Rejoicing Always - January 4, 2010

Good Tuesday morning! We have one whole degree of temperature this morning. We enjoyed a little time off from work and/or school, but are the troubles and cares of the world jumping on you once more? Not jumping like a small bird alighting on your shoulder, but jumping up and down like that fat kid with the amazing stamina wearing out the neighborhood trampoline? Perhaps even more like a stampeding herd of cape buffalo that you thought had gone over the horizon? Yes, those troubles and cares. Some days we get some time away from the herd; other times the stampede is going right over the top of our prostrate body. God gave Paul an answer for us and Paul mailed it to the Philippians.

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing. But by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

"Rejoice in the Lord always..." Many is the time that we do not feel like rejoicing. But Paul encourages us to rejoice in the Lord always. This does not mean that we should run through a funeral dancing about and making merry, but that even at a sorrowful time like that we can rejoice in the Lord. Some events in life will test your rejoicing. You and I may suffer a season when rejoicing seems far away. The key is that Paul doesn't say that we should celebrate all the time, but that we should rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice is to be full of joy. We are going to need help with that. Joy and happiness are often spoken of as the same thing, but I think we need to look at them differently.

For a moment, and try not to cause yourself anxiety in this, imagine that you are at the bottom of a deep well. A cold, dank, dark, and deep well with only a small dot of sky above you. As you look around, you spot a series of iron rungs firmly attached to one side of the well. You climb out and experience "happy". You have a temporary feeling of relief and gladness that comes from finding a way to escape the trap. You might say a prayer of thanks to God, and then you are on your way. Now, imagine there are no rungs on the side of that well, and no way to climb out. Your shouts are heard by no one because the well is remote. You will probably starve to death slowly in the bottom of a well. Suddenly... you receive a vision. Looking up, you see not only the blue sky, but God himself looking down on you. Jesus is by your side, and the Holy Spirit you see in your very own heart of hearts. No immediate solution to your dilemma presents itself. But with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with you, you know that there is nothing to fear. That turning away from your circumstance to looking at your savior is what we know as joy: the knowledge that whatever happens in this world, God will give us the strength to endure, the power to overcome, and the grace to come home to Him. Jesus reminded the disciples, and we quote this saying often, that, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." That reminder is for us too, even in the bottom of what seems like a permanent situation.

"Be anxious for nothing." That sounds like a mighty fine way to live. That does not prevent us from shedding extra ballast in our lives, but does relieve us of that constant gnawing worry. God will take care of your needs! God already knows what you need, but Paul goes on to remind us to let our needs be known to God in prayer and supplication. We bow before our Lord and offer up our needs to Him in prayer. Don't forget that bit about thanksgiving though. We wouldn't like it if our children were ungrateful all of their lives, and our Heavenly Father likes His children to be grateful too. Gratitude is the grateful attitude that reminds us every day of how much God has provided to us. Some folks use a list to help remember their needs. Not all of us have that perfect memory we hear about. A list also helps us to remember the needs of those we love. Needs that may not immediately occur to us at prayer time when the person we love is far away or simply not in our house. Jesus himself reminded us to be persistent in bringing our needs before God, just as he reminded us to not worry.

Finally, after all of that, God gives us once more His peace. His peace is always there in us, but sometimes we need a reminder, such as looking up to the sky and knowing in your heart that God is looking down right at you, the child of His own.

Have a great day in Christ!

Bucky

What Must I Do? - January 3, 2010

Good Monday morning! The first Monday of 2011 is here for us. That might sound a bit threatening if you don't like Mondays, sort of like an old nemesis has returned for no good reason. Eeek! Monday is here; run for your lives! Sorry, but like most years we will have to face around 52 Mondays again this year. Hey, maybe Jesus will return for us this year and we will be saved from some Mondays! I don't think that preventing a few Mondays would be our Lord's primary purpose, but I wouldn't stand here on Earth arguing if He said, "Come up here!" sometime this year. We get all of the seven days each week; like it or not, there is no picking among the days. I like the story of a man, often called the rich young ruler, who came to Jesus asking what he had to do to enter Heaven.

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt 19:16-22 ESV

First the man asks for something to accomplish, one good deed that will assure him of entry into Heaven. That would be nice wouldn't it? At least as long as Jesus didn't say something like, "Go to Jupiter and bring back a bit of dust from the fourth layer of the Reblyong Frulalaffle. Place the dust in the center dish of the church offering plate!" For much of our human history a trip to Jupiter wasn't even in the realm of possibility. Even now we might be able to send one or two astronauts on a lengthy journey to gather just a bit of... what? A Rebly whosis? The man may have wanted something that he could just do and have over with, and then the rest of his life would be his to enjoy. We might fall into the same trap. Another trap is the lifetime accomplishment that some seek. If Jesus had told the man to enter a monastery and keep silent for thirty years, the man might well have tried that. Jesus then tells the man to keep the commandments.

Now the man probably knew the commandments, as a Hebrew adult he had very likely heard all ten commandments a million times growing up. Yet he wants a reduction in his sentence in a manner of speaking and asks, "Which ones?" Jesus then gives the man a break and only mentions some of the commandments. The man, whether we believe him or not, then gives a little sigh of relief and tells Jesus that he is good on those. But he must have sensed something still missing because he continues, "What do I still lack?" Jesus then gives the man a good deed that he could certainly perform. The man got his wish! He wanted an accomplishment that he could put on his resume to show God on the Judgment Day, and Jesus gave it to him... along with a little humor. Jesus started with, "If you would be perfect..." That is the answer the man really sought - how to be perfect.

Unfortunately for the man, the gospel records that he went away troubled in his heart, "for he had great possessions." Jesus gave him the perfection to-do list and the man couldn't do it. The humor comes in trying to be perfect. In another place, Jesus tells the people to be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. The trouble is that perfection is beyond our reach, no matter how many good deeds we do. Even in trying to do good deeds to attain perfection, we find that doing good deeds for our own perfection is a selfish reason. The Pharisees had a lengthy list of rules added onto the Law of Moses to help the people reach for that perfection, and no group received more chewing out from Jesus! The man Saul was the super-Pharisee, keeping all the law and the sundry rules, zealously persecuting the early Christ-ones, and Jesus grabbed him on the road to Damascus and chewed him out but good, "Why are you persecuting me?" For a man to spend his life doing what he thought was right for God, and then be brought up short by that same God and asked why he was hurting his God would have been quite ego busting. Saul and the wealthy man both met Jesus and each of the men found out that he did not know the path to salvation.

