For to us a child is born,to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6 NIV).

“Daddy, where does the sun go at night?” I asked my dad as he leaned over tucking me into bed.

“Why it’s busy waking up the little boys in China, son.” He answered, knowing this would only lead to more questions from his curious and bedtime-stalling son.

I loved these bedtime question and answer sessions with my father. And he seemed to enjoy them too. I especially liked the way he didn’t talk down to me, but gave me real answers. He encouraged my inquisitive nature and told me that I was the “smartest 7 year old he knew.”

I wouldn’t take anything for those memories with my dad. Those were wonderful times together, made especially sweet because we lost him to cancer the following year, when I was only eight years old.

In the years following I used to long for someone to answer my bedtime questions. You know, the kind of questions that keep you up at night. That’s when I started calling out to the Lord. I would ask the Lord Jesus my questions and seek His counsel on upcoming decisions. Emptying my mind of every concern I would find blessed sleep in knowing that He was my counselor. And oh, what a wonderful counselor Christ is!

His counsel is wonderful because…

Christ’s counsel is personal. Jesus calls us to a personal relationship. He knows us and our situation. He is not distant, but close. He leans in and answers us.

Christ’s counsel is powerful. Following the words and commands of Christ, we receive power to live them out. His words are not just wise advice, they contain wonder-working power. His words are life.

Christ’s counsel is perfect. His counsel is wonderful because it accomplishes its goal. His word is like a seed growing within us, making us like Him. His word is flawless and pure. It never fails.

I’m thankful this Christmas season for the Son that was given “unto us.” He is a Wonderful Counselor and more than able to answer my “bedtime questions.”

“There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them– bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute” (2 Peter 2:1-2 NIV).

The Greek word for false teacher found in 2 Peter 2:1 is pseudodidaskalos. The prefix pseudo means false, fradulent, misleading, or pretending to be something you’re not. A pseudo is a counterfeit of that which is authentic.

Speaking of counterfeits, one of the two $20 bills pictured here is real and the other is a counterfeit. Can you tell which?

I used to work in retail and we trained our cashiers to watch out for counterfeit money, especially $20 bills (the most often counterfeited bill). How did we train them? We had them examine a real $20 bill closely, to become familiar with its look and feel. The best way to identify a counterfeit is to be intimately acquainted with the real thing.

In Peter’s second letter he warns us to wake up to the pseudo Christian teachers that infiltrate the church. At first glance they look like the real thing, but upon closer examination, they turn out to be counterfeits. Peter says that these pseudo Christians “bring the way of truth into disrepute.” In other words, pseudo Christianity causes the gospel to lose attraction in the culture.

I see a lot of pseudo Christianity in our country, especially in the so-called “Bible-belt.” But what we need is a people who will live out the real thing. We need authentic Christians. How? By getting to know the true Word of God and living according to the power of the living Word, Jesus.

And then, we’ll know the difference between that which is pseudo and that which is real (By the way, the top $20 is real).

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9 NIV).

We had our first event at our future home this past Sunday night! We hung signs, lit up our new parking lot, cooked “Hallo-weenies,” put on costumes and filled our trunks with candy to give the kids in our community a safe place to celebrate Halloween.

I know that many Christians are concerned about celebrating “worldly” holidays. We understand that concern. But rather than condemn, we decided to offer a fun, free, and safe alternative. We gave away hundreds of dollars of candy, sodas, and nearly 500 hotdogs. We made hundreds of friends and had an awesome time doing it. We like to use worldly wealth (or worldly holidays) to gain friends.

I’ve noticed that when you take the time to make friends, people are more open to hear what you have to say. So, at WCC we are working to …

Build a bridge of trust, that will bear the weight of truth.

In the meantime, we’re having fun using the culture to reach out to people. I’m thankful for a church family (and my crazy family) that understands this.

I’m praying for more “crazy” friends that will follow Christ’s teaching to “use worldly wealth” for reaching our world for Him.

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:33 NIV).

Have you noticed that the harder you strive for perfection the more elusive it becomes? Focus on having the perfect vacation, the perfect house, the perfect kids, the perfect spouse… and the more imperfect everything seems!

It seems counter-intuitive, but when I stop focusing on achieving perfection and focus on pleasing God, life seems more… well, perfect.

My plans for life don’t include all the backroads and pitstops. I prefer taking the Interstate and getting to the destination quickly. I don’t even like taking bathroom breaks (Although, since I’ve entered my 5th decade this is changing somewhat).

But God likes going off-road. He leads us into desert places and surprises us with an oasis. He lets us break down in the wilderness and sends an old farmer in a pickup to give us a ride into town. God’s ways are different than ours. His ways of perfecting us are not what we expect. They don’t seem so perfect at the time. But later, after you’ve been on His route for while, you get it.

I’ve tried both ways now. I’ve tried living my way, focused on a destination called perfection and feeling the disappointment of constantly falling short. Now, I’m learning to live life trusting God. I believe that His ways are “higher” (Isaiah 55:9) and better than my ways.

God’s way is perfect. When I focus on following Him, He makes my way perfect too.

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17 NIV).

The new Taco Bell in Wilson is my favorite lunch time destination. I prefer to use the drive-thru. The service is quick and the price is cheap. I can pick up my three chicken tacos and be back at the office within minutes.

But when it first opened I had trouble with its new location. Everytime I would sit in my car waiting, I would have to look at the former Regal Theatre sitting vacant behind it, its “For Sale” sign prominently aimed my way.

I would sit there talking to myself, “Don’t even think about it. That property is way to expensive. You’ve already looked at it. They want too much. Besides, if God wanted us to have it. He would miraculously make it possible. So, just get your tacos and go back to work.”

This went on for months. I almost had to stop going to Taco Bell!

Then, the miraculous happened! We were able to purchase the $1.8 million dollar property for $285,000. Our members sacrificially gave over $75,000 in 40 days to close on the property. Now, we’re planning the remodel and working on cleanup. All of this happened in around 90 days. After nearly 19 years and then God makes all of this happen in 90 days!

I’m learning that no matter how hard we work and plan that real success is impossible without God’s favor. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that we should just sit around waiting for things to fall into our laps. We need to exercise the faith God has given us, planning and working as God directs. But more human effort and planning, working harder and harder, trying to control every detail, begins to have diminishing results. We wear out our minds and bodies and have less and less to show for it.

I mean, who could’ve planned to have the Taco Bell drive-thru built strategically, so that every Wilsonian who sits there waiting has to look at our 40 foot banner hanging on our new property proclaiming our future home? That’s a detail God planned. I didn’t even see that one coming. When we have God’s favor, He establishes the work of our hands.

I love sitting in the Taco Bell drive-thru now, looking at our new property, with its giant banner hanging across the front. I sit there thinking about how many hundreds will visit our church because they sat in their cars waiting for a taco and wondering about a church that meets in an old theatre.

“Can I take your order?” A voice calls over the outdoor kiosk, interrupting my daydreaming.

“Ah, yeah, let me have three chicken tacos.” I reply, with a smile on my face.