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The conversation from the backseat was illuminating. I quizzed the grand-kids about what they asked Santa to bring this year. After telling me their wish they followed up with this statement.

“Unless we have been bad. Then maybe we won’t get it until next year.”

I smiled and assured them that they were not bad. Parents have dangled that Santa “nice list” carrot to get good behavior for generations. Santa Clause is comin’ to town and you had better watch out because he is making a list. So no pouting, No crying. Better be on your best behavior or else. And that performance trap learned as a child waiting for Santa can also profoundly and dangerously impact Christians.  I am borrowing some content from my dear friend John Lynch, one of the authors of the The Cure. He addresses how we are programmed from childhood to default to performance theology. He calls it the “Santa Claus is Coming to Town theology”.

You better watch out
Better not cry
Better not pout
I am telling you why
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
He’s making a list….checking it twice…three times…every day
Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin’ to town
He sees you when your sleeping, nows when your awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake.

Oh, he’s watching. Waiting for you to screw up so you will get coal instead of a bicycle. You had better please him. And we teach our kids to put on the mask and be something they are not. Because Santa Claus is comin’ to town. This omniscient being who is judging our every deed is coming to town…and we learn to do the dance early. Buck up…be good. Don’t cry. Don’t pout. Santa Claus is coming to town.  (©Copyright 2003, William Thrall, Bruce McNicol, John Lynch. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.)

He is exactly right. We learn that we get good things and receive love only when we are good and do good things. Santa is pleased (and we later substitute God) when we obey. So we learn early. We had better be good. Or least fool everyone around us to think that we are being good.

I remember (vaguely) the tension of the Santa Claus years. I knew I hadn’t really changed much. I tried to modify my behavior for a week or two leading up to Christmas but I knew I had failed to really be good. I learned a couple of things early. I learned how hard it is to change behavior by sheer willpower and I learned that I could fool Santa by living a lie. I did not learn about grace. Instead of learning that that Santa gave me gifts because of who I was. That he delivered gifts because I was lovable instead of rewarding me for what I had done to please him. I figured I had fooled him and to get the good stuff I would have to continue to hide the little boy who broke an ornament and then hid it under the couch.

Isn’t that too often how we view God? We had better not cry. Better not sin. I’m telling you why. Jesus is coming to town. He’s making a list and He is checking it not once or twice but every moment of every day. God knows if you’ve been bad or good so if you want to be healed or happy or prosperous you had better be good for goodness sake. If I do mess up I am scared to death that I will get a bad life or miss all that God has for me. So I put on the mask and try to be really good for Jesus. If I can fool those around me maybe, just maybe, I can fool God too.

Satan sells the lie so convincingly. And we buy it for months and years and even decades.

But God and Santa are very different in their approach. God does not keep a list. He is not impressed by our hernia inducing straining to control sin.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT)

Jesus offers us so many gifts. But the one we seem to have the hardest time unwrapping is the gift of grace. The gift that allows us to become who God desires us to become as we simply trust Him and quit trying to be “good” for goodness sake. We are saved by grace and faith in Christ. We become like Him by the same radical strategy. Faith that He has changed us into a new creation. And understanding the grace that gives us good gifts even when we don’t deserve them.

Don’t let the Santa Claus theology survive into the New Year. Go straight to the gift of grace that Jesus left under the Cross. Open it. And clothe yourself in His salvation, acceptance and love. It may be the best gift you have ever given yourself. It is a gift based on the performance of Jesus and not your own. Relax and receive it this Christmas.

My nomination for the most obvious lyric ever written is awarded to the Beach Boys.  In their tune “Little Saint Nick” the boys gave us this incredibly helpful piece of information.

Christmas comes this time each year!

(To be faithful to the text I will show it in context)

It’s the little Saint Nick
Ooooo, little Saint Nick
It’s the little Saint Nick
Ooooo, little Saint Nick

Ahhhhhh
Oooooooo
Merry Christmas Saint Nick
Christmas comes this time each year!!!!

So if the Christmas holiday has been sneaking up on you perhaps you haven’t noticed that Christmas comes at this time every single year! Thanks to the Beach Boys for that amazing insight.

The Beach Boys song imagined Santa’s sleigh as a holiday hot rod but the homage to Saint Nick is intriguing. A little research on Saint Nicholas revealed that he could be both naughty and nice. First, a little background on his “saint” side. The fourth-century bishop of Myra (present-day Turkey) was the role model for our present day Santa Clause. Nicholas was born to a wealthy family. When his parents died he inherited a considerable sum of money, but it is said he gave it all away. Legend has it that Saint Nicholas saved a poor family’s daughters by tossing some gold through the window. The gift landed in stockings that had been hung up to dry. The family was able to pay off their indebtedness and save the children from forced slavery or worse. From that trick shot came the custom of hanging up stockings for St. Nicholas (and now Santa) to fill.