We never hear about the wealthy man again in the Bible, but Saul became Paul the apostle and we owe a 'thank you!' to him for the great letters. God used Paul to give us a whole lot of love.
Why love? Because God's love is what we need, not our own perfection. The clay cannot become a pot on its own; it needs the potter. The imperfect cannot perfect itself; we need God to perfect us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit. The Law tells us what is wrong with each of us, but gives us no power to perfect ourselves. Many will come before God claiming all they have done for Jesus without reading the stories in God's own Word. Nicodemus asked what he must do to be saved, and didn't understand the answer Jesus gave him. The man with great possessions asked what he had to do to enter Heaven and couldn't perform the action required of him. Saul thought he knew the answer to both questions, and couldn't have been more wrong. As the ministers have told us for years: It isn't what you do for Jesus that can make you good, but the Jesus you must come to know who can make you good.

Have a great new year in Christ!

Bucky

New Year's Day 2011

Happy New Year! By now I am probably among the last to wish a great new year to everyone, but that is what happens when I greet the new year at 0700 the next morning. I didn't even pretend to make an attempt to stay up last night. That's right, didn't even pretend to make an attempt. And... I'm about to throw one or both cats into a snow bank outside. I'm not sure what started the latest dust-up, but that is no way to greet the new year! There, quiet reigns in the house once more. Did you get to see some good bowl games yesterday? The snow and cold made it a good day for inside activities. What's that? No, the cats are inside; their little tiff ended before I had to go out there. Tossing the ornery felines into a snowbank was only a passing temptation. On a nice day I often separate the little pugilists by putting one outside for a spell, but never on a day like this. We did receive a nice surprise this morning though - the predicted low of negative and oh so cold was muted by a layer of clouds. The temp was 12 above zero when I looked this morning. Still, that wind chill is something to be mindful of when going out this morning.

Last night on Family Life Today, I heard an interesting resolution. Not the usual ones about losing weight, finishing my novels, or doing good to my fellow man, but one that got me to thinking. Instead of resolving to do all that other stuff, none of which has worked by the way, Bob Lepine suggested that we resolve to re-believe the Gospel every morning. Like Bob: you, me, and just about everyone else has gone through the resolutions that somehow just didn't make it through January, much less the entire year. We resolve this or that, and then the reality meets us in life and especially at work where we cannot keep that resolution. Jesus called those realities the thorns in his parable of the seeds. Stress at work, duties, responsibilities, time or lack thereof, relationships, and many other things weigh on us each day. All of this chokes out our desire to improve ourselves through these resolutions. Why not make a resolution you can keep?

You won't be able to keep this resolution in your own strength. How often has that worked before? The resolution to believe and re-believe the Gospel Scriptures will require the strength and guidance of God's Holy Spirit. Start by believing that Jesus died and rose again. Simple to write it, simple to read, and so very powerful when you start thinking on it. Have you ever tried to raise someone from the dead? Any of us can run over to our local cemetery and try. I suspect that all of our prayer and dancing wouldn't even raise the grass; God has made that wall solid for us. Scientific methods? We might in some strange way succeed in raising a zombie of sorts, but who would want that? Even if God answered your prayer with a yes; that wouldn't be your power doing the raising. Jesus did it for himself. Stone dead, buried in a tomb, sealed by the might of Rome and guarded to prevent mischief, the corpse of Jesus wasn't going anywhere but into the usual decay. Except that didn't happen

One morning, Mary, Peter, and John went to the tomb and couldn't find Jesus' body. The head cloth was folded and lying to one side. I love the picture of Jesus, in no hurry, taking a moment to fold the cloth and laying it to one side. One of the cares that weighs heavily upon us in this life is time - Jesus was in no rush. Jesus, after just performing a unique event in all of history, took the time to fold up that cloth, almost like he didn't want to disappoint his mother by tossing it on the floor. That little cloth became one of the details that Peter took note of and John would remember many years later.

The intellect of the world cries out against believing the gospels; too much mythology and wild stories for our smart brains to believe. That is where the strength of the Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus has overcome the world. Believing the gospels every day will not be easy, even your flesh will have trouble with it and seek to distract you in this great purpose. Trust in God, commit to believing, and re-believe each day of 2011.

Have a great New Year!

Bucky

2010 Memory Time - December 31, 2010

Happy Last Day of 2010! We are buried in snow drifts, the wind is howling, and more snow is expected today... and it's cold too. If you planned to end the year with a picnic, ya might have to hold it inside your home today. The ending of a year is a time when we often look back in thought about what we have done for the year; as far back as we can remember anyway. What did I do to bring glory to God's name in this year of 2010? Perhaps January 18, 2010 doesn't immediately come to mind like a DVD player set to 'resume' for you. It doesn't for me either. The news show 60 Minutes had a segment on people with near perfect recall. Name a date and the five people featured in the show would start rattling off what had happened to them that day, news headlines, songs, and all the stuff that most of us cannot recall exactly. The very next week, my Guideposts magazine featured a woman who had been in an accident on her bike and lost all of her memory. She had to start at zero and learn to walk, talk, eat, and the memories of her life are just gone. Wow.

Somewhere between those extremes is where most of us sit. You could name a random date from my lifetime and chances are that unless something of surpassing importance happened on that particular day, I wouldn't be able to recall more than general things about where I was working at the time, what hobbies I might have done and what shows were running at the time. On the other hand, I can recall an enormous amount of often trivial facts, some of which might have been proven wrong since I memorized them back in the day. Others may be better at remembering names and faces, relationships, or songs on the radio. Sometimes an event today will trip a lever in my memory bank and I can recall a picture show as seen through my own eyes of some event many years in the past. What would it be like to have that perfect recall? What would it be like to have no memories at all? We can probably see advantages and disadvantages to both.

The Bible tells us that when God forgives our sin it is put as far away from Him as the east is from the west. What would it be like to stand before God apologizing for all those sins we can recall, and then have God simply say, "I don't remember any of those things you speak of." You or I might stand there a bit flabbergasted. We struggle so hard to recall so many of the wrong things about each year. Sometimes a friend or coworker eases the struggle by bringing up things we would rather have forgotten. Other times a date can bring up bad memories of the past. You can take that as a date on the calendar or a person with you at a dinner in a restaurant; you may have experienced either one. More often than either of those is that old fretting brought on by a little whisper from the devil or our own anxiety. In your introspection this year, put on the armor of God, review it in Ephesians 6 if you need to, and look out from that armor at the good things you did this year.

