Christmas

Christmas entered with a sleepy-eyed, parental state of disbelief in how early our kids still get up for the day. I blearily threw on some house pants and a ball cap and followed my bright-eyed spouse into the living room. Though our kids are 13 and 11, they still treat Christmas with as much eagerness as they always have.

Whether it was unwrapping or confetti-throwing, I’m still not sure, but the loving chaos, discovery and gratitude that followed over the next hour were more than enough to substitute for my normal caffeine fix. There was Sam downplaying his gift of a Sugar Bowl ticket. (13 year-olds have to have some semblance of dignity.) Adelyn loved her Flip Video camera and promptly began starring in her own movies. I wonder where she got that from?

I was successful in fooling Carolyn, and it was fun watching her unwrap her iPhone 4. I was extra thankful the AT&T folks let us upgrade a few weeks early. I had a hard time explaining to her yesterday (on her birthday) why her old phone suddenly lost reception. (It was when I’d called the AT&T folks and told them to go ahead and activate the new iPhone.)

My big present this year was the travel to the Sugar Bowl, in combination with the ticket that Northstar Church gave me and Cody to go. Since Cody’s team is the Ohio State Luckeyes, it’s been fun milking that matchup around town. I also received a wireless keyboard to go with iPad and some other goodies.

The best gift this year, however, has been my family. I was able to drink in the moments this morning with joy. Carolyn’s surgery is past, and it’s just recovery time ahead. We’ve had wonderful visits from my mom and dad over Thanksgiving and Carolyn’s mom this past week to be present during surgery and to help out.

Our church family has been gracious and kind to us by providing all kinds of meals and goodies. We’re truly overwhelmed and humbled by their joyful service to us. One family went above and beyond – the Minnicks – by cooking us Christmas Eve meal AND a full-blown Christmas day dinner that was just amazing. We were so grateful. Another family made Carolyn a birthday cake since she’s a Christmas Eve baby.

We’re thankful. It’s so humbling to be on the receiving end of so much ministry, love and care. Yet, all the ministry we’ve received keeps us consistently praying and praising. For every good gift we receive has its origin in the Original Giver.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1.17)

Review: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

With Carolyn’s 6th round of cancer and her resulting double mastectomy, it’s not difficult to understand my timing of reading John Piper and Justin Taylor’s compilation Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. It’s the collection of messages presented at the 2005 Desiring God Pastors’ Conference.

It’s one of those books that may speak powerfully at different places according to the need and experience of the reader. I am a Piper fan, and have read many of his books. I was really looking forward to this particular one.

However, there is really only one chapter that I would highly recommend in the entire book – Piper’s chapter 4: Why God Appoints Suffering for His Servants. The others are written by some fantastic folks – and folks familiar with suffering through personal experience – but they fall short of being inspirational. Perhaps Joni Eareckson Tada’s chapter entitled Hope… The Best of Things is the second best.

Since the entire book is available for download here, I’d highly encourage you to read chapter 4. It’s a rousing explanation of why Christians suffer. In short, they’re chosen for it. I’ll leave it to the book to give you the scriptural background for such a statement. The chapter is not just provocative, but it’s deeply encouraging.

“Suffering is a primary means of building compassion into the lives of God’s servants,” Piper claims.

In my own understanding, suffering, in its very essence, is something that not only is God familiar with, but that God is sovereign over. Nothing escapes His notice because nothing falls outside His power. We groan, chafe, cry and agonize over our own suffering, but we also demand explanation for the astonishing and gut-wreching suffering of others – especially innocent others.

We want an explanation for it. We want an end to it. We want to control suffering, limit it, end it. We want a lot. We expect that “God” – if he is all-powerful – would want what we want and agree with us. We are insulted not only with God’s unwillingness to bend to our demands, but we begin to redefine Him in our own minds when He doesn’t perform the way a sensible, compassionate person would. We even begin to offer up excuses for God to others who demand explanations.

As scripture consistently reveals, suffering may not be explained to us on this side of heaven. We should not seek to explain suffering or excuse God. Rather, suffering provides a dramatic opportunity to exchange our life for the life of God revealed in Christ. There is power and love available from the Father for anyone who in his suffering clings to His infinite resources of strength, compassion, hope and help. They are riches which are inexhaustible. Anyone who has suffered will testify how quickly their own resources evaporate. That’s a large part of what suffering does. Its strips us.

Suffering drives us deep. In another chapter entitled Don’t Waste Your Cancer, Piper and David Powlinson advise the sufferer to resist the temptation toward solitude and instead allow suffering to lead you to dependent community with God’s people. Our family can certainly echo that affirmation.

So… while Suffering and the Sovereignty of God may not be the best book ever written on the subject, at least one chapter was a significant joy for me in these days of ministry to my wife in her recovery time. You may find a wealth of instruction, encouragement and direction in its other pages.

The Thorn

I stumbled across this poem by Martha Snell Nicholson which is quoted in the book Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. It’s magnificent. You can read my review of the book here.

