Don’t Be a “Knockoff” Christian

 “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are YOU?” – Acts 19:15

You know what a knockoff is, right? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is “a copy that sells for less than the original; a copy or imitation of someone or something popular.” Whenever there’s a clothing or food brand that is hugely popular, there are always people looking to make a fast buck by making cheap knockoffs. Here are a few actual examples. For all you coffee lovers, have you ever saved a few bucks sipping on good ol’ “Sunbucks” Coffee? Or maybe you’ve brushed your teeth with “Crust” toothpaste. And this might be my favorite knockoff of all: Who on earth would knowingly drink “Peepi” Cola?

Well, in the Apostle Paul’s day, he established a pretty big name during the three years he spent ministering in Ephesus. In Acts 19:11-12, we read that the Holy Spirit worked “extraordinary miracles” through Paul as people were healed of illness and cured of demonic possession simply by holding aprons and handkerchiefs Paul had touched. Yes, the miracles and exorcisms God was working through Paul were “extraordinary.” And what do wannabes do when they discover something extraordinary? Posers who are just out to make a fast buck quickly come up with a knockoff. In First Century Ephesus, there wasn’t a Starducks Coffee, Crust Toothpaste or Peepi Cola, but there were a bunch of wannabes running around trying to knock off the healings and exorcisms they saw Paul doing. And it came back to bite them. 

In Paul’s day Ephesus was steeped in paganism and the occult, and medical professionals had only a basic understanding of disease and mental illness. So, most people believed the root of most illnesses was spiritual. Instead of going to a doctor, many people would just go to their friendly neighborhood exorcist to get the illness demon cast out. The chief priest in Ephesus, Sceva, had seven sons who made a living performing exorcism house calls. At some point these seven brothers must have witnessed the “extraordinary miracles” that God was working through Paul. So, they tried to cash in. Even though they didn’t believe in Jesus, they decided to invoke the name of Jesus. And even though they didn’t support or follow the Apostle Paul, they decided to invoke the name of the Apostle Paul. Things were going great … until the day these seven brothers encountered an actual demon.

When the seven sons arrived at the home of the demon-possessed man, they whipped out their new favorite exorcism line: “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, we command you to come out!!” Well, the demon wasn’t impressed. But in my opinion, the demon DID have a pretty good sense of humor. It responded: “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who [on earth] are you?” (v. 15). Then the possessed man pounced on all seven brothers: “He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (v. 16).

But even through the demon’s actions, God was working all things together for good. We read in verse 17: “When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.” In other words, a lot of wannabe exorcists were put on notice. And Jesus’ name was lifted higher than it had ever been lifted in that town, which led to more unbelievers getting saved and more Christians repenting of their sin and growing in their faith.

Here are two insights to consider:

Insight #1: As long as God’s Spirit is moving powerfully in and through Christians and churches, there will be cheap knockoffs. So, be on guard.  Jesus and His apostles performed miracles for three reasons: 1) to show loving compassion to hurting people; 2) to teach spiritual truths; and 3) to confirm their authority as apostles of Jesus Christ. Sadly, there are some Christian leaders today whose motives for performing miracles are much different than Jesus’ motives. They save their most compassionate acts for times when they themselves are in the spotlight and the camera is rolling. Some Christian leaders use miracles to play with people’s emotions instead of using them to teach spiritual truths. Some try to manipulate a move of God for their own glory, instead of allowing Christ to get the glory. So, be on guard, Christians.

Insight #2: Today most people believe the root of all illness is physical and never spiritual, but don’t count out the healing power of prayer and the Word of God. In First Century Ephesus, most people saw a demon behind every headache and sniffle. In Twenty-First Century America, most people see a virus or disease behind every headache and sniffle. Both viewpoints are wrong. That’s not to say that your congestive heart failure or your sister’s asthma are the result of sin. But many of our illnesses and diseases ARE the result of sin.

