Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

A long journey requires courage. And so it was for the magi.

These people of a priestly class from the Eastern culture required courage to follow a star in the sky and travel west to see what the star meant for them.

God has a star for you to follow.  Do you see it?  Are you following His lead for your life? 

Overcoming Fear to Follow Your Star

Living requires courage.  Courage for you to enter 2010 and be the person whom God is creating you to be and to doing God is calling you to do.

Along the way of courage, fear always shows up.  God speaks directly to our fears.  Isaiah said of God, “Fear not, for I am with thee.  Be not dismayed for I am your God.  I will help you.  I will strengthen you.  I will uphold you in the right hand of my righteousness.”  The prophet spoke to people caught in exile not far from where the wise men would come from centuries later. Read More »

Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

One day my father-in-law was drinking coffee at a McDonald’s in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when he asked another customer for his name and where he was from.  The answer came that Dalhart, Texas was the place and the person gave his name.  The following conversation unfolded.  

“I bet I can tell you where you lived.” “You can?”  “Yep. Your place was about 6 or 7 miles north of Dalhart, on the Highway towards Clayton.”  “You are right.”  “I bet I can also tell you a story about your father.”  “You knew him?”  “Yep. On a certain afternoon your Dad went down into your basement to check on the butane. When he lit a match, the room caught on fire because there was a leak in the line.

And now I can tell you a story about yourself.”  “What?”  “You were just a boy at the time, maybe 12. When you heard the whoosh, you ran downstairs into the fire to rescue your father.  You got burned along with him but you saved his life.”

The man then wanted to know how this seeming stranger, sitting at a  McDonald’s in Arkansas, could  know this important story from his life?  My father-in-law clarified that Dalhart was also his hometown.

As a result of this conversation, the heroic boy - now a man - felt the renewed strength that comes when the stories of our life are brought together in a way that we can better understand ourselves.

A similar strength happens when we read the Bible. Read More »

Article by Jeanne Tessier

She sat alone in her living room on Christmas Eve, her old wooden rocker creaking gently as she rocked, a brightly painted footstool supporting her tired and hiking booted feet.  Next to her on a low table, a teapot she’d made years ago in her mother’s memory exuded aroma of jasmine and radiant heat.  Her picture window was wide open to the scene outside, bamboo screens set aside, so she could sit in darkness and watch fat flakes of snow drift onto the dogwood, azaleas and holly bushes in her yard.  A single candle her only light, a warm mug of tea between her palms, an old prayer shawl around her shoulders, she sat and waited for Christmas to come.

No tree this year, no lights or stockings, no midnight Mass, no family coming to town - just the season of hope and waiting she had always loved.  Her house and mind together held the memories of so many Christmases, some full of joy and others sorrow, but all of them tender, all of them sweet reminders of the One who had loved her since she was a child, the One whose love had saved her, the One she’d tried and failed, in so many ways, to serve.  Not that she failed utterly - this she knew - but that, as one of her many favorite poets had written, “No gift is proper to a Deity.”

Her life had been full of both suffering and grace, and this year, this Christmas Eve, she sat in peace, glad to be alone with her memories, glad to be holding a fragrant cup of tea, glad to be watching this perfect snowfall outside her window with nowhere to go and nothing to do.  She’d spoken with her scattered children earlier in the day, and with her only still-living friend.  She’d mailed no cards this year, purchased no gifts except a few for her children - mailed weeks ago.  She’d baked no cookies, planned no Christmas meal.  Her supper earlier - a cup of soup and a piece of the bread she baked the day before - her favorite kind of meal - had satisfied.

Now she watched gently drifting flakes as they slowly covered her yard, her trees, and the street beyond in glistening light.  A candle within, a streetlight without, and perfect silence. Read More »

Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

Harriet Phillips flew into Hanoi at the close of the Viet Nam War.  She was a ranking Air Force officer assigned with the responsibility to receive the last American prisoners of war, and then to accompany them on their safe return to a U.S. military facility.

As she stood in the plane’s entry way to greet each returning hero - her hands, eyes, and voice conveyed a message they had not heard in years – “You are respected.  You are appreciated.  You are loved.  You are free.”

When the plane’s take-off lifted those valiant heroes into the airspace of freedom, Harriet said, “there were shouts of joy, songs were sung, tears were shed.”  The captives were set free.  Joy. Absolute joy caused everyone on that plane to celebrate.

At different levels we all know the elation of joy in our lives.

When guilty as sin, grace calls our name. When in despair, opportunity knocks on the door.  When lost, the search party shows up.  When heartsick, loving arms hold us close.   When in anguish, surprising arms embrace us.  When financially pressed, needed money arrives.  When famished, we get fed.  Joy is our natural response to such wonder.

JOY conveys the meaning of Advent’s third Sunday just past … “To come” is Advent’s meaning, and to prepare fully for Christmas means we feel the joy of Christ’s first coming, and with joy we anticipate Christ’s second coming.   Which is why Isaac Watts wrote “Joy to the World.” Read More »

Article by Dr. Les Hollon, Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church

Christmas is God’s love story. Through God’s love we are never left alone. And from God’s love we can know how God gives us peace by which to live in our troubled world.

As the angel told the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth - peace on all whom God’s favor rests.” (Luke 2:14). This Christmas peace can be ours year round as we trust God with our whole life.

God’s favor rests upon us as we align our will into God’s will.  Uniquely, as Christ was born in Bethlehem, He can also be born into our personal world. Therefore by yielding our desires into “God’s favor,” we find ourselves working for peace in four basic ways:

1) Spiritual peace with God - We must allow God to shape our will, daily & eternally;

2) Public peace with others - We must desire God’s best for every person;

3) Family peace with our relatives & friends - We must make a home in our heart for people;

4) Personal peace within ourselves, we must accept - Peace of mind is uniquely promised in the New Testament, and stems from Christ’s indwelling presence. 

This truth is embodied in the beautiful Annunciation story to Mary of how she will be involved in the Messiah’s coming. This story reveals how peace is produced by our will being formed by God’s will.  The key to unlocking the peaceful promise of Luke 1:26-38 is found in a word that appears 12 times in these 12 verses … Read More »