Christmas Music

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

Luke 2:13-14, KJV

Christmas music is everywhere. At this time of year, one can hardly tune in without hearing a Christmas song of some sort, Christian or secular. Bells ringing... although gone are the sleigh bells, now, it's mostly Salvation Army. The serenity conjured up by "Silent Night" has been lost in the insanity of last-minute shopping and Grandma getting “run over by a reindeer.” The hustle and bustle "as the shoppers rush home with their treasures."

Whatever our feeling about Christmas music, when was the last time we TRULY listened to the words of a Christmas carol and actually reflected on their meaning - our spirit moved by the passion and truth in them?

…Let every heart prepare Him room... 

…O lay aside each earthly thing, and with thy heart as offering, come worship… 

 
…The King of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone Him… 

…Born a child and yet a King. Born to reign in us forever… 

…Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord, that hath made heaven and earth of naught, and with His Blood mankind hath bought…Noel, noel… 

…Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled…

…O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind: Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, and be Thyself our King of peace…Rejoice! Rejoice!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."

Ah, yes! The true sounds of the season…

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for loving us enough to send Your Son to save us from our sin and ourselves. Help us to lay aside each earthly thing and with our hearts as offering, come to worship. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Real Treasure

Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

Luke 12:33-34 TLB

During the Christmas season, there are so many different emotions flying on a collision course with the world around us. Some people are like children, they can hardly wait and stars are in their eyes and they break into song at the drop of a hat or the jingle of a bell. Others are so sad, remembering the family member or friend who did not live out the year and they break into tears without warning. Still others are angry and frustrated with the stress of trying to buy something for everyone on their list while wondering how they're going to pay for that AND the house bills.

Let me encourage you to take a step back and just breathe in - big breath - and breathe out. Again. Breathe in, breathe out.

Have we lost sight? Perspective? For God so loved the world that He gave... (John 3:16). Jesus loved us so much that He came to earth (Luke 2) so He could lay down His life for us (John 10). Why?!? Because God loved us - we are His treasure - He came to Earth because that's where we are.

Where's your heart? What are your thoughts? Where will your heart and thoughts lead you? Are you selling your inheritance for worldly instant gratification or will you hold fast to the greatest treasure ever given to mankind?

Prayer:

Father,
           Open the eyes of our hearts - we want to see You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lights

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:2-4 KJV

At this time of year, the world is fascinated by Christmas lights. Some of my best Christmas memories with friends and family are when we were together riding around looking at the light displays. For optimum enjoyment, you should have at least one child in the car or one adult with childlike wonder because their delight is contagious.

I discovered the delight in it quite by accident. I actually started doing it with my own children because it was free entertainment and we could make a night of it. (And even if gas was $4 a gallon, Mr. Scrooge, you're going to get 12 to 20+ miles per gallon depending on your vehicle and you can see a lot of lights in 12 miles.)

Light is a very powerful force. Movie fans are fascinated by light sabers and in the real world, laser surgery is considered the latest and greatest. The world is fascinated by lights. Electronic games and pinball machines and shoes that light up! Even Sin City is known for its lights. Every picture or postcard of Las Vegas I've ever seen was taken with its lights glittering. Why? Because light attracts.

Light is God's idea - His first words on record. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good... And it was so good, that He used it in the New Covenant as well. The Light appears in Matthew, chapter one, and again in chapter four. Later in John 8:12, Jesus announces, I am the light of the world... David tells us in Psalm 119 that the Word is a lamp and light to guide our way so that we may see clearly.

Directly following the Beatitudes given by Christ and in the same sermon, He says in Matthew 5:14-16, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

HIS light in you. Let YOUR light shine...

Let there be light!

Prayer:

Father,
Cause us to seek after the Truth of Your Word. Let us soak up so much of Your Truth that we reflect Your true light - Life-giving light - to a world that is dying in darkness. Help us to be purposeful in living and reflecting Your light, so that others will be drawn to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Known

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 

Isaiah 43:1b NLT

If you've been with me for any length of time, you've seen me go from lamenting to laughing about people who want to argue with me over how my name "should be" pronounced. Really? It's my name. I've had it all my life. Granted, I may be older now, but I still know my own name.

I can top that story. For the last month, I've been in deep discussion with a certain state office that wanted to argue with me about my legal name - the one I've had for years. It would be different if I had a nickname on a legitimate form of ID, but all of my identifying documents have the same name - mine - that is, except for my recently-issued driver's license because I couldn't convince them with a certified copy of my birth certificate, my SS card, last year's W-2, my electric bill, and my recently expired driver's license (I know - my fault) that I am me. They issued with a name from my past (WAY past). That's who I was - it's not who I am now.

