the Good Shepherd. This is a story that highlights how quickly we can preach a false gospel, to ourselves, with us at the center of it being the hero. And this is a story about how the Good Shepherd finds this scared selfish little sheep and leads it through the dark valley with his flock.

In the afternoon, I went to the church hoping to find one of the guys. Pastor Steve was there and we talked for an hour and half about everything. Not once was I chided, or rebuked, or judged harshly. I was loved. I was identified with. The valley I walk through has been travelled before by those before me and even those around me. Sheep have been led through dark valleys before and the Good Shepherd leads and loses not one of his sheep. My conversation with Pastor Steve should be understood as two sheep of the Shepherd’s pasture “Baa”ing back and forth about how the Shepherd is faithful even when the valley is fearfilled.

Brothers and sisters, we are not designed to be alone. Solitude, sure. But that is momentary and to be spent with God so technically, still not alone. We are to travel through life following the Good Shepherd, Jesus, as a flock together. Psalm 23 declares, we are but one of the sheep in his flock. We need the Shepherd to lead us along the way together.

Throughout the annals of Christianity, there have been numerous figures who have been venerated for their leadership and vision. Among them, St. Basil the Great stands out. He became a beacon of leadership within the Church, a legacy through his letters. Not only through his own written thoughts, but through the writings of his contemporaries in Cappadocia and the input of his sister in her works. We have a decently clear picture of who St. Basil was and his enormous effect on the rest of Church History. As we are given insight into his life, modern disciples can glean much from his leadership, passion and influence on Christian doctrine and social service.
               Living in Cappadocia, Basil was planted in a pivotal urban center within the Roman Empire, known for its strategic importance and marked by the transformative reign of Constantine. While transitioning from an era of persecution, Christianity became an official sanctioned religion, which was foundational for the Great Saint’s efforts. Throughout the trajectory of his life, there was influence from the Ascetic camp of Christianity, which was the movement which was born out of Christians’ attempt to combat complacency, challenging believers to deny worldly pleasures to focus on Jesus, study and do good works. Originally, this trend included a sense of isolation as well; which would be changed forever due to Basil’s influence. Other like-minded Christians began to congregate and started forming a community of ascetics, even as Basil attempted to be isolated. This would become the basis for more modern ideas of monasticism, communities of people desiring to deny themselves and seek Jesus. Obviously there were instances where even that desire was not executed well.
               Later on in his life, Basil would become the Bishop of Caesarea, which allowed him to use his influence to fight against Arianism (a heretical belief about the trinity that puts Jesus as lower than God the Father), to encourage churches to perform acts of service to the needy and gave him the resources to personally serve others in dire situations. He encouraged leaders and churches to give of themselves in sacrificial love with compassion and on several occasions, led by example. He gave of personal finances and refused riches to turn it into resources to help the poor. That was the kind of man St. Basil was, not a man demanding sainthood, but a man asking the church to be the church; to be like Jesus.
           
In one of his writings to church leaders, he asked the question, “whose feet will you wash” referencing John 13:4-5. This is a question I would like to pose to us as a question to ponder even today. Some of us have read this passage and story, even seen pastors preach on this with the visual display of washing someone’s feet. But have we asked the question, “whose feet will I wash today?” Before you spend too much time thinking about that question, look at the story in John 13, read it and dwell on some of the details. It is okay, I’ll give you time to read and explore the narrative…
               One detail we know very well is, WHO is washing the feet… and to some degree we understand why Peter would go on to refuse such self-humiliating service from his Rabbi and leader. Jesus kneeling before his students’ dung and dust covered feet can really paint a picture in one’s mind. I want you to read the passage again… picture how John describes this event. Jesus, the miracle working Rabbi who has turned the world, as was known, on its head. This wonderful man from Nazareth, who called a group of 12 strangers by name to follow him and called them to participate in such wonderful things. This teacher has made some bold claims but carried such authority that those bold claims could not be taken lightly. He is the one who takes on the task reserved for the lowest of servants. He is the one who washes away their dirt and grime. He is the one to dry their feet then get up and repeat the process eleven more times. Picture the confused looks on the men’s faces and imagine their attempts to refuse the act. Peter was the one who was recorded denying having his feet washed, but we should consider the others put up their own resistance. As Jesus finishes the last set of feet, he wipes the sweat from his brow, dries his hands on the towel he had been using, and cleans up the equipment.

What kind of Lord would lower himself to such a place? What kind of person would do that?
Well, we know quite well that Jesus is that kind of Lord-

From this passage we observe 3 things about Jesus.

