One Christmas tradition that often gets over wrapped in tinsel and stage perfection is the tradition of having a Christmas pagent.
I used to love the pagents. Every year but one I was a sheep, and everyone knows that the sheep has the best role. We get to go all over the stage and crawl on our knees and bahh every so often. No elaborate speaches or moments of forgetting lines. Just being there, part of the show.
Perhaps that is the problem with Christmas these days. We get so caught up in what we should do we forget to just be part of the story. We feel we need to put on a great spector of glitz and glory more suited to the glittery gifts of the Wisemen but we forget to be the lowly sheep, on our knees before the King. No words to say. No spotlight. Just there. Part of God’s story.
Category: dreams do come true
Molded by His hands
Molded by His hands
Ginger bread houses. One Christmas tradition that we love is making gingerbread houses. Crafted by hands that desire ingestable art. If you ask the child with the house that has broken walls and missing gummy lights if their house disappoints them do you know what they will tell you, “it still tastes good.” Even with it’s missing parts and broken hearth the gingerbread house still has the quality of tasting good. And the artist loves that part of it, so the artist loves the whole of it. Just like how God loves us. We are His. That’s enough. He loves all of us, from our shattered dreams to our scarred pasts, He still loves us. Why? Because we are His. And He knows that we still have the chance to become what He wants us to be, and He hasn’t given up on us. Just like our gingerbread house, falling apart on one side, we still can serve our initial purpose. We can still, “taste good” no matter what we look like, it’s what’s inside that counts.
Let’s build a snowman!
Let’s build a snowman!
Since the beginning of time people have loved to create. Not just useful things to our survival but wonderful things that grab our attention and hold us in awe. We even create fleeting things, like snowmen. Why do we build something that is just going to fade with the sun? Why does the ball shaped man bring us so much joy when he smiles? Good questing. Perhaps it’s because all throughout every other season God is constantly creating. He makes flowers and babies, He causes the leaves to change color and the grass to grow, and grow and grow and grow, if you live where I do. When winter comes, however, everything goes dormant. It’s almost like God is letting His creative arts take a break. Outside of the beauty of sunrises and sets, and the horror frost, nothing new really happens. We are so used to creating that the pause makes us sad and restless, so what do we do? We create while waiting. Now we see snowmen and forts and garland on trees. Why not? We aren’t as amazing as the Creator but we love doing it, and it gives us a small look into what God does every day. We feel the snow crunch together under our fingers and soon there is a snowball fight. We find the perfect carrot in our fridge and we begin the human construction of a snowperson. Without God having created the snow we wouldn’t have anything to work with. But because He has we suddenly have a new world that we can play in.
I believe in you
A friend is someone who believes in you more than you believe in yourself.
It is so easy to doubt yourself. All most people see is their failures and that’s so sad. Why do people ask for someones opinion and then get angry when they don’t like what the other person says? Because we are all insecure and need someone to pat us on the back and say ‘well done kid!’ We search for compliments and assurance from others because we don’t really believe in ourselves. That’s why we need friends whom we can trust. If a trusted friend gives their opinion you are more likely to accept that it is true. A real friend will always cheer you on and spur you forward, but will also give you advice and hold you back from reckless things. If JRR Tolkien hadn’t had great friends to encourage him he might have never published the Lord of the Rings. Usually our friends can see more to us than we can see ourselves. You know what I am about to say. Jesus is the one true friend we all have and He is known for spurring us forward in the right things and holding us back in the wrong. Listen to Jesus because He believes in you. Even if He is pulling you back it’s not because there is something wrong with you, it’s because there is something wrong with the situation. Trust His words and His timing, He is a friend who will always believe in you, you just have to believe in Him.
Why do we need pastors?
‘Why do we need pastors?’
This is a question that I have not heard spoken out loud in a long time, but through people’s actions and subtle hints behind their speech it is clear that this is still a pondering. To be honest, I have never really had an answer, until today. I like to do something different with God each day instead of having the prayer time each night. This is just me, not saying that a prayer list is a bad thing. Tonight I chose to read one of my dad’s books on Biblical study and finally I have the answer to that question I was asked so long ago: we need pastors to interpret.
You say, ‘but any adult can read the Bible, it’s not like it’s written in Pig Latten.’
True, but that’s not my point. As the book says, ‘we all read the Bible thinking our interpretation is the right one.’
But it’s easy to misinterpret. For example (my example is also borrowed from this book) in Romans 13:14 the King James version states ‘make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.’
Where the New International Version explains that what Paul meant by “flesh” was sinful nature. If it wasn’t for the people who took the time to interpret this statement, we would believe that Paul meant our bodily comfort as so many assumed, but what he meant was the sinful nature that can come on us so easily. Pastors go to school and study the Bible, the interpretations, the deep delve discussions and weigh the different opinions against each other and against what the Bible says long before they ever grace a Church platform. They study so they can teach us. We need pastors so we can understand without those four years of College. We need people who asked question and gotten answers to answer our questions so we can answer other people’s questions. And now that question that I had no answer to has been explained. We have pastors to interpret for us.
Ref. How to read the Bible for all it’s worth
How does it end?
I have often said that once you write something down in a story, no matter how scary it was in the beginning, now that you know what the ending is it can’t control you anymore. The same is with our spiritual lives God wrote it all down it is all in the Bible and we know the ending so this world, the fears that can manifest themselves in this world, the one who controls this world, can not control us. We know the ending! God has told us how the story of this world ends.
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people.