But what about naughty Nick? It seems that old Saint Nick was generous and kind to children but more than a little feisty when it came to his beliefs. Gene Edward Veith wrote this in World Magazine :

“During the Council of Nicea, jolly old St. Nicholas got so fed up with Arius, who taught that Jesus was just a man, that he walked up and slapped him! That unbishoplike behavior got him in trouble. The council almost stripped him of his office, but Nicholas said he was sorry, so he was forgiven. The point is, the original Santa Claus was someone who flew off the handle when he heard someone minimizing Christ.”

Perhaps a gentle slap might be a temptation when you feel something meaningful like Christmas is being minimized by commercial excesses and highly sensitive non-celebrators. I was raised in legalism and saved by grace so I have a different view of the problem in our so called “war on Christmas”. Would it be ungraceful to suggest that Santa should instead gently slap Christians who don’t show grace to those who who disagree with them? Saint Nick only slapped theologians who tried to change essential church doctrine. That is a little more slap worthy than someone saying Happy Holidays in a grocery store when we expect to hear Merry Christmas. After nearly dying of spiritual thirst from legalism I get a little nervous when we, the very representatives of Jesus, fail to offer grace to those who desperately need to experience it. We all need forgiveness. We all need grace. Paul wrote a wonderful message for followers of Jesus.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

(Colossians 3, NLT)

That is a pretty good to do list for the season. And don’t forget our public service announcement that Christmas comes this time each year! You are welcome. And Merry Christmas!

Don’t forget to get your copies of Stay and Waking Up Slowly. Message me at dave@daveburchett.com to find out how you can give personalized copies as gifts!

Watching the news is depressing and even frightening. My first tendency is to react with fear about the future. But I can’t get around a couple of things that Jesus said about worry.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today”(Matthew 6:34, NLT)

That is a true statement! But Jesus was not saying that my concerns are not valid or even important. He was saying that worrying about the future misses the point of what really matters.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

The key word is need. I long for wants but our Father promises only that my needs will be met. And over and over God tells us another thing.

Do not be afraid.

Over 80 times you find the phrase “do not be afraid” in the Bible. Perhaps the most relevant example is when Jesus was preparing His followers for His departure. His words are a comforting balm for us today.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 12:27)

I am concerned about the state of  the world, our country, and particularly our dysfunctional discourse. But I am not afraid. I stand with the author of Hebrews who wrote these words during some trying times.

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6, NLT)

Indeed. One of my Dad’s favorite songs comes to mind. The song is called “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” and it was written in 1950 by a traveling preacher named Ara Stanphill. He wrote the song during a time of agony and doubt in his life. Stanphill’s wife battled addiction and left him for other men. You could imagine the gossip that followed him in that era. In the depths of his sadness he began to hum a tune and the next thing he knew he was singing a song. He sang about not knowing what was in the future but knowing that God was with him every step of the way. He rushed to his piano when he arrived at his office and jotted down the words.  I remember hearing Faron Young sing these lyrics on a scratchy vinyl record with my Dad.

I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said.
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.

I believe those words. I don’t know what is going to happen. I am concerned but not afraid. I put my hope not in politics but in Jesus. I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.

Looking for a truly unique gift idea? How about giving a personalized edition of Stay:Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace or Waking Up Slowly to a friend or family member.

Just go to your local Barnes and Noble, Christian book store or order one or both online. Send me your mailing address and how you want the book/books signed. I will mail you an autograph plate(s) that you can affix inside the book.

Simple and very personal!

Send your requests to dave@daveburchett.com or private message me on Facebook with your mailing info and requests.

Merry Christmas!

Dave Burchett

I live in the performance driven world of sports. We too often measure value not by character but by statistics like how many tackles for loss or how many yards gained per carry. Character is a nice bonus but performance is generally king.

Recently I heard a comment from Northwestern University football coach Pat Fitzgerald about the impact of negative stats on a football player’s performance. Coaches often talk about the need to reduce “missed” tackles and they keep track of each miscue. Coach Fitzgerald has a different philosophy. His staff does not keep track of missed tackles at all. The staff evaluates each play by their effort even if it does not produce perfect results. His next comment stuck with me. “I don’t like to put negative results in their minds because you become what you think about.”

