Brian Dolleman's Blog

It’s pretty easy to list what the manger scene was not…

It was not luxurious.

It was not comfortable.

It was not sanitary.

It was not heated or air conditioned or ventilated.

It was not the Overlake Childbirth Center.

It was not a place Mary or any other expectant mother would plan to give birth in.

And yet… it was something.

It was some form of shelter.

It was the place where Jesus was born.

It even had visiting hours—shepherds came and wise men brought gifts.

The story of the birth of Jesus has plenty of bad news: Mary—pregnant before the wedding, Joseph her fiancé isn’t the father, the census and taxes, traveling during the 3rd trimester of her pregnancy, a crowded village, no vacancies, no doctors or midwives or nurses, no extended family there, no hot tub, no shower, no epidural, a crazed king issuing orders to kill all baby boys born in Bethlehem…

That’s a lot of bad news.

Yet, in the midst of bad news, Good News shined.

The Savior, the Messiah, the Lord—was born and this is good news that brings great joy to all people.

Just like it’s easy to list what the manger scene was not, it’s easy list “what’s not” in our lives—highlighting what’s missing, lacking and not working. Yes, coming up with a big list of bad news is easy work.

But we’re Good News people, right?

Rather than complaining about what we don’t have, we celebrate what we do have.

Bad news is all around us, but we shine.

The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4.11-13)

Permission to speak frankly—and with common sense…

Smallness on the inside keeps us from doing big, significant things for others.

Herod was the big man on campus, the king. He was loud, brash and intimidating. He was consumed with making a bigger name for himself—not by giving to others but by taking from them.

Herod was tiny on the inside. He was a wee little man.

Insecure. Afraid. Paranoid.

When Jesus was born, Herod was asking: “What if Jesus takes my big man on campus position?”

It’s easy to get lost in the “What ifs” of life. Unfortunately, the “What ifs” keep us small on the inside; they prevent us from doing big, significant things for others.

The wise guys, on the other hand, were big on the inside.

We’re not even told their names in Scripture and we don’t know much about them.

When Jesus was born, the wise guys were asking: “How can we bless, honor and give to this newborn King?”

They travelled far with gifts for baby Jesus—gold, frankincense and myrrh. The wise guys didn’t get stuck asking all the “What ifs”…

What if we get lost?

What if we get robbed?

What if Jesus’ family isn’t grateful?

What if they waste the gifts we brought?

No—the wise guys didn’t bother with all the “What ifs”.

In confident trust, they came to bless, honor, worship and give.

People have always wondered what happened to the gold that was given to Jesus. Scripture doesn’t mention it, but there are a two prominent legends…

One story says that the criminals crucified with Jesus were lifelong thieves who, decades earlier, had stolen the gold from Jesus’ family. Another story says the gold was invested and later used to fund Jesus’ ministry—and Judas, as treasurer, misappropriated the money.

Notice: both stories are bad news. They affirm our “What if” questioning.

The reality is—we live in a bad news world.

But we are Good News people!

Good News people are big on the inside.

Good News people don’t get hung up on all the “What if” questions in life.

Good News people, in confident trust—come to bless, honor, worship and give.

Good News people do big, significant things for others.

__________________

Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! (Hebrews 10.35 NLT)

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. (Luke 6.38 MSG)

One guy (Herod) worried about something being taken away from him.

Some other guys (the wise guys) came to bless, honor and give.

Same baby Jesus—two different responses.

Jesus would later teach: “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way.” (Luke 6.38 MSG)

Some will live like Herod—trying so desperately to get, keep, protect, hoard and preserve.

Others will live like the wise guys—going great distances to bless, honor and give.

Be wise (guys).

Just a random post…

Life isn’t all about the push.

When it’s all about the push, life becomes stressful and joyless.

Ya gotta play—take time to smell the roses, enjoy the journey, laugh and be silly.

Similarly, life isn’t all fun and games.

When it’s all fun and games, life becomes frivolous and inconsequential.

Remember:

When you’re pushing, take time to play.

When playing, get recharged for your next push.

Question:

Do you have enough push in your life?

Do you have enough play in your life?

Insecurity is a ruthless master.

When its insatiable appetite is fed, insecurity morphs into an even worse dictator: paranoia.

The mind of the deeply insecure, paranoid individual is full of all kinds o’ crazy.

Remember Herod?

He was the crazed king of the Roman provinces surrounding Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth.

When he heard a new “King of the Jews” was born, his insecurities started working overtime.

That’s right—this 60 year old King was threatened by a newborn baby.

Herod wasn’t just worried that baby Jesus would take his job from him…

He also feared that his brothers, wife and sons would steal his power—so he had them executed.

History shows that Herod was a madman who murdered anyone he felt threatened by.

What a sad way to live…

Conspiracy theories. Insecure. Paranoid. Always looking over the shoulder. Threatened. No peace. No rest.

Herod believed everyone was gunning for his slice of the pie.

Contrast Herod with some of other characters in the story—the “wise guys”.

They came to be part of something bigger than themselves.

They were secure, confident and full of simple faith.

They weren’t worried about their slice of the pie.

They came to give.

Here’s the point:

Don’t feed your insecurities—you’ll just end up with all kinds o’ crazy.

