Greg Atkinson

On this week after Christmas, I thought I’d share with you something I came across years ago. This is my favorite mention of Christ’s birth in Scripture. Where is it found? In the oldest book of the Bible: Job.

In Job 39:9, God says, “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?” Can you believe that? I first worked this into a sermon I preached over 10 years ago and loved seeing the looks of the people in the congregation – especially my senior pastor who had a look of “That’s in Job???!!!!” on his face.

Yes, even in the oldest book of the Bible, long before the prophecies of the Old Testament, God knew He was coming to earth in the form of man and gave us a glimpse into his mind and heart by mentioning his humble birth in a manger. He also was tipping His hand to Job that He was in total control of all creation and even animals obey and serve Him. The way He refers to the “wild ox” is as if it was their on guard to protect the Christ Child. Amazing.

Often times we think of Mary and Joseph at the inn being surprised that the inn was full and thinking that the manger was Plan B – like this was a shock and disappointment to God. Far from it! God knew exactly what His coming to Earth would be like and did nothing to change it. He WANTED to be born in a humble and lowly way. What a Savior! What a King!

So, what’s your favorite Christmas passage?

Last night as my pastor was speaking at our Christmas Eve service, I was thinking about the miracle of the incarnation. That God would come to Earth as a baby. God becoming man. Emmanuel – God with us. Miracle of all miracles. I wish you all a Christ-filled Christmas and pray you will know the life-changing reality of the incarnation and the beautiful Christmas story. Merry Christmas!

Staying in the Word and staying on our knees will help us with the final “stay” and that’s to stay pure. There’s nothing more precious to you and wanted by our enemy (remember the “You Have an Enemy” post) than to be pure. I’m talking about your character and integrity – who you are when no one’s looking.

Like being humble, this is also easier said than done. Purity flows out of the overflow of a heart that’s in love with Jesus and walking in the Spirit daily. Purity also takes a lot of wisdom, intentionality and purpose. You must set out to be pure and put up guards in your life to help protect your purity.

I’ve mentioned before that my wife and my best friend get sent an email of what websites I go to – this is a guard in my life. You may have something similar. It’s important to protect yourself (and your kids) from the dangers of the internet.

Purity also comes from setting boundaries with co-workers. It’s not okay to flirt with your admin or that new woman on the children’s ministry staff. You must know what is appropriate and what’s not.

Part of setting up boundaries is to have some close friends that can hold you accountable, have permission to speak freely into your life and ask the tough questions. If you’ve ever struggled with porn or a wandering eye, you should confess that to a person of the same sex that you trust and ask them to check up on you. Meet with them from time to time to read the Bible, pray and just talk. If you’ve slipped up, tell them and confess out loud. Ask them to pray for you and see how you can pray for them. You’ll probably find out you’re not alone and you can be a source of strength for someone else in need.

Purity also means to be pure in our motives. Doing things out of our love for Christ and not to get attention. This is tough for many in ministry. We should serve because He first loved us and we desire to worship Him through our service.

Finally, when it comes to purity, I also like to point out that even if you don’t struggle with purity, you may still be in danger of sin. Often times those not affected by porn or a wandering eye will start judging others that are struggling and in their judging and criticizing will sin and become men or women full of pride. Remember the Pharisee praying who said, “God I thank you that I’m not like that man, a tax collector.”? (Luke 18:10-11) – Don’t be that guy!

So what about you… is purity a struggle for you? Do you have people in your life that can hold you accountable?

Nothing gives you perspective, hope, guidance, direction, wisdom and encouragement like the Holy Bible – it’s a remarkable book. I remember years ago hearing Henry Blackaby say “When you read the Word, it’s as if you’re staring right in the face of God.” That always comforted and excited me to think about.

As Christians and Church leaders, we desire to have the fruits of the Spirit flow through us and out of us. Thanks to the book The Spirit of the Disciplines I read years ago, I learned that the fruit of the Spirit is something that happens naturally when we have a steady, real and vibrant relationship with Christ.