But...Praise God! He's shown me yet again, that it doesn't matter who tries to put what on me, in more ways than one - and in the most important way that counts - by the great Grace of God, I am NOT who I was. I am changed. HE ransomed me and He has called me by name - His.

Prayer:

Father,
I will not be afraid. I have heard You call my name. I know Whose I am and who I am in You. I thank You for all that You've done, all that You're doing, and all that You're going to do. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

On the Day

Yes, my children, remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes.
1st John 2:28 Good News Translation

My children, the end is near! You were told that the Enemy of Christ would come; and now many enemies of Christ have already appeared, and so we know that the end is near. These people really did not belong to our fellowship, and that is why they left us; if they had belonged to our fellowship, they would have stayed with us. But they left so that it might be clear that none of them really belonged to us.

But you have had the Holy Spirit poured out on you by Christ, and so all of you know the truth. I write you, then, not because you do not know the truth; instead, it is because you do know it, and you also know that no lie ever comes from the truth.

Who, then, is the liar? It is those who say that Jesus is not the Messiah. Such people are the Enemy of Christ—they reject both the Father and the Son. For those who reject the Son reject also the Father; those who accept the Son have the Father also.

Be sure, then, to keep in your hearts the message you heard from the beginning. If you keep that message, then you will always live in union with the Son and the Father. And this is what Christ himself promised to give us—eternal life.

I am writing this to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But as for you, Christ has poured out his Spirit on you. As long as his Spirit remains in you, you do not need anyone to teach you. For his Spirit teaches you about everything, and what he teaches is true, not false. Obey the Spirit's teaching, then, and remain in union with Christ.

Yes, my children, remain in union with him, so that when he appears we may be full of courage and need not hide in shame from him on the Day he comes. You know that Christ is righteous; you should know, then, that everyone who does what is right is God's child. 1st John 2:18-29

Prayer:

Father,
          Make Your Word alive in our hearts! Help us to implicitly heed Your instructions. Live large in us, Lord, so that we may accomplish all You have set before us BEFORE the Day You come. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The Shorn Sheep

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:6 NLT

I did not write this story, but I found it very interesting and appropriate for this time of our lives. I hope you will, too. The author's identity is unknown to me. 

Have you heard of Shrek the sheep? He became famous several years ago when he was found after hiding out in caves for six years. Of course, during this time his fleece grew without anyone there to shorn (shave) it. When he was finally found and shaved, his fleece weighed an amazing sixty pounds! Most sheep have a fleece weighing just under ten pounds, with the exception usually reaching fifteen pounds, maximum. 

For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece. Simply because he was away from his shepherd.

This reminds me of John 10 when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, and His followers are His sheep. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I think Shrek is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.

When Shrek was found, a professional sheep shearer took care of Shrek’s fleece in twenty-eight minutes. Shrek’s sixty-pound fleece was finally removed - enough wool to make suits for 20 men! All it took was coming home to his shepherd.

Christ will lift the burdens we carry, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our ‘fleece’—that is, our self-imposed burdens - brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for running from You and from Your disciplines and correction. According to Your Word, may we have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is for us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Past vs. Future

Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)
Mark 2:15 NLT

In my day job, one of the tasks in my portfolio is the onboarding of new hires. Regardless of the position offered, it is mandatory to run a background check and prescreen for drugs and alcohol. There is a variety of background checks from which to choose; some vastly more stringent than others, depending on the job description and work location. Only those who pass are eligible to begin the actual process to be employed.

Once in a great while, we meet a candidate who has a questionable past but who is forthright about the circumstances. Often, we are able to work with that person and proceed with employment, (depending on the grade/number of hits on the prescreens). While reading Mark 2 for our promise, I was reminded of this particular employment scenario.

In verse 17 of Mark 2, Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” In my opinion, this passage is one of the greatest stories in the Word of God! 

Jesus has the background knowledge of EVERYTHING we've ever done, said or even thought! And yet, nothing can disqualify us when we give it ALL to Him, good AND bad. There isn't anything that can preclude us. God tells us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow." It doesn't matter how it's graded - or how many hits are on it when it's processed -  when Jesus runs it, our background check comes back clear. 

In Christ, our past does not determine our future. 

Prayer:

Father,
          Thank You for making every provision for us in preparation of our permanent, eternal position with You. Give us opportunities to tell others of Your greatness and Your faithfulness and Your great love toward us. Give them hearts and ears to hear. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen