Personal Blog of Dr. Doug Varnado

            This Sunday is the start of Advent.  It’s the beginning of the Church Year for those that follow the liturgical calendar.  You might think it strange that as a more contemporary interdenominational church we choose to fully embrace this holy and ancient celebration.  However, the significance and relevant message of Advent is undeniably current and profound.

            The word Advent means “coming” or “arrival.”  The focus of the next four weeks is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent.  It’s a time of anticipation and waiting; words that really run counter intuitive to our culture.  It’s also for us who live “between those times” a bit troubling.

            The disconnect between church and secular calendars may never be greater than on the first Sunday in Advent when the theme is “HOPE”.  The irony is that both calendars obviously share the same goal: preparing the world for Christmas.

            The commercial world is using every medium possible to hawk its urgent message.  Our mailboxes, newspapers, television and radio stations, in-boxes and web pages overflow with one unanimous appeal: buy gifts now. Christmas decorations are already up in our city.  Target displayed their seasonal merchandise in October.  We want to start the party now.  Yet God allows us to wait.  He invites us to partner with those who for centuries have cried out in hope “O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lovely exile here until the Son of God appears!”

            The hope for us, says the church in Advent, is that we are out of hope, and we know it.  We know in our better moments where our quest for self-fulfillment and affirmation has left us.  We know too, what it is like to wander after putting our trust in anything other than the One we hope for.  We so easily miss a thousand little gifts from Him in order to secure and receive the next big gift that we absolutely must have.  The Advent prophet shocks us though with the reality of our state:  “All of our righteous acts are like filthy rags . . . like the wind our sins sweep us away . . . you have hidden your face from us” (Isaiah 64:6-7).

            That’s why the church generally refrains from singing Christmas carols during Advent.  We dare not rush to greet the Redeemer prematurely until we pause here and wait and hope and admit that we do need redemption.  Nothing within can save us.  No thing can save us.  Our hope must be in someone out there who comes to us; and He does, in His time.  We find our way only because One does appear, takes our hand and leads us home.  That is our hope, our only hope. May that gift and the anticipation of it, far surpass anything this secular world could ever offer.

~ Doug

This Week’s Readings – Hope:    Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7; 17-19; I Corinthians 1:3-9

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Thousands lined the streets of Nashville this week as a brave soldier was eulogized.  Sgt. Kevin Balduf was killed last month in Afghanistan and will be buried at Arlington Cemetery in a few days.  Yet my first thoughts of Kevin are not of a decorated combat veteran.  I instead recall his teenage smile and energy.  Friday nights were spent sitting in the stands as he and my son Nick played the same position for the High School football team.

Among the huge contingent of support were also a small handful of protestors exercising their freedom of speech.  They displayed signs filled with hateful slogans and extreme expressions of bigotry.  I’m thankful that I live in such an amazing country that allows free speech for every person, and in the case of Westboro Baptist Church, no matter how vile, venomous and bigoted it may be.  Earlier that day, this same group picketed in front of the Nashville Islamic Center as well as the Gordon Jewish Community Center.  I hope and pray that those who abhorred the presence of this group of protestors would also feel equally strong against the bigotry displayed that day toward Muslims, Jews, homosexuals or anyone else who was not a Westboro follower.

I can’t even begin to fathom how those who profess faith in Jesus Christ could display such arrogant, hateful and blatant bigotry.  As a Christ follower, I don’t even have a grid to plug that into.  It defies logic and mutilates the heart of the gospel. 

I wonder though when the prophet Micah wrote, “And what does the LORD require of you?  To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8), how and where do we draw that line?  Because unfortunately, more often than not, that line gets drawn.   

Doug Varnado

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One day Jesus took three of his closest friends up to a high mountain away from everyone else.  Something happened to Peter, James and John on that mountain that defies description.  We call it the transfiguration.  Their senses were dazzled.  They saw Jesus as they had never seen him before.  Babbling away, Peter offers what appears to be a magnanimous gesture:

“Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”  Matthew 17:4-5

            Whatever happened on that mountaintop, the disciples of Jesus understood, for a moment at least, that God was with him; that when Jesus spoke they needed to listen, because it was God speaking.  They also needed to watch what he did, watch very carefully from then on, in him God was acting.

            What does transfiguration have to do with us?  First, the miracle of Jesus is that he comes not at our invitation, not because we have earned the right.  He comes to us because that is what love does.  In addition, it means that he has revealed himself to us for who he truly is. Every other altar or tabernacle; shelter or idol is to be removed in the presence of the One, and only One, to whom we listen and follow.  Yet, how do I know if there are competing altars in my life?  Am I certain that those altars, however good or benign they may be, have not become my idols?  Have I truly been honest with myself about my altars?  Have they become idols?  As honestly as you can, consider these questions:

• Am I content at this stage in my life with the money and possessions that I have or do I feel I need more?
• Am I seeking more power and control in my life or do I feel this is sufficient for me at this time?
• Do I have or am I pursuing a relationship in my life that I feel that I must have for my life to be truly fulfilled or meaningful?
• If no one would find out or I would not be caught, is there anything that I am willing to betray my values to obtain?
• What craving is so strong that it can distort my thinking and make me engage in denial, self-justification, and  secrecy?
• Am I able to identify the things that keep me from following Jesus fully?  Are they, in my life practice, sufficiently stronger to influence or control me than what I profess to believe?