No matter how busy you were with work or family, God led you to do something to help someone else, perhaps at some cost to yourself. A note of encouragement in an e-mail, something as small as that might help another person get through a tough day or forget those dark thoughts of depression. A short walk across the street to inquire about how things are going with a neighbor may have done more than satisfy your curiosity. That time you stooped to pick up something for that lady downtown may have meant more to her than just a quick favor; she may have had nothing else go right for her that entire day. And most important of all, remember all those prayers for someone else you prayed in this past year - God didn't let a single one of them go by without some action on His part, though you never saw the effect yourself. In your introspection for 2010, let's drop the self-condemnation this year. Let God lead you to His light.

Have a blessed and grateful new year in Christ!

Bucky

A Choice! - December 30, 2010

Good Thursday morning! Technically, the blizzard has begun. If you gaze outside the window here in Sidney, there is a tiny bit of snow blowing around. The blizzard did hit in Utah last night, so we do have a chance to see the snow right on schedule today. The cats are glad to be inside; in fact one is trying to do some demolition work on my already cluttered desk. If he digs around and a mouse runs out then I shall be concerned. Today, I pray that you are snug in your home and well prepared for the snow. We have been rather short of moisture in these parts this fall, so I am praying for some good snowfall this time. Sorry about the late game tonight, but it wasn't my fault really. We'll have to write some letters to ol' Bo and express our displeasure at his team performing poorly in the Big 12 Championship and getting the New Year's Eve Eve Late Bowl. It's even worse for the fans in the eastern part of the state; for them the game doesn't start until 9pm. I suppose I could record the game, but after seeing the score on Friday morning I probably won't be all that interested in sitting to watch the game. I have the power to choose!

Today, I was wondering while laying in bed, after Ken Davis came on at just before 0600, if we realize just how much power and privilege we have in our ability to choose. I asked God to control my thoughts; after all what better way to avoid thoughts of sin than to have God's Holy Spirit take control, or so I thought. But God told me that He didn't work like that. The words I heard in my heart were more like: "I didn't create you to be a mindless automaton." That got me thinking about our ability to choose. Not to choose sin - that's so very easy for us from our lust of the flesh - but the ability to choose to do the right thing, and this is a very powerful and God-glorifying ability.

We certainly need all the help we can get from God and His Spirit to make the right choice too! James 5:16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. In order to pray that prayer, we much first become righteous. Jesus makes us righteous when we believe in Him, but we still must choose to make that prayer. The distractions of the day can drive away our thoughts of God and prayer. Making the right choice to devote time to prayer, especially for others, will have powerful effectiveness. Jesus taught us how to pray and to do it in the quiet room of our home. James reminded us that we have not because we ask not. Prayer is where we come to God and get closer to Him. That takes our making a right choice.

We can also do good works, not to save ourselves, but to prove our faith to the world. God is glorified when we make those right choices. Through the strength of God's Spirit, we gain the power to glorify God through our choosing to do the right thing! These chances to do good works might be from a regular duty, such as on our jobs, or there might come an opportunity that we did not expect. Have you ever come upon a chance to do a good work, and then reacted or chose in the wrong way? Once you ask forgiveness and get over the regret, ask God for another chance and the strength to do the right thing. In my Bible reading and personal experience, God is quite good at giving me another chance after I've blown it. I think dear Peter the disciple would agree with me in this!

Have a safe and snowy day! Stay home and keep warm while reading God's word!

Bucky

Knowledge - December 29, 2010

Good Wednesday morning! Perhaps the final day before winter pays us a visit. Winter this year has been only an occasional visitor thus far; will it stay for a while this time? We don't know the answer to that question, but we do know someone who does. Many questions will occur to each of us and we will not always find the answers within our own knowledge. Proverbs tells us about our own knowledge:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

If you have come to the realization by now that your knowledge and understanding is a bit on the limited side then you are in good company. At least I like to consider myself good company. As a whole, the human race does know and understand a lot, but we also have no idea how much more there is to learn. That's a pretty serious shortcoming. If a runner took off on a race and covered a lot of ground, but had no idea how long the race was, he might never know where the finish line was supposed to be. God warns us through the writing of King Solomon to lean not on our own understanding. This is not a command to stop learning or searching the Scriptures, but a notice of our own weakness in understanding.

Part of our own learning in this life involves setting aside some of what we learned before. This becomes painfully obvious when you follow the news reports about what you should eat or drink. All of us can remember the days when a disciplined and healthy person never touched tobacco, alcohol, or chocolate: These days we are all supposed to partake in two out of three of those in order to live longer. We can only wonder how long before some study surfaces showing the long-term health effects of a certain type of tobacco use. Why do we like to go back to the Bible? The understanding of the world seems to change over time; we cannot trust it to save us.

Even if we don't trust in the world's knowledge, what about our own store of knowledge? How much of that knowledge is dependent upon what you have been taught in schools? Again the Bible is not against learning, but does hold some warnings about the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge.

For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Ecc 1:18

Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. 1 Cor 8:1

Speaking of the eating and drinking thing, Paul has this to say: Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 1 Cor 8:8

Jesus also had a few words about worrying too much over what we eat and drink in Mark 7:15. There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." This is a word about defilement of the body and spirit, and not a license to eat anything. If you gobble down some rat poison, you won't be defiled, but you will very likely be dead. Webster's defines defile as: to make ceremonially unclean or to corrupt. Jesus went on to explain what he meant by the things that come out of a person:

And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." Mark 7:20-23 ESV

As we read over that list, it is easy to see that these are all the things that trip us up in our Christian walk. The evil thought starts us down the path to sin if we allow the thought to continue in us. If you watch certain stations on the television these days, it is also a list of all that the world considers entertaining. This list also shows how unqualified any of us are to be the sacrifice needed for all of sin. Jesus stopped his sin at the source; he didn't have the sinful thoughts that come out of our corrupted hearts. We all look forward to that day when Jesus will bring us home and remove that corrupted heart of ours, bringing us into His kingdom and cleansing us from the lust of the flesh. Although you might read through that list and admit being guilty in all of them, Jesus has paid the price for those sins at the cross. Believe in Jesus; trust in Him; live with His Spirit in your heart!

Have a great Wednesday... before the snows of winter arrive!

Bucky

Drunk in Court - December 28, 2010

Good Tuesday morning! Enjoy the day; winter may arrive tomorrow in all of its glory. Snow, blowing snow, cold... pretty much what they have out on the East Coast already. We may not be able to predict the future, but sometimes just reading a headline can give us a pretty good idea of how some event might go. "Man shows up drunk for sentencing." You and I can guess that the sentencing for this man will probably not go well on whatever charge he was found guilty, and he may get a little treatment program and possibly a citation for contempt of court as well. We don't have to be a prophet to know that showing up to court drunk is not a good idea. Now I'll read the article...