And Christians can play a pivotal role in physical healing. Our prayers, at times, make sick people well. And when sinners repent and realign their lifestyles with the Word of God, they can actually experience healing. Make no mistake: At Impact Christian Church, we are pro-doctor and pro-medication when that medication is physically necessary for good health. But we are also pro-prayer, pro-repentance and pro-obedience-to-God’s-Word, because these things are ALSO critical for good health.

It’s too easy to be a knockoff Christian. We come to church and listen to some great music, hear an inspiring message and eat a donut on the way out the door. But don’t forget one of the most important reasons for a worship service: to get right with God. So, don’t fake it hoping to make it. Be the “real deal.” Be a man or woman of prayer and the Word of God.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

The Best Bridge Builder, Hands Down

But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. – Luke 8:54-55

Years ago, a young girl was traveling by train through the country. And since she had never traveled so far by train before, she got pretty scared every time the train approached a river. Whenever she looked through the window and saw a river up ahead, she would start to panic. She couldn’t understand how the train could possibly cross the river without crashing. But each time the train approached a river, a bridge appeared that provided a way over. After this happened several times, the girl leaned back in her chair, breathed a sigh of relief, and in faith-filled confidence said, “Somebody put bridges for us all the way to where we’re going!”

Isn’t that just like what God does for us? We go through life worried about the obstacles we face. At times, the difficulties that lie ahead of us seem insurmountable! In Luke 8:40-56, a man turned to Jesus for help—and at first it looked as if that help came too late. 

Jesus had just arrived in town when one of the local synagogue rulers came to Jesus, fell at his feet and pleaded with him to come to his house and heal his 12-year-old daughter, who was on her deathbed. So, Jesus began following this man, Jairus, to his home. But along the way, Jesus was interrupted when a woman touched the hem of his robe and was healed after 12 years of internal bleeding.

When Jesus took the time to talk to the woman who had been healed, we’re not told what Jairus was saying or doing. But I imagine he was standing there impatiently saying under his breath, “Jesus, could you please hurry up! My daughter doesn’t have much more time. This woman is healed already. Let’s leave it at that and get to my house before it’s too late.”

Well, according to verse 49, while Jesus was still speaking to the woman, someone came from Jairus’s house and told him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher any more.” Without a doubt, Jairus’s heart dropped. He was devastated. But Jesus said to him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (v. 50). Jesus accompanied Jairus to his house and told the professional mourners weeping outside, “Stop wailing. She is not dead but asleep” (v. 52). The mourners laughed at him—after all, they recognized a dead body when they saw one.

Jesus went into the girl’s room with her parents and three of his disciples, Peter, James and John. Jesus took the dead girl by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” The Bible tells us: “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat” (v. 55). Oh, wouldn’t it have been awesome to see the look on the mourners’ faces when that little girl walked out of the house munching on a chicken leg!

From a seemingly hopeless situation, Jesus built a bridge that brought a dead girl back to her parents. And from this point forward, Jesus’ followers would no longer view death as death, but only as sleep. It became clearer to them than ever before that the only thing that makes a body alive is the spirit inside that body. This girl’s spirit had never died. Jesus simply put it back into her body until God the Father was ready to call her spirit home to heaven.

This remarkable episode in Jesus’ ministry teaches us three things:

1. Each of us is at a different place in our faith journey, and Jesus is patient with each of us. Jairus, the bleeding woman, the messenger from Jairus’ house and the mourners were all at different places in their faith journey. But he didn’t scold or rebuke any of them. Likewise, each of is at a different place spiritually—and as we follow Jesus, we need to follow his example and be patient with each other.

2. Jesus wasn’t ever in a hurry. He allowed himself time to be interrupted, and it was during these interruptions that he did some of his best ministry. If your schedule is always full, and you’re always rushing from place to place, you will miss out on some wonderful ministry opportunities. If you wonder why God hasn’t called on you lately to do His work, it could be you’ve been too busy to notice your chances when they come along. God’s interruptions are always golden. We need to make time for them.

3. Our faith opens the door for Jesus to build bridges of healing and salvation. In verses 48 and 50, Luke uses the Greek word “sozo” for “healing.” That word literally means “to be saved.” When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, that faith paves the way for both His healing and His salvation.

