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Christmas: A Season of Healing and Love

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IS CHRISTMAS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR?

Why do you  love (or NOT love) the Christmas season?

As a child, I LOVED Christmas.  I loved the festivities, the presents, the family gatherings.  I did not have to do much BUT SHOW UP.

Then I grew up.  I still loved the season, but it was a lot more work and a lot more stress.

NOW?? Well, through the years I’ve accumulated a lot of scars…..self-inflicted by my own sin, or inflicted on me by others.

Now Christmas is not so much about showing up, doing everything right, getting everything done.  It is about WHO SHOWED UP FOR ME.

Jesus came for the wounded.  He BECAME the wounded Himself…for our transgressions. By His wounds we are HEALED.  (http://ISAIAH 53:5)

SO…….CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT HEALING.

As the great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said,

THINK ABOUT JESUS’ LOVE.

SEE HIS TEARFUL EYES, HIS BLOODY WOUNDS.

THIS IS LOVE THAT STREAMS OUT FOR YOU

STRONG, FAITHFUL, PURE, AND LASTING LOVE.

THIS LOVE DOESN’T CARE WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN OR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.

JUST TRUST IN HIM…….AND YOU WILL BE SAVED

The sweetest gift of Christmas is the same every day of the year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Me and Jonah

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I think I have found a kindred spirit in Jonah, but I am not proud of it.  The biblical account of Jonah tells about God reaching out to save a very sinful nation.  The man he chooses to send is unwilling to go.  He hates these people, even though God cares for them.

Jonah was called by God to preach to the people of Ninevah.  Ninevah was the capital of Assyria and  Assyrians were known for their vindictiveness and cruelty.  They were the inventors of crucifixtion (Rome adopted the practice later).  They were enemies of the Jews and thereby Jonah.   Jonah did NOT want to preach to them or warn them of danger, so he did not obey God.

It was not that he was afraid of the Ninevites.  It was because he knew God to be gracious and forgiving and if the Ninevites repented, he feared God would forgive them.  He did NOT want that!  So he ran in the opposite direction, on a ship, was famously thrown overboard and was swallowed by a BIG FISH.  God can get your attention!.  He finally relented in the belly of the fish, was upchucked onto dry land, and reluctantly went to Ninevah.

Sure enough!  They repented…..and Jonah was MAD!

I definitely see myself in Jonah.  I have found a lack of forgiveness and even animosity in my own heart toward other Christians  who, in my opinion, act ungodly…especially if it is directed at me.  And God has been speaking to me about this.  Lately, he has used the story of Jonah.  I realize my problem in forgiving them is that I think they are getting off too easy.  They belong to God and God will forgive them …. and it just seems unfair!

But it is terrible for me to be glad I don’t have to pay for my sins, and yet want someone else to have to pay for theirs! I owe my life to  Jesus Christ who paid my debt with His own blood on the cross.  I will be eternally grateful that He found a way to pay the price for me.  Why am I not just as grateful that my fellow Christians are also not under condemnation for their mistakes? Why do I want them to have to pay….or at least say I’m sorry??   I think it is because I tend to think that my debt was small and theirs is larger.    I think I think wrongly!

God  is teaching me that my debt is not small, it is HUGE!  But Christ paid it anyway.   Instead of being grateful for  what He has done for me, and wanting others to experience the same wonderful forgiveness, I am using a different standard to judge others.  Hypocritical me.

After the Ninevites repented and Jonah realized they were not going to be destroyed, he chose to go out east of the city and pout!

It might not be comfortable to realize the depth of sin in my own heart, but it is needed.  It puts God’s gracious sacrifice on my behalf in a clearer light.   It makes it much harder to turn around and say He should not do that for someone else.   I need to be glad he does that for His children.  So the uncomfortable, in the end, brings comfort.

God is not mocked…..but He does go after sinners…..to redeem them.  I need to let God handle others, as He has handled me.  He came to save ANY sinner who will have Him as Lord.   So I aim to give up my desire to be Lord over someone else….trying to leave all my personal Ninevites in His hands.

Waking Up To Reality

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The universe is a miraculous place…from forming stars and interacting galaxies to the beauty of a tiny flower petal, it speaks forth wonders.  That is why spending time outside-camping, hiking, watching a sunset-brings refreshement and renewal.