I grew up in a youth group (like many of you I’m sure) where I was taught wrongly that we were supposed to “work” at each fruit. They would say, “This week we want you to concentrate on being gentle.” (or kind or patient, etc.) This is how I was brought up.

Reading that book as an adult, my eyes were opened to the reality that we can’t beat these fruits into us – they must develop overtime in prayer and the Word. And as we become more and more like Christ, our natural reaction when tough or unexpected things happen will be to react with gentleness, kindness, patience, self-control, etc.

As a youth, I heard a statement that has proven over the last 20 to 25 years to be the truest statement I’ve ever encountered. I wrote this statement on the inside of my main Bible. The statement is: “Either this book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.” Truer words were never spoken.

I have found time and time again that when I’m regularly in the Word, I’m far from sin and feel I’m truly walking in the Spirit (as opposed to walking in the flesh). I’ve also realized many times in hindsight that after wrestling with sin in my life for a season, I was away from my devotional time and didn’t feel like picking up my Bible.

Maybe for you, you’re in the Bible regularly, but you’re looking for ammo – meaning you’re studying for your Sunday sermon, youth talk on Wednesday night, preparing a devotional for your small group, or looking for lyrics for a song you’re writing. Often, we as leaders, are in the Word for “business”, but we stop going to the Bible just to know God more and spend time hearing from Him. The challenge to all Church leaders is to read the Bible just for the pure pleasure of seeking to know the mind and heart of Christ and be transformed by the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12)

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8

So… how’s your time in the Word? Do you just open the Bible in sermon prep or do you regularly read it just to know God more? Is reading regularly a struggle for you?

Like I said yesterday, staying humble is easier said than done. I don’t expect you to do it in your own power. That brings us to today’s principle: stay on your knees. It’s important that we are men and women of prayer. When we have a vibrant relationship with Christ and spend time communicating with Him in prayer, the natural attitude that will come out of us is one of humility. This is also where the fruits of the Spirit flourish (this and what we’ll take about tomorrow).

Prayer is the lifeline for the Christian leader and pastor. Prayer keeps you grounded, focused, connected, informed, encouraged and most of all – it displays a true dependence on God. We all need to be dependent on God and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. Not praying shows a spirit of independence and thus leads to an attitude of pride and also can become overwhelming. We feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and get stressed out.

I don’t have to tell you what a huge problem burnout is for ministers, but I would like to point out that I think this concept is a great contributor to our burnout epidemic as a Church. Leaders try to operate out of their own strength and eventually crumble under the pressure. Only dedicated time with God and hearing from His heart can fuel us and also keep us from sin (pride, lust, ambition to the point of sin, drivenness to the point of sin, etc.).

Staying on our knees (along with staying in the Word, which we’ll cover tomorrow) is absolutely essential to your (and my) physical, spiritual and emotional health. At the end of the day, it all comes down to health. We won’t to be healthy in every way possible. Prayer can calm the storm that rages within and all around us.

Prayer (and staying on your knees) is also a huge acknowledgement of submission to God. We acknowledge Christ as Lord and submit to His will, His way, His purpose. So… how’s your prayer life going?

Years ago I read a book called The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson. In the book, Neil says of spiritual warfare, “If you’re a Christian, you’re a target. If you’re in ministry, you’re a bullseye.” That statement struck me hard and has always stayed with me.

The Bible warns us, too. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Later verse 9 goes on to say, “Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisterst all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

So, we are encouraged to “stay alert” and “watch out”. We’ll also told to “stand firm” and “be strong”. We’re also reminded that Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are fighting this same battle with a very real enemy.

It’s important to keep this perspective as you go throughout your ministry career. You have a enemy – a shrewd, crafty and tricky, deceitful enemy that will do whatever it takes to frustrate you, discourage you, make you afraid, see you stumble and fall into sin and if he was allowed to – he’d kill you. This should sober you up and behoove you to put on your spiritual armor. (Ephesians 6:13-17)

How do serve, lead and minister with this reality going on all around you? I’ve blogged before about the supernatural aspect of our faith. We serve a God that was raised from the dead and believe in angels and demons and a real devil. I pray over our house every night before going to sleep. I ask God to let his angels stand guard over our home and protect us from evil.