God calls us as followers of Jesus to walk by faith and not by sight. Our eyes see certain disaster, but our faith sees that God will make a way. Jesus builds great bridges as we put our faith in Him. So, as we face obstacles that seem insurmountable, let’s trust Him. He is an expert at building bridges over and around and even through every obstacle we face.  

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Christmas in September

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” - Luke 2:19

It was one of my favorite Christmas presents of all time: the Little Tikes football toybox that my parents gave me when I was just two or three years old. I LOVED that toybox. It didn’t take me very long to figure out that if I didn’t have many toys in it, I could crawl inside, put the lid back on top and hide from my parents. Little Tikes must have suspected that there would be some mischievous boys who would do just this, so fortunately they designed it with a big round hole in the back of the football.

I would sit inside that toybox and peek through the hole, watching my mom walk back and forth through the house looking for me. Finally, when my mom’s voice sounded like I was about 10 seconds away from a spanking, I would slowly stand up in the toy box with the lid on my head. And I was so darn cute I didn’t get in trouble.

Well, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered that a Little Tykes toybox isn’t the best Christmas present of all time. Neither is a dollhouse or a new bike or a game system or a trip to Disneyland or even a new car. I’ve learned that the best Christmas present of all time was a baby boy who—it turns out—was the Son of God, born to save the world.  

Of course, the Christmas story in the second chapter of Luke is one of the most famous parts of the Bible. The details in the first 20 verses are so familiar to us, from the decree of Caesar Augustus to the “No Vacancy” sign at the inn. Maybe you read it with your families on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning as you’re gathered around the Christmas tree. Chances are, you don’t usually read it in September. But by taking a closer look, we still take some lessons from this story that are new to us, and that apply to our lives any time of year.

We know that while Joseph was in Bethlehem registering to be taxed, Mary gave birth to Jesus. We also know that since the little town of Bethlehem was bustling with people who had come into town for the census, there were no vacancies in any of the homes or inns. And since Jesus’ first crib was an animal’s feeding trough (a manger), our best guess is that Jesus was born in a stable. It could have been a cave. It could have been an open corral without a roof. But whatever it was … it was not a nice place for a baby to be born.

In the insightful words from Bible scholar William Barclay, “That there was no room in the inn was symbolic of what was to happen to Jesus. The only place where there was room for him was on a cross. He sought an entry to the overcrowded hearts of men; he could not find it; and still his search—and his rejection—go on.” Think about that. Jesus Christ has sought entry to your over-crowded heart and my over-crowded heart; our parents’ and kids’ and neighbors’ and co-workers’ overcrowded hearts. And in most cases, there is no room for him. So, the Christmas story carries this important lesson to carry with you all year long: Make sure there is room in your life for Jesus.

Now, we all remember what happened next. In verses 8-20, we read about the shepherds who were out in the fields watching their sheep and the angels who announced Jesus’ birth to them. Since Bethlehem was just about six miles outside of Jerusalem, these shepherds were likely tending the lambs that were used for temple sacrifices. It’s a touching thought to consider the strong likelihood that the first outsiders to lay their eyes on the Lamb of God were the same ones who cared for the little sacrificial lambs.

After the shepherds visited baby Jesus, we’re told that they spread the word about what they had seen, “and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (verse 18). And I want you to notice what is said about Mary in verse 19: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I like the wording of this verse in New Living Translation: “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Even though Mary had been visited by one of God’s most important angels … even though Elizabeth had prophesied about Jesus nine months earlier … even though she had just given birth without ever having had sexual relations … Mary was still blown away by the story the shepherds told her. She hung on their every word, and she treasured their words in her heart. And she thought about them often.

The same should be said of us as Christians. No matter how many times we’ve heard the Christmas story … no matter how many times we’ve read Luke chapter 2 … no matter how many times we’ve heard the story of the manger and the shepherds and the angels … we should never stop being blown away by that first Christmas night. Like Mary, we should still treasure these things in our hearts and think about them often.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for National Back to Church Sunday next week at 10 a.m.

