The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Incarnation (Page 1 of 11)

The Impossible Happened

December 22, 2025 / / 0 Comments

God accomplishes your salvation–the salvation of the whole world–through the birth of a baby. Immanuel. God with us. It is the single most remarkable thing that’s ever happened in the history of the universe.

It’s impossible.

God is immortal. God is eternal and holy and transcendent. He is infinite. It is impossible for God to become a human. To put on our flesh and blood and skin and bones, to eat and drink, to breathe air, to sneeze and get mosquito bites and hiccups–it is impossible. God Almighty cannot make his dwelling with us. We are human and frail and fallible and sinful. We are mortal created beings. God can only be us, he can only be with us, metaphorically. This is only symbolic. The barriers of time and space and divinity are too great.

Wrong! It happened! The impossible happened!

The incarnation of God, in the flesh and blood of a helpless human baby born to peasants in a barn really did happen. It is a most astounding and literal and historical and factual event. He came. He did! It’s real! The Creator became one of the created. The immortal became mortal. The eternally righteous became sin. God is with us to save us!

When we look at the baby Jesus in the manger, we realize this is not a messenger or an ambassador sent from God to earth. This is actually God himself in physical flesh. God doesn’t just send help from heaven, he actually comes here himself and bears our burdens in himself. He doesn’t just look down on us in love, he actually joins us here in our broken spaces. He walks our streets and touches our people. He hugs our kids and eats with us and loves us. And he brings with him the eternal Kingdom of God, this kingdom of everlasting peace, of which there will be no end.

Jesus comes and hurting people are comforted. Distressed people are encouraged. Hopeless people are given hope. Prisoners are released. Captives are given their freedom. Outcasts are brought in. Cold people are made warm. Hungry people are fed. Sick people are made well. Sinful people are forgiven. The devil’s grip on you is broken forever! Sin and death and all the things that steal your peace and your joy are obliterated forever! The weak are given power and the tired are made to soar on the wings of eagles!

All your fears, all your pains, all your sins and brokenness–it’s all met head-on in Jesus Christ and dealt with forever. All your hopes and dreams, everything you know as good and right and true–it’s all found in Jesus and delivered.

God has been born to us. He has come to us. He made himself subject to pain and suffering so he can comfort and heal. He makes himself open to loss while he is mighty to save. He is vulnerable to death in order to bring eternal life. He walks through your darkness, with you in the darkness, and shines his eternal salvation light.

It’s impossible. And it happened.

Peace,
Allan

The Light Will Shine

December 16, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned… You have increased their joy; they rejoice before you!” ~Isaiah 9:2-3

Maybe the darkness is too much. Maybe it’s too dark and there is no joy and you do not feel like celebrating. Maybe it’s been too dark for too long and the light’s just not getting through.

I realize more and more every year that Christmas is not great for everybody. For a lot of people, Christmas is hard. Because the darkness is so real. And constant. And deep. For you, maybe.

The lights on all the houses, the illuminated trees, the songs of glad tidings and good cheer, the sweet cookies and pies, and all the trimmings that go with the most wonderful time of the year–it can’t overcome the darkness.

There’s the literal darkness of December and January to deal with. Short daylight hours and bone-chilling cold don’t lend themselves naturally to joy and celebration. And it makes that other kind of darkness worse. Or it brings it more into focus.

Another page of the calendar is turning and the worries and anxieties multiply. Will this be the year everything falls apart and I’m ruined? Is my family going to stay an irredeemable mess? Will my depression ever go away? Will the pain of my deep loss ever subside? Is this the year the other shoe finally drops and crushes me?

Maybe, for you, the darkness wins every time. Every time. You can’t see over the horizon. The darkness is too pervasive to think a dawning light could drive away your shadows. That kind of hope is only for people who are already winners. People who already have it pretty good.

No. Not if you believe God’s promise. His promise.

God’s promise is not for the winners. It’s not for people who are already living in the light. It’s not for the whole and healthy or the powerful and rich. The promise is for those who are living in the darkness.

On THEM the light will dawn! The people walking in darkness–THOSE PEOPLE–have seen a great light! On THOSE living in the land of the shadow of death–On THEM!!–a light has dawned!

If you’re living in that dark land, it only takes a tiny mustard seed of humility and faith to embrace God’s promise. If you can admit that the darkness is inside you, then you are already in a position to receive the promise.

Jesus has come. He did. He came. The light has shone.

And the light will shine. He will come again. He is. The present darkness in this world, the darkness in your life, doesn’t stand a chance.

Peace,
Allan

Looking and Waiting

December 2, 2025 / / 0 Comments

The Dallas Stars finally unveiled their brand new alternate sweater in Friday’s win over Utah and wore the new/old uniform again in Sunday’s rout of the Ottawa Senators. And they look so great. The design is almost an exact replica of the uniform the Stars wore during their Stanley Cup runs in the late ’90s and early 2000s and, by far, my favorite Stars look. There’s more black than green in this re-imagined version, and there’s no gold outline, no gold anywhere. But, man, I love the unique look of that sweater, the big and bold Lone Star feel to the whole thing. It goes very well with the way the team is playing right now.

