During the holiday season, a profusion of red, green, white, silver, and gold pervades our homes, yards, stores, televisions, and the internet. Have you ever wondered how these colors became symbolic of Christmas? Perhaps the choices were purely aesthetic. After all, green and red complement one another on the color wheel. Gold and silver strike a natural balance between fire and ice. Snowy white pairs well with any color. Whatever the origin of the traditional Christmas colors, they serve to remind us about the character of Jesus.Red: Jesus’ Blood and Unwavering LoveLong associated with love, red also reminds us that Jesus’ affection for us never wavers. Human love may wax and wane, depending on circumstances, but God is love. He can never change His nature. If you have been forgiven and accepted into God’s circle of love through Jesus, nothing can snatch you from Him. “No power in the sky above or in the earth below — indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).When we picture baby Jesus nestled in a humble manger, bloodshed is far from our thoughts. The gory end of Jesus’ life intrudes on the cozy atmosphere we imagine at Christmas. Yet unwavering love for people compelled Him to enter earth’s realm as a human for the primary purpose of death on a cross.The author of Hebrews wrote, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22b). Sin demands a penalty — death. The compassionate nature of Jesus prompted Him to pay that penalty with His own life. His life was given in lieu of mine, and yours.What response can we give for the incomprehensible sacrifice of Jesus? “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:6-7).This season, as we decorate our homes with touches of red, let’s pause and thank God for love that compelled Jesus to come as a child destined to spill His blood at the cross for our salvation.Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Nastco

Anxious minds often struggle with intrusive thoughts, especially at night, but this article explores three ways God meets us in these mental spirals: He watches over us, is with us, and lives within us. Discover how understanding these divine truths can bring peace and grounding to your restless nights.

Discover twenty creative and budget-friendly gift ideas that prioritize thoughtfulness and connection over expensive purchases, ensuring a joyful holiday season without financial strain. From offering your time and services to crafting personalized keepsakes, these suggestions prove that meaningful gifts don't need to break the bank.

