Month: December 2021

No, dear brothers, I am still not all that I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. Philippians 3:13-14

It’s hard to believe that a New Year is arriving, and we have the opportunity to gather again to usher it in. No matter where we are if we make it to midnight to ring in this new year, we will probably sing or hear the song Auld Lang Syne.

The song Auld Lang Syne was originally a Scotts language poem written by Robert Burns. In 1799, it was set to a traditional tune which is now sung in many countries to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played the song in Times Square for many years beginning in 1929, and I remember hearing it in the 50’s from my Mom and Dad I can’t remember a single gathering we have attended where it is not played and/or sung to ring in the New Year.

The strange thing is that this song begins with a question, “Should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and Auld Lang Syne?” Auld Lang Syne is defined as times long past or loosely translated it means for the sake of old times. So basically we are saying should we forget what is past and move forward.

As we embark on this New Year of two thousand and twenty two, maybe it would behoove us all to move forward with a clean slate. Who knows what new experiences or changes will come our way? What new needs will arise? What we will find in this New Year? The only certainty is that we are entering a year that will most certainly consist of hills and valleys, so as we make our resolutions, we should remember the promise of our Father who tells us that His mercy will never fail us.

A resolution is defined as a firm decision to do or not do something. Some people say that resolutions are made to be broken, but we’d be lying if we said we don’t all make them. In the tradition of the New Year, there are a few resolutions that I believe are God given for me for this year.

First on the list of my resolutions is forgiveness. God tells us that when we harbor unforgiveness and resentment, we really hurt no one but ourselves. The person who has wronged us has long since moved on, and our hurt doesn’t matter to them. We only hurt ourselves when we don’t forgive. God never believes we are large enough to forget, but He does require forgiveness.

Secondly, I want to stay positive. There are so many cynics and negative gossip going on everywhere these days that it is easy to become a product of those who spread it. Gossip is like a cancer which can’t be allowed to continue. It maims the innocent and lifts up the guilty. There’s an old saying, Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see. This year our energies would best be invested in the positive, present moment and remember, “With God all things are possible.”

This year I want to live with the three E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy. It’s a goal of mine in this new year to tackle every day with enough energy to get things done, enough enthusiasm to make the day joyful for others and myself, and enough empathy to reach out to those who need a kind word or deed.

Finally, this year I resolve to live each day with this thought, Love never fails. The truth is there’s nothing any of us can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. His love never fails.

This year my prayer is that we would all live our best life this coming year. We should never linger in the valleys because we are afraid to climb the mountains before us. We have no idea the blessings that await us at the top.

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear; For Auld Lang Syne. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, For Auld Lang Syne. Robert Burns

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace good will toward men. Luke 2:14

It always seems that something breaks around our house just when we really need everything to work!! This week, the dishwasher refused to drain, so I called our repairman. Of course, a part had to be ordered, and I was dreading the statement, “We can’t get it until after Christmas.” As our repairman was on speaker with his office for ordering and scheduling, he said, “Our customer would really love this done before Christmas, is there any way?” She replied, “I’m not sure, but hold on and believe!” At that point, I called out, “I believe.” It turns out, it was possible. As she said good bye to both of us, she said, “Now, tell others about your positive experience and how we orchestrated this to your satisfaction.”

Christmas Day is upon us, and as we prepare for the birth of our Savior, and to fully appreciate the story of Christ’s birth, it’s important for us to consider the ways God orchestrated the event.

First, God called shepherds to tell the story. Shepherds were considered to be the lowest in society, yet God picked them to tell the greatest story. Perhaps that’s because some people would have debated the authenticity of what they had seen, but the shepherds believed and spread the word. We should tell the story.

Secondly, those who heard the story were amazed! God was reconciling the world to Him and not holding their sins against them. Through Jesus’ birth, God committed to us the message of reconciliation. Our debts are cancelled, and now we can have a personal relationship with Christ. Where’s our awe or amazement when we tell or hear that story yet again?