Ah, probation violation, the man got another six months of jail time. I often wonder if I haven't done something similar to God's court. I repent, ask forgiveness, while at the same time the stain of another sin rests on my soul. It may sound kind of dumb, like the drunken criminal, but I'm sure that I have done something very like that. Praise God that Jesus paid the price for all of our sins, not just one here or that one over there, but all of them. If all of my sins are forgiven, then do I need to worry about asking again? Some would tell me that when Jesus forgave all of my sins, that was that, and I don't have to ask forgiveness anymore. I understand, but at the same time, I agree with God that some action or thought was a sin and that I need to acknowledge it before Him. I think that God likes me to stop, agree with Him, and most importantly, let Him know that I agree with Him. Perhaps I do not specifically need to ask forgiveness each and every time, but as a part of acknowledging that I do stumble in my Christian walk, I like to ask for the forgiveness of God and apologize for my sin. It isn't that I think the grace of Jesus is insufficient, quite the contrary, but I do like to show my respect for God by agreeing with His Holy Spirit when I sin and the Spirit points it out to me. You might say that it is like showing up for court cleaned up and neatly dressed to show respect for the court. The judge will also be much more impressed if you agree with the Law that you are in the wrong.

Our drunken criminal denied that he had been drinking, not exactly an agreement with the Law. A blood test disagreed with his claim. We tend to laugh, and it is funny from our comfortable distance. But do we appear in God's court sometimes with the stink of sin on our own breath? Bad news for all of us, on our own we would certainly show up in God's court in that sinful condition. However, each of us has that greatest of defense attorneys when we believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. You might imagine Jesus as that defender who strips down the dirty criminal, cleans him up, puts a white robe on to cover the nakedness, a robe purchased with his own blood, and then stands the criminal off to the side. Off to the side? Yes, Jesus will stand in the place of the accused and has taken the punishment for all those who believe in Him!

Thank God for His mercy and grace! Have a wonderful day in Christ,

Bucky

Backwards! - December 27, 2010

Good Monday morning! I hope that very few of you have to go back to work this morning. Wait until after the new year starts to slog on up the hill again. Even the school kids are out for a week or so. How was your Christmas? The usual question involves Santa Claus and a list of presents you did or did not receive. We'll set that one aside and just ask: Did you have a Christmas full of Christ this year? I certainly did, and I'm glad of it this morning. For a glimpse of the snow we are missing, go on out to the east coast (on the Internet) and search some of the web cams out yonder. Snow falls on New Bern, N.C. about once each century, but they have some this morning. Snow was expected even in Atlanta last night and this morning. Yup, Atlanta is colder than we are this morning, although that is supposed to change on our end around Thursday. The weather in the south kind of leads into my topic for today: backwards.

Christmas is over for this year. The celebrations are finished, the presents unwrapped, and the trees will start coming down to be packed or thrown away for another year. However... we have that backwards as with many things in the modern world view. Few people knew of the arrival of Messiah back in the day. Many more knew of it after the birth. We should begin the celebration on Christmas Day, not conclude it. The day of Christmas should be announced with trumpet calls and ringing bells to come to worship the newborn King. We should, like the shepherds, then make our trip to see this thing at our church service or at a family gathering. Then we should hold a two-year celebration of worship like the wise men did, traveling across the country to see a different Christmas service. Okay, maybe the two year thing wouldn't work for most of us today. For some reason, we celebrate in the reverse order. We have this intense anticipation of the holiday, then some celebration, and finally on December 26th, this huge letdown as the celebration is declared "done". We just have it backwards is all.

The merchants are expected to try keeping the celebration of shopping going this week with end-of-year and post-Christmas sales. I saw a couple of "Santa didn't bring what you wanted?" sales advertised yesterday on the Internet. That of course is not quite what I meant by starting the celebration on Christmas Day, but that does speak to the world we live in. Holiday shopping has made a comeback it seems, and that is not all bad unless that is the only thing a person sees in Christmas. We can praise God for the improving economy. Perhaps with that good news in mind, some of those stingy employers will start hiring once more and ease the workload on those employees who are nearly worn out from the extra work heaped on them a couple of years ago. That won't happen in every case; some CEO's met the three ghosts on Christmas Eve, took another swig of single-malt, and had their personal assistants send ghostly pink slips. Imagine the poor fellow in the unemployment line this morning turning around to see the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in line behind him. After more than two years of the Great Recession, as it is called, those of us who lost our jobs can hardly be confused with the wealthy miser Scrooge!

While we may have the Christmas celebration backwards, that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the season and look forward to that next great holiday: Easter! The first day of the new year is not a holy day, in case you thought of that one. Our holidays came from "holy day" and at one time were limited to church celebrations. While there are many other holidays between now and Easter, I like to look forward to Easter as that is what Jesus' birth brings to mind right after Christmas. The book ends of his mission to save us you might say.

Think about the joy of Christmas today, and get ready for a wonderful new year!

Bucky

Merry Christmas! - December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas! The day is here! If you look outside in Sidney today, you will see that I was wrong about the white Christmas. An ice fog may not be what we expected, but this Christmas is white! I'll say it again for all of us: Merry Christmas!

Today, you may have searched in vain for the Christ is Christmas among your e-mails from corporations and other organizations. I searched my comic strips diligently, but all I found was a lot of Santa Claus. A spirit of giving is okay, but we need to see Christ in Christmas. While I looked in vain, someone gave me a tap on the heart and said, "I know someone who can send out a Christmas message full of Christ." All I could say was: "You're right Lord, I can do that with your help!"

We may not see any mention of Christ in the worldly part of this holiday, even though the root of Christmas is Christ. Many people and groups may wish you a "Happy Holidays" or some such phrase. But we have each other and our Lord Jesus. Today we can wish each other a "Merry Christmas!" and show the love of Christ to one another. On that first Christmas, no Roman scribe ran around making an official announcement, no Pharisee stood in the temple telling the people that Messiah had come, and the Hosts of Heaven didn't make an appearance to the whole world. Instead the announcement went to a few shepherds, one virgin girl, one simple carpenter, and one priest's wife who knew when the mother of her Lord greeted her. Those few people spread the news of Christ by word of mouth, one or two people at a time. The wise men saw the star, but they were far away when Jesus was born. On that first Christmas, very little of the world knew about Jesus, but marvel at the change that little baby would make in the world!