Pastors today face enormous pressure to project strength and authority. We hear expectations expressed everywhere: in the aisles during greeting time, over a fellowship meal, in the parking lot after the service, and especially on Christian social media. “The world is dying for bold preachers, tough preachers—strong, manly preachers!” What pastors frequently hear is an implied accusation that they’re weak, soft, and timid, that their preaching lacks boldness. A pastor’s gentle demeanor is perceived as weakness. But what if being gentle is actually courageous? Our Shepherd Is Gentle Genuine spiritual leadership—authority that submits to Jesus’s example—looks different from the clamor. Leading boldly means taking Jesus’s yoke and learning from him, who is “gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). Our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the ultimate model for every undershepherd. His commands and his model teach pastors that gentleness isn’t weakness. Gentleness is Christlikeness. Gentleness isn’t weakness. Gentleness is Christlikeness. Matthew, quoting Isaiah, declares that Jesus is the fulfillment of the long-awaited Shepherd of Israel. His description is astounding: “He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench” (12:19–20). Hearts that crave authoritarian and emphatic declarations won’t like Matthew and Isaiah’s description of Jesus. Some may protest with biblical texts where Jesus flips the tables in the temple (21:12–13), pronounces woes on the Pharisees (23:1–39), and promises to come in judgment (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12). And it’s true that Jesus isn’t only gentle. Yet to abandon the scriptural teaching that he’s gentle is to teach or follow a truncated Jesus. Gentleness Isn’t Optional Paul knows that gentleness isn’t an optional trait for a pastor. It’s a basic fruit of a living Christian (Gal. 5:22–23). Paul describes his own ministry with the image of a breastfeeding mother’s tenderness and care for her infant (1 Thess. 2:7). He even exhorts young Timothy that qualified pastors must be gentle in their inevitable duty to correct (2 Tim. 2:24–25). Gentleness (Greek: prautes) is strength under control—the deliberate restraint of power exercised with wisdom and love. True gentleness requires significant strength. It’s neither passive nor weak. It’s neither ignoring sin nor agreeing with lies. A pastor can embrace gentleness while still confronting sin and battling lies. Gentleness governs power. It’s bridling ourselves and “count[ing] others more significant” than ourselves (Phil. 2:3). As pastors, sometimes we assume we have to choose between boldness or strength and gentleness. But Scripture doesn’t present these as separate goals. For pastors, they’re inseparable from each other. Biblical pastoral leadership unites the boldness to speak the truth, the strength to maintain our convictions, and the gentleness that strives for healing and restoration. Jesus embodied this unity perfectly. Paul points to Jesus, who “did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped” (v. 6). Throughout Jesus’s earthly ministry, he offers compassion in place of judgment, is patient when provoked, and forgives without retaliation. Jesus hand-washes nasty feet as the emblem of a servant leader (John 13:1–17). Pastors today deal with a flood of voices advocating for immediate, reactive, authoritative declarations. Congregations demand strongly worded statements about the endless stream of national news stories. Pastors face criticism for not speaking up about global events, even when they’re in the trenches with people facing life’s hardest crises. The Lord does call pastors to speak clearly about everything in his Word, without recoil or apology. Yet even preaching of Scripture’s hardest truths must be done with gentleness if a pastor is to be faithful to their calling. If a pastor cannot be described as gentle, he has abandoned a fruit of the Spirit, a qualifying mark of a pastor, and a family trait of a brother of Jesus. Growing in Gentleness If you are a pastor, how can you grow in the grace of gentleness? Begin by repenting of your desire and attempts to appear strong. Do the heart work of turning from that idol, which the fear of man inflames. Paul says to the Galatians, Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Gal. 1:10) You can then turn your focus to other practical areas. First, listen intently to others before speaking (James 1:19). Refrain from formulating your retort while sheep bare their hearts. Pause your own thoughts. Simply listen well, working to understand them. Second, lead your response with questions as well as answers. Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness. Questions can help a brother or sister consider truth and express his or her heart. The Bible is filled with questions that open our hearts to ourselves and the Lord. It’s true that Jesus isn’t only gentle. Yet to abandon the scriptural teaching that he’s gentle is to teach or follow a truncated Jesus. Third, practice humble confession and appropriate transparency about your own struggles. Your vulnerability will allow those around you to approach you. Approachability is vital to gentleness. Sinners found a place with Jesus. Fourth, let correction happen in a gracious, private way that communicates your love and desire for restoration. Assume the best of your hearer and speak as someone confident that the Lord is the ultimate answer to every need. Finally, focus your ministry on the heart instead of the clock. Efficiency is good, but pastors can lose the point of ministry in the gears of efficiency. We’re aiming for hearts, not deadlines. And like our children, our people notice when we’re hurrying to finish with them. Gentleness Is Not Compromise The clamoring for tough pastors is probably not going away soon. The world has never loved Christ or his ways. And in an environment that rewards heated rhetoric and where punchy provocation helps “build an audience,” Christ’s ways are especially unpopular. But pastors can take heart from the master’s example. He never compromises his mission or God’s standards by being gentle. He never soft-peddles or shies away from truth-telling. Yet he is “gentle and lowly.” Gentleness isn’t compromise. Embracing Christ’s gentleness as their model could be the most courageous and countercultural thing pastors do. And it’s precisely this posture that will make pastors more approachable for the brokenhearted, the hopeless, the sin-weary, and even the prodigal. Gentleness isn’t weakness. It’s Christlikeness and a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

