Jesusmas

Here it is. That time of year that I love and hate. I love the thought of Christ coming to earth for me, my family, my friends and so many I don't know; I hate that Jesus has been removed from the thoughts of so many that know why it's called Christmas. I love teaching my kids to give freely and receive gifts humbly; I hate the frenzy surrounding the idea of giving gifts and why we even give gifts at all. I love that many are so joyous this time of year, even with the cold and busy schedules; I hate that so many are alone in their world, even with so called friends and family. I love having a redeemer that makes me right before God; I hate sin, especially when it's sin that has stared me in the face before.

Blessed be the Name that when it is all said and done, the rich and poor, the strong and the weak, the healthy and lame, saved and lost, will all bow down too. Happy Jesusmas.

Where I Am

Over the past few weeks, as my home fills will young people whose desire is for a deeper understanding of God's word, the message has changed each week, yet returns to one particular point: be satisfied with with where I am. A wonderfully loving wife and four outgoing, physically abled children fill my suburban home in a neighborhood cul-de-sac populated by friendly neighbors. My job allows me enough to pay for what we have had and what we have now.

I am humbled when I spend times with friends whose wives and walked out on them, leaving children with no mother to love on them. Then there are wives whose husbands have abandoned them and the kids, even if he remains in the house. There are dear parents of children with special needs that require incredible amounts of time for care and the financial strain it places on them is immense. Some are caring for their aging parents and the parent don't even recognize their own children. I hurt for my neighbors and and friends battling cancer, leukemia, crones, lupus and so forth.

There are those I know and love that somehow get by with so little that I wonder how God does it. Some I know and see everyday work so hard and put in so much time to do their mission in life that it would seem they couldn't possibly have any joy. Yet they do.

Two years ago I spent seven days walking around the New Mexico wilderness, sleeping on the ground, carrying my necessities on my back, and dodging rattlesnakes. It was a joy. I wondered how different it was for me then, compared to someone in Pakistan or Northern Africa. On other trips I've been so soaked from rain I've wondered who in Brazil or Ecuador I could relate to. When my mother died and I felt that loss, how was it that there was peace and comfort?

There are many people in my life that God has so graciously put into my life to teach me the joy I should have. Not any joy I should have because of the things I have, or even the people in my life; but the joy I should have because God has put me where I am with my abilities and disabilities, my things and my empty pockets, the quiet, easy days and the noisy, chaotic, sleepless nights.

I do realize how good I have it in the eyes of some, and also how little I have in the eyes of a few. God has blessed me, and I know how quick it can all disappear. Job in the Old Testament had it all, and it was all taken away, and he was left with nothing except, it all. What God gives us here on this planet is nothing but tools to glorify Him. We should us it for that purpose. It can all be gone, but if we have Christ, we're left still with it all. Hope is what we have. An eternal inheritance is the promise and it will not fade, nor rot, nor be used up. We're only here for a little while, and this is where I am.

Spread your wings, son

This evening is a night I had expected to be trying to ease the concerns of my wife as our oldest son has left the nest of home for college. I thought that she would be expressing her concerns and talking of an empty place in the home. As we walked into the house the weight of the events began; but it wasn't my bride, it is me. I'm not concerned about him as much as I just miss my bud.

The past few months have been full of events that have comforted my heart and given me peace about where his relationship is with Christ. He has earned his eagle scout, received numerous scholarships, been recognized for his character and graduated as valedictorian. However, these things are not the real things that have impressed me the most about him. Our daily conversations had become more mature in nature and the subject matters became deeper each time we had a discussion. His knowledge of scripture increased so much that at times God would use him to humble me with his correction of a quote I would make or something of that nature. I saw my son engage in healthy debate of scripture and recently realized that he was listening to sermon podcasts on his ipod from the likes of Matt Chandler, Elliot Greene and Mark Dirscoll, because he wanted to.

Spread your wings, son. This is your time to fly into this world without me. Yes, you will be injured and wounded by the world, and also by fellow brothers and sisters. You can endure with God's help and the Holy Spirit will speak through your lips. Do as you have learned and have openly expressed yourself about what the church should do. Go,God's speed.

Good Times

Last night I said goodbye to the earthly life of my mom. She spent years doing what she felt was in her boys best interest. She force marched us to church, whipped us with a fly swatter and couldn't play football worth a toot; but she was there. Mom selflessly would not be hungry when we were short on desert. She would advise us what her gut feeling was telling her, then she would let us go and make our mistakes. She wouldn't take the blame or pay our debts; but she would teach us not to do the same thing twice.

Thanks God for using my mother to shape and mold me and my brothers and sister. Mom was good, life is better, life with moms will always be best. Catch you on the flip side of Jordan Mom!

Texting the Word

Recently I received a text from a friend asking for prayer. I typed back "sure, what's up?" The reply was simply that the person felt far from God. A piece of scripture instantly came to mind. James 4:8 reads "Draw near to God and He will Draw near to you." So I texted this right back to my friend and immediately prayed. Later they let me know how the word had brought them out of despair, and gave them new strength to face the world yet again.