On this Christmas day we worship our Lord and Savior. We worship God who loved us enough to send His Son to save us. We love each other as Christ commanded us to do. We believe in Jesus. Not one of us has to dress up in a costume and pretend to be Jesus, but we all want to be more like him, especially on this day. We give thanks to God for the gifts we have received on this Christmas, but we give even more thanks for the gift we received on the first Christmas. The world may hear Joy to the World and say, "That's a nice tune." But we hear the same song and thank God for the Joy he gave us in Bethlehem. "For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people!" God sent us a personal message of great joy, receive it and remember it today!

Happy Christmas to you, and may God's Joy take a hold of your heart today!

Bucky

Christmas Eve 2010

Merry Christmas Eve! Today, the eve of Christmas, and Christmas Day itself are two of the most beloved days in all of the Christian world. The churches all around us will hold services today and tomorrow, families will gather, friends will say, "Merry Christmas!", and there is an air of joy and cheer all around. Oh, and how could I forget all the gift giving and opening? And the dinners and desserts? We do enjoy the Christmas holiday and we do remember the one who started this great day of rejoicing, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Ah, one of the pillagers of my nativity set has arrived. I did explain the Christ child figurine to the big cat last night; so far, only the donkey has been abused this morning. Last night also saw the annual watching of Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life, two of the holiday season favorites. Most of us will be off work today and the schools are out for the holidays, it must be a good day for celebrating the birth of Christ!

On this same day back in Bethlehem, very few expected great things would happen soon. Simeon knew that he would see the Christ child before he died, but that was a lifetime, not any particular day. John the Baptist wasn't yet old enough (he was about six months older than Jesus) to announce the arrival. John's parents knew, but they were caught up in their own blessed arrival. Mary and Joseph knew who they carried to Bethlehem, but they weren't going through towns with a trumpet telling of the impending birth. Would the Christ child, Jesus, be born in complete obscurity? Not quite. We know from our Bible stories that upon the birth of Jesus there would be announcements: The shepherds had one delivered to them, and the magi, or wise men, saw another from a long way off. Simeon and Anna would meet Jesus 8 days later at his circumcision ceremony. King Herod and all of Jerusalem would learn about two years later when the magi finally made it close to Bethlehem. Finally, when Jesus began his ministry, John would announce his arrival, and Jesus himself often said who he was.

We have all of this recorded for us in the Bible. Each year we celebrate the great and wonderful events that led up to the birth of Jesus and the blessed event that came on that first Christmas. We don't know exactly what night on the calendar the birth occurred, or the exact number of wise men, but we do know that Jesus was born. Praise God for Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem as Savior and Sovereign!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Bucky

The Gift Before Christmas - December 23, 2010

Happy Christmas! We are very close to Christmas today; in fact, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. One neighbor and his family have already set out for the gathering as of last night, and I'm sure others are on the way here or will go today. For this morning's devotional, I am going to attempt to emulate Ken Davis - the fellow you hear on MyBridge every morning at just before 0600.

The Gift Before Christmas

Yesterday afternoon, that old devil of the holiday season stopped by for a visit with me. As I tried to dissolve into self pity at the lack of presents under my Christmas tree, the Holy Spirit responded with a simple question: "What about My Gift?" He asked me. Of course! The gift given to us on that first Christmas! Without thinking, I took the nativity set handed down to me some years ago from my mother and placed it under the tree. Little baby Jesus in the center of the tiny manger; surrounded by Mary, Joseph, a shepherd, a donkey, and two tiny little lambs. A perfect reminder to me of the gift that really matters, I thought, as I looked one last time before retiring for the night.

This morning, I discovered that someone had indeed found the gift given to us by God; the cats were overjoyed at their new-found present. The donkey lay out on the living room floor. Joseph had been toppled and lay outside the manger, apparently given up in favor of smaller and more appetizing fare. The baby Jesus had been batted nearly into the dining room and was still partly underneath one cat. The lambs... well, the lambs took some time to find. One tiny little lamb was all the way out in the kitchen, and the other I didn't find until much later. The cats spent some part of the night enjoying the greatest of gifts in their feline way. Mary on the other hand remained untouched. Apparently future generations of cats would honor her too. Of course, these small figurines are not the real characters in the Christmas story. No harm was done to the nativity set, God would not allow his Son to be beaten up until some years later, and the tiny little lambs did not suffer the indignity of feline indigestion. Also, picking up the scattered little figurines made me realize just how much I needed to vacuum my carpet today!

God provides us with symbols for those times when we take our eyes off of Him for even the briefest of moments. Presents under the tree are not what make Christmas special. Any of us could set up a tree and place presents underneath it any time we want too, even in July. In a similar way we should remember to celebrate Christmas all the year long; no presents required, the gift has already been given. Many people wear small cross figurines to remind them of that great gift every day. Perhaps I need to leave the nativity set where I can see it all year, just not within the reach of the cats.

Have a great and blessed Christmas!

Bucky

Oops! I forgot... lighten up, and live!

A New Age Arrives - December 22, 2010

Happy Christmas! Saturday is the big day, but some will be traveling today and tomorrow to get there. Some folks are already traveling by air, but may get to spend Christmas in the passenger terminal at a European airport. Oh joy... We like to go home or to grandma's for Christmas. Some people spend a lot of money and effort to do this, only to be stuck somewhere due to weather or perhaps weather and some one's cost-cutting. A Spanish company manages the British airport called Heathrow. Years of little or no snow meant that certain equipment and supplies didn't get replaced...and then the snow came this year and the airport has been shut down and unable to do that airport thing with the planes. We hear about this at times in the States. Companies and local governments make the same decision - we don't need all that expensive snow removal stuff: it never snows here! Ah to be caught with your britches in the lowered position for all to see.

In our own lives, we have probably done something similar; perhaps even exactly the same. We had little snow out in these parts for about 15 years or more. People stopped buying snow throwers; snowmobile shops went out of business; a person with a snowmobile might have paid to have the old junker hauled away; and even snow melting chemicals became hard to find for a season when the snow did arrive. We can't control the weather, but we can prepare for it. Sometimes, after years of not having something in the weather, we get lazy and equipment falls apart or people are sent packing, and then the stuff arrives. I don't think this experience in Europe will last as a lesson as well as it should. We as humans behave in pretty much the same way in these matters.

