Onward Christian Soldiers

Hebrew Scripture Reading: Judges 7:2-8 (NIV)
The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’  Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
But the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there. If I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go; but if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”
So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues as a dog laps from those who kneel down to drink.”  Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go home.”  So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites home but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.
New Testament Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20 (NIV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.  Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Message: “Onward Christian Soldiers”
“You have too many men.” No commanding officer would ever tell their subordinate such a thing when they were sending them into battle, “You have too many men.” And yet that is what God told Gideon. And then after sending 2/3 of the army home, God said, “There are still too many men.” God then gives them a test and those 300 that passed (or perhaps those that failed) were left to go into battle against the scourge of the Middle East.

The Midianites ranged from one end of the area to the other, destroying everything in their path. And then they would turn around and go back just as people were beginning to rebuild, looting, pillaging and destroying it all over again. The Midianites were not just constantly at war, they were a living, breathing war machine. And God in his wisdom, weans Gideon’s army of 32,000 down to 300 and sends them into battle. And guess what! This mighty, terrifying swarm of living weapons runs away. God didn’t need an army. He just needed a few men who believed that God would give the victory.

Onward Christian Soldiers! Marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe. Forward into battle. See His banners go!

Yes, the Prince of Peace is leading the charge into battle. And we (you and I) are to follow into the fight. This is not a battle over land or resources or ideologies as human wars are fought. This is a test of the ultimate good over the ultimate evil with our (yours and my) eternal lives at stake.

For many years I thought that being a Christian meant fighting a defensive battle. I thought we were to defend ourselves against the onslaught of Satan and his followers. Then one day as I was reading the sixteenth chapter of the gospel of Matthew, where Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Messiah. It is such a familiar story and yet I saw something that I had never seen before. It stood out almost like a flashing light and I couldn’t believe that I’d never noticed it before. Look here where Jesus says, “Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Wait! What? The gates of hell shall not prevail against His church! The gates of hell are not attacking the church (you and I). You and I are attacking the gates of hell! The is not a defensive battle. We are on the offence. We are to take the battle to the very gates of hell.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why does hell have gates?” Well, it is certainly not to keep us out of hell! Satan is trying his damnedest to get us in there! Literally! The gates are to keep the lost from getting away.

Now here is some sad news. Satan didn’t build the gates of hell. We built the gates of hell and of our sins are they constructed. Our sin was keeping us from coming into the full presence of God. And Satan wants us securely locked behind those gates of sin.

You see the-great-liar has people convinced that once they have sinned that they are forever lost! That they are not good enough for God to love them. That they will have to work really hard to earn God’s love. That God can never forgive or forget what they have done. And Satan is always there to keep reminding us of how unworthy we are.

And, as all strong lies are, it is partially true. We are unworthy. We can never earn God’s forgiveness. We can never do enough good to make up for the bad that we have done. We can not balance the scales of justice. We are guilty!

The devil really does not want anyone hearing the good news; that by simply accepting the free gift of salvation, by accepting the Jesus is our Lord, we can break down our own personal hell’s gate. For you see, Jesus died to set us (all of human kind) free from the judgment of eternal damnation. That’s right. Simply by praying the sinner’s prayer, “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.” From that point on, we are free, no matter how often the liar whispers in our ear. For Christ died once, for all. His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of all sin … of everyone’s sin.

By believing in our heart and confessing with our tongue that Jesus is Lord, we have broken down our own personal gate of hell. But we are called upon to do more. We are to attack the gates of sin that others have built for themselves. We are to share the good news that Jesus’ blood has cleansed away our sins. We are no longer separated from the fullness of God’s love.

Years ago I heard a story about fleas. No, wait, I haven’t gotten off the topic, I promise. Did you know that a flea can jump vertically up to seven inches? That is 200 times its body length. I’m six foot tall. If I was able to jump 200 times my height, that would be 1200 feet straight up! I’d have a big S on my chest and a cape on my back … but I’d skip the spandex tights! Not a sight anyone would want to see.

Okay, now I’ve gotten a little off topic. However, I needed you to understand what remarkable jumping abilities fleas have. If you were to put a flea in a quart jar, it could easily jump out! No big deal for a little flea. However, the story goes that if you put a flea in a jar and put the lid on the jar, the flea will jump and hit the lid and not be able to get out. It will try again and again and again. Each time it will hit the lid. Eventually, the flea will jump just high enough that it no longer hits the lid. After that, even if you remove the lid, the flea will not jump out. It is trapped under a lid that is no longer present.

