As a little boy growing up, and still to this day as a husband and father of four, of all the television specials that have aired during the Christmas season, A Charlie Brown Christmas is my favorite. When I was a boy, my mom and I would search the TV Guide (younger readers may be surprised to learn that one actually had to consult a magazine or newspaper to see what would be on TV) to see when the Christmas special would air so we would not miss it. Today, we just pop in the DVD and watch it anytime we want . . . frequently during the Christmas season.

Even when this program first aired in 1965, our culture was consumed by materialism, even during the Christmas season, causing Charlie Brown to be deeply concerned that the Christmas season had been separated from the Christmas “reason.” From his sister Sally’s letter to Santa (requesting “$10s and $20s” if her Christmas wish list was too complicated), to Snoopy entering his garishly decorated dog house in a Christmas decorating contest, commercialism was edging the Christ out of Christmas. Charlie Brown’s disillusionment hit rock bottom when Lucy and the cast of the Christmas play sent Charlie Brown out to get “the biggest and shiniest aluminum Christmas tree you can get” as the centerpiece for their presentation.

The segment of the show that always caught my attention — and this was decades before I became a Christian — was when Linus responded to Charlie Brown’s despairing question: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus’ words were taken directly from the King James Version of sacred Scripture:

And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

(Luke 2:8-14 KJV)

And with that being said, Linus picked up his blanket and shuffled off the stage, stopping by his friend to say, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” Linus said it all! That is what Christmas is all about: the Christ Child, the only true reason for the season, the greatest gift the world has ever been given. And this precious gift is available to all those who will but place their trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Early on in my Christian walk, I was instructed to personalize the Scriptures. Here is how you apply this instruction to John 3:16. When you come to the word “world,” insert your name: For God so loved . . . you! Think about it this way. God so loved you that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die for your sins so that He could have an intimate, personal and loving relationship with you for all eternity. That’s right, with you!

Jesus was like no other child ever born into this world. He was supernaturally conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, as Isaiah 7:14 promised: The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. This would be “the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes” that Linus spoke of — a babe that was God clothed in human flesh.

Jesus, that little baby in the manger, was born to die. That manger, which is so much a symbol of Christmas, always stood in the shadow of the cross, where God’s justice would be fully satisfied by God’s only Son.

Throughout the month of December, I pray that you and yours will listen to Linus and have a very merry, Christ-centered, hope-filled Christmas season. Perhaps you will take some time to share this glorious gift of hope with someone who does not yet know the real reason for this Christmas season. You will not be sharing a cleverly invented story, like the ones created by Dickens or Dr. Seuss, as charming as they are; you will be declaring the irrefutable truth of the good news of the birth of Christ, the one that Linus initially shared with an estimated 15 million families on that night in 1965, and to hundreds of millions more in all the years since.

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all about: that God so loved you.

From the Boland family to yours: We wish you a very merry, Christ-filled Christmas!

Tommy Boland is the pastor for Cross Community Church located at 841 SE 2 Ct. in Deerfield Beach. For more information, call 954-427-3045 or visit www.thecrosscc.org.

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, proven character, and hope; and this hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 5:3-5)

This being the Thanksgiving season, I would like to help prepare our hearts with a message rooted in a hope that will not disappoint us . . . not ever!

Because we live in a fallen, broken world, as fallen and broken people, there is nothing we have ever been involved in that did not, at some time or another, deal us some kind of disappointment. Whether it was a job we hoped to get, a relationship we deeply desired or something we longed for and maybe even saved to purchase, that hope eventually failed to deliver on the happiness it seemed to promise us. But when we think through this sad reality, we realize that disappointment was the only thing it could deliver.

Take just a cursory glance at the evening news, and virtually any hope we are hanging onto seems to be dashed against the rocks by the unending waves of challenge that keep washing over our world. Virtually every story reinforces the notions that crime really does pay, honesty is not the best policy, and, as a 1980s song lamented, “The rats keep winning the rat race.” And, when all that dust settles, if we are still a bit hopeful, we find enough disappointment within ourselves to last two lifetimes. Speaking personally for a moment, I can testify that all too often, even when I am right about something, I deliver the message in the wrong way, feelings are hurt, and the hope that people placed in me is doused by disillusionment.

So what is the way forward when life seems to be continually marked by one step forward and two steps back? We must reevaluate where we have placed our hope. When we place our hope in anything of this world, we will inevitably be disappointed. And yet, even in the hope that disappoints us, we still have reason to be thankful, because God is working in us through the grace of disappointment. You see, if the things of this life actually could provide a hope that did not disappoint, we would grow into only a fraction of the person God is calling us to be, and we would become cold and distant in our relationship with Him.

The key that unlocks the door leading to a hope that does not disappoint is not to place our hope in something, but in Someone . . . and His name is Jesus Christ. At this level of living, we have a hope that simply cannot disappoint, because it is rooted in the One who cannot and will not disappoint us in any way.

As you ready yourself for Thanksgiving, would this not be a good time to prayerfully consider just how thankful you truly are for this hope that cannot and will not disappoint? Remember, “the certainty of this hope that promises the blessings of God comes through the presence of the promised Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:8). And if this message finds you in a season of storm winds and challenges, remember the ultimate hope: the return of Christ, who will wipe every tear from our eyes and who promises us an eternity with no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more death. Oh, what a glorious hope we have, a hope that cannot disappoint, because our hope is in Jesus!