For around 400 years the Jews had not seen or heard from a real prophet. God sent a prophecy about a famine of the Word, and He delivered. Like a drought ending in a downpour, the dearth of prophecy ended around the last of the B.C. days. Anna and Simeon came to the temple expecting to see the Lord's Christ before they died. People no doubt wondered what was up with that. It had been some 400 years since they heard any real prophecy; who exactly were these two crackpots? Some might have warned the two about what happened to false prophets under the Jewish law. Back in those days people didn't point to their heads and say, "Ya got rocks in yer head!" They pointedly said, "You'll get rocks upside yer head, if'n ya don't shut up!" False prophets didn't have a long lifespan back in those days. Today a false prophet usually writes books, appears in infomercials, talks on Oprah, and takes in millions of dollars, but that's our times.

Around 6-4BC, the folks were waiting for this fellow:

Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil 2:6-11 NLT

Paul didn't write these words until a few years after Jesus had ascended to Heaven, but he wrote about the gift we were given in the Christ. Each year we gather to celebrate this very thing - the Son of God appearing in the humble form of a child. The times are very different from those BC days when no prophets had appeared for so long. Back in the day: The shepherds moved their flock closer to Bethlehem in a drought of prophetic scripture. Trembled in fear when an angel appeared. Ran to town to see the newborn Messiah, and then came back to the fields praising and glorifying God in a new age. Christ the Lord had arrived on Earth to save us all.

God bless you on this beautiful Christmas season!

Bucky

Just Have a Popsicle! - December 21, 2010

Good Tuesday morning! I'm sorry, but our lunar eclipse was cancelled due to cloud cover last night. Europe is being buried in snow and we don't have any. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! That state with all the drought problems is now under water. The truth may or may not be in the news depending upon whom you ask. And another explosive device has been found... this time in Rome. Looking at the news headlines first thing in the morning can leave a person feeling lost and hopeless. Who is in charge of this mess? The Bible tells us that God is sovereign, but the news may have it right: things are going to get worse before they get better. We want Christmas to be a time of peace and joy, but much of the world does not believe in Christ or celebrate his birth. The Christmas celebration by some can make those left out feel more lonely than ever. Should we all just give up? Live life with an, "Oh well, God is going to blow up the world at any moment. I think I'll just go have a Popsicle."?

We know better. God is in charge and the world will get worse as the end approaches. But the end for the world as we know it is but the start of the great things to come! Jesus is coming soon, and this time He will come in His glory. The Christmas we celebrate is just a tiny taste of the great celebration Jesus will hold soon. We may not find much peace and joy in the news reports, but Jesus gives us His peace and puts joy in our hearts with His Spirit. Do you think the world looked perfect when Mary was told of her special honor in bearing the Lord's Christ? Did she get up the next morning ready to spread the good news to her mother and father? We don't know from the Bible accounts, but that must have been one interesting announcement. Judea had been conquered and now existed as a territory of Rome. A man who it is likely few had met in Judea had just uprooted everyone not living in their ancestral homes. Joseph had to pack up and go to Bethlehem. Who gives a person this kind of power over people far away? God does. Caesar Augustus would have held no power had not God raised up Rome as an empire. Secular historians would argue with me on this.

Joseph and Mary probably didn't look forward to making a lengthy journey - and you just know it wasn't at the comfortable weather time of the year - to a little town that may not have counted for much in the society of the time. The first Christmas may have been a real pain for those few who knew what was arriving in the shape of this little child. Praise God for the strength He gave those people at that time. That strength that God gives is available to all who believe in His Son, even now when the world may seem to be completely out of control. Trust in God and remember the promise He made with this little child whose birth we celebrate to this day.

Have a great and happy Christmas,

Bucky

Oops! Maybe We Shouldn't Have Asked That Guy! - December 18, 2010

Merry Christmas! Have you ever felt the thrill of hearing the name of Jesus? How about hearing that the Savior had been born... on a dark night, out in the fields, with only the other shepherds and a bunch of sheep to back up your story? What strikes me this morning about the shepherds is that the Bible does not record any questions the shepherds might have been expected to have, such as: Who is going to believe us? The angel brought the good tidings; the shepherds said to each other, "let's go see this!"; and the shepherds spread around the town of Bethlehem what they had heard and seen. No shame, no doubts, just a witness... and then they went home to the fields glorifying and praising God for those things they had heard and seen. The Bible tells us that the people in Bethlehem wondered at the things the shepherds had to say.

As with any group of people the wondering probably went in different directions according to the spiritual state of the person doing the wondering. Some probably wondered, "Why not me? I'm an important Pharisee!" Another person might have wondered why the heavenly host didn't appear over the manger where the Christ child lay. Others may have simply accepted the witness at face value and said, "Wow! Great and glorious is our God!" We don't know exactly what all of those folks wondered that night, but we do know a couple of things from the Bible. Bethlehem was crowded at the time of Jesus' birth. The census ordered by Caesar Augustus had brought many to town to be registered. All of these folks would be going home with the shepherd's story in their minds. Even before Herod could order the slaying of the boys under 2 years of age, the story would have spread far. Perhaps Herod had heard the stories himself and was in a right agitated state of mind when the wise men showed up. "Heavenly hosts, angels, good tidings, the Messiah?" Herod might have worried. "I have to stomp on this right away!" Then the wise men show up asking King Herod where the newborn King of the Jews had been born. The wise men were probably wise enough to realize they had just asked a jealous monarch where to find his replacement!

Whatever the people might have wondered at on that night, a couple of years later Herod didn't wonder at all but moved to destroy this newborn king. Herod's throne must have been built on sand to be worried about a two year old boy. However, years later, after Herod had long since died, the people would try to make Jesus king by force. I guess Herod did have something to worry about. We know from the gospels that Jesus did not take up the throne of Judah at that time. We also know that Jesus will come as the King of kings when he returns to this world. What a great gift that would be for this Christmas!

Have a wonderful Saturday; it's one week until Christmas!

Bucky

I Don't Recall That Anymore... - December 17, 2010

Good Friday morning, and Merry Christmas too! Two nights of late bedtimes and I am feeling the effects.... of course that isn't the only reason. The cold season low-grade bug seems to have a hold on me too. I think it comes from not getting enough sunshine at this time of the year, or at least that's my theory for this year. Like most trials, the winter season funk usually gets me back to doing the things that I should do all the year long: taking vitamins, mixing some veggies into the diet, and praying. Not just a quick, "Get me through this please, Lord." but the real prayers where we pour out our hearts and hurts to God, listen for His voice, and apply His comfort to our lives. Christmas is a good time to recall who was born those many years ago, but it's a better time to come to Jesus in prayer in the right here and right now.

