With the new year approaching, yesterday we kicked off our monthlong series: Resolved. Everybody is thinking about the New Year, what it will bring, what kind of resolutions we should make, etc.

Yesterday we discussed the basis for making resolutions. Moses ended his life by writing a most incredible Psalm, Psalm 90. He asked, "Lord teach us to number our days so we may apply our hearts to wisdom."  In essence, he says, "Lord help us look at our lives and take life seriously so we can live wisely." All of us want to have lives of impact, lives of meaning and purpose. But it is only in the context of Psalm 90, where Moses makes some very poignant observations about the soveriegnty of God and the sinfulness of man, that we can begin to form a worldview that allows us to make the right choices. the right resolutions.

Given that, we're now going to look at 5 Key Committments that every believer should have in their lives. 5 Resolutions for the New Year. Next week we'll look at these in this order:  

• Resolved to Follow Christ with Our Lives
• Resolved to Faithfulness to His Church
• Resolved to Generous Giving to the Lord’s Work
• Resolved to Raising Our Families in the Lord
• Resolved to Sharing Christ in the Community

I've been planning and thinking about this series for several months and I'm very excited about what God is going to continue to do thru Gages Lake.

Angela and I were thinking the last few days of just how blessed we are to be at Gages Lake Bible Church. You all have taken us into your homes and hearts this year. We've only been here a year--and as senior pastor for only 6 months--but already we feel at home. We feel like family, almost like we've been there for years. Thank you for being such a wonderful people, committed to the Lord, and eager to share His love with our community.

Merry Christmas from the Darling Family: Dan, Angela, Grace, and Dan Jr.

These wonderful ladies from our church wrapped two huge boxes of Christmas presents for needy children and families around Lake County.

Today we took the family to Love Inc and dropped off two boxes of wrapped Christmas presents and several boxes of winter coats, sweaters, kitchen supplies--even a microwave. All was donated generously by you, the people of Gages Lake Bible Church. I am so proud of what our little church contributed. I met with Carl "Spark" Ball, the director of the Lake County Love Inc. He's a great friend of mine. He's got such a heart of gold and really wants to share God's love with the needy in our community. What excites me about Spark is that he doesn't just want to help the poor, but he has a desire to reach them with the gospel. Its great to spend some of our time this Christmas thinking and helping those who are less fortunate.

Always astute Al Mohler has a must-read on the furor over Rick Warren's coming invocation at the Obama Inauguration. What's ironic here, and Mohler notes this, is that Rick Warren is now being labled as an extremist. I watched CNN the other night and nearly laughed off my couch when they began referring to him as divisive figure. Nobody in the evangelical movement has done more to appeal to the other side and bridge the gaps. I haven't always agreed with Rick Warren and his methods and philosophies, but to say that he's the bigot is somewhat laughable.

There is a powerful lesson here for Christians. No matter what we do and how hard we try to be likable--and we should do much of these things, we shouldn't be disagreeable all the time--the world will still hate us like it hated Jesus Christ. Here is a very salient paragraph:

No matter how cool you think you are or think that others think you are, the hour is coming when the issue of homosexuality -- taken alone -- will be the defining issue in coolness. If you accept the full normalization of homosexuality, you will be cool. If you do not, you are profoundly uncool, no matter how much good work you do nor how much love and compassion you seek to express.

Ahh, got to love living in Chicago. We've got piles and piles of snow. In fact, most everything is shut down around here. At the Darling House, we're enjoying a snow day inside.

Right now I'm working on my message for Sunday. Its the last message in our Carols of Christmas Series. These week we're looking at the Magi or Wise Men. The wise men are a staple of every nativity scene and Christmas Pageant. In fact, I don't think there is a Christmas Pageant that doesn't have three guys with, as Ray Pritchard calls them, "coneheads." Then there is always the Bible scholar in the audience who feels compelled to remind us that the wise men weren't there at the birth, but came later.

The story of these guys is fascinating, really. They clearly knew the Scriptures and were searching for the Christ child. In fact, they were more well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures than many of the Jews themselves. They risked a lot to come to Bethlehem. They were men of prestige and reknown in Asia. If their stargazing had turned out to be a false trail, then they would certainly lose prominence. Yet they came all those miles in faith.

Today there are people on a similar journey. They are on a search for the truth. If they are honestly searching, their search will end with Jesus, the Savior. But to continue that search will mean they'll endure mocking from a world that laughs at honest faith in the risen Savior.

I'm really excited about Sunday. There are a lot of lessons for believers and unbelievers in the story of the Magi.

. . . spreading a little Christmas cheer

Sorry to everyone who thought we were cancelling Sunday Evening Services on the 21st and 28th. That was a big whoops on my part. Apparently we did this last year at Gages Lake because Christmas fell on a Tues, so Eve was on Monday and, well, you know, we thought it was best to cancel. My fault. Rookie mistake.

But out of this came my wife's brilliant idea to go caroling at a nearby nursing home on the 21st. That should be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to shine God's love into some lonely hearts this Christmas. Then on the 28th--that evening we'll celebrate the New Year with pizza, fun, and some of your favorite board games.

Its really a sad day when the governor of your state is arrested. Its even sadder when the last governor is in prison. If everything alleged by the federal authorities is true (and they seem true, due to the secret recordings), then the level of corruption by this governor is breathtaking and shocking. It reminds me of the old saying, "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

So how should Christians react? Here are a few thoughts:

• Pray for the governor. Ahh, perhaps there is no time that is harder to pray for an elected official than now, but those verses in Timothy still ring true, don't they? Also, pray for our elected officials here in Illinois, the many thousands who are not corrupt and work to serve the public good. Pray that God grants them extraordinary wisdom in dealing with this constitutional crisis.
• Be thankful we live in America. This scandal with the guv is bad, really bad. But isn't it refreshing to know we have checks and balances? Aren't you glad there are special prosecutors and an FBI who call our elected officials to account? In many countries, bribery, graft, corruption, extortion, blackmail--this is the norm rather than the exception. I've been to countries where there is no FBI and elected officials are like kings.
• Learn from this mess. Look, its easy for leaders to use their position to continually enrich themselves. I remember a professor in Bible College who spoke on "Ethics in Ministry" and he said there are two kinds of leaders. Those who are in power to enrich themselves or those who are in power to serve others.
• Realize God is watching all the time. What makes Governor Blagoevich's crime more remarkable is that he knew the feds were watching him and he still preceded to engage in criminal activity, as if he didn't care and was above the law. How often do we Christians think we're acting in secret when we sin, when all along, God is watching. He knows everything we're doing. Let's live like it.