Good News is Contagious

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come

 to his people and redeemed them.” - Luke 1:68

It wasn’t the shot heard around the world. It was far more important than that. The news that the angel Gabriel shared in Luke 1, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, has echoed through the centuries. And it will continue to ring through eternity: the good news of Jesus Christ, the savior who came to rescue all of us from our sins.

Shortly after receiving God’s message from Gabriel that she would be the mother of the savior, Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was to be the mother of John the Baptist. When she arrived, she walked through the front door and greeted Elizabeth. What happened in verse 41 is one of the most remarkable events in this chapter: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Now, let’s be honest with each other: Pre-born babies kick and poke and stretch. But they don’t usually leap. And babies in their mothers’ womb do have the ability to experience emotion. But experiencing joy—that seems like a bit of a stretch. How was this possible? Well, it was possible because of the Holy Spirit. Luke makes it clear that Elizabeth became filled with the Holy Spirit after John leaped. So, it stands to reason that John leaped because he too was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

The angel Gabriel had told Zechariah back in verse 15 that John would be “filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.” The New American Standard Bible translates this phrase more literally: “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” So, at what point during Elizabeth’s pregnancy did the Holy Spirit fill John the Baptist for the first time? In all likelihood, it happened right here in verses 40 and 41—the moment when Mary entered the room with Jesus inside her womb. The Holy Spirit responded by filling both John and Elizabeth, confirming that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was in the house.

The meaning of John’s leap was clear to Elizabeth. She responded with great joy: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (vs. 42b-43) Elizabeth knew things about Mary’s pregnancy and baby Jesus that Mary had never told her—because the Holy Spirit told her. And Elizabeth’s joy was contagious. Mary, who was likely filled with the Holy Spirit herself, began speaking a beautiful new psalm to God, widely known as the Magnificat. It begins, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant” (vs. 47-48).

If you and I had been in the room with Mary and Elizabeth on this day, their joy would have been palpable. These two were beaming. They were rejoicing in what God was doing, and they just couldn’t help themselves. But how was Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah dealing with the good news?

Months earlier, Zechariah was in the doghouse. He had been the first person the angel Gabriel appeared to with the good news—but he didn’t believe it. So, God disciplined him. For nine long months Zechariah was mute. At last Elizabeth’s baby boy was born, and on the day of his circumcision, the baby was to be named. Family members assumed the baby would be named after Zechariah, or another male relative. But instead, in obedience to Gabriel’s message months before, Zechariah wrote on a tablet: “His name is John.”

And with that, Zechariah’s mouth was opened, his tongue was set free, and he could speak again. And once he could speak, what did he do with his tongue? He used it to praise God. At the start of the chapter, Zechariah responded to God’s good news with unbelief. But he had learned his lesson. By the end of the chapter, Zechariah reacted to God’s good news with a psalm of praise that’s often called the Benedictus. It includes the words, “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins” (vs. 76-77). Yep, it’s pretty clear that Zechariah had gotten the message.

I think we’ve all been like Zechariah. In the past, we responded to God’s good news with unbelief. But today is a new day. It’s time to respond with faith and praise. If Zechariah could speak to us today, he’d probably say something like this: “Don’t make the same foolish mistake I made when I was standing there in the temple and refused to believe the angel standing right beside me. Nothing is impossible with God. When you receive God’s good news, receive it in faith and praise Him. Because our great and awesome God is good, and He is strong, and He is worthy of praise.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for National Back to Church Sunday, Sept. 16th at 10 a.m.

God’s Foolishness

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

- 1 Corinthians 1:18

Within this unimaginably huge universe of ours, we are tiny dots on a tiny planet. Think about it: The Milky Way galaxy contains around 100 billion stars. And as huge as the Milky Way galaxy is, it’s only one of about 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. Looking up into the heavens, it’s no wonder the psalmist asked God in Psalm 8:4, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”

But He does. Isn’t that mind-blowing? The notion that the Creator of this vast universe cares about you and me, and loves you and me, sounds ridiculous. It sounds foolish. But as we see in 1 Corinthians 1, God has a funny habit of doing things that sound foolish to us. And God has a funny habit of choosing weak and lowly people like you and me to carry out His purposes. Sounds unbelievable. But it’s true.

