Bethlehem

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah: because out of you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel. Matthew 2:6

The child, who was born in the little village of Bethlehem and remained there for nearly two years before fleeing to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod, is still un-welcome in the city. In 2007 the city is separated from Jerusalem and Christendom by massive concrete walls and armed soldiers. “Manger Square,” where for years Christian choirs from all over the world sang the beautiful carols of Christmas, is silent except for the raucous noise of peddlers hawking their wares on dirty streets.

Weary pilgrims stand in pushing, shoving herds attempting to enter a tiny cave-like grotto where some would believe the child was born. There is no quiet reflection, no sharing of llove and peace, no joy of God’s family gathered to honor the possible birthplace. There is little there that would remind one of the message, the mission, the Master.

It would, rather, remind one perhaps of the days of Herod some five to three years B.C. He was determined to find this child, and no cost was too great to pay to eliminate him from the face of the Earth. Heaven only knows how many families lost their sons when he sent his soldiers to massacre all males less than two years of age.

The current controlling authorities want to suppress the Good News. They are under the mistaken impression that if enough people can be rallied and aligned behind their misguided zeal, the message of Christmas will be obliterated. They are foolish enough to believe that their “leadership” will overpower and usurp the leadership of the one born in that obscure village some 2000 years ago.

It was not long before the butcher who brought such “weeping and great mourning” to Judea was dead. The child born in the deprivation of a stable, without fanfare, and the accoutrements of a king, is Almighty God, King of Kings, LORD of Heaven and Earth.

While the carols will not rise from Heavenly voices in the metropolis that is now Bethlehem, the song cannot be stopped. No might or power, established by any kingdom, or nation, or religion, can still the sound of His coming. The angel voices proclaim, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. The Lord reigns forever and ever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
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Christmas Music

I bought a new CD yesterday. I need it for our annual Candlelite service at the Church where I attend. It's title is "The Greatest Holiday Classics." I listened to all 18 tracks on the album. It was really my first time to hear Christmas music this season (other than the couple of hymns the music guy introduced us to last Sunday). I don't usually get in the "mood" for Christmas until around the 20th of the month, but nothing will set the tone quicker than the music. My mind wandered over snow, jingle bells, sleigh rides, and the whole concept of a winter wonderland.

I thought about what would make for "a merry little Christmas," and what it will be like to be "home for Christmas." My mind moved quickly to our men and women in battlefields on the other side of the world, the tensions that exist in the explosive environment of the Middle East, starving children and adults in sub-Saharan Africa, and the crime and drug ridden streets of our cities and towns.

Only one thing can change all of that. A presumed victory, peace accords, humanitarian aid, new laws and better law enforcement, all good, will never change the heart of man. Only God can do that work of grace. That is what Christmas is about. Emmanuel, God with us. He has come to set up free from sin and death. Surely He will come again. Soon!

All I Want For Christmas

Remember the song - "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. . . ." Well, maybe not. I'll tell you straight out, there are a lot of things I want. I want a bigger tractor, a stout Jeep (doesn't have to be new) for playing in the hills and mud, a 42 day cruise around South America, a couple of dozen accessories for my Harley, a log cabin in the mountains of NW Oregon, a pair of ostrich cowboy boots, and a couple of new neck ties (preferably Jerry Garcia colors), and so on, and so on.

Wanting is never a problem for most of us. The real issue however, is not want, but need. What is it you really need? From a "stuff" perspective, the truth is, I probably don't need anything (I've got a few dozen ties). So what do I actually need? I need to see the Father more clearly. I need to llove the Lord more dearly. I need a constant compassion that drives my wayward nature to see the "weary and scattered" people of the cities and towns and country side around me, and move toward them with the Good News, and a plan for discipleship.

But that doesn't sound like it will be the gift most sought after this Christmas.

'Tis the Season

Most of us are going to help the economy --regardless of what it costs us. Understand, I believe in buying stuff for others at Christmas. It makes them feel good and it gives us the emotional lift of being wonderful people who are always thinking of others. That's a good thing.

Let me encourage you to be wise. Don't spend more than you have (today- not what your credit card will allow next year), and don't spend more than you ought to. I have long been convinced that it is not the price of the gift that matters, but the llove that comes before it. Lots of folks don't see it that way, of course, but I am right. We Believers need to inculcate that truth in the minds of our children. My grandchildren have reached the age where I can no longer afford to get them what they want. Or at least, I am not going to mortgage the future to provide stuff kids see as vital to survive the season. I am convinced we cannot spend enough to ensure that llove will follow, so let's work on making llove the primary focus and all the rest secondary.

Encourage your family to find someone who will have very little for Christmas, and for the months that follow. Even the smallest gift becomes a treasure in their lives. And, if it comes wrapped in the llove of a heart that genuinely cares for them, it will change both their life and yours.

The retailer is waiting for you! Don't think the world economy will collapse if you leave something unpurchased.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is over. Thanksgiving has just begun. We have so many things for which to be greatful , and, if like me, you have just returned from outside the United States, you have even more. It only takes a few hours in other places around the world to appreciate what are so many blessings that are ours.