• We are made aware of his HEART to serve his disciples in such a way.
  • We know that he, as Philippians 2 v7 covers, “emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant…”   He desired to take on flesh, to show up as a servant while he set aside, like his outer garments, his glory. This willingness to limit himself from who he fully is demonstrates to us an impossible example to follow. But something we can strive for, something that can be worked within our hearts to do.
• We can see so clearly his HUMILITY
  • Verse 7 in Phil. 2 shows this, while v8 explicitly states it. “… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death-----” Humility is extremely important here, as it is the physical act of humility that is on display as he washes the feet of his disciples. This whole scene is, in a way, a typology of what Christ will end up doing on the cross. He is stripped of his clothing, is nailed to the cross, in the ultimate act of service for his followers; taking on their sin and washing them wholly.
• Finally, the narrator makes us aware of Christ’s Knowledge.
  • He knew who he was, where he was from and where he would be going. This is important because this informs his Humility and magnifies his Heart. He was aware of what he was truly owed, he deserved to have his disciples kneeling before him. He deserved the treatment he was giving them. John is emphasizing the fact that Jesus was not the innocent victim of some grand scheme or that he was caught unaware. Jesus was fully aware of his authority, his origin, and the eventual work that he would do. He knew he had to act, assume humiliation, reveal his Heart and share his knowledge of what would be required of them moving forward- IF- the 12 were going to be successful in bringing the message of the Gospel.

Just like the disciples needed to take notes and emulate Jesus, as he would go on to command them to do so, St. Basil realized the call on his life as well as every Christian’s life to do the same. Basil realized quickly that he needed to have the same Heart as Jesus, that he needed to humble himself. The problem with us humans, including St. Basil, is that there are times of disconnect between what we know we should be doing and the ability to do so. The way we fix that disconnect is by knowing Jesus, having a relationship with him and seeking him as we emulate him.

Jesus knew who he was, Jesus knew what he had to do--- We know who we are (or we should) we know how much Jesus had to sacrifice for our own sins (let alone the sins of the entire world for all time). This knowledge should bring us to a better place of humility to emulate and display the heart of Jesus toward all people. Jesus did not just wash our feet but gave of himself to wash us clean by his blood. In this way we, like Basil, have to give of ourselves also.

There are just not enough basins, towels, willing hands, or water to do the work. So, my charge, which matches Basil’s throughout many of his writings, is to find ways to be those hands… Find what your local Church community needs… find those who are doing the work and come alongside them. We who know Jesus, ought to have the same heartbeat as him and emulate his humility. If he can leave his throne, kneel and serve others; we can leave our homes aswell to “wash feet” and serve.

Basil, as he was writing the Asketikon and speaking to the ascetic individualist wrote, “Whose feet will you wash? For whom will you perform the duties of care?”
Church, follower of Jesus, those who Know the one who washed you clean…
Whose feet will you wash?

One of our values at Centerpoint church is participation. It should go without saying that every church should have participation. We are to participate in offerings, participate in serving, participate in care services, etc. We should all be participating in the activities of the church. So far, this is an obvious point for most. Some reading this might not have known that we, as the church, are called to participate with one another in the operations of the local church. Well, we are and you are. We are not called to consumerism, we are called to active participation; young/old, male/female, educated/uneducated; we are all called to participate.

However, while the activities of the local church are an obvious and good place to start, there is another area that is vital to our lives as followers of Jesus and vital to our community as followers of Jesus. That area is participation in life together with God and with one another. What I mean by this is that we would be self-revealing about our mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational aspects of our lives to God in private confession and in obedience to God in communal participation of confession to one another. We are called to participate in the lives of our local church’s community.

In the beginning…

 Why is this vital? Well, humanity (which includes you and I) was not made for isolation but for community with God and one another with us actively participating in that community. The mention of God walking in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 suggests that communal participation in life that Adam and Eve shared with God. The story of Cain and Abel suggests that there should have been a communal participation in their sacrifice and worship of God but that there was not. This lack of participation plays out as Cain acts in a competitive way, rather than a relational way. Eventually, this boils over for him and he ultimately kills Abel. Instead of esteeming one another higher, heeding the warning of God, Cain esteems Abel the competition, the rival, and kills him.
 
Look at the Covenants in Genesis, the miracles in Exodus, the stories in Numbers, the laws in Leviticus, and the sermons of Deuteronomy; they all point to communal life and participation together with God and man. Sadly, sin has consistently marred our history with selfishness and isolation. The final line in Judges says, “And every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Such a hauntingly true line for then but it continues to ring out through the annals of time and, with all its minor chord notes, rings true for us today.