If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for me, they’re selling these things.

Check out the release video here, if not for Razor’s narration, for the sight of a gracefully-aged Brett Hull rockin’ the new sweater in front of an empty net. Is his foot in the crease?

“My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the nations and for glory to your people Israel.” ~Luke 2:30-32

The old man Simeon is looking at a baby, but he sees salvation from God. Anna is gazing at an infant, but she sees God’s deliverance.

“She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” ~Luke 2:38

You know why they saw it? You know why they recognized it? Because they were looking for it. The Scripture says they were waiting for the promised consolation, they were looking forward to the promised redemption. Anticipating it. Expecting it. Laying awake at night like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I can’t sleep because I can’t wait. It’s all I’m thinking about. Longing and yearning.

That’s Christian hope.

Our Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It’s a confident leaning, or even leaping, into the promise of God that he will one day make all things right. Something has happened that has changed our lives and redirected our destinies. Something has happened that changes everything. The holy Son of God came to this earth in our flesh and blood. He came! He did!

And he’s coming again. He is! He will! That’s the hope we’ve been given. That’s the hope we have.

And it’s real. Hope is real. Hope does not ignore anxiety and doubt and fear, it doesn’t ignore the bad stuff; it confronts it. Hope holds you steady in the face of the fear and anxiety and doubt by the conviction that truly great has happened and something even greater is going to happen again.

Hope waits for his coming. But it waits in a certain way.

Luke describes Simeon as righteous. He was living in peace with our God and with his neighbors. He was seeking the welfare of others. He was acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God. The Bible also says Simeon was devout. He was devoted to our God, he was committed to tackling the tasks the Lord had given him in a way to honor God. Anna is also righteous and devout. She’s described as worshiping and fasting and praying. Both of them are at home with God’s people in God’s house and being led by God’s Spirit.

Waiting and looking.

There were others at the temple that day who did not see God’s salvation in the holy infant. They hadn’t been hopefully longing for it. They hadn’t been waiting and looking. Maybe they were just going through the motions. Maybe they were just in maintenance mode. They were at the temple when they had to be. They prayed to God and read his Word when they remembered to. They spent most of their time at work, chasing their career. They worried about getting rich, or just breaking even. They were overly-consumed with parenting their children or improving their house. Or maybe they were too occupied with what it takes to just get through the end of each day.

At the end of Luke 19, Jesus weeps over the people who missed it: “You did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44).

What are you waiting for in your life because of Jesus? Something out of the ordinary is in store for you. What do you see? Can you see the darkness in your circumstance being turned to light? Can you see the despair in your situation being turned to joy? Can you see the boring and mundane parts of your life being filled with excitement and purpose for our God and his salvation mission? The reality of what’s coming for you–better, who is coming for you–should compel you to a deeper devotion to God. And a life lived every hour of every day in breathless anticipation of his promises for you coming true.

Let us adopt the attitude of Jacob who prayed, “I look for your deliverance, O Lord” (Genesis 49:18). Let us commit to the way of the psalmist who sang, “I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands” (Psalm 119:166). Don’t miss it. Don’t be preoccupied with something else. Don’t be distracted by less important things and miss it.

Let us live like Simeon and Anna. Looking and waiting.

Peace,
Allan

Personal Relational Ministry

October 29, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Our vision statement at GCR Church is “Being Changed by God to Love Like Jesus.” It’s about both transformation and mission. It’s viewing everything through the lens of what God is doing both in us and through us. The vision emphasizes, without apology, the transformation of our people for the sake of loving others like our Lord. It’s our people doing ministry in personal and relational settings–being powerfully present with one another in our congregation and with others in our community.

We get that from our King. Thankfully, for us, it’s been part of our GCR DNA for several decades now.

 

 

 

 

 

Eugene Goudeau, in 1981, is one guy from GCR who said I must go to Brazil to help plant churches. That’s how SerCris Training School in Campo Grande got started.

John DeFore, 30 years ago, is one guy from GCR doing World Bible School correspondence courses with people in Kenya. He says I need to go meet these people, I need to do some personal follow-up with these new Christians. That’s how Kenya Widows and Orphans got started–KWO.

Jarrod Brown, 20 years ago, goes to Honduras with not much more than his Bible and a Toyota pickup. He said I want to live with these people, I want to do life with these people in their community. That’s how Mission Lazarus got started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we partner with our missionaries in foreign lands, it changes us. It transforms us. It informs and shapes the way we do missions here in Midland. Personal. Relational.

We don’t drop dinner off at Family Promise and leave. We sit down and we share a meal with the people at Family Promise.