When Aldous Huxley published Brave New World, many people probably thought his novel was outlandish, that his ideas seemed like impossible and futuristic imaginings. Today’s Christians may have a similar reaction when they read the words “sex robots.” But social change often comes in sudden jolts. We consider something “impossible,” so we ignore it. The next thing we know, society is arguing that some new technology is inevitable and must therefore be accepted. We’re left wondering how this world got turned upside down. As Huxley lamented in 1958, “The prophecies made in 1931 are coming true much sooner than I thought they would.” The same seems to be true in the rise of sex robots. In Sex Robots: The End of Love, Kathleen Richardson, cofounder of the Campaign Against Sex Robots, writes “to argue that ‘sex’ robots and their adjacent versions (companion robots, AI girlfriends, sex dolls) are our time’s Trojan horse, a ‘gift’ that will cause irrevocable harm to human beings and signify the end of love” (2–3). She writes not as a Christian but as a radical feminist philosopher. Nevertheless, her warnings about how sex robots will tear the social fabric of human society are timely. Distorting Technology Sex robots are technologies that physically offer sexual pleasure to humans without contact with another human. These inventions look, sound, and act like humans, but they’re not humans. We shouldn’t think of them as sex robots but rather “sex” robots. As Richardson argues, The “sex” before the word “robot” is something of a misnomer. . . . There is no biological sex of male or female; there are no large or small gametes, nor hormonal or bodily sex in the plastic. . . . There is no sex as in sexual intercourse. (33, emphasis original) For decades, Christians have warned about the negative effects of disconnecting sex from reality. Dissociative technologies like pornography warp humans physically, socially, physiologically, and emotionally. Sex robots function like “3D porn” (35). Though they seem realistic, these companionship technologies substitute reality for sexual fantasy. Thus, sex robots are like pornography on steroids. Sex robots and other companionship technologies disrupt the way humans relate to one another as sexual beings. These technologies replace reality with fantasy. Though some experts argue that a “child sex-abuse doll” could be prescribed to prevent actual abuse, Richardson provides evidence that points toward the opposite effect (79). Technologies like sex robots will train users to act on unhealthy sexual appetites because they remove the relational virtues of love, compassion, respect, and care from the sexual experience (Eph. 5:33). Dissociative technologies also depersonalize human beings by imaging humanlike experiences without real human interactions. Thus, sex robots discourage seeing real people as image-bearers and encourage withdrawing from natural sexual activity because they provide erotic pleasure divorced from the burden of human interaction. There’s little positive on the balance sheet for sex robots. Identifies Human Depravity Though Richardson identifies a real problem, she argues this form of sexual immorality is really rooted in the patriarchy. Sex robots, companionship technologies, prostitution, and pornography exist because men desire to dominate others. According to her calculus, these sex industries exist because patriarchal systems view people as property. Though she’s right about dangers of sex robots, the Bible reveals the cause of this misdirected sexuality—human depravity. As Scripture shows, when sexual ethics escape God-given boundaries, society tends toward its worst and most exploitative state (Rom. 1:24–32). History is replete with evidence that any sex act conducted outside God’s design harms both the individual and society. The Bible includes extensive regulations for sexual activity because of the power of human desires to distort God’s good gift of sex (e.g., Lev. 18; 20; 1 Cor. 6:12–7:16). Ultimately, prostitution, sexual abuse, and technologies like sex robots exist because of human depravity. The road to sex robots has been paved by the sexual revolution. In pursuit of the liberation of sex from the confines of marriage, the “free love” movement advocated avoiding the natural consequences associated with sexual intercourse through birth control, “safe” sex practices, and legalizing abortion. A central goal of the sexual revolution was maximizing sexual pleasure by normalizing and fulfilling every individual’s wildest sexual fantasies. Sex robots are a big leap along the same negative trajectory. A central goal of the sexual revolution was maximizing sexual pleasure by normalizing and fulfilling every individual’s wildest sexual fantasies. Ironically, advocates for sex robots claim these “representational technologies” will overcome the problem of loneliness. “If anything,” Richardson argues, “the trend is to entrench human withdrawal, to produce more of what is causing it” (120). Advocate for Order Though the book’s content is uncomfortably detailed at times, Richardson offers a wake-up call to the church. We need to identify clear ethical boundaries drawn from an unwavering commitment to Scripture. The time to establish those boundaries is now—before our culture has normalized sex robots. Resisting the lure of sex robots within the church begins with reinforcing a robust sexual ethic. As Christians, we affirm the Bible’s teaching that humans are created as sexual beings, and we affirm the goodness of sex within the marriage covenant (Gen. 2:24–25; 4:1). Resisting the lure of sex robots within the church begins with reinforcing a robust sexual ethic. Sex within the confines of marriage is meant to be freeing. Rightly ordered physical intimacy within marriage is superior to manufactured pleasure because it includes something sex robots can’t provide—love. Furthermore, sex within God’s design contributes to the flourishing of society. Though sex robots may seem like a fringe topic to many Christians today, the technology is already available and is raising significant ethical concerns even as it grows in popularity. Just as Huxley warned that his concerns came true much faster than expected, so might the church end up behind in our ethical reasoning if we don’t tackle topics like this one early. In Sex Robots, Richardson demonstrates that technology isn’t neutral and offers compelling evidence that the widespread adoption of sex robots will be harmful for individuals and society.

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