Post-Christmas Blues: Why Christmas Leaves Us Longing for More

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Devotionals, Miscellaneous6 Comments

It’s a feeling that comes every year. I felt it yesterday when our timed lights on the Christmas tree cut off for the last time of the Christmas season. We spent an entire month leading up to this day, and just like that, it’s over. I remember feeling the same way as a child. It’s the same feeling I would get when a good friend would have to go home after coming over to play. I call it the post-Christmas blues.

As a child, I felt the blues because there were no more presents or family gatherings, and I had to go back to school. Its certainly not as strong now, but I still feel it. I love Christmas and everything about it. Every year, I am sad to see it go. But why?

I don’t think its the lights, trees, decorations, or festivities. Nor is it the family meetings, delicious goodies, or joy of seeing my kids enjoy Christmas day. All of these things are great, but what is unique about Christmas, especially for followers of Jesus, is a month long opportunity, not to savor the external trinkets of Christmas, but to savor the reason for Christmas: the Savior Himself. And to do so with the people that we love.

As an adult, I’m not as concerned about all the external trappings of Christmas. I am concerned about worshiping Jesus as I ought to, and leading my family to do the same. And Christmas is an incredible opportunity to do just that. But here’s the thing. Every year when Christmas ends, I feel like I didn’t do enough.

I didn’t read enough advent devotionals. I didn’t meditate on the incarnation enough. I didn’t lead enough discussions with my family on the meaning of God sending His Son. I didn’t encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ enough. I didn’t sing the songs of the season with enough of my heart. I didn’t sit back and rest in Jesus enough. I didn’t share the news of His coming with nearly enough people.

The post-Christmas blues, then, are just a symptom of this underlying diagnosis: I am not enough. I will never worship, serve, and glorify God enough. But its at this point that I must remember the whole point of Christmas: that God knows I will never be enough. No one can be. But His Son is! True enough- I haven’t worshipped Jesus as much as I could have this season. But my relationship with God is not based on how much or how well I worship Him. It is based on the perfect life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. And in that I can rest in every season.

A Longing for Heaven

I have learned to embrace the post-Christmas blues. God has set eternity in our hearts, and if we are His people, nothing on earth will satisfy us. That’s a good thing, because we were not created for this world alone.

In heaven, we will get to spend unhindered time with God’s people, with family, and with friends. In heaven, we will get to rest and enjoy all that God has done for us. In heaven, we will get to worship Jesus perfectly. And we will be able to do all of these things without the distractions of this world.

In heaven, the warmth, the light, the joy, will never end. Because we will be with God. That’s what my heart longs for every Christmas. And that’s what remains just out of my grasp every year, so that I will never be fully satisfied until I take hold of it. Until then, I will be content to taste the coming beauty of heaven every Christmas season, and to embrace the blues that come along with it, as it reminds me year after year, the best is yet to come.

How to Disciple Your Kids: 8 Tips

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous3 Comments

Raising children is no easy task, much less discipling them! It’s one thing to keep them healthy, (relatively) clean, and educate them. Again, no easy task. Trust me, I know, I have three! But to spend 18+ years helping them learn to follow Jesus? The task can seem overwhelming, so much so that we just stop thinking about it. We don’t have a plan, and we more or less end up hoping that they will end up looking like Jesus.

There’s a better way. Though the task is monumental, we are not called to go at it alone. God has given us his Spirit, his Word, and his church to guide us. Furthermore, there are all kinds of helps out there; I am constantly looking for these, and I love to share them. Here’s a helpful blog from a fellow brother in Christ that I recently came across that I had to share. Here are “8 Tips to Help You Disciple Your Kids.”

1. Set realistic expectations.

One of the main problems we have as parents is that we expect way too much of ourselves when it comes to discipling our kids, and when we can’t live up to them, we feel like failures and often quit. Family worship doesn’t have to look like worship with your church family with singing, prayer, and lengthy and in-depth Bible teaching. Gospel conversations don’t always have to end with some profound theological gem from you. We need to be realistic of what our family discipleship will look like. Perhaps that means talking about a Bible story for 15 minutes one night a week at dinner and trying to find one or two times each week to move conversations toward the gospel. Wherever you are, start there and develop rhythms and habits that work and then build on them to get to where you want to be.

2. See family discipleship as a way of life, not a program.

There is nothing at all wrong with having a more organized time of family worship—it is actually a great idea to do that. But we can’t see our role as disciplers as a program; we have to see it more as a way of life as Deut. 6 describes. That means that you want to strive to talk with your kids about Christ naturally as much as possible. Look for themes in shows, movies, and music and talk about how they relate to the gospel. Talk about the character of God, especially as you experience them in your own life. We have natural opportunities to talk about the gospel every day—we just have to look for them.