Many interesting Christmas facts came across the television screen last night as the music played. Imagine the reactions you would get by hanging your Christmas tree upside down. Some might even accuse you of heresy or worse, but that is what the folks did back in the 15th Century, if I recall that fact correctly. After years of growing up with right side up Christmas trees, I would see something profoundly wrong in one hung from the ceiling. However, it would keep the cats out of the decorations! Don't expect to see an upside-down tree in my house anytime soon though, it just doesn't seem right to me. The early Santa Clauses came with a little devil-like character who presumably met with the naughty folks. Like the worldly view of a heaven with no hell, the devil character was dropped at some point in the past. I don't like to think of eternal punishment for anyone, but neither can I deny what is in God's word. What else did we learn last night? Santa characters were drawn as little elfin-like critters until the 1930's or so when they became human-sized. It might have happened earlier than that, so much Christmas trivia rolled across the screen that I might be getting some of it mixed up.

Yes, somewhere in the past I also lost my perfect recall; I wish I could remember when that was! Actually, my memory recall has never been perfect, but sometimes I like to forget that and try to recall everything about everything. I guess that's why I enjoy books so much; they never forget what is written in them.

Have a great Christmas this year!

Bucky

No Pass at Christmas - December 16, 2010

Merry Christmas! Drawings, events, dinners, parties, and Christmas cards in the mail; it must be about time for Christmas! There seem to be two ways to enjoy an auction: Having a need and getting right in the thick of the bidding, or having no need of anything at the auction and just watching and meeting people. This was a farm equipment auction and my yard really doesn't need a big (or even a little) John Deere farm tractor. A combine or swather would be just ridiculous on my little suburban plot... and expensive! I talked to an old friend at the sale and to get into a new combine harvester with some heads would be around $450,000 or more these days, ye ouche! The weather sent a little snow for the sale too; that should help some of the bidders get into the Christmas spirit! I did take a few photos of the creek and some of the stuff for sale, the folks there looked a lot like the day... gray and brown clothing all around. A cold, cloudy day doesn't seem to bring out many bright colors. Christmas brings out the bright colors; some of them are in my random thoughts this morning. Must be due to the late bedtime last night.

At our Bible study for this week, the pastor asked us what new insight we may have discovered in reading the Christmas stories this year. That is an interesting question. Although we can almost quote the Bible verses of the Christmas story, the point of reading verses from the Bible more than once is to gain new insights as we grow in Christ. If you were raised going to a Christian church, you probably have heard so many sermons and carols of Christmas that you may not expect anything knew, as the pastor also pointed out to us last night. But the Christmas story is very much about something new; so where do we look for this new thing each year? The Holy Spirit would seem to be a good one to start with. As the Spirit grows us and reminds us of scripture, we are going to find new insights in the reading of the Christmas stories.

Your new insight, and there is no guarantee that we will get one each year, may be different from mine, or they might be the same. The Spirit keeps his own counsel on who is ready for what insight. This is not unfair or that one of us is behind in our learning. I always figure that if I have an "oh ho!" moment when reading a scripture that I have read many times before it was simply God's timing at work, not that I had to read the passage a certain number of times. God through His Holy Spirit has been compared to the master craftsman always making sure that his work is put into the fire for just the right amount of time under just the right heat to drive out the impurities. We don't get a pass on the trials at Christmas time either. Some may face their most difficult trials of the year at Christmas. Doesn't God want us to celebrate the birth of His Son? Of course, but we should remember a couple of things: We should thank God for the trials we go through with Him, holding on to the joy and peace that He gives, and that the big celebration is not here on this earth!

I don't know if we will observe Christmas in Heaven, but I certainly hope so! Maybe Heaven is like the best Christmas all of the time. Have a wonderful Christmas season as the day draws close!

Bucky

A Camel Race Back to the East - December 15, 2010

Merry Christmas! On this Wednesday morning the clouds have taken over the sky once more. Have our prayers for a white Christmas been answered? We won't know until the day comes, but this is a good start! Have you ever tried to make Christmas come faster? We all may have tried the childhood trick of going to bed sooner to make the morning arrive more quickly. As I recall, the only result was a longer time laying awake in bed as the anticipation ground your insides to jelly. We can no more make a day arrive sooner than we can cause snow to fall. We can kneel down in prayer and ask, but so far God has left the days at about 24 hours in duration. If Christmas is ten days away, we have 2,956 hours to wait or right there abouts, no matter what the mathematical wizards have to say.

Joseph and Mary probably needed every hour to make the journey from Nazareth and arrive in Bethlehem on the appointed day. The wise men may have enjoyed a bit more leeway in the hours, but probably needed every day to arrive in Bethlehem before Jesus and his family had to flee for Egypt. The arrival of the wise men in Jerusalem started the timer on Herod's actions, and from that point on the wise men had to be quick about their mission to Bethlehem. The small town known as the city of David is not all that far from Jerusalem even by the marching or horseback standards of the 1st Century soldiers. Within a day, Herod could have outfitted a company of soldiers and had them down in Bethlehem creating the mayhem that he became known for in the Bible. Had the wise men gone straight back to Jerusalem as Herod had asked, the small family we have come to love might have had little or no warning before the soldiers were kicking in the door or grabbing the child Jesus in the yard. Yes, Joseph was warned in a dream to flee, but it would have been difficult to have a dream had the soldiers arrived that very day before Joseph had a chance to lay his head on the pillow after a hard day's work.

Instead, we know that God also sent word to the wise men to "wise up" and head out in a different direction, probably with all due speed, since an angry King Herod probably sent another company of mounted soldiers to deal with 'dem disobedient wise fellers. We don't know from the Bible, but the wise men probably wore out their camels heading for home after tricking the local monarch. If you pull a fast one on a king, getting out of his reach is generally thought to be a wise move. Although the massacre of children did take place around Bethlehem, God made sure that His Son was out of harm's way. The prophecy of Rachel weeping over her children did come true, and don't think that God is just going to let that go. Both Herod and those who carried out his orders will answer to God for the murder. We can rest assured of that.

Okay, so the wise men have done their best to hold a camel race back to their homes in the east, Mary and Joseph have escaped with Baby Jesus to Egypt, and Bethlehem is in mourning; what did Herod do next? Did he pat himself on the back, hand out a few royal medals to the soldiers, and assume the job was done? Quite possibly that is true, except for the medals part of course; evil tyrants are notoriously stingy when it comes to rewards. The soldiers may very well have been experiencing the first signs of what we would come to know as post-traumatic stress. I am pretty sure that even in my younger days as a Marine that I would not have been able to slaughter all the male children under the age of two in a community no matter who gave the order in my chain of command. I wonder if Jesus, even as a child, took a moment to pray for those soldiers? Were they a particularly savage group that Herod could send to do his dirty work, or simply a unit on duty that day under threat of crucifixion if they didn't carry out Herod's evil orders? We may never know.