            God gives us those rare moments in life when there is no fog, no haze, no trees, no obstructions where you clearly see the truth about Jesus, and the truth about yourself.  He gives those moments of clarity where you know something is the way it is supposed to be.  He has revealed himself to you for a reason.  Have you surrendered yourself to it and to Him?  That is our moment of truth.  Listen to Him.  Just listen to Him.

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Humanly speaking, how can we begin to fathom the limitlessness of God?  This time last year, our church family dove into a long and beautiful study of dozens of names that describe Jesus.  We sought to encounter Him, but what did that really mean at the end of the day?

Perhaps just this – the encounter is love for your day. The endless possibilities of its presence to hold you through the disappointment, debt, divorce, decision and death that are part of life on this fragile planet.  It’s Jesus, whether you call on him or not, reaching down, extending his arms, taking his hands to cup your face and say to you, “Have you caught a glimpse of how much I love you?  How I came to you in many different ways so that there would be one that would capture your mind and would cause your spirit to wake up and see me – see how much I love you?”

Still it seems so impractical . . . until maybe next year or 10 years from now when a circumstance brings you to your knees and God nudges your heart so that suddenly, with eyes wide open you SEE and HEAR, and it becomes real and practical and personal TO YOU.  The encounter with Jesus who says, “See I am your rock. Climb high and rest here and be safe. See, I am your door to belonging. Walk through and find your purpose. See, I am your bread. You thought you needed all these things and what you needed all along was me. I love it when you see who I AM to you.”

How are his words fleshed out in the everydayness no less than in the crises of our own experience? “It’s when,” as a friend said today,

“His presence is the focal point of our consciousness, all the pieces of our life fall into place.  As we gaze at Him through the eyes of our heart, we begin to see the world around us, and ourselves, from His perspective.  The fact that He is with us makes every moment of our life meaningful.”

So today, this day, February 1, 2011, what difference does it make in my life, even as I sit reading these words.  How do I apply what I have heard and come to believe?

Here it is.

Turn the next page.

Click the link.

 The Word of God seeks to embrace us right where we are.  In the most practical, attainable and concrete way God says to us, embrace me and I will live out life through you.  Who He is and who I am in Him, becomes what I do.

Do you want life? There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always leaving you room to recognize him and recognize where He is leading you.

(God is smiling.) I AM old and I AM new.  I AM being and I AM doing.  I AM love and I AM life.  Today.  2011?

How about LIFE APPS!

Hang on. It’s here. This year as we introduce the theme LIFE APPS at Community Church, we will offer specific life applications to assist us in living out this beautiful encounter with our Savior.  Log on www.cchdevotions.org today and each day to meditate on the daily scripture readings and the promise of more than you can imagine!

Doug Varnado

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               Returning home last night I spotted a dog attempting to cross a busy street.  It was already late as I drove down Gallatin Road but the traffic was still heavy.  Glancing in my rear view mirror I began to mentally coax the animal to wait until there was a safe opportunity to make its move.  It was then at the sound of horns I realized my fixation for the safety of the dog had slowed my car to about fifteen miles an hour.  Not only was the animal likely to get hit, I was now a probable candidate for causing a wreck.  Long story; I pulled off, turned around and went back to where I first saw the dog.  Getting out of my car, I observed that the animal had crossed the street safely on its own and was making its way across an empty parking lot. 

               You and I are motivated by many things.  It might be fear or pain; joy or reward.  Social pressures factor in to much of our decision-making.  On the other hand, motivation and preferences are based on more noble or lofty ideals.  Maybe it’s a sense of love that dominates.  We move out of protective instincts that surface when faced with justice or fairness issues.  Our preferences are ignited by many different emotions, feelings or beliefs.  In this Christmas season I’ve thought again and again about God coming into our world.  What an unsettling event that disturbs our preferences.  What a surging power that touches every aspect of our life.  It’s something so big we can’t get our mind around it.  It’s a newness that has been witnessed, a newness that ushers in full humanity into a world filled with disability.  It’s newness though that annoys us.  It’s unsettling.  It shatters all our structure.  It declares that our control and understanding of reality is no longer adequate or functional and it asserts that newness is entirely possible.  Even more disturbing, it’s a newness that we can’t predict or manage according to our cherished interest.  No wonder it’s an undesirable choice.  It insists that the world won’t be ordered according to our preferences or become the service provider for our advantages.  It’s really annoying. 