3. Focus on Jesus.

Our goal should be to always point our kids to Jesus. It is easy to fall into the trap of moralism—focusing on our kids’ behavior and wanting them to act right. But that is not God’s heart for them! God is less concerned with their behavior and more concerned with their hearts. And the way our kids will develop hearts that love Him and want to obey Him is through the gospel transforming them. This is why we always need to point our kids to the gospel and allow that to inform how they live. Their behavior matters—but why they behave the way they do matters far more. Focus on heart change through Christ.

4. Be a guide, not a general.

As parents we often think ourselves as generals—we have the authority to tell our kids what to do and point the direction they are to go. There is certainly a place for this at times, but when it comes to discipling our kids, we are better off seeing ourselves as guides instead. Think of a trail guide who travels with you and beside you. He or she doesn’t stay back at camp and just point the direction or give you a map—he or she goes with you! That is what we need to do with our kids in the journey of discipleship. We aren’t supposed to be the experts with all the answers boldly pointing the way our kids should go; we are to travel with them as guides—guides who have more knowledge, wisdom, and experience of our journey but who are still learning ourselves. Positioning yourself as a guide means you don’t need to have all the answers and that is important because none of us do. But it does give you the freedom to tell your kids that you don’t know something and you want to seek the answer together.

5. Feed your own growth.

The best teaching comes from the overflow of what we are learning. If you are looking for the one way to improve the most as your kids’ discipler, this may be it. Spend more time feeding your growth and growing in your understanding of, and joy in, the gospel. Dive into God’s Word more deeply. Read helpful books that will build your faith. Worship in meaningful ways with others and by yourself. As you grow your confidence will increase and you will also have more to share with your kids.

6. Teach by your example.

It has been said that people will remember more of what we do than what we say. We often focus our discipleship on what we tell our kids—and that certainly matters—but we cannot forget that our kids are learning far more from what they see us do, for better or for worse. As a follower of Christ, you need to be working out your salvation through God’s power (Phil. 2:12-13), but this is even more important as parents. How is the gospel framing how you live each day in the home, in the community, at work, and beyond? Are God’s love, grace, and mercy working their way out of you? Is the fruit of the spirit evident in increasing measure? Are you obeying God with gospel gratitude and joy? Model gospel transformation to your kids.

7. Connect them deeply into your church.

While God designed parents to be the primary disciplers, He did not intend for us to be the only disciplers. He has given us the church—our local community of faith—to come alongside us, encourage us, and echo what we are teaching in our homes. Just as it is essential for us to be part of the church, our kids need to be as well—for their good now and in the future as well as the church’s vitality. Prioritize involvement in church, not because you have to or should, but because you want to. This is one reason I love The Gospel Project so much—the heart of this resource is not only to help individuals see the gospel story throughout Scripture but also to position parents to have meaningful conversations in the home based on what they are talking about at church. The church and home aren’t to work in isolation of each other—they are to work hand-in-hand in partnership.

8. Pray with them and for them.

Just as you want to have meaningful gospel conversations throughout the day with your kids, you want to pray with them and for them as well. Think about the opportunities you have each day, such as in the car on the way to school and as part of your bedtime routine, and use some of that time to pray together.

*Original post may be found at https://gospelproject.lifeway.com/8-tips-to-help-you-disciple-your-kids/. Written by Brian Dembowczyk.

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Delighting In The Trinity (Book Review)

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Book Reviews2 Comments

The triunity of God is one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. And yet, the Trinity is one of the most neglected and least understood tenets of our faith. I’m afraid I have contributed to this myself. I have been guilty of speaking of the Trinity as if it was something too difficult to understand or too risky to talk about for fear of stepping into heresy.

The problem with such neglect is the misinformed notions we develop about God as a result. Instead of understanding God to be Father, Son, and Spirit, who dwells in eternal unity and love, we fashion a singular god in our own image who often turns out to be cold, distant, and ultimately unknowable. Even if we don’t consciously believe God to be singular and distant, we often live as if he is, expecting his disapproval, ambivalence, and relative absence to characterize our lives rather than warm, enjoyable, loving fellowship with him. The antidote to this, Michael Reeves argues, is to know God as Trinity.

To know the Trinity is “to know God, an eternal and personal God of infinite beauty, interest, and fascination. The Trinity is a God we can know, and forever grow to know better.”[1] The strength of Reeves’ book is that he writes about the Trinity from a relational perspective rather than an ontological one.[2] His goal is not to mine all the nuanced gems of the Trinity’s nature, but to show how God has revealed himself as Father, Son, and Spirit, and how he relates to us as such.

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The Triune God: The Ultimate Christmas Gift

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Theology1 Comment

Christmas is here! And all that comes with it: lights, decorations, gatherings, and…gifts. What does that last word do for you- gifts? Does it create excitement, perhaps over the gift you might receive or give? Or does it create a sense of burden over the gifts you need to purchase? Whichever it may be, how would you feel if I told you that our practice of gift-giving could (and should) deepen our appreciation of the Triune God?