If you spend some time with nonChristians, you’ll be reminded that the message of the cross sounds really crazy to unbelievers. As Paul summarized his own culture in 1 Corinthians 22:23, “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

You see, in Paul’s day the Jews were really big on miracles. During Jesus’ ministry, the Jewish crowds and their rabbis kept asking Jesus to show them a miraculous sign to prove he was the Messiah – even after he performed numerous healings. So, the cross of Jesus Christ was a stumbling block to Jews, because in their minds, his crucifixion was anything but a miracle. In their minds it was the exact opposite. Now, they might have seen it as a miracle if Jesus had survived the crucifixion. If he had stepped down from the cross and walked away with nails still sticking out of his wrists and a spear still dangling from his side, THAT, in their minds, would be a miracle worthy of standing up and taking notice. So, the message of the cross sounded foolish to Jews who rejected Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Meanwhile, the Greeks and Romans of Paul’s day took pride in their ability to understand the complexities of life through science and philosophy. They prided themselves on their ability to save themselves and humanity through intellectual reasoning. But the message of the cross sounded to them like utter foolishness. Think about it: receiving LIFE from one who received DEATH. Being BLESSED by one who was made a CURSE. Being CLEANSED by one who was made DIRTY. It sounded so foolish then. And to many it still sounds so foolish today.

Therefore, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Believers and followers of Jesus Christ can see what unbelievers can’t see. We can understand what unbelievers can’t understand. We can see and understand that the message of the cross isn’t foolish. Quite the opposite: It’s brilliant. No matter how intelligent the Greek philosophers seemed to be, they still didn’t know God. And no matter how eloquent the Greek thinkers were, they couldn’t talk themselves out of a single sin. Regardless of how many universities they attended or how high their IQs soared, they were powerless to transform hard hearts or turn sinners into saints.

Let’s face it. In the eyes of many people, we as Christians are complete morons for believing in Jesus Christ crucified and risen again. And that’s okay with God. As Paul wrote, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him” (vs. 27-29).

Chances are, when God found you, you weren’t an intellectual giant or an influential billionaire. If you know in your heart of hearts that God saved you, erase in your mind any notion that He saved you because He was impressed by you. He wasn’t impressed by your towering intellect. He wasn’t impressed by your amazing talent. And He certainly wasn’t impressed by your rugged good looks. I’m sure many, many angels are better looking than you. God offered to save you … not because of you, but in spite of you. You and I were foolish. We were weak. We were lowly, and we were despised. But in His wisdom and power and grace, Jesus Christ saved us despite ourselves.

If we follow Jesus Christ, he will use those of us the world calls “fools” to put the world’s wisdom to shame. And as the secular world around us calls us intellectually and emotionally weak, God will use us as examples of strength and courage in the midst of life’s battles. And as the secular world around us calls us lowly and despised, God will lift us up as His greatest treasure.

Let me ask you: Are you one of the foolish things of the world that God chose? I hope so!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Hearing God’s Whisper Over the Noise

“And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – 1 Kings 19:12b

Recently I was on a trip with our church’s Youth Mission Team to Texas to help with Houston’s ongoing recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey. When we arrived, we stopped for breakfast at a Texas favorite: The Waffle House. We walked in the front door of the restaurant, and the smell of fresh waffles was amazing. But the restaurant was very, very loud. The music was blasting, and there were no interior walls to buffer all the noise from the kitchen. And we ended up at a table right beside the kitchen.

Now, I have a certain amount of fluency in three languages: English, Spanish and Southern. But when our waitress was talking to us in her super-thick southern accent, with the dishes clanking and music blaring, I couldn’t understand half of what she was saying. Let me ask you: Do you ever feel that way about God? Would you agree that sometimes with all of the noise around us, it’s hard to hear the still small voice of God? You’re not alone. The same thing happened right before a life-changing moment in the life of the man who never died: the prophet Elijah.