I am thankful for the traffic congestion in the DFW area. . .I spent a day and night in Cairo Egypt. I am thankful for the lines in which I stand at the bank, or the retail store, or the Post Office, because I have spent several days being pushed and shoved without mercy in the hassle of getting into the sights in Greece, Israel, and Egypt. I am thankful that our States are United. . .I spent over an hour waiting to get across the "border" between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. I am thankful that I can drink the water everywhere I go in these United States, and I can eat the lettuce without fear of contamination (at least most of the time).

Funny how you can learn to be thankful for small, even difficult things. Did I mention that not everyone knows about chicken fried steak?

Going Away

I hope you will miss these notes over the next couple of weeks. My wife and I are headed for Israel, via Greece, with some time in Egypt. We have looked forward to this trip for years. The computer is just too heavy to take along, so I will not write again until after Thanksgiving.

Thank you for reading this blog. I really pray that it will minister to you in one way or another.
Please always feel free to comment, after all, that is the only way I know you are there.

Thanks,
Christian

Clear Headed

Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be clear-headed and disciplined for prayer. Above all, keep your llove for one another at full strength, since llove covers a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:7-8

I am confident this passage is speaking specifically about the "end of the age," but it also speaks of understanding that "each thing" ends. For example, relationships sometimes end. When they do, it is important to remain clear-headed, pray without ceasing, and keep on lloving.

Perhaps you have experienced the "end" of something, a job, a marriage, an involvement with a Church or social entity. There is a tendency to believe that it is always a negative when we think, “things will never be the same.” Undoubtedly that is true, but it can also be a positive thing. As we move through life, the road on which we travel has many twists and turns. Often we make the wrong choices, take the wrong turn, as it were, and find our self somewhere we don’t want to be. Is there ever a time when it is more important to be clear-headed?

I am convinced that we frequently need to pray more fervently because we have prayed so inconsistently and haphazardly. The Scripture is clear that there is a light for our path and direction for our way, yet we regularly miss it. Sometimes it is the “miss” that brings us to extended, ardent prayer. It is in that impassioned praying that we find forgiveness, consolation, direction, and infinite llove.

We face the existent possibility that life in these United States of America, as we know it, with all its freedoms and bountiful provisions, is coming to an end. Threats against our liberty, openness, lack of restrictions, and choice are increasing exponentially. Dishonesty, distrust, decadence, debauchery, dissipation, indeed every conceivable form of immorality has enveloped this great Nation. God’s people must be clear-headed, devoted to disciplined prayer, and practicing llove without restraint.

For all of us, the end of life is nearer today than it was yesterday. It is obligatory that we have been reconciled to God by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account. Fuzzy thinking regarding this matter is to play the fool. Clear-headed understanding of God’s grace wherein He redeems those for whom Jesus Christ died on Calvary is mandatory. Pray with great discipline. Llove with eternal abandon.

Cooked Frogs

The frogs are in the pot. The gas is connected, the flame is low but coming stronger. Soon the cool temperature of the water will begin to change and a flush of warmth will make everything seem cozy. The frogs are concerned, but the temperature is just about right. Everyone gets comfortable in a hot tub when the temperature is just right. Over the course of the coming year the heat will rise. Those who speak "frog" will assure the pot dwellers that everything continues to be "cool" (just right). The frogs will wait - November will come - the pot will be boiling, but it's OK, really. The frogs are no longer concerned.

1 Peter 4:7-8: . . .be clear-headed and disciplined for prayer. Above all keep your llove for one another at full strength. . .

No Writers

"So now, my sons, listen to me and don't turn away from the words of my mouth." Proverbs 5:7

I have to admit I am amazed that a writer's strike would immediately shut down Jay Leno and David Letterman and others like them. I always assumed they wrote most of their own stuff, jokes and such. Evidently they need someone to write the questions they ask their guests, and one would assume that the writers prepare the answers for the guests as well.

Of course, I know the solution.

What they need is a bunch of preachers. Many of those guys are writing their own stuff and dragging in thousands of people to listen. They have long since abandon the writer of Truth (God's Holy Spirit) and departed from the script prepared by God Himself (The Bible). Many of them are very creative, often funny, and very persuasive. And they are very popular. Truth is hard. Fluff is fun.

Crowded Lives

"Their number was countless thousands, plus thousands of thousands." Revelation 5:11b

It takes me twice as long to get from my home to my office as it did just a couple of years ago. I don't know where all these cars and people have come from, nor why they insist on traveling along the same path I do each day. I turn left into the parking lot of my building by crossing a major thoroughfare and most times I wait for several minutes to find an opening in the traffic. I'm thinking Wyoming or Montana is the answer.

I know also that this verse of Scripture reminds me of the distractions that occur in relationship to our obedience to God's call on our life. To focus our attention on Heavenly things, our responsibility to one another as the family of God, our commitment to the local Body of believers, adequate study of God's Word, and ceaseless prayer, is not easy. In fact, that may be the understatement of the year. And in that regard, even Wyoming and Montana won't help.