Why do we give gifts at Christmas, anyways? We may say, “because God has given us the gift of salvation.” And while that may be true, the gift God has given us is much more than that. The ultimate Christmas gift is a Trinitarian gift. It’s a gift prepared, given, and protected by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that redeems the world and restores all that mankind lost in the Garden of Eden, chiefly, an intimate relationship with the Triune God.

When God gives us the gift of salvation, He gives us Himself and the ability to know Him. That’s what we lost in Eden. Everything else is merely a symptom of that broken relationship. So God prepares, purchases, and extends this gift to us. But He does so through each member of the Trinity giving themselves so that we may know God in all of His fullness. Let me explain.

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Why Did Jesus Turn Water Into Wine?

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Messages1 Comment

Why did Jesus perform His first miracle at a wedding? And why was that miracle the turning of water into wine? Was He simply demonstrating His power, helping His mother and friends out, or was something greater going on here? Could this seemingly insignificant miracle set the stage for His life and ministry? Listen and find out!

Here’s my notes from this talk:

Jesus Stories- Jesus Turns Water to Wine (John 2.1-11)Download

Why You Should Read a Children’s Bible

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn DiscipleshipLeave a comment

Our culture is fascinated with unconventional methods to reach common goals, especially when they work! Well, here’s my hot take of an unconventional method to assist Christians in attaining the common goal of biblical literacy. Read a good children’s Bible, whether you have kids or not! These books have been one of the most unexpected tools that God has used to increase my knowledge of His Word. They’ve given me the ability to understand the over-arching story of the Bible better. They have also equipped me to share that story with kids and adults!

I love to teach where Old Testament stories or passages fit in the redemptive storyline of the Bible or how they point us to Christ. Take the story of David and Goliath, for example. I may say something like, “this story points to Jesus because Jesus is the better David, who goes on our behalf to fight the giants of sin and death and when He wins, His victory is attributed to us, even though we didn’t lift a finger.”

Or I may consider how David’s victory over Goliath was an essential part of his path to becoming king and receiving a promise from God that one of his descendant’s would rule on his throne forever, a promise that was fulfilled when one of David’s descendants was crucified, resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of the Father to reign forever.

How can we see connections like this? One of the best places is a good children’s Bible. They excel at giving you the gist of a passage and showing you how it fits into the larger story of the Bible. They can provide excellent summaries, application, and food for thought. I love reading them with my kids, but I also enjoy reading them for my own personal benefit.

Here are a few of the ones I recommend:

  1. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
  2. The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by Kevin DeYoung (we are currently reading this with our oldest sons right now and using the memory cards for scripture memorization)
  3. The Beginners Gospel Story Bible by Jared Kennedy

Remember, with a lot of these you are not reading direct translation of God’s Word. You are reading distilled and simplified passages that are meant to show the reader what the passage means in the grand scheme of God’s revealed truth. Don’t replace regular Bible reading with one of these, use them in addition to your regular reading. I hope that you’ll find, as I have, that such a tool is invaluable, and a worthy addition to any child or adult’s library!

*Header photo by Crossway featuring Deyoung’s The Biggest Story Bible Storybook

The Legacy of Walt Disney: A Christian Perspective

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

I try to write book reviews on most books that I read. It helps me to process what I’ve read, summarize it succinctly, and either encourage or discourage the reading of the book to others. I finished Bob Thomas’ classic biography of Walt Disney, An American Original, a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been wrestling with how to write a review of it. But I want to take a stab at it, nonetheless!

The Disney brand can be a polarizing subject today. But it is not my intention to defend or attack the brand. I want to consider the focus of the biography, Walt Disney himself, and specifically what he was after. Walt Disney: An American Original is the gold standard of Disney biographies. Bob Thomas was commissioned by the Disney family and company executives to write the biography and was given access to private documents and records of Walt Disney Studios. Thomas was granted assurance that he could write the story of Walt Disney as he saw it, and that’s exactly what he did.

Walt Disney: An American Original reads as if it was a classic Disney story itself. It features a young boy who was born into a simple family and worked hard to achieve his dreams, dreams that no one else was having at the time. Walt’s story includes working morning and evening as a paper boy, driving ambulances in World War I, struggling to become a successful cartoonist, learning the art of animation and experiencing early success, being betrayed and put on the brink of bankruptcy numerous times, and persevering through every imaginable obstacle to ultimately change the entertainment industry. It’s a riveting read, a story that anyone would enjoy.