Finally, there was Mary’s part in the story. The Bible says that she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) She wanted to understand what God was doing, and how it related to her, but she couldn’t. Mary didn’t understand God’s will in all this, but she accepted it and obeyed it.

God is asking us this Christmas to tell His story anew, keep the awe in Christmas, and accept His will and obey it!

The very first Christmas God did something extraordinary. Max Lucado puts it this way: Stepping down from the throne, He removed His robe of light and wrapped Himself in pigmented human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels worshipped nestled in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay. Mary didn’t know whether to give Him milk or give him praise, so she gave Him both – since He was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. Joseph didn’t know whether to call Him junior or father, but in the end, he called him Jesus since that’s what the angel said, and since He didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms. Don’t you think heads tilted and their minds wondered, ‘What in the world are you doing, God? Or better Phrased, God what are you doing in the world?” Can anything make me stop loving you? God asks, ” You wonder how long my love with last? Find your answer on a splintered cross on a craggy hill. That’s Me you see up there, your Maker, your God. That’s how much I love you.” Paul asks, “Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:35) Then, he answers his own question: “Nothing can separate us from God’s love – not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not power above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38) That’s what Christmas is all about.

Christmas is Christ. This year my prayer is that we would join the angels who sang Gloria and the wise men who fell down and worshipped Him during our celebration!

Merry Christmas!!

Silent night, Holy night, Son of God, Love’s pure light. Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia. Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:18-20, 24

Randy and I have collected over the years several different holy family and nativity sets. As I put them out each year, they are sweet reminders of places we have been where we purchased them or special family keepsakes. Through the years, the Josephs in different sets seems to have suffered a great deal of abuse (usually at my hand) in the form of broken staffs, cracked arms, or in one sad case, total and complete destruction. My daughter commented one year that I shouldn’t worry about the Joseph, “After all, he didn’t have a big role anyway!”

As I began this year with another Joseph accident which required Gorilla Glue, I thought about Ashley’s words and did some digging into who Joseph really was and what made him special enough to be the earthly father of Jesus. Why Joseph?

In the gospel of Matthew, we learn that Joseph was a carpenter by trade, but that probably wasn’t all he did. It is believed that in addition to carpentry, he was probably also a gardener and raised animals. As a carpenter, Joseph probably didn’t work steadily, but he rather did work where skill was required. Jesus grew up as the son of a carpenter, and Joseph taught his son these skills. Joseph was a simple, honest, hard working, God fearing man who was loyal and kind.

Joseph is known to us as only a background figure in the narratives of the Gospel, but his wholehearted devotion to Mary even in the face of possible slander by his neighbors, and his total self sacrifice when he left everything to flee to Egypt to protect Mary and his son, shows us that he was worthy of God’s trust in him.

The three times we have a record of God speaking to Joseph, it is through an angel of the Lord appearing to him in a dream. Each time when he wakes up, he immediately obeys this messenger of God.

God chose Joseph first because he was obedient. He accepted Mary as his wife, took her to his home, and lived with her platonically until Jesus was born. Joseph didn’t know whether to call the baby junior or father, but in the end, he obeyed the angel who told him to name the child, Jesus. After all, what would he name a God that he could cradle in his arms? This name indicated his mission which was to save the people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21) Lastly, the angel instructed Joseph to name the child personally. This step acknowledged Jesus as his own son under Semitic law. Now Joseph’s ancestry as a descendant of David transfers to his son.

God also chose Joseph because of his integrity. God honored this man of integrity by entrusting him with a great responsibility. Imagine how hard it would be to choose someone else to raise your child. Joseph had to be the ‘stand in” father for God on earth, and he had the integrity, love, and mercy to make it work.

Finally, God chose Joseph because he was faithful. He was a righteous man who lived out his beliefs in his actions. Even when he felt he had been wronged by Mary, he held fast to his trust in God and showed his sensitivity to someone else’s shame. Joseph responded to God with obedience and self control.

In the end, God chose a devout man who was full of faith, just, merciful, and one who loved and carefully cared for both Mary and his earthly son, Jesus.