Emmanuel

But this is not the end. Redemption is shone in small ways through the continuity of Scripture and the call to return to communion with God and one another is the refrain of the prophets. Then, in glorious mundanity and humility that would make us all blush, Jesus is born. The God-man; Emmanuel. Emmanuel, meaning, “God with us.” Jesus is the living, breathing, tangible, God in the flesh who walked among us, ate with us, drank with us, taught us, experienced humanity in its fullness of joys, pains, and frailty. In the most humble obedience, according to Philippians, in the oneness of His communal and abiding relationship with the other persons of the Trinity, out of His love and mercy and compassion for us, Jesus pays for the wages of our sins with His death. This act of love, of participation in God’s law and plan, restores the right communal relationship between God and humanity.
 
The Bible continues on in the Acts of the Apostles, to showcase how the community of followers of Jesus developed into the church. The canon of scripture continues with the early church fathers, Paul, Peter, John, James, writing the Epistles and other letters teaching us theology, doctrine, and practical applications for communal participation. They plead that love for God and one another be chief among us as we serve and utilize the gifts given to us by God. That we would, in communal participation, esteem one another higher than ourselves, weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We see, in all aspects of life, we are to participate together.

Scriptural Commands

With much knowledge comes much sorrow, and while the various shifts in philosophy, mathematics, science, and even religion, throughout the ages have brought us some amazing discoveries; they have also fed into the isolation and selfishness that plagues humanity. Unfortunately, this plague entered the pews and pulpits of our churches, even today. People are participating less and less in the community of the local church. There are various reasons for this. Maybe we are too tired and need rest. Maybe we are uneducated and need to be taught. Maybe we are wounded and need healing. Maybe. But even if we are one or more of those reasons, it reveals a lack of participation with Christ Himself.

Scripture commands us to go to Jesus if we are weary and burdened (Matt. 11:28-30); Scripture commands us to go to the elders for anointing and prayer if we are sick (Jam. 5:14-15); Scripture commands us to confess our sins to one another (Jam. 5:16), to go and make things right with our brothers or sisters who we have conflict with or who have conflict with us (Matt. 5:23-24; 18:15-17); Scripture commands us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the lives of our local church and our cities (Matt. 28:19-20; Matt. 25:34-40;). Scripture commands us to love another as Jesus has loved us and by that the world will know we are His disciples (Jhn. 13:34). Coupled with the lack of participation, in terms of outward doing and serving within a local church, is also a lack of participation in the self-revealing rhythms of life in the local church’s community.

The Way Together

This is why we, at Centerpoint Church in Simi Valley, are focusing on the value of participation. The wiring of our humanity declares it innate, the anxiety and depression of isolation demands it necessary, the success of a well-lived life denotes its importance, but above all the Bible in its divinely inspired wisdom prescribes it as holy and true and integral to being a follower of Jesus. If we are to be followers of Jesus, obedient to scripture, led by the Holy Spirit, then we must participate in the lives of the community of followers of Jesus.
 
Make no mistake, it will be messy. Humanity is messy. But Jesus stepped into each of our messy lives, made us alive when we were dead in our trespasses, washed us from black as sin to white as snow with His perfect crimson blood, and daily walks with us as we learn to travel on the narrow road. Therefore, we ought to love one another because we have been loved so much and we ought to invade the messiness of one another’s lives because our mess was invaded. We need to participate in The Way together.

I was a high school athlete, really, more specifically, I played basketball. My underdog mentality and competitive nature helped me be disciplined in practice. I would shoot a minimum of 300 shots each day. I did this so my shot would be as consistent as possible. The apostle Paul instructs the church in Ephesus to “pay careful attention, then, to how you walk,” bringing a sense of urgency to the church of Ephesus, and us, a particular lifestyle as Christians. In Ephesians 5:15-21, Paul communicates clearly in three ways how there can be consistency in the Christian life.

Wise Living (VV.15-16)

Intentionality in the way we operate and schedule our lives is essential in being a consistent disciple. Because Paul warns us to pay attention to how we walk, we can presume that each step, every thought, and all the decisions we make are vitally important as we follow Jesus. The reason there is an emphasis on carefully watching our step is because “the days are evil.” The battle is against our flesh that yearns for evil, yet the Spirit within us wages war as we continue to step forward on the difficult road (Matthew 7:14). As we continue to walk, we must remind ourselves that we are to “make the most of our time.” The road we walk is difficult, we must be watchful, careful of where we step, walking in wisdom and intentionality.

Submitting to God’s Will (V.17)

Seeking the will of God is imperative for every Christian. The Scriptures give us some insight on the will of God. These insights are not specific answers to personal heart-longing questions, like “who should I marry?” or “Where should I live?” or “What job should I accept?” Rather the Scriptures reveal to us that the will of God for our lives is about the people we are becoming; God’s will for you is to look more like Jesus. If Christians are focused on becoming more like Christ, foolishness flies out the window as we seek him.