The Thorn

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, “But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.”
He said, “My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.”
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

Christmas notes 2010

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Blacksburg, VA. The leaves that once were vibrant fall colors are now under three inches of snow. The temperatures have dropped and are much colder than we were use to in Arkansas. The beauty that comes with the bright, white snow makes the season’s change worth it. There has been changes in the Noble family as well.

Jeff is basking in all the changes that have happened this year at Northstar Church. The church moved its office location to a beautiful, historical house on the edge of the VT campus. Being on campus and having a house conducive to ministry has brought a new dynamic for Northstar. The house is full most days and nights with meetings, discipleship time and fellowship from both college students and families. We have been honored to have seen many lives changed this year through salvation and baptism. There isn’t much more you can ask for when you get witness people give their life to Christ and decide to follow Him wholeheartedly. If Jeff isn’t in some type of discipleship meeting you can find him at home relaxing, reading or trying to beat Sam in Fantasy Football.

Carolyn has enjoyed subbing for the schools this year. She mainly works with Special Ed children and likes that she can pick and choose when she works. She is a part of a Ladies Morning Bible Study where she has made some good friends. She is still taking photos on the side but enjoys not having to make an income from it and just enjoy it for a hobby. As a continue saga of her health, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer this October. Fortunately, the cancer is non-invasive and does not require treatment. She will, however, have a double mastectomy and reconstruction on December 13th. Not exactly what we want for the Christmas holidays but God’s timing is always best. We have learned that time and time again.

Sam has grown like wildfire and has had the biggest change. We recently bought him size 11 shoes and he is about to be as tall as Jeff. He now helps with the Technical Team at church. He assists in setting up the lights each week and is in charge of the slides for the worship songs. It’s a great way to keep a teenager focused during the worship service! He played baseball this summer and is now playing basketball. He was able to go to Young Life camp this summer in Maryland and is already planning for next summer. This past summer we were able to go camping on the New River and take the kids to Virginia Beach. This was a first for both kids. Sam still loves the outdoors. His practice deer target is in the backyard where he practices shooting his bow. Not sure how the neighbors feel about it here but it is a yard ornament for now.

Adelyn has had her fair share of change as well. She started middle school this year. She is in the band and of all the instruments, she chose TUBA! If it is not the deer in the backyard, it is the tuba practice that
can be heard by all! She still takes guitar lessons and loves writing music. Our families all pitched in to buy her a beautiful blue Fender guitar for her birthday. She loves it and plays it often. She still takes ballet and tap. She is in prepoint this year and will probably get her long awaited toe ballet shoes in January. She loved playing softball this year and is now playing basketball. She still sports her converse shoes almost every day. She even wears them to basketball practice. The other day she was complaining of her feet hurting. It might be time to purchase real basketball shoes. Not sure how she will handle practicality over style. We will see.

This Christmas we pray that you have had some good changes in your life this year as well. We pray that Christmas will be a time that we will all remember James 1.17:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Merry Christmas from the Nobles!

Arkansas vs Ohio State Northstar-style, Part 1

The 2011 Sugar Bowl between Arkansas and Ohio State divided the Northstar Church staff. Jeff was rooting for Arkansas. Cody was rooting for OSU. Strange things began to happen around the office…

Turn the other cheek?

I recently preached on Luke 6:29, but does “turning the other cheek” require a faithful Christ follower to suffer abuse or just take it? I advocated complete dependence on God in situations of unfairness in my sermon. However, there are deeper issues of life that we must take into account as well.

Yes, God has promised consistently throughout scripture that He will be our defense, that He will fight for us (Exodus 14.14, Joshua and the city of Jericho, Gideon’s army, and 2 Corinthians 4:7 are examples). However, while we see Paul getting stoned and beaten for his faith in Christ, we also see him being lowered in a basket through the an opening in the city wall to escape a murder plot in Acts 9:25, sneaking away by night in Thessalonica (Acts 17:10), and hightailing it out of Iconium (Acts 14:6).

It’s obvious that a Christian is not commanded to simply be someone’s whipping post. Any sane person would counsel someone in an abusive situation to get out and get safe as soon as possible. The problem comes when it’s not in your power to do so.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were helpless to resist the will of the king in the book of Daniel. They had to submit to his power and authority over their lives. In that particular instance, their faith led to flames, with the very presence of Another to affirm them in their stand and submission. (Daniel 3:16-18)

It was their profound refusal to bow to an idol that led to their supposed fate in the fire. Should they have meekly bowed to save their life? Should they have turned the other cheek in that moment to live for God another day?

The “turn the other cheek” passage in Luke 6 is not a command to simply suck it up and take it. It’s an instruction to willingly suffer loss when it is no direct harm to your person. In both cases that Jesus describes, the intent is to confound the person who demands something from you with patience, kindness and radical generosity.

It leads to Jesus’ amazing command for us to love our enemies. And pray for them. It’s also a command to stay the course. Be faithful and trust God even if it leads us into suffering. His ministry to us will be radically sufficient in our suffering. Our suffering for His sake actually destroys the power of evil rather than magnifying it.