Have a hope-filled Thanksgiving.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. Never forget that . . . Amen!

Tommy Boland is the pastor for Cross Community Church located at 841 SE 2 Ct. in Deerfield Beach. For more information, call 954-427-3045 or visit www.thecrosscc.org.

All things are yours, whether . . . the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ and Christ is of God. (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)

Sometimes, we shrink the truths of the Gospel down to things promised. To be sure, we have been promised an eternity with our Lord, and this eternity will be a place where there will be no more sorrow or sin, pain or persecution, fear or unfaithfulness, disease or death. In a word, it will be the paradise that was lost in the Garden of Eden by the sin of Adam and Eve. The apostle Paul describes this as the beatific vision of God: “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

But what about now? What does the Gospel promise us in this present life? What blessings can we expect before we cross the Jordan and enter into our eternal rest?

This article would indeed have no end if I were to try and set before you all that we have been given, for “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). Here are just a few things, which I pray will be both a comfort and an encouragement to you. We are . . .

Unconditionally loved

Completely forgiven

Perfectly accepted

Totally empowered

Supernaturally strengthened

Utterly united to God in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit

We must always remember that the Gospel is not only a promise of eternal life. It also impacts our everyday life as well. As the apostle Paul wrote in the passage that opens this article, Whether things present or things to come, ALL THINGS ARE OURS!” And what was Paul doing, but simply advancing a truth that God had already set before His people.

The upright shall have good things in possession. (Proverbs 28:10 KJV)

Christian, it is important to remember that even a life full of “good things” does not mean we will not experience difficulties. Jesus promised that we will experience troubles in this life (John 16:33). The unbelieving world will present problems for the Christian, from intense pressure to intentional persecution.

And if that was not trouble enough, the believing world will present its problems too. Why? Because we are still sinners in moment-by-moment need of a Savior. We say things we ought not say; do things we ought not do; and think things we ought not think, making life difficult on ourselves and those around us. But remember this too: After the promise of problems, Jesus assures us, “But be of good cheer! I have overcome the world.” Because Jesus was an overcomer, we, too, are to be overcomers, regardless of the challenges and difficulties we face on this side of the grave.

In closing, as a child of the Most High God, you currently have good things in your possession. To live out this truth is to live a life marked by joy and thanksgiving to the One who has so graciously given it to you. And above all that you have been promised, you have the presence of your Lord Jesus everywhere you go. When Jesus walked with His disciples, they had Him with them physically, but not every moment of every day. But when Jesus left this earth, He sent His Holy Spirit and promised that His Spirit would dwell within us every moment in this life . . . and in the next. “Surely I am with you always,” He assures us, “to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

May this truth set us free to love our God and to proclaim His incredible promise to a world that desperately needs to hear it.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. Never forget that . . . Amen!

Tommy Boland is the pastor for Cross Community Church located at 841 SE 2 Ct. in Deerfield Beach. For more information, call 954-427-3045 or visit www.thecrosscc.org.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I meet far too many Christians who believe being a “new creation” means they are now to have the passion of the prophets, the discipline of the disciples and the strength of a superhero saint. Both sacred scripture and personal experience has taught me this is simply not the case. To be sure, through the sinless life, sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, sin has been conquered and crushed. But, as I frequently remind our congregation, we must remember that inasmuch as sin no longer reigns in the life of the Christian – it still remains in the life of the Christian. We will fight the sin battle all the way into glory.
Now, before we were saved by the blood of the Lamb and made a new creation, we could only sin in the eyes of the Lord. Nothing we did brought honor, glory or praise to His name because everything we did we did for our own honor, glory and praise. Our selfish ambition and self interest ruled our hearts and shaped our lives. But when Jesus showed up, all that changed. As a new creation, we have an ability we did not have before Jesus. We now have the ability to resist the devil when he comes knocking at our door, and flee from the sinful impulses that still reside in the old nature. But if we think we will reach perfection in this life, we are setting ourselves up for certain defeat.
The ultimate outcome of the Christian life is perfection; when we cross the Jordan, we will be perfectly conformed into the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. But until that day, we will struggle against the sin nature that still resides within us. We must remember the same man who penned the above passage in his letter to the Corinthians also penned the following one in his letter to the Romans:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . . . For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15, 19)
Paul was indeed a new creation, but he still battled against the sin nature that still remained within and so will you and me. Yet, the orientation of our lives has been radically changed by Christ. Instead of the heart beating for the self, it begins to beat for our Savior. We desire to live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to the One who saved us from sin, Satan, death and ourselves. When Jesus raises us up from death to life and makes us a new creation, He renews our mind, realigns our will and reorients our heart. At this level of living, because Christ is living in us (Galatians 2:20), we begin to make real and measurable progress against sin.
As new creations, we now have a new identity which cannot be shaken, because it is rooted in the unshakable One. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ, the Father sees us as He sees His son . . . perfect in every way. And, as a “new creation,” we now have a new power within us to fight against every temptation to sin that is greater than any power that comes up against us. Let the truth of who you are set you free to make forward progress and, when you don’t, fear not. You are unconditionally loved and completely forgiven.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. Never forget that . . . Amen!
Tommy Boland is the pastor for Cross Community Church, located at 841 SE 2 Ct. in Deerfield Beach. For more information, call 954-427-3045 or visit www.thecrosscc.org.