Why does nature move us so much?  Why do we have this need within us sometimes to get away from the noise and clamor of the world to the quiet and solitude of a peaceful, beautiful place?  It seems we are made with a hunger for more than just existing.  We are not just flesh and blood, but spirit also.  Flesh and blood gets sick, grows old, decays, passes away…but we sense that that is not all that we are.   We have a sense of eternity within us.  Our spirit longs for more!  We desire beauty, order, transcendence.  We desire to know where we came from, why we are here, where we are going. 

Questions, questions….awaiting an answer.  God says ….  get to know Jesus.

 Knowing Christ is becoming alive.  Someone once said (I don’t remember who) that “becoming a Christian is waking up to reality.”   It is like a homecoming – finally finding out what you are searching for . It is the start of a jouney…… the greatest adventure with the greatest Guide.  It is not having all the answers but knowing the God who does.

Become aquainted with the designer of the universe!   He really is the way….and the truth…..and the life! What could be more amazing than that?

ROBBING OURSELVES

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“Your eyes saw my unformed substance”

That is what King David wrote in Psalm 139.  He was speaking of his own creation…his time in his mother’s womb…when he was an embryo and then a fetus.

He goes on to say, “in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

How many days have we robbed from unborn children?  How many lives have we snuffed out?

How have we robbed ourselves?  How many discoveries  never happened?  What inventions were never made?  How many works of art will we never see?

Get to know the Designer!

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TOMORROW

 If you are viewing the eclipse please remember THREE  THINGS

  1.  You need protection!  If you look directly without protection you will get a retinal burn.  Your retina does not have pain fibers so you will not feel it.  The damage is not evident right away.  You may go to bed seeing fine but wake up blind
  2. The reason the eclipse is predictable is ONLY BECAUSE the universe is ordered.  It is ordered because there was a designer.  May the awesomeness of this event, or of any natural wonder, cause you to see TRUTH.  Just as these events have a creator, so do you and I.  Get to know your Creator!
  3. The eclipse will come and the eclipse will go.  Enjoy the eclipse….BUT ENJOYING YOUR CREATOR WILL LAST FOREVER!!!!!!

Hope Was Born on Christmas Day

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CHRISTMAS…..glitter, shopping, family gatherings, good food?

No, those are distractions.

Christmas is remembering that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

When we realize we are lost, there is a way back. 

Hope was born on Christmas Day.

Thank you Jesus!

Merry Christmas everyone!

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

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God’s Word is clear on what His disciples are to AFFIRM.  He is the Creator and the Giver of Life and calls us  to AFFIRM life.  We are to value each and every human being created in the image of God.

Our current world is not good at this.  We seem to highly value our own life, maybe the lives of our family, maybe our friends’ lives.  But the lives of “others”…..not so much.  From unborn lives to the lives of those from “elsewhere” to the lives of those “different” from us, we are indifferent or even hostile in our attitudes.

God’s children are clearly called to be different.  We are called to AFFIRMATIVE ACTION towards others, not just in words but also in deed.

Where Christians live as Christ intended, there should be a different atmosphere.  There is fruit that comes from Christ’s presence among us –  love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  It should lead to communities where people of different backgrounds, different skin color, different heritage all dwell together in harmony.  Only Christ’s love can do this.  It can not be artificially imposed from the outside.  Hearts have to be changed.  Galations 3:28 says that in Christ Jesus there is no Jew nor Greek, no slave nor free, no male or female.  All become one.  Love prevails.

Love always leads to real affirmative action – action where others are even preferred over one’s self.  We are called to help and raise up others, justly and fairly.  Station in life should not matter.  Skin color should not matter. We can celebrate each other’s heritage and differences but they should not divide us.

Unfortunately, in this world, as long as men desire power and are self-seeking, some will seek to use differences to divide.  That should stop.   But affirmative action is not needed because of any inate inequality between people, only because of unequal treatment among people.  This unequal treatment comes in so many different flavors.  That is why God’s word clearly says we are not to judge one another by outward characteristics.

Again, for real peace and real fairness to become reality, hearts need to change.  Legislation never has changed a single heart.  Only Christ can do that.

What our nation needs is to turn back to their creator, reconsider that He made our neighbor just as he made us, that He loves all of His creation and calls them all to follow Him.  That is where our focus should be.  If we focus on Christ, the other problems will begin to melt away.