What about you? How does the reality that you have an enemy effect your life and ministry? Do you think about this at all? Do you intentionally put on your spiritual armor?

Yesterday, I had about 6 hours of flight time as I traveled back from my trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. When I fly, I have time to think. I started thinking about the fruits of the Spirit and how they seem to be missing from some Christians that I deal with from time to time.

I thought back to the time I read the book The Spirit of the Disciplines. What impacted me about that book was I was brought up in the church to be trained how to react to tough situations. I was told to practice being gentle or to reflect on joy and one by one try to act out the fruits of the Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. - Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

What dawned on me as I read that book many years ago is that the fruits of the Spirit are not to be drilled into us; rather they are what comes out of us naturally when we’re walking with Jesus. When you’re walking step in step with Christ and spending time in prayer and His Word, your natural reaction to troubles and trials are love and joy and peace and patience, etc. Get it?

Do I always display the fruits of the Spirit? No. Unfortunately, I go through dry spells in my walk and sometimes get too busy for the devotional time that I so desperately need and truly want. But, when I do get in the Word and spend time in prayer, I find myself more kind, more gentle, more self-controlled, etc.

My prayer for you, dear friend, is that you walk step in step with Christ, seek Him daily, pray continually and let the fruits of the Spirit be (naturally) evident in your life.

Last night my wife and I watched the movie “Chariots of Fire“. Those of you that know me know I’m a movie guy, but I had never seen this classic Academy Award winning movie (it won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture). I really enjoyed the movie and was moved by Eric Liddell’s convictions and great witness as a Christian. He was a great athlete, but very humble and a true sportsman.

The scene that moved me the most was his refusal to run on a Sunday (at the Olympics- mind you) due to his conviction and sacred observance of the Sabbath. Now please know that I’m a HUGE believer in grace and a New Testament view of living. I absolutely hate legalism and run from it (I also know that there are many strong Christian football players that play on Sunday and strong Christian coaches that coach on Sunday and I’m okay with that), however, learning of Liddel’s taking a stand and passing up an opportunity to compete in the Olympics due to his desire to honor God was very refreshing.

If you haven’t seen the movie, I encourage you to watch it. If you have, you know that an American runner named Jackson Scholz handed Eric Liddell a note before he raced that said that since he had honored God, God would honor him. I believe that is the principle and take away for us today – that if we honor God and our convictions and commitments to Him, He will honor us.

I also think the principle of the Sabbath – observing a day of rest is desperately needed in our lives today. Far too many pastors and Church leaders struggle with burnout and depression and are in desperate need of rest. Rest from work. Rest from social media and the web. Rest from ambition and drive (I’m talking to myself). Just plain REST.

My encouragement to you, dear friends, is to be sure to honor God and observe a day of rest. Your heart, health, wife, family and ministry will thank you for it.

Last week on Twitter, David Platt posted the following tweet from Scott Hill: “God does not reveal the intimate things of His heart to those who casually come and go.”

That brief statement has haunted me. I confess that sometimes I approach my devotional time with God in a casual way or as if I’m checking off a to-do list. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had times in my spiritual journey where I craved and earnestly desired to be alone with God for long amounts of time and have experienced God speak to my heart over and over.

I guess the statement reached out and slapped me out of where I currently am in my own walk with Christ and convicted me to “return to my first love.” It’s interesting, “convict” or “conviction” is not a very popular word these days, but it’s a part of who I am. Sometimes God convicts me (by His Holy Spirit) and it lets me know He’s my Father and Lord and wants the best for me.

What are you wrestling with these days? What have you heard recently that convicted you?

Today is the National Day of Prayer. I encourage you to take some time to pray throughout your day. May you be blessed and sensitive to the Holy Spirit as you seek to hear that still, small voice.

Speaking of prayer – if you haven’t heard of Kindle, I encourage you to check it out. I’m actually on the board of Kindle and am proud to recommend it to you. Check it out and pray!