by Mike Watkins

Believe it or not this is my Christmas post, and all these names have something in common. Richard Dawkins is a world-renown scientist who is also known as Darwin’s Rottweiler because of his radical position on Darwinism. He is also vehemently opposed to any hint of deity being involved in the here-and-now or the hereafter.

Dawkins and his supporters also frequently parrot something like, “Sure, people have the freedom to believe in God, and we do not want to take this away. They also have the freedom to believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.”

Well Mr. Dawkins, let’s solve the simple controversies first. The Tooth Fairy is an early European myth, and some think that it came from the tooth mouse that had more or less the same mission. No one really believes in this person into adulthood. There are no theological or philosophical books written about him or her, and there are no temples devoted to worship. This character never existed.

Santa on the other hand did sort of exist. He does not live at the North Pole despite Hollywood’s never-ending attempt to make us believe. Nicholas of Myra – no relation to my wife who is also Myra – lived in what is now Turkey which is a little further south. He usually tried to forego using reindeer to crash-land on roofs, but he was known to have done much for humanity in the name of God simply by walking on foot. Many aspects of his life are worthy of emulating even from a secular perspective.

Dawkins is a contemporary figure who is quite brilliant even though I believe his presuppositions are extremely prejudiced. You really need to have your ducks in a row – or primates in ascending order – to hang with this guy in a debate. I would however ask him why he stands so firmly against the God that Nicholas followed in a desire to do good, and I would ask him what moral questions he has against a man, namely Jesus, whose life brought about the greatest positive change in human history and whose birth and death have come to define our cultural landscape.

When it comes to the aforementioned names it is better to focus on just Jesus and Richard Dawkins for the sake of comparison and contrast, but Saint Nicholas without the reindeer is still worthy of mention having made a significant impact on natural history because of what he believed and did.

The final question is this. Does what we do or don’t believe about Christmas cause us to make a significant positive contribution to the moral evolution of our species, or do we just adhere to survival if the fittest in a hurting and needy world?

Mike Watkins is a missionary, a fisher of men and the author of the blog “Simple Truths.”

by Bert Thomson

As I reflect on my upcoming Marathon this weekend in Chicago I can’t help but think about what it took to prepare for this event: The Tuesday morning track workouts at 5AM, the 6 AM Saturday long runs, the stretching exercises, the Nashville Striders training runs and the smaller races (5k and 10k’s) along the way. That’s not all. There was the daily washing of my running outfits and laying them out the night before so they would be ready the next morning. I run with a Garmin GPS watch and heart rate monitor, so after each run I download the running data to my computer and review the data. Oh, yeah and the coffee. Each night I had to grind the coffee, fill up the coffee maker with filtered water and set the timer so I would have a fresh cup to wake up to. There is probably a lot more that I am missing but you get the point.

Marathon running has helped to me to understand that if you want to accomplish anything worthwhile, you must first calculate the cost so that you know you will be able to finish what you started.

As a child, I was notorious for obsessing on some new thing that I wanted to do, or something that I just had to have. I hated to admit it, but my mom was usually right when she told me that as fast as I would be into this new thing, I would drop it.

Jesus spoke these words on this subject: For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Luke 14:28-30 NASB

by Myra Watkins

When I was preparing to speak on the topic of marriage recently, I searched for the right image to portray common difficulties and the need to develop a lifestyle of forgiveness, healthy communication and showing love towards one another in practical ways that can be felt. Then this image of the wall came to mind.

This scenario often happens in marriage: The wife feels misunderstood by her husband, so she lays down a brick between them. The husband thinks she doesn’t show him respect, so he lays down a brick. She tries to pour out her heart to him, but he is headed out the door and doesn’t have time. Another brick. Burnt toast in the morning, another brick in the wall. Sometimes a wall is erected overnight when there is major trauma in a marriage, such as abuse or an affair. But there may be a small window left through which the two of them communicate civilly day in and day out. An occasional arrow is shot through the small opening, but the two of them continue to go through the motions of life on each side. They may even pray and serve others in many ways. The veneer of relationship remains while they deny or minimize the presence of the wall which stands between them.

Enter God’s plan for marriage. There is no relationship like it on earth, that is why the battle rages hot and strong to ruin this powerful, precious, most intimate of all earthly relationships. It is meant to represent the relationship between Christ and His church, providing a loving model for generations. When a couple settles for a marriage that is barely alive, then the damage reaches far beyond the hollowness of their own lives. Many people don’t believe they can find that place of closeness and love again. Like a driver who keeps running into trees and gets a new car thinking that will solve the problem, people often leave a relationship when difficulties arise only to run into the same problems again. Problems in relationships don’t solve themselves, healthy relationships can be learned.

Love is wasted on saints, love was meant for sinners (Mike Mason, “The Mystery of Marriage”). Marriage puts two people in the vice grip of love where feelings alone are not enough. The need for unconditional love, God’s love is apparent. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (1 Cor. 13:4-6)

Do you sense a wall in your relationship?
Here are a few ways to tear down the wall and build a stronger marriage:

1. Grow in forgiveness
2. Learn to respond instead of react
3. Choose “we” over “me” when making decisions
4. Create boundaries to protect your relationship in place of walls that divide
5. Have a date night, coffee, lunch, or whatever works with your schedule
6. Talk and pray through issues and concerns periodically, but not on your date!
7. Learn the love language of your spouse (gifts, acts of service, words of affirmation, touch, quality time) – Gary Chapman
8. Get help and advice from others when needed

Myra Watkins is a missionary, a fisher of men, and the author of the blog Encouraging Thoughts.

by Steve Murrell

Leaders make decisions. Lots of them. Some good. Some bad. The best decisions are value based.

The worst ministry decisions are based on:
- random open doors
- the latest get-big-quick scheme
- what worked for someone else
- how much it costs (just because it’s cheap, does not mean it is a good decision)

The following 4 questions help our Victory leaders make good decisions:

1.   Does it help us ENGAGE our culture and our community?
2.   Does it help us ESTABLISH spiritual foundations?
3.   Does it help us EQUIP all believers to minister?
4.   Does it help us EMPOWER all disciples to make disciples?

No matter if the decision is big or small, no matter if it effects the whole church or one department, no matter if it requires millions or hundreds of pesos – all good decisions run through this grid. Bad decisions don’t.

How do you make decisions?

NOTE: All of my astute blog readers realize from the above that good decisions are those that help us MAKE DISCIPLES.

Steve Murrell is a missionary, pastor, and the author of “The Reluctant Leader” and “The Accidental Missionary.”

by Brett Fuller

The house of God is a major priority throughout scripture. It was the center of Mosaic Old Testament worship. It began as a mobile Tabernacle and was converted to a permanent structure in days of Solomon. When Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) destroyed Jerusalem, the temple was destroyed with it.

In the late 6th century BC, Darius king of Persia allowed for Jewish returnees from the Babylonian exile, to rebuild the temple. Excitement was palpable, but foreign opposition and internal selfishness halted the efforts.

God then raised up Haggai the prophet. He corrected the builder’s wrong thinking and inspired new momentum by saying in Hag 1:4-8, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? 5 …Consider your ways… 6 …he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a purse with holes… 8 Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the LORD.” His correction was intended to refocus the builders efforts and “mend” the wholes in their pockets.

When we emphasize what God prioritizes, God will then prioritize what we would have otherwise emphasized- thereby enabling us to  live right and live well.

Brett Fuller is the senior pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Chantilly, Virginia. He is also the founder of the Legacy Institute and the president and co-founder of African American Resource Ministry (AARM).