That is the  real AFFIRMATIVE ACTION!  Let’s all affirm that we are created EQUAL by God.  If we are equal in His sight, why do we persist in behaving as if we are not?

Zechariah 7:9 – “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.”

Celebrating Freedom

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As we celebrate the beginnings of America, I feel blessed to live in a land where we aspire to certain truths.  The truths which we hold to be self-evident.  I know America has failed at times to live up to her own standards, but that does not change the actual fact that we are all created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable Rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.  We have to keep trying to live up to these truths.

As we consider how to do this, it may be helpful to go to an old Jewish source, the book of Leviticus.  Leviticus 19:15 states,

“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor OR favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”

To judge your neighbor fairly is an honorable goal!  We should avoid showing favoritism to the great, the rich, the beautiful, the famous.    Avoiding partiality to the poor seems an odder statement and difficult to understand.   But does showing unfair partiality to those who are poor, either in resources, talents, work ethic, or some other way really help them?  Does lowering a standard in an effort to make everyone feel good give a benefit to anyone in the long run?   Are we not, in doing this, ignoring or holding back some of those who  struggle hard to achieve success?

The standard should be the same for all.  We should not ignore the shortcomings of the great because we want to curry favor, and we should never ignore giving honor to those who struggle against fewer resources to achieve success.

Perverting justice never really helps anyone……..it hurts us all.

There are a lot of problems reflected in our American institutions and we can do better.  But we need to remember that these problems only reflect our own hearts.  That is where our real problems lie.  That is where we need change.   Our trouble start with ourselves.

So on this 4th of July, let us reflect on our great country and its challenges but then let us turn and look at our own hearts.  How do we sometimes pervert justice to those around us in our individual and personal lives?

If we change, our country will change.  If individuals change, our institutions will change.

May the Lord bless you this holiday and all the days ahead!

WHAT IS TRUTH?

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“What is Truth?” Pilate asked Jesus.  Jesus did not answer.

The evil in this world is LOUD! It clamors to be heard.  “The ambiguous and false, the unworthy and mean, will eventually confute themselves.  So the truth can afford to be quiet,” said Charles Spurgeon.

God works in unexpected ways.  Quiet ways.  The creator of the stars became a poor Galilean rabbi in order to carry our sins to the cross.  It is impossible to understand.  The Jewish people were looking for their Messiah, but they did not expect Him to do something like that.

Yet over 2000 years later, the name of Jesus is spoken everywhere.  It is often slung about as a curse word when we are slightly inconvenienced.  It is sung and worshipped by His children in every land.  It is the name above all names.

We need to listen for the still, small voice.  We need to ask to hear wisdom.  We need to seek and we will find.  We need to do it before it is too late.

Jesus did not answer Pilate when he asked “What is Truth?”  Because He had already answered.

Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”  (John 14:6)

Happy Easter!  He is Risen!

HEAVENLY SPEECH

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Over 2000 years ago, on Christmas Day, the heavens spoke!

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
In the manger born a king,
While adoring angels sing,

CHRIST CAME FOR US

Until then, the descent of mankind through the ages brought suffering, as we devised new ways to be evil.  Mankind has been devising evil schemes since Cain killed Abel.  From then until now there has been a consistent theme of mankind hurting mankind….from insults to world wars.

When suffering hits us personally, we ask “Why does God not intervene?”  Oh……but He did!

HIS INTERVENTION IS JESUS CHRIST

And now He waits for us to respond……………

THIS IS THE AGE OF GRACE

But soon…..Heaven will speak again and Christ will return to start His endless, global reign.  He is the fulfillment of prophecy and history.

“Unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulders.”

J. Sidlow Baxter comments that “already He sits on the throne of universal sovereignty in heaven.  His kingdom rules over all.  The mystery of permitted evil on earth has thereby assumed a new aspect and has almost run its course.  The usurper shall be finally banished, and the now rebellious territory shall rest in warless, tearless quietude beneath His scepter.  It shall certainly be so, for He has really risen; and He really reigns, and He will really return.”

As Tennyson said, “This is the one divine event to which the whole creation moves.”

AS WE CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH, I PRAY THAT WE ARE READY FOR HIS RETURN!

HALLELUJAH AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(Isaiah 9:6, Titus 2:11-14, John14:3)