At the beginning of 1 Kings 19, Elijah had just experienced a great triumph over the 450 prophets of Baal. He prayed to the LORD, and God sent down fire that consumed the water-drenched altar Elijah had set up. So he should have been riding high, right? But instead, he was down in the dumps. Why? Simply put, he was exhausted and depressed. Consider these three lessons:

Lesson #1: When we have a spiritual mountaintop experience, we must brace ourselves for the valley of testing on the other side of it. We all know that in nature mountaintops don’t connect to other mountaintops. Mountaintops are separated by valleys. This is also true when it comes to our emotions and our spiritual lives. No one can experience a permanent emotional high. I think deep down, we all know this. But for some reason we’re still caught off guard when our spiritual highs don’t last. We’re surprised when we get back from Christian camp and the next day we’re grumpy and everybody’s pushing our buttons and the dog gives us attitude. We wonder why, after a great Sunday morning worship service, we have some of the biggest arguments with our spouses on the drive home. It’s just a reality of life here on Earth: When we’re coming down off the mountain, we’re bound to enter a valley.

So, when Elijah got word that King Ahab’s wife Jezebel was threatening to kill him – again – we read that “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (I Kings 19:3). Now, this isn’t the first time Jezebel threatened Elijah’s life. But because he was exhausted, he wasn’t thinking straight. He ran off to the wilderness, sat down under a broom bush, and basically prayed to die. Thankfully, Elijah didn’t take matters into his own hands and end his life. Thankfully, he took a nap.

Which brings us to Lesson #2: Sometimes the best remedy for a pessimistic outlook is sleep. After he got some sleep, an angel of the Lord woke him up and gave him some food and water. Then he let Elijah sleep some more. Notice what happens next: “Strengthened by that food, he traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God” (v. 8). After getting some much-needed sleep and nourishment, Elijah wasn’t out of the woods, but he was in a much better place to hear God’s voice. Sometimes when we’re depressed, it’s partly because we are not providing these basic things to care for our bodies: sleep, food and drink. And it’s worth mentioning that in some cases, if clinical depression continues to linger, medication may be needed in the short term.

After his 40-day journey, Elijah spent the night in a cave on Mt. Horeb (also known as Mt. Sinai). And that’s where, at last, Elijah heard from the LORD. But first God sent a little fanfare: “A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper” (vs. 11b-12).

Lesson #3: “The whispers from Calvary are infinitely more potent than the thunder of Sinai in bringing men to repentance.” Those words are from the Christian scholar, Oswald Sanders, and they are so true. I believe God sent the wind, earthquake and fire as a wake-up call to Elijah. But when it came time to speak to Elijah, God didn’t speak to him in a big, thunderous voice. He spoke to him in a gentle whisper. The same is true today. Sometimes we expect God to speak to us as the worship music is blaring or the preacher is screaming or the ground is shaking. But more times than not, God speaks to us in a still, small voice. And we need to be still to hear it.

One final takeaway: When our mourning drags on, it becomes a pity party – and God will not endorse our pity parties. He calls us to get up and do what he’s called us to do. You’ll notice that 1 Kings 19 ends with Elijah leaving the cave and heading back to Israel to carry out God’s marching orders. And when Elijah left the cave, he left his pity party behind. Some of us need to do the same today. If you’ve been walking in defeat for too long, get some sleep, give your body some nourishment and listen for the voice of your great and awesome God. Then get up, brush yourself off and start doing what God has called you to do.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Christmas at the Movies: The Nativity Story

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.’”

 – Luke 1:30-31

Over the years there have been many Bible-based movies that depict the birth of Christ 2,000 years ago. And I think the 2006 film The Nativity Story is one of the best. For starters, the actors who play Joseph and Mary are believable. The producer and director didn’t place supermodels or famous personalities in the lead roles. There was no attempt to boost box office ticket sales by casting Johnny Depp as Joseph or Carrie Underwood as Mary. And the movie doesn’t display award-winning cinematography or dazzling special effects. It just tells the simple, powerful story of Jesus’ birth.