The overarching principle in scripture is not as simple as “turn (the other cheek) or burn.” There are consistently great rewards and examples promised to and made of those who persist, stand firm and refuse to relent in their commitment to God in the face of persecution. However, we’re also given examples of escape. It’s not wise to stay in situations of persecution or abuse when you have the power and freedom to remove yourself from it.

If you can’t get out, stand firm. Be faithful. Be humble. Resist with an other-worldy confidence in God who is Immanuel, which means “God with us.” It should come as no surprise that a follower of Jesus experiences intentional persecution for our faith. In fact, it’s proof of it.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4.12)

Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. (1 John 3.13)

A few thoughts in conclusion:

• If you’re experiencing physical abuse or danger and it’s in your power to do so, get out and get safe.
• If you’re experiencing consistent emotional or verbal abuse, seek counsel and pray hard about whether you’re called to remain or leave the environment.
• Reflect deeply on the causes. If it’s due to your faith in Christ, the way you respond is critically important.
• Examine scriptural examples of persecution to compare them to your situation. God is able, and He will be just as present for you in similar situations. Scripture is given to us as a guide, encouragement and instruction in how to respond and even stand firm if God should call us to do so.
• Your suffering, however intense, may be exactly what God uses to increase your eternal reward, lead another to genuine faith and bring glory to Himself.

A La Carte: Health Update, December Nights kickoff, Saving Change and The First Snow

Health update

For those of you following our ongoing journey with cancer and doctors and faith, here’s the latest:

Carolyn will be having surgery on December 13 in Roanoke. It will be a double mastectomy with reconstruction. We have felt exceptionally blessed and supported by prayer, conversation and encouragement. Thank you all so much!

One of our main prayer concerns has been that Carolyn find a doctor and a surgeon here in Virginia that she likes. We were so glad to be led to the ones we have been! We also had requested your prayers about the type of reconstruction Carolyn would have. Yes, it’s essentially a boob job, but everyone calls it “reconstruction.” That takes some of the fun out of the discussions, however. If you know us, then you can imagine some of the conversations in the house… I promise they’ve all been uplifting…

Carolyn’s mom is flying in for a couple of weeks, and we’ve been amazed at how folks from Blacksburg to Monticello, AR have already begun mobilizing to make sure we’re taken care of. We’ve often wondered how folks who are not an active part in a church community receive care, support and help in similar situations.

As it is, we are heading into next week with full hearts and dependence on a good God who has put great people in our life to mediate His presence and comfort.

December Nights kick off

We’re pretty excited about celebrating Christmas at our church. Last year, we tried something new. We moved our worship services to the evenings and didn’t have morning services. When your church is meeting in a high school and has to set up every week (and for two services), you depend a ton on the love and support of a lot of volunteers.

December Nights enables us to give a month back to our volunteers, scale back, and sit at the feet of our Savior during evenings of intimate worship and teaching. Tonight, we are having the Micah Watson Band lead us for a Christmas and praise concert.

Saving change

All year I’ve been putting change aside, not really knowing what I’d eventually use it for. However, about a month ago, I realized that we would give it as a family to our Holiday Missions Offering. Today Adelyn and I went to Food Lion and used one of change counting machines there to add it all up.

We were bummed to discover that it would extract a 9.8% fee if we got a cash voucher. We didn’t want a single cent being taken from the total. Then we realized that we could get a gift certificate coupon to Amazon.com (where we do a ton of Christmas shopping). That solved it. We dumped the change into the trough, and let the machine count. The result? $124.36! We’re writing a check for that amount to missions tonight, and we’re grateful for all that God will be using the money for!

The HMO will be distributed in the following ways:

• 25% of it to our existing missions agencies, missionaries and ministries that we support
• 50% of it to our small groups to go Christmas shopping in Samaritan’s Purse catalog (it’s pretty awesome! Check it out here: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/ and click on the Interactive Catalog on top right). The idea is that if we take in $3000… we would split up $1500 between our small groups equally to “shop with” from the catalog.
• 25% to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering (goes 100% directly to overseas missionaries through the International Mission Board). (http://www.imb.org/main/give/pagelm.asp?StoryID=8078&LanguageID=1709)

We are hoping for a truly generous outpouring from God’s people this month. We have so much to be thankful for! (and if you’d like to give towards it, you can do so online here.)

You might say we’ve been saving change because that’s what Jesus offers… a saving change.

The first snow

One of our friends noted on her Facebook page that it’s snowed every day in December so far. Until yesterday, it was just occasional flurries. However, after a day-long snow Saturday, we woke up this a.m. to a little more than 3 inches on the ground.

Last year, Blacksburg and the NRV gave Anchorage, Alaska a run for its money in total snowfall in an unusual winter that seemed determined to dethrone the global warming myth. With snow on the ground and week of frigid weather forecast, we’re all speculating what kind of winter we’re in store for this year.

As we watched a Christmas movie on TV last night, it was surreal to see the scrolling cancellation notices of many of the churches in our area today. We were thankful that we’d moved our service to evenings. However, we did have some of our staff volunteer to sit at the high school this morning to welcome anyone who still showed up with donuts and Starbucks. If you happened to go by, Emily and Lauren were huddled in the back of a SUV…