This Christmas when I look at the different renderings of Joseph around our home, it will be with a different kind of appreciation and respect for the man God chose. Why Joseph? It was Joseph because he was righteous and trusted God. Joseph didn’t always know the details, but he acted in faith knowing God would lead him to the next step! What a great example for us all!

A special Merry Christmas to all fathers who “stand in” for God and are righteous, faithful, and obedient.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required of them by the law of the Lord, they returned to Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong: he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him! Luke 2:39-40

A voice of one calling, “In the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3

Every year during the Thanksgiving preparations, I get into my car on a hurried day, turn on the radio, and hear Christmas music. The reaction is always the same, “I’m not ready to think about Christmas. It’s way too early.” This advent season of preparation catches us off guard, but it’s here and it’s time to prepare for this special event.

If you’ve ever hosted a party, a dinner  or family gathering, you know that preparations are a huge part of the event.  The house must be cleaned, the food prepared, the dishes out and clean, the silverware polished, and the everyday stuff put away.  We are preparing for the purpose, and usually the purpose is some kind of celebration.

Christmas is just that – a celebration.  It’s a birthday party celebration for Jesus where we celebrate the joy of His birth.  The angels said, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”

God took great care to prepare for the coming of His son into the world on that Christmas morn long ago.  He used the most unlikely people to set the stage for his son who would come to demonstrate His love.  Caesar Augustus was used to issue a decree that all would be taxed each into their own country which brought His chosen Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem from Nazareth.  Add a kindly innkeeper who offered his stable, a manger filled with straw, animals, shepherds in a nearby field, angels to tell them of the birth, and three wise men guided by a star, and we know the preparations were no accident but rather the product of great preparation for a purpose. The time had come to welcome our Savior.

Likewise, as we begin the advent season we must prepare our hearts and our lives for the advent or coming of Christ.  Instead of racing around and methodically going through the decorations and planning for the Christmas season, we should be preparing for the purpose of celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Ann Voskamp says, We are ready for Christmas, not when we have all the gifts, but when we are ready for Christ – when we are ready to give all of ourselves to him.  

There are many things we can do to prepare for the coming of Christ in our hearts and lives, but I wonder how different Christmas could be for each of us, if we could just believe through the eyes of a child.  People sometimes say that “Christmas is for children”, but Jesus came for all of us.  Perhaps they mean that Christmas is best when seen through the eyes of a child because  children see the world differently.  They are amazed at small things in life, the things that adults seem to take for granted every day.  We sometimes feel we are too old to be amazed, and we stop taking time to be amazed at a baby in a manger, who He is and why He came.  Becoming as a child again is a great way to prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate anew the birthday of Jesus.

During this season, if we want to prepare our hearts for Christmas, we’ve got to rediscover the joy of giving.  Giving always brings more blessings to the giver than we could ever imagine.  Last week, I took my car to Cactus Car Wash for a wash and clean. When I picked it up, the man asked me about the book I was listening to on my car CD player.  (Yes, I still have one of those).  The book was The Whistler by John Grisham, and he remarked on how much he liked the author’s books.  I told him I would bring it back to him when I finished.  Instead, I drove home, packed up all my other books on tape and headed back to the car wash.  In my prayers that morning, I had asked God to put someone in my path who needed something I could give.  The look on Jeff’s face when I walked over with my bag of gifts not only brightened my day, but it reinforced how much joy we receive from giving!

During this preparation, we could all benefit from passing the light.   Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)  Years ago Randy began the candlelight service at our church. We would begin the service in darkness, then pass the light to each one there so that when we were done, the entire church had a light.  The beauty of that moment as we sang Silent Night will forever live in my memory.  The light has overcome the darkness. Christmas is the perfect time to share the light of God by telling others how a babe was born to give us a purpose in life and hope after death.

This year my prayer is that we can all prepare for Christmas by becoming  childlike again, rediscovering the blessing of giving, and being a shining light in this dark world.  Prepare the way of the Lord!  Make the preparations for a purpose!