I say this in light of this morning I was having me time and not God time. I was trying to plan my day and do what I wanted and solve all the problems myself. Then out of the blue a friend texted me a piece of scripture. This brought me down and humbled me and opened my eyes.

As we read in John 1, the word was, is, and always will be God's way of speaking to us. I need to listen more often. It is the manual for life. Lets all get into it and follow it.

Are we religious?

James 1: 27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

The widows and orphans were those that no one looked up to. This ties in with the rest of the Gospel that Jesus lived on earth. He spent His time with thieves, liars, tax collectors, children, outcasts of society, the least of those that we see as important in society. Would we really take Jesus seriously in today's world.

We become polluted by the world by believing that the things we have are ok to have and that those richer than us or more powerful than us are the ones that should give the most. Remember that Jesus had nothing financially, yet gave. He was a common laborer, yet spent time teaching the rich and famous, and also touching those that were disgusting in the worlds eyes.

Does the world take us seriously, as we claim to walk as Jesus did? Where do we spend our time and to whom do swipe our cards for?

Re-read that verse and let's open our eyes for what God has for us be.

Guilty

It is generally accepted by most that not everyone is perfect. With fault comes guilt; some will carry more than others. Guilt is a part of our conscience that God made to help us see how every action we make affects more than just ourselves. When we take an extra piece of pie, later realize that there were only six pieces made for six people, guilt sets in as someone goes without.

Guilt can be a good thing if we respond to it, and that is what God hopes we do. There is nothing we can do to change our act; however, we can learn from it and attempt to correct the view others have of us. This is what God would want.

On the other hand guilt can be an over bearing burden on someone that is carrying vast amounts. It is heavy and cumbersome. It tires us mentally, fatiguing our relationships with others, especially those that may have been affected by our actions. This is not what God wants to occur, but it is how God made it work; and the Holy Spirit is relentless in making sure that the Father's will is met. Many shrug off guilt by passing off their acts as being in the past and there being no way to right them. In some ways there is truth to this, we can't right our wrongs; but we can right our hearts.

Adam wronged God by allowing himself to be deceived and eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He knew he had disobeyed his Father, and as many children do, he ran and hid. Symbolically, God came looking for Adam, found him hiding, and asked him why. With all the guilt on his shoulders, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve, the serpent.

Likewise Jacob, the younger brother of Esau, deceived his own father into giving him his blessing. By the help of his mother, he presented himself as someone he wasn't to a man that was old and could not distinguish between Esau's hairy arms and lambs wool placed on Jacob's arms. Isaac asked "Who is this?" and Jacob responded he was Esau, his eldest son. With the additional guilt of swindling his brother's birthright from him, Jacob had to deal with his own actions for years as he and his brother separated and lived in different regions. Jacob lived a life of fear of his brother, wondering how and when his brother would come to take revenge.

David, a man after God's own heart, saw a woman that he wanted. He did not care whose wife she was, he just wanted her. He took her, and attempted to cover his tracks using deception. When this attempt failed and his guilt was about to be exposed, David resorted to murder to cover his wrong. Guilt builds, it is embarrassing, and it makes us weak.

The Samaritan woman that listened to Jesus at Jacob's Well, listened intently as Jesus shared His living water with her. As Jesus asked her to get her husband, she confessed there was a man in her life, but he wasn't her legal husband. Jesus let her know that He knew all along by pointing out the five other men that used to be her partners. No condemnation, just the release of guilt and shame of her actions.


As for Jacob, he and Esau matured with time and they began to come together; but just before meeting Esau, God wants Jacob to realize who he is and what he has done. He wrestles with God and at the end, God asks him, "who are you?" He replies, "Jacob." The previous time we read of Jacob being asked who he was, he had replied "Esau." Jacob realizes he is: a liar, a deceiving thief, and a man of ill-gotten wealth. With this revelation, Jacob becomes Israel and a father of the chosen people of God.

David's best friend confronts him about his sin, and David confesses and is set free to once again seek God and to worship him. David can once again draw near to God.

That doesn't mean that all is made in the world, only spiritually. None of the wrongs are corrected physically. Esau still doesn't have his father's blessing. Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, is still dead. The woman's intimacy with multiple men still occurred. Each of these will carry the scars and they live with the affects of what they did, but the confession of sin allowed each of these to sleep peacefully that night. God created guilt, and it is a burden when we try to carry it. God sent his Son to carry that baggage for us. If we are willing to confess that we have the load and release it to the only One that can take it off us, we too can sleep in peace tonight.

me seeing me

"Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free; Silently now I wait for Thee, ready, my God, Thy will to see; Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!" Words from Clara H. Scott

Open my eyes that i see myself for what i am. Teach me in Your word God. You are awesome, God! You be lifted high.