We read in Luke 1:26-27 that God sent one of his premier messenger angels, Gabriel, to deliver a life-changing message to Mary. Gabriel had announced John the Baptist’s expected birth to John’s father, Zechariah, some six months earlier. And now Gabriel was ready to deliver some good news to Mary. She too would experience a miraculous pregnancy. Though she was a virgin, she would give birth to the Son of God.

Like Matthew, Luke declares that Mary was a virgin. In First Century Jewish culture, the term “virgin” usually referred to an unmarried Jewish girl who was fourteen years of age or younger. So, Mary was likely twelve or thirteen years old when the angel knocked her socks off with his groundbreaking announcement. And she had virtually no social status in Israel. Wealthy Jews held a higher social status than poor Jews, and Mary wasn’t wealthy. Jewish men were higher in the pecking order than Jewish women. And among women, married women held a higher social order than young maidens.

So without a doubt Mary—a poor, unmarried Jewish girl from the lowly town of Nazareth—was virtually at the bottom of the social pecking order. No wonder she was shocked when the angel suddenly appeared and greeted her with the words: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Now, it’s important to take a closer look at the angel’s greeting to Mary in Matthew 1:28, because many Christians and Christian leaders have completely misinterpreted the angel’s words. To put it bluntly, the angel’s greeting—traditionally translated into English as “Hail, full of grace”— in no way indicates that Mary is someone Divine or worthy of worship. In fact, the word translated as “greetings” or “hail” is the Greek word “chairo,” which is a variation of the word “charis”: one of the most important words in the New Testament. Charis means “grace.” And grace is defined as “undeserved favor” or as the acronym “G-R-A-C-E—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”

Long story short: Gabriel greeted Mary with a word of grace. And when he followed that greeting with the words “you who are highly favored” or “full of grace,” the angel reiterated that Mary had received undeserved favor from God. Clearly the angel’s greeting in no way identifies Mary as a dispenser of God’s grace. She is merely a recipient of God’s grace. Grace was given to Mary by God. In no way had she earned it, and she didn’t have the ability to manufacture it. To claim otherwise is to distort the clear teaching of God’s word while heading down a slippery slope of false teaching.

Mary understood that she was a lowly human being, a sinner undeserving of God’s amazing grace. And she serves as a bright example of a humble servant who believed the word of the Lord and walked in obedience to His commands. Mary should be respected and her faith and obedience should be emulated. But she should never be lifted up on a Divine pedestal. Jesus alone is to be high and lifted up in our minds and hearts.

With that in mind, here are two marvelous lessons that we can learn from Mary. First, when the Lord offers you grace, receive it. Without a doubt, the people of Nazareth would have looked down on Mary once they discovered that she was pregnant before her wedding night. Her miraculous pregnancy did her no favors in the eyes of her neighbors and friends. But despite the social stigma that accompanied her faithful obedience to the Lord’s commands, she gladly received God’s grace anyway. In much the same way, God’s grace and our culture’s scorn await you as you faithfully obey God’s commands. I guarantee you that God has grace in store for you as you study His word, pray and live for Him each day. Yet at the same time, there are plenty of your acquaintances who will consider these priorities to be a complete waste of your time and energy. Will you obey God and pursue His grace anyway?

Second, when the Lord gives you a ministry opportunity, embrace it. Mary was blessed with an amazing ministry opportunity, the privilege of giving birth to Jesus Christ—God in flesh and Savior of the world. And Mary embraced it!  So too should you embrace ministry opportunities when the Lord opens the door for you to serve Him and His Church in meaningful ways. The Lord’s open doors should never be ignored, even on Christmas day. So, as you celebrate Christmas this weekend with church family, will you be looking for God’s open door? And once you see it, will you do what Mary did: Walk through it? I hope so. 

Merry Christmas from all of us at First Christian Church! We hope you’ll join us
for our Christmas Morning Worship Service Sunday at 10 a.m.
For more information, visit www.fccvv.com.