Aside from being captivated by contours of Walt’s life, one of the things that struck me the most was Walt’s view of fantasy as entertainment. I think that’s what truly set him apart. Sure, he was always on the cutting edge of technology, always pushing himself and his staff to perfection, and always dreaming of what people wanted before they knew they wanted it. But the thread that connects all of it, from cartoons to motion pictures to theme parks- was Walt’s belief that people needed to escape their world of mundanity and experience something truly fantastical, even if it was just for a little while.

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Psalm 98- Why and How We Should Sing Praise

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MessagesLeave a comment

Today we are going to take a look at Psalm 98 together. This psalm helps us with something that we do every week: sing worship to God. But Psalm 98 has much broader implications than just singing. Though its only nine verses, it encompasses the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation and encourages us to celebrate that story through songs of praise.

Singing praise is central to the Christian life. We sing praise every week as the gathered body of Christ. But do we know why we sing praise? Do we know how to sing praise? Do we know how to make praise a part of our everyday life? Let’s remember, it is to the holy God of the universe that we are called to render this praise; we should not take such an endeavor lightly!

Thankfully, we have Psalm 98 to guide our way. The big idea of the psalm is this: we should praise God in the present by remembering what He has done in the past and looking forward to what He will do in the future. Let’s consider the components of this idea in turn.

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Six Things Every Disciple-Maker Should Pray For

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn DiscipleshipLeave a comment

How do we “make disciples?” Disciple-making is the intentional process of helping someone follow Jesus through relationships. This process includes several aspects such as teaching content, making consistent contact, and spending time in different contexts together. There are many resources available to help us in our disciple-making efforts. However, I fear that we can get so caught up in following and depending on a certain curriculum or method of discipleship that we forget to pray for those we are seeking to disciple.

If you are seeking to help someone follow Jesus and grow in their walk with God, one of the first things you should do is commit yourself to is praying for them! Here are five simple things to pray; I would encourage you to memorize these and pray them daily!

1. Spiritual Growth and Maturity in Christ

Pray that they would grow in their understanding of the gospel, deepen in their relationship with Christ, and become more like Him in character and conduct (Ephesians 4:13-15).

2. Understanding and Applying Scripture

Ask God to grant them wisdom and insight as they read His Word, helping them to understand and apply His truth as they seek to live out the gospel (Psalm 119:18; James 1:22).

3. Opportunities and Boldness in Ministry

Pray for them to have opportunities to minister to others through prayer, encouragement, and evangelism. Pray for God to grant them courage and clarity as they share the hope of Christ with others (Acts 4:29; Matthew 28:19-20).

4. Dependence on the Holy Spirit

Ask God to help them rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance, strength, and spiritual transformation, recognizing that apart from Him, they can do nothing (John 15:5; Galatians 5:16).

5. Perseverance Through Trials

Ask God to sustain them through whatever trials they may be experiencing. Pray that He will use these challenges to strengthen their faith, refine their character, and mature them in Christ (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5).

6. Those They Will Disciple

Pray that they will become a disciple-maker themselves, and ask God to lead them to others they can help in their walk with Jesus (2 Timothy 2:2).

Can you imagine what someone’s life may look like if they had someone in their corner praying these things for them regularly? Let that “someone in their corner” be you!

Augustine’s Encouragement to American Christians in Election Season: “The City of God” and its Modern Application

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

As we find ourselves in the midst of another election season, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed (and frustrated) by the flood of discussions, debates, and news cycles. How can we lift our eyes above the waters and find guidance and encouragement? As I have in past election seasons, I am reflecting once again on Augustine’s book, The City of God.

Even though it was written nearly sixteen centuries ago, I believe his profound work still speaks to us today. It explains the realities of the worlds, or the “cities,” in which we live, and offers wisdom on how to navigate the waters of our political landscape with faith and hope. Let me show you how!

Who Was Augustine?

Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher. He was born in 354 AD in what is now Algeria and became one of the most influential figures in Christianity. He was, in a sense, one of the first great theologians of the church. It is said that all theological traditions, in some way or another, are indebted to Augustine. He is the fountainhead from which many streams of theology flow. His writings, especially Confessions and The City of God, have shaped Christian thought for centuries.

What Is “The City of God” About?

Augustine wrote The City of God in response to the fall of Rome in 410 AD. For the first time in centuries, Rome was not the superpower of the world, and many people blamed Christians for the collapse of the city, claiming that abandoning the old Roman gods had led to Rome’s downfall. Augustine wrote City of God to defend Christianity and to offer a broader perspective on history and society.

In his book, Augustine contrasts the “city of man” with the “city of God.” Both cities are marked by love. The city of man is characterized by self-love and pride, which leads to conflict and corruption. The city of God, on the other hand, is marked by the love of God and the building of His kingdom. Augustine encourages Christians to live in the city of man as citizens of the city of God until the day that God’s city triumphs. But how do we do that? Here are six ways.

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