We don’t do Harvest Party in our parking lot anymore. We take Harvest Party to the people at Family Promise and Midland FairHavens and Safe Place. I love the way we do Harvest Party now. All the pictures in this post are from the Harvest Party we threw for Family Promise this past Sunday evening.

 

 

 

 

 

We go inside Emerson Elementary and read books to the kids during lunch. We stand at their door on Mondays and fist bump all those little kids as they begin their week.

We don’t just pass out Thanksgiving food boxes in a drive-thru in our church parking lot anymore. We take time to visit with those we’re feeding. We pray with people. We hold their kids. We share desserts. We try to connect.

That’s our vision at GCR Church.

Personal. Relational.

Peace,
Allan

Opened from the Outside

December 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

We can’t save ourselves, have you noticed? We’ve been trying for centuries. We are completely unable to save ourselves. In fact, believing we can somehow save ourselves has only led us into deeper darkness and loss. The forgiveness we desire, the acceptance we chase, the restoration we crave, the salvation we need only comes through God in Christ. It can only come from outside us as a gift.

On November 21, 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a letter from Tegel prison. He was being held by the Nazis for his opposition to Hitler and for running an illegal underground seminary. In the middle of the letter, Bonhoeffer writes:

“Life in a prison cell reminds me a great deal of Advent–one waits and hopes and potters about but, in the end, what we do is of little consequence, for the door is shut. And it can only be opened from the outside.”

For God so loved the world that he OPENED the door! For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son! God SENT his only Son for us as a gracious gift of his limitless love!

May we receive God’s gift of great joy to us. May we experience God’s presence with us. And may our hearts be changed so that God’s life is our life. Today and every day until our Lord Jesus comes again.

Peace,

Allan

 

God Gets You

December 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

If God really has been born in a manger in Bethlehem, then we have something no other religion in world history has ever claimed. We belong to a God who truly and totally understands you. He gets you, from the inside of your experience. There’s no other religion that says God has suffered, that God had to be courageous, that God knows what it’s like to be abandoned by his friends, to be crushed by injustice, to be tortured and to die. Christmas shows us that God knows exactly what you’re going through. When you talk to God in Christ, yes, he totally understands.

Dorothy Sayers, a contemporary of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, wrote this in the 1950s:

“The Incarnation means that God himself has gone through the whole of human experience–from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. He was born in poverty and suffered infinite pain–all for us–and thought it well worth his while.”

God taking on our everyday human condition is the means of our salvation. God reclaims us as his own by becoming one of us. That is good news of great joy for all of us. For you.

God joins you in the middle of your mess in order to save you. No one is so lost or so broken, YOU are not so far gone or so messed up that you are beyond God’s reach. Our God specializes in the mess. And I don’t care how messy your mess is, it doesn’t phase our God one bit. I don’t care how small or insignificant or unworthy you feel, you are exactly the one God came for.

God chose to be born in a manger and to come from Nazareth. Can anything good come from Nazareth? Exactly! That’s the whole point!

This is how our God works. God brings his salvation to the ends of the earth not through the Egyptians or Romans, not through the Assyrians or Babylonians, but through Israel. He tells us he chose Israel because they are small and weak. God destroys Goliath, not with a bigger giant, but with a smaller shepherd boy the giant was laughing at. That’s the way God works. How does God speak to Elijah? Not through the earthquake or the wind or the fire, but through a small, still voice. A whisper. God works through Isaac, not Ishmael. He works through Jacob, not Esau. God works through Joseph and David, not their older brothers. God chooses old broken down Sarah, not young vibrant Hagar. He chooses unattractive Leah, not beautiful Rachel. He chooses Rebekah, who can’t have children. He chooses Hannah, who can’t have children. He chooses Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, who can’t have children.

Why?

Over and over again our God says, “I will choose Nazareth over Jerusalem. I will choose the girl nobody wants. I will choose the boy everyone’s forgotten.”

Why? Because God just likes the underdog?

No. Because God is telling us something about salvation itself. Every other religion and moral philosophy in history tells you to summon up your strength and willpower and try real hard to live like you’re supposed to. That appeals to the strong. That appeals to gifted and talented people, people who are privileged, people who are able to pull it all together. Jesus is the only one who says, “I have come for the weak. I have come for those who admit they’re weak. I will save them not by what they do, but by what I do.”

Can anything good come from __________? Fill in the blank with your own mess, your own situation, your own failure. Go ahead. What is your shortcoming, your burden, your sin, your circumstance? Can anything good come from there?

If you repent and come to God through Jesus, not only will God accept you and work in you and through you, but he absolutely delights to work in and through people just like you. He’s been doing it through all of world history.

I’m telling you, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been gone or how far away you are. It doesn’t matter how dark it is or how bad. Christ Jesus is all in. He’s all in with you and he’s all in for you. He knows all about you and your past failures and your present situation. He knows. And he’s still all in.

That’s the best news you’ve ever heard.

Peace,

Allan

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