Instead, feed your faith. Celebrate the good. Be part of something bigger than yourself.

Bad news can paralyze you—cause you to stop, freeze up and put everything on hold.

Good News, on the other hand, gets ya going.

When angels came to announce the birth of Jesus, the shepherds froze.

They were terrified.

They expected bad news—but the angels came bringing Good News.

“Don’t be afraid! I bring you Good News that will bring great joy to all people.” (Luke 2.10 NLT)

This Good News energized, strengthened, encouraged and motivated the shepherds.

They said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2.15 NLT)

The Good News got them going in the right direction.

Good News does the same thing for us—it moves, motivates, strengthens and energizes us to get going…

“Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that leads you to him and changes the way you think and act?” (Romans 2.4 GWT)

Yup, Good News—it’s what gets ya going!

When there was a great military victory by the Roman army, a messenger came bringing the good news to the leaders and people of Rome.

The word describing this message of good news was “Euangelion.”

This same word (euangelion) is used to describe the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark 1.1 states, “This is the Good News (euangelion) about Jesus the Messiah, the son of God…”

The Gospel is Good News.

The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) tell the story differently, but they all end the same way: Jesus risen from the dead.

The Gospel is Good News.

It is an announcement of great victory and defeat of the enemy.

The key theme of the Christian message is that God generously offers forgiveness and new life through Jesus.

If Jesus is central in our message—our message is always Good News.

By its very definition, it is impossible to have a bad news Gospel.

If our identity is in Jesus Christ—we are Good News people.

Our message is one of hope, new life, restoration, forgiveness, grace, mercy, peace, joy…

It’s a message of Good News!

Our culture has plenty of doom and gloom prophets, peddling their “goods” of fear and paranoia.

For some, just about anything serves as further evidence that civilization is on the brink of destruction.

“Bieber fever? Yet another sign of the coming apocalypse.”

There’s a long list of unfulfilled end-of-the-world prophecies and their false prophets.

Of course, doom and gloom freak-outs aren’t new.

When Jesus was born, angels came announcing this Good News.

The response?

Sheepish shepherds, started shakin in their sneakers. (say that 5 times quickly)

They were so scared, the shepherds almost peed their robes.

Here’s how it reads in the Message Bible:

There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master.” (Luke 2.8-11)

Interesting, isn’t it?

The angel came to announce a “great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide.”

The shepherds acted like they expected the “Angel of Death” from Raiders of the Lost Ark to melt off their faces.

Except there was no face melting—just Good News.

Nearly every time Scripture records an angel showing up on the scene, they say the same thing:

“Do not be afraid.”

This all makes me wonder…

Do we sound more like the shepherds or the angels?

Are we terrified and ready to run for the hills or are we announcing the Good News?

The world doesn’t need more doom and gloom freak-outs.

Our world needs Good News.

Let’s announce it!

I have some terrible news to share with you.

It’s awful. Tragic. Horrendous. Unbelievable.

As Charles Barkley would say, “That’s turrible, just turrible.”
[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHZnzFVZ3_o ]

OK—so, here’s the bad news: we are completely obsessed with bad news.

Bad news captures our attention.

Bad news owns the headlines.

Bad news gets airtime.

Bad news travels quickly.

We get drawn toward the negative.

Car accidents that aren’t blocking traffic still cause traffic jams because everyone slows down for a good look.

When someone says, “Did you hear…?” chances are, whatever they’re about to tell you is a bad report.

There’s never a shortage of bad news because we live in a bad news world.

However, we are called by God to be different.

We need to stand out—not blend in.

Jesus, speaking to his disciples, said, “Among you it will be different.” (Mark 10.43)

We aren’t bad news people!

We’re good news people in a bad news world.

Our story is different, our message is different—it’s full of good news.

As Christians, our gig isn’t reporting all the bad news—leave that to CNN (Continuous Negative News).

Our deal is announcing good news!

Here’s a quick refresher of our good news message:

God is for you. He’s on your side. He loves you and he’ll never stop loving you.

He is patient, kind and generous. He forgives.

He cares. He knows. He understands.

He’s the God of second chances.

And there is grace for you.

Yup… we’re good news people and we’ve got some announcing to do!

We’re wrapping up the 15 Revolution series this weekend. In the spirit of wrapping things up, I’d like to quote from the last few pages of Paul Scanlon’s 15 Revolution book:

Goodness and kindness are bridges over which anything can travel.

It is a fact of life that we all default to keeping company with those we find it easiest to be with. We all prefer the comfort and familiarity of those who know and love us over those who don’t.

Sometimes God is saying, “I want to use you, but you’ve got stuck in Comfortville!”

Jesus told his team, “Don’t say four months more and then the harvest. I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4.35)

Clearly harvest often depends on where you’re looking.
?So many of us are stuck in a comfortable but tiny circle of love, and to widen that circle to strangers feels particularly awkward because we think that involves evangelism.

But our connection to new people shouldn’t be trying to convert them; it should, first and foremost, be to befriend them.

The language of love, grace, kindness and inclusion is universal and will pave the way for the gospel and all the connections our sovereign God knows lie ahead in the life of the people concerned.

So, get out of your comfort zone and join the revolution!