Many people are trapped behind their own personal gate of hell even though the gate is gone. Jesus has already set everyone (you, me, the guy across the street, and the guy on the other side of the world … everyone) free! We have the obligation, the command, to let people know that they are free. We don’t have to save them … they are already saved by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. We just have to let them know that the gates of hell are gone. And by simply believing in their heart and confessing the Jesus is Lord, they can step into the presence of Almighty God without fear of damnation but with the confidence of a child of God.

Here is the “warning label” that is attached to every Christian: So gear up with the armor of God: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” If you become (or became) a Christian thinking that suddenly your life was going to be all sunshine and roses or milk and honey, you have another thought coming. By giving your life over to God, your eternal life is secure. However, you still have to live in this broken world with all of its daily troubles. Remember Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:34, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I doubt that the devil spends much time tormenting those he already holds captive. Their choices will carry enough consequences so that he can turn his attention to his main activity. His target is the man or woman of God. He will use every trick he can to make you turn away from God. Remember his response in the book of Job when “the Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” And 1 Peter 5:8 warns, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
· The belt of truth: The devil is a crafty liar. And quite often he tells the truth in a way meant to deceive. Matthew and Luke’s gospels describe how the devil even quoted the scriptures to Jesus in order to tempt him. Keep the belt of truth securely around you that you many neither be deceived nor deceive others.
· The breastplate of righteousness: Righteousness does not simply mean “being right” it means “being right with God”. To be righteous we must act within the will of God.
· The shield of faith: Faith is one of the most misunderstood concepts of Christianity. I have faith that if I hold this book at arms length and let go, it will fall. That is a secular type of faith. We have faith in gravity because we have seen its effects before. Religious faith is to believe in the unseen and often unverifiable word of God. To the nonbeliever, this kind of faith is foolishness. Saint Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”
· The helmet of salvation: The helmet of salvation covers our head and protects our mind, the seat of our knowledge. As I mentioned earlier, the devil will work to deceive us by attacking that which we believe. Trust in your salvation. It is enough protection because Satin can not take it away from you. Romans 8:39 “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
· The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: The sword is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. So is the word of God, the Bible. Read it. Study it. Live it. The best way to keep from being deceived is to know the truth. The only way to know the truth is by the word of God. And if we are to fulfill the commandment to go into the entire world a share the gospel, we need to have the sword of the spirit to cut trough the enemy’s defenses and free the captive.
· And with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace: the gospel of peace is the good news that we are no longer at war with God as we were in our sinful nature. The gospel of peace means that we are in a battle to save not destroy, to release not to take captive, and not to destroy the enemy but to befriend him. (I’m speaking here of the souls held in bondage). Jesus declared that we are to love our enemies. What fantastic wisdom that is. If we love them, they are no longer an enemy we have “killed them with kindness.”

And rejoice in each victory while remembering the lesson that God gave to Gideon: God intentionally sent a weakened army against one of the mightiest armies of the ancient world so that men could not boast about the victory. The victory is God’s. We are just the vessels. No man or army of men could stand against a battle with the devil. But one man plus God is more than a match for anything that the evil one can muster. By wrapping ourselves in God’s armor, we are ready to both defend and attack. So go, not in your own might, but in the name of God in the armor of God and the gates of hell will fall away.

What Christmas Means to Me

 

Hebrew Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 9:6-7

A child will be born for us. A son will be given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Councilor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince

of Peace.  His government and peace will have unlimited growth. He will establish David's throne and kingdom. He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever.

Gospel Reading:  Luke 2:8-20

Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! l have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David's city. This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have

his good will." The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. "Everyone who heard the shepherd’s story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart always thought about them. As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Message:    "What Christmas Means to Me"

Chris-mus and Christ's-mass are two of  my favorite holidays.  They weren't always.  I grew up in a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, agnostics and atheists.  None of which celebrate the Christ's Mass.  The atheists' and agnostics in the family did at least celebrate Chris-mus.

You know the difference right?  For a long time I didn’t know the difference.  I didn’t even know that one was a holiday and the other a holy day.

Christ's Mass celebrates the birth of the Christ child.  The promised savior of sinful man.  The fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham that, through his decedents, all people will be blessed.

Chris-mus, (notice the way it is pronounced ... Chris rather than Christ) on the other hand, is a secular holiday that celebrates gift giving, Santa, flying deer, evergreen trees and colored lights.

My mother, a Jehovah's Witness, celebrated neither holiday nor did my sister.  My brother celebrated Chris-mus and gave gifts and decorated their home.  I was nearly the age of his children and occasionally would also receive gifts from him.  (actually is was his wife who was in charge of gifts).  As I grew older, I also exchanged gifts with my nieces and nephews.