               The incarnation isn’t just about baby Jesus being born into this world.  It’s about a power and reality at play that we can’t begin to control or manipulate.  It’s a power to make human life possible in every failed place.  Your preference?  If it’s the declaration of this power from God that the world can’t overcome, know that you embrace a minority opinion.  It’s a very dangerous opinion in the arena of the status quo.  However, it is also a very powerful possibility in the world in which we live—the world in which He came.  And, the world continues to be astonished and annoyed.  Yet this dangerous power shatters our complacency and overrides our despair.  It makes life possible in our deadness.  It makes healing possible even in the midst of our hurt and anger and fear.  This power, this God, places us in the crisis of his coming and we are never again the same. 

               Your preference?

Doug Varnado

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            There’s something painful about waiting.  Earlier today an hour was spent sitting in the doctor’s office, thumbing through magazines that were of little interest.  I fidgeted and fumed with images of my physician taking a leisurely lunch in his office or double booking us hapless patients as a strategy to cover Christmas bills.  According to the exaggerated sign on the wall, I couldn’t use my cell phone in the ‘waiting room’.  Without focus, I was left to my devices which reminded me of the old adage, “the mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

            The lady with the noisy child should have implemented better parenting skills.  Why was I required to fill out five pages of information?  It was thirty degrees outside.  It didn’t feel much warmer in the office.  The receptionist could have brushed up on her social skills.  What right-minded person puts The Watchtower magazine in a waiting room?  My mind and judgment were in a sprint and it wasn’t going to be a pretty journey; all because I was bothered and inconvenienced.

            Where does that judgment come from?  How are we so quickly changed from a people whose desire is to irrigate a community with hope to someone who feels the need to weigh in with such critical and condemning intent?  Maybe there’s a sense of justification because we feel the subject is too heinous or for that matter, too light.  

            If we paid as much attention to Leviticus 25 as we do to Leviticus 18, then we might discover that God is at least as interested in economics as in sex.  If our concern about the horror of gossip was as intense as it was for the more salacious morsels that we tend to chew on, then our minds might find a place of balance.  As it is, judgment often dominates and they red line on thoughts and feelings that the Accuser seductively places and scatters in fertile soil.

            God came to liberate our minds ( “. . . be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Rom. 12:2), to renew our minds.  I can’t do this.  You don’t have the power to accomplish it either.  We can monitor our minds.  We can seek God’s desires and practice his presence but we can’t accomplish renewal.  That’s a God work.  “The mind controlled by the sinful nature is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).  That’s our source of control.

            So what happens when we find ourselves at a place where the Accuser sows in those seeds of temptation?  And it happens . . . continually.  We either resign ourselves as victims of whatever thoughts pass through our minds or we learn to identify the temptation and give it over to the One who can bring renewal.  For me it has been many years of a daily recitation of a prayer that finds its roots and promise in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.  It goes like this:

            “Almighty God, in the name of Jesus Christ, I acknowledge the sin of __________.  I declare that it has no place in my life as a child of the King. I am helpless against its power but I claim your power to demolish strongholds and anything that sets itself up against the knowledge of you Father so I take captive every thought in Jesus name and make it obedient to you Lord.  Amen.”

            Next time the temptation comes, try it.  And try it again and again until the words and their truth become a familiar gift.   

- Doug

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          I got up early this morning to be with my friend at the hospital.  An unholy appointment time of 5:30 had been set.  That meant an hour to get ready, quiet steps as I maneuvered through the house without waking the dog and thirty minutes for the drive to Vanderbilt.  All in the dark.  I turned on lights to see.  Before leaving, they were turned back off to preserve the stillness and quiet.  Headlights guided me into Nashville to a very familiar area.  They also warned other drivers that I was approaching.  The underground garage was a bit dank and gloomy at that hour.  But everything would be awakened soon by a fire in the heavens, a light God set in place millennia ago.  Where would we be without light?  How frightening and limited would life be if known only in darkness?  Using these two metaphors Jesus profoundly describes ultimate reality.  What a vividness of contrast!  Those dependent upon the sun for light or a fire for heat and safety perhaps understood it best.  We who ‘create’ light with a flip or a switch or seldom see or have need of a flame possibly need a bit of a coaxing.  Jesus declares himself to be the Light, the Light of the world!  What an astounding declaration . . . and gift.  That light illuminates and transforms.  It reveals and radically changes all that it touches.  Speaking of himself Jesus said

“Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons and daughters of light” (John 12:36). 

Know this—this Light is unsettling.  It disturbs and shatters our notions and plans.  It declares that our control of what is real and true is no longer needed or even optional.  It erases our vested interests and replaces them with His own.  It insists that our lives and their priorities will not be ordered around personal preferences or advantage.  Instead the Light allows us to see clearly, really for the first time.  For some that’s annoying and problematic to say the least.  Jesus even spoke that for some there would be a preference for darkness.  But for those who embraced the power and the story of the Light, it wouldn’t just be about a dead man come back to life.  It would be about a blinding power outside of our control, power to redeem and reclaim life in all the failed places.  Power and Light to unfreeze the assets and restore that which was dead.  Power and Light that is available to all who have previously loved old deathly ways and in complacency and despair believed that nothing else can happen.  So the question comes whether you can permit in your horizon this surging new possibility.  It begins and is ever sustained in this one glorious name.  Jesus!

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