Yours in Christ,

Bucky

Time to Start the Celebration! - December 14, 2010

Good Tuesday morning! The days have been warm lately around here. Looking across the country, it appears that the folks out east have done a good job in praying for a white Christmas, perhaps too good, but the folks around here must be slackin' off on that endeavor. We could use a nice blanket of white snow for our white Christmas, so we have prayer work to do! I am not totally serious in this of course. When it comes to large weather events, we will find, I suspect, that for every person praying for one thing, another person is praying for just the opposite. Perhaps a person down the street from me is praying for no snow before Christmas so that relatives from the south can arrive safely on dry roads. The land around here could use some moisture, but that too can wait for a bit. Trusting in God's perfect will may mean that you or I may have to do without something we want. Sometimes what we think we want isn't quite right either.

Herod didn't want a newborn King of the Jews; he thought he was the king everyone should want. Herod tried to destroy Jesus, but that didn't work out. Herod completely missed the part where Jesus saves the world from sin. That sounds like something we all should want! Last night I listened to an old sermon from Pastor Adrian Rogers about Lazarus and Jesus. The Pharisees didn't want Lazarus to live. Now Lazarus had already died once and been raised to life by Jesus. Instead of praising God for the miracle performed right in their midst, the Pharisees got together and decided to knock off the both of them. Eventually, the Pharisees did get their wish to kill Jesus granted, but they still didn't get what they wanted.

There are many who do not want Christmas to come each year. These folks like Scrooge before he learned the true meaning of Christmas, the Grinch when he still hated Christmas, and the Abominable Snowman when he thought Rudolph would make a nice light snack. They don't like the Christmas lights, the crowds in the malls, or the beautiful Christmas pageants in the churches. These latter day Scrooges just want to stew in their own grouchy ways. They are like alien beings to us.

Christmas is near! It's time to celebrate the birth of the Christ child! To commit once more to Jesus; to honor Mary and Joseph for their care and raising of our Lord; to recall the sacrifice of the wise men in the long journey to offer gifts to the baby King of the Jews, and to praise and glorify God for sending us the Christ, Jesus our Lord. Decorate the Christmas tree at home, go out to gatherings at your friends in Christ, watch the fabulous Christmas pageants, and enjoy the company of God's own Holy Spirit as you celebrate the birth of Jesus once more!

Have a wonderful Christmas this year!

Bucky

Monday Stuff - December 13, 2010

Merry Christmas! This is one of those attitude days. You know, the days when you don't wake up feeling merry, but instead have to depend on God to adjust your attitude to one more to His liking. Did you see the video of the roof collapse in Minneapolis? The Teflon roof on their domed stadium collapsed and dumped a bunch of snow on the football field yesterday, which in turn forced the NFL to move the Vikings-Giants game to Detroit...and give out free admission to an NFL game. Okay, maybe no one was forced to make the game free of charge, but something good can come from an apparent disaster. I'm catching up on my Ken Davis podcasts at the same time, trying to help God out with that attitude adjustment I need this morning. More news from today: that duo you see on the Hyundai commercial singing Up on the Housetop goes by the name of Pomplamoose... I'm not kidding. My spell checker even burped on that one. What's a pomplamoose? I like their tune though; might even have to see what else they have recorded. Won't be easy to forget the name, maybe that was their intent.

Some other names that are not easy for us to forget... would normally be very easy to forget: Mary, Joseph, Peter, Paul, James, and John could refer to many people we know. However, in the context of the Bible, the names suddenly have new meaning. At this time of the year, if you mention Mary and Joseph together many people will assume you are feeling the Christmas spirit. We hear the names, Mary and Joseph, and the entire Christmas story falls into place in our minds, probably with a few unauthorized additions such as: the number of wise guys (no number given in Matthew) or the time of the year (December the 25th, right?). Though we wouldn't come to call it Christmas for some years, God did put on quite the show to start the Christmas story. Angels, a star, wise men from the East, Mary and Gabriel, Joseph and his dream, the journey to Bethlehem at just the right time, and the heavenly host giving the shepherds a rousing chorus to send them on their way to Bethlehem. And all of those wonderful tales are only a part of the Christmas story. The most important part is another of those instantly recognized names: Jesus.

The greatest gift ever given was the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The great events surrounding the birth of Jesus were only the wrapping paper on that gift of gifts. We delight in the stories, but Jesus had more to tell, and then he gave his life to save us from sin.

I pray that your Christmas is filled with joy!

Bucky

P.S. Apparently a pomplamoose is the French word for grapefruit. Must have missed that one in my one year of French back in high school.

A Great Gift - December 10, 2010

A Gift for You and for Me!

Good Friday morning! After the Bible lesson last night, I had an idea about what to write this morning. Yesterday, I discarded idea after idea until nothing went out to you. What part of the Christmas story, how do I work in this or that, what am I missing, why is this going so badly? All questions that didn't help to get the devotional written yesterday. This morning, a very different tactic... don't have a tactic! Writing the devotional is not some kind of assault on a guarded kingdom; no matter what some may think in their worldly minds. Our lesson for the next 7 sessions of our life group is about letting Jesus into our lives and spending all of every day with him. Our workplace may seem like somewhere Jesus would never come; perhaps he would even stand outside the door, greeting people as they came in to chase the dollar with, "I've come to heal the sick!" I pray that your workplace isn't like that, but I have seen how easily I got caught up in that pursuit and how easily a company became concerned with that one pursuit above all else. (This is not to say that every individual is the same in that company. Praise God that I don't see that in everyone there!) Although the thoughts of getting still grab me at times, I would like to write about a gift today.

We often look at the Christ child as the greatest gift God has given to us. However, the real gift wasn't the birth, but the death of Christ. The teachings of Christ only point the way to that greatest of gifts - his dying for our sins. The birth of Christ didn't pay the price God required to pay for the sins of the world, though we must admit that Jesus stepping down from Heaven into a human body was quite the gift. The Sermon on the Mount was a great gift, as was the Olivet Discourse and the many other parables that Jesus taught. The healing and miracles Jesus performed are great gifts and good for us to read, but the greatest and most precious gift is still the salvation he made possible. Praise God for the gift of salvation; the gift that we cannot purchase or earn; the gift we can only accept. Have a wonderful Christmas this year and enjoy your gift - nothing bought or made on this earth can ever match it!

Merry Christmas!

Bucky