Revelation 22:20-21 NLT
In the end, the hero comes back for his people. In the end, all evil is destroyed. And like any great story, in the end there’s a massive party to celebrate the victory! In the end Jesus comes and takes us home. Nothing can hold us to this world, if we believe in Jesus, if we Proclaim his name, then there is nothing of this world that can control us.
The end.
Falling into myself
As humans we often describe ourselves as having a hole inside. That can mean different things for different people, but many still have the hole. And as people we do all we can think to do; we find a way to plug the hole. We plug it with entertainment, food, friends, even family. And it plugs up happily. Except… Just like wet sand to fill a gap in a wall, these small fixes -no matter how hard we try to make them stick- crumble and fall away. We need the right mixture to create concrete to repair the hole for good.
Friends and family are a good start, but to make the mixture complete we need Jesus. We need Jesus or else everything will fall apart. If we lack God our hole will eat everything it sees and fill up with nothing but darkness, hurting those around us. We all have a hole, except those of us who have Jesus because our hole has been filled by His perfect and unfailing concrete solution. We are whole through Christ.
I pray your hole is also filled by Him.
You may say that you still feel hollow even with God. Many do. Why? I once heard it said that Jesus fills our gaps but only the ones we let Him fill. If you still feel empty take a good look and see if your emptiness is something that you simply haven’t given over to Christ.
Fill up your soul with Jesus.
No God, that is the way it’s written.
God was walking through His Church one day and decided to ask people about their favorite Bible verses and why they liked them. It wasn’t that He didn’t already know the answer, just that He wanted to have His people tell Him themselves. God smiled as He spoke with different people and saw the mix of emotions on their faces as they explained why their favorite verse was their favorite. Out of the corner of God’s eye He spotted a man that He knew was simply there to put in his necessary hour of Church before going on with his week. God smiled sadly and went over to the man.
“Hello my child,” God said as He approached. The man bristled and nodded a greeting. God tried again, “how have you been? I’ve not heard from you lately.”
The man shrugged and mumbled that he was fine.
God smiled, “tell me, what is your favorite scripture?” God knew, but wanted an opening to discuss it with the man.
Irritated the man looked at God, “I can do all things. That’s my favorite verse.”
God tilted His head, “go on.”
“What?” The man growled.
“Go on and finish the verse.”
“That is the verse.”
God shook His head, “you’re missing part of it.”
“No I’m not! That’s how it’s written!”
The argument began to draw attention, embarrassed, the man walked away and left the building.
Back in his own house the man sat with his arms crossed, still angry about earlier. Suddenly his couch dipped down as another body sat on it. The man looked to see God sitting next to him. Startled, the man exclaimed, “what are you doing here! Don’t you have a Church to lead?”
God smiled, “but you are here.”
“So what? I’m just one person.”
God nodded, “but you are the one who needs me most right now.”
The man scowled, “why was I wrong about the scripture earlier? I quoted it right.”
“Yes, but you left out the most important part.
‘I can do all things, through Christ who gives me strength- Phillipians 4:13.
You left me out of the verse, just as you’ve left me out of your life.”
The man un-crossed his arms and looked at his shoes, “I was wrong God. I can’t do all things on my own.”
God put both arms around the man and drew him into a deep hug, “but you have me my son. You never need to do things on your own. Just trust me.”
Thankful on thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving
The leaves float down in the subtle breeze as their brothers and sisters await them on the ground. Overhead the leaves that are hanging on clap against eachother as though they are applauding the day, their applause has grown quieter over the days as more and more have fallen but the remainders still clap on, still thankful for the days given them. Do we applaud God for the days given to us? Do we praise him for what he graces us? Have you thanked him yet today for the cross? Have I?
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”-LUKE 19:40
Even if we don’t praise God and acknowledge all he has done the rocks beneath our feet will cry out and tell of His goodness and amazing power! On this thanksgiving let us give thanks to God for all he has done.
Pray: thank you Father for your goodness, for your power, for your kindness and generosity. Thank you for Jesus and for his sacrifice for us. Thank you for leaving the Holy Spirit with us. Thank you God, for your abounding love. Amen.
Let me be in covenant with you
I have mentioned before that one of my favorite movies is Ben-Hur. The old version. Does anyone recall what causes one of the big turning points of the movie? Right, Juda saves the Roman officer who in-turn makes him his son and gifts him his ring as a sign of his covenant with him. Suddenly the man goes from slave to master and his whole world changes. In the same way, when Johnathan-Saul’s son-meets David he takes off his cloak and ring and bestows them upon David, acknowledging him as the man worthy to be the next king. Johnathan was ten years older than David and the rightful successor of Saul, so to willingly relinquish the throne was an act of true respect, and also (I feel) the act of a true ruler. He saw that David was full of God and that God had chosen him to take the throne, for the good of the people Johnathan gave away his birthright because he knew that David was the one who would lead Isreal the right way, only a true king would give up his throne for the good of the nation. Unlike Johnathan, Jesus was always the one we needed and no other could take His place; but like Johnathan, Jesus gave up His throne (temperarily) for the good of His people. Jesus also gave up his birthright. He had the right to be the only child of God, no adopted sons and daughters were necassary for the kingdom to continue, we orphans were never something that God needed in His kingdom, but because He loves us He sent His only son, the only child that He had, to save us, to die for us and to make a way so we could be truly part of the King’s family. He gave us His cloak and Ring and let us live with Him in glory. That is the love of a true king. Like Juda Ben-Hur, we were once slaves and now are inheritors of the kingdom. Like David, we were unworthy in the eyes of the world, but are accepted by the Prince and the King to be children in the kingdom. Let that sink in, and in your own words, thank God for all He has done. Oh how great the Father’s love for us.
Carried in the cross 