It immediately hit me how profound that comment is for followers of Jesus. We tend to keep spiritual stats on failure. We beat ourselves up over “missed” opportunities. We fixate on what we have done instead of what Jesus has already done for us. We write our game plan to do better on the board.

Don’t sin.
Do better.
Pray more.
Study more Scripture.
Be more forgiving.
Less angry.
More loving.

And we try really, really hard to do all of those things. But the bad stats overwhelm and discourage us. We do sin. We don’t always forgive. We get angry. We don’t study or pray as much as we think we probably should. The net result is frustration and spiritual fatigue.

I wrestled with idea of how we can deal with sin in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace.

In Hebrews the text tells us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Even though it sounds like a daunting and even impossible task, the author of Hebrews sums up how to do that in one powerful sentence: “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT).

That is it.

There is no other way to consistently live that life apart from keeping our eyes on Jesus.
The same is true for me. When I keep my eyes on Jesus, I have the strength to be bold and the ability to produce fruit that is pleasing to God. When our rambunctious Labrador Maggie cannot settle down, I tell her to sit so she can focus on calming down and doing the right thing. When she stays and regroups, things go well for her. When my thought life and actions cannot settle down, I need the Holy Spirit to firmly but lovingly tell me to sit . . .stay . . . abide.

Only then do I realize that I have turned my eyes away from Jesus. When I stay, I can focus on His peace, love, forgiveness, and grace, and have the ability to resist sin. If I am anxious, fearful, have doubts, or am sad, I need to sit, stay, and abide, looking at the One who initiates and perfects my faith.

What a difference between that approach and what too many of us experience. We tend to address the sin first. Stop that! Quit! Do better! And by the way, Jesus loves you. Or worse, He will love you when you do better. Paul always took the grace exit instead. Remember who you are! You are saints! Beloved! Adopted! Redeemed! Those same truths are ours to claim as we keep our eyes on Jesus. When we quit fighting to get better and do that one simple thing, something amazing happens. We get better.

We do become what we think about. It is always a pretty good game plan to think about Jesus.

A lot of folks on social media are writing about what they are thankful for this November. I have so much to be grateful for this year. Joni is now an eleven year cancer survivor. New grandbabies have joined the tribe. Good health to enjoy those little blessings. Wonderful family and friends. A job I enjoy.

The truth is that most of the things on the list are out of my control. I can’t dictate Joni’s or my own health. I know that grandchildren are a gift some don’t get to enjoy. Job situations change without notice. Some may struggle with a family member or the betrayal of a friend. Thanksgiving may be a little less obvious for some reading these words this year. But there is one gift that is available to everyone. You don’t have to worry that it may change or go away. That gift is grace. The gift of being in a relationship with God and knowing that you are His beloved child. In fact, you can know that you are His favorite!

The wonderful truth that all followers of Jesus can be thankful for this year is that being His favorite comes from something other than our performance and obedience. In fact, it has nothing to do with our performance. It has everything to do with Jesus performance for us.

I am a recovering legalist so this has been a struggle for me. I wrote this in Stay about what Jesus has already DONE for us.

We should not be surprised that people respond positively when they are told how much they matter. More important, we matter to God. His Word is full of affirmation for those who choose to trust Him.

To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
(John 1:12, NLT)

You are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (1 Peter 2:9-10, The Message)

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (Ephesians 1:4, NLT)

We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15, ESV)

Jesus calls me His friend. Even when those around you are failing to fill up your affirmation bucket, you can still go to Scripture and find out how God feels about you. Is there a more important affirmation than that? When you believe that your heavenly Father recognizes your worth, it gets easier to find things to affirm in others. How can I suffer from a poor self-image if this is true? Jesus calls me friend, for goodness’ sake!

(Reprinted from Stay with Permission of Tyndale Publishing House)

I am a friend of Jesus. I am His favorite when I obey and I am His favorite when I don’t obey. It is so hard for me to believe that His one way love toward me never changes. His love for me happened long before I even knew my desperate need for a Savior.

But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8, NET)

When I can begin to wrap my pea brain around that amazing truth then I want more than anything to be obedient. It is a complete paradigm shift from my early teaching. Now I serve in obedience out of gratitude and joy. Before I tried to be obedient to avoid punishment or loss of my very soul. What a difference to believe that at the Cross Jesus made me (and you) His favorite. No fine print. No strings attached.

How do you become God’s favorite? If you are a follower of Jesus I have some really good news. You already are. And that is something to be truly thankful for this year.