The Power of the Spirit (VV.18-21)

The guidance of the Spirit of God is key to consistency in the Christian life. We are commanded to not “get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit.” Here Paul gives us a very observable and practical example of reckless living – being drunk with wine. He contrasts the influence of alcohol with the influence of the Holy Spirit. We are not to be mastered by a substance but by the Spirit of God. As we surrender to the work and power of the Holy Spirit, he is guiding us to what pleases him and makes Jesus appear glorious.  
 
The Spirit takes what was distracted hearts and centers them on Christ and the Church. When we are walking in step with the Spirit, we are drawn to the Bride of Christ. God created us as communal beings. This means that we are our best when we are in community, and at our worst when we are isolated. Christians, led by the Spirit, are to “speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord.” Indeed, the difficult walk is a communal one. We cannot live a consistent Christian life without other believers. We are called to walk together, as the Bride of Jesus, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (V.21).

The Spirit of God creates within the Christian a constant gratitude of praise to God. When the Christian takes a glance at his history, he should be shaken with the reality of grace. Jesus saves sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). This means that not one Christian can look back now on the moment of their salvation and say, “Jesus saved me because I was good.” The reality is Jesus didn’t wait for you to get good. In fact, there is no getting good with God, in and of ourselves. What we need is a savior. What we were given in that salvific transaction, where the innocent was substituted for the defiled was the Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of the indwelling Spirit, when the Christian looks back on their moment of Salvation, he can say, “thank God for his Son! Thank God for grace! Thank God for his mercy!” Gratitude is the work of the Holy Spirit.

As the apostle Paul communicates to us how to have consistency in the Christian life, may we apply the Scripture to our lives and glorify him in every aspect of our lives.

Why do pastor's fall into sin?

        With the recent news that another popular, well-known, well-loved megachurch pastor fell into sin, we must ask why are pastor's falling into sin? The very simple answer is that pastors have the same problem as everyone else - they are innately sinful. All of us have at least this one commonality, we are sinners. Therefore, it should not surprise us that pastors fall into sinful acts and behaviors.

        Each story is unique, with nuanced emotions and rationalities that play a part in the act of sinning. But one consistent action in each story is that every pastor (and every lay person) decides in the moment whether they will sin or submit to God. My mentor and pastor, Steve Pope, has said for years, "The most spiritual thing you will do today is make a decision." Every choice we make; each decision we decide; all the verdicts we conclude either lead us to truth as we have submitted to Jesus or lead us to destruction as we have chosen to ignore His truth.

        There are the common sins that we have grown so accustomed to that God's grace must be lavished upon us each day. Some of these sins may be impatience, anger, lust, gossip, etc. These sins are not excused, for Jesus' blood was shed so that we would be freed from these sins! However, we know that each of us fall short of God's glory, and we have grace (or at least we should have grace) for others wrestling with these temptations and sins.

        Sins that culminate in a pastor stepping down from his pastoral duties are generally more grievous than the "normal" sins of which we wrestle with on a daily basis. In these "bigger," more grievous sins come secrets, isolation, and multiple destructive decisions that ultimately leads to greater consequences.

Our hearts should be broken

        Anytime anyone falls into sin our hearts should break. Sin is destructive. Choosing to sin is choosing to suffer. We should not rejoice over sin. Rather we should pray for those facing their consequences and use these moments as a sober reminder that our fall could be one poor choice away.

        Watching popular pastors resigning or being fired over unchecked sin can be disheartening for those of us wanting to walk in purity of mind and body unto the Lord. We may think, well, if that pastor couldn't walk in submission to Christ, how could I? But let me be a voice of reason to those that think this way: your walk with God is your walk. Your faith is not based upon the faithfulness (or lack thereof) of a pastor or leader within the Church. Your faith is based upon the faithfulness of Jesus, who has never failed.

        When our walk is focused on other believers rather than Christ, we will become embittered and wary of leadership. But if our focus remains purely on Jesus, our hearts will be broken for those that fall into sin; we will be able to give grace to those that feel the consequence of their sin. Focusing on Christ and His grace for us allows us the opportunity to help those in desperate need.

From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. - II Corinthians 5:16-19
Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. - Galatians 6:1

Let us focus on Jesus!

       So then let us heed the unspoken warning of watching another pastor fall. Let us be aware of our own tendencies to wander from God. Let us be serious about following the Lord. Let us be ready to help those caught in sin. Let us always remain focused on Jesus.

        May we move forward in humility and love pursuing our relationship with Jesus. May we be more devoted to Jesus and His Church. May we find community and commit to it. May we be the disciplined men and women of God that eagerly seek His face. And may we shed the sin that can quickly take us captive and destroy us.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us. . . - Hebrews 13:1