When I had children of my own, we celebrated a hybrid version of the two holiday's.  We decorated and gave gifts but the focus was on the birth of Christ.  My kids knew the Santa myth but were never encouraged to believe it.

Now that I have grown into being Santa, my grandchildren and great grandchildren believe in Santa.  I enjoy it.  Santa is an example of the best of what we are as humans.  he is loving, jolly, giving soul who puts everyone else's happiness above his own and goes out of his way to be a servant to others.  And he gets paid in cookies and milk.  How great is that?

However, as we've all heard, Jesus is the reason for the season.  So I've made it my mission to put Christ back into my holy day greetings by trying to remember to say Merry Christ's Mass

Our Hebrew scripture reading from Isaiah delivers the promise that "A child will be born for us."  Did you catch that?  For us ... a gift ... for us.  For us ... not a random birth ... but a birth with a purpose ... for us.  I had a startling, mind opening thought here.  Listen ... here it comes ... the gift is never more important than the recipient.  Right?  The new socks that I received are not more important than I am.  The piece of jewelry that I gave is not more important than the person to whom I gave it.  Do you see it?  Do you understand what that means?  God valued US more than his son!  Or, if you understand the reality of the Trinity ... God valued US more than Himself.  But don't take my word for it, hear the words that Jesus himself spoke,  "For God so loved the world (us) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  That revelation alone should take us humbly to our knees to praise God for His love of us.

Listen as the promise continues, "A son will be given to us."  Now the promise is restated "to us".  "For us" spoke to the sacrificial nature of God's gift.  "To us" speaks to the direction of this love.  This love is to us ... not from us ... not because of anything that we have done to deserve it ... it is just "to us".

"The weight of the government will rest on his shoulders."  For centuries this was understood by most to mean that the Christ would rule an earthly kingdom.  A kingdom such as the people understood but with a benevolent leader who would unite all mankind under his rule.  We, from our perspective, have heard Christ's response when Pilate asked him about his kingdom.  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight to prevent my arrest by Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

No, in his earthly life the only things place on his shoulders were the weight of the cross and the burden of our sins.  And yet, just as the prophet said, His kingdom continues to grow, there is no end to it.

I doubt that the shepherds who received the angel's greeting centuries later were thinking of Isaiah's words.  And yet, they were still waiting and expecting the Christ to come.

I try to inject myself into these scriptures and imagine what it was like to be a shepherd on those dark hills that night.  No smog and no light pollution from our modern cities.  The sky would have been as black as the inside of a cave.  And yet the sky was ablaze with the light of billion upon billion of stars such as few of us have ever seen.  Most of the team of shepherds were dozing while a few kept watch, constantly aware that there are predators and other dangers in the dark.  They were probably talking about the scores other favorite sports are rebuilding (or whatever men talked about before professional sports and automobiles ... I have no idea.)  A small fire is crackling nearby.  It is not so large as to ruin their night vision but just enough to keep the chill of the night at bay.  Fragrant smoke curling upward carrying the scent of olive branches and grapevines toward heaven.  And into this peaceful setting, an angel, glowing with unearthly light, suddenly appears and says, "Do not be afraid."  Too late!  I would have already wet myself.  "Do not be afraid?"  You are kidding, right?  Then the angel continues, "Boys, I've got great new that will have everyone wetting themselves with joy!"  Okay, that's not a direct quote but understand that this news is unlike another news before or after.  No other news in all creation was more important than "Christ has come!"

The shepherds are not commanded to find him but it is assumed that they will so they are given this simple way to recognize this new born Lord of all, "He will be wrapped in

strips of cloth and laying in a feeding trough."

I'm sure that Bethlehem was no where near the 25,000 people that live there today, but it was a city who's population was swollen because of the people who had come to be registered for the emperors census.  How did the shepherds find Him?  Well, first of all they were not looking for a baby born in a house.  The baby was laying in a manger.  Probably the parents were travelers so go look where travelers go ... inns.  Or more precisely to an inn so full that guests would have to seek shelter in the stable.  And with the added assist of some divine guidance, the shepherds find him just as the angels had said.

And what was the scene in that stable that the shepherds found?  Well, unlike the romantic paintings, there were no angels hanging about outside or floating above the baby.  If you've ever been in a barn where animals are kept, you don't have to imagine too hard and long as to what it smelled like: a mixture of new hay, old wood and animal odors.  The animals are awakened by all the activity and probably expecting to be fed.  This would have not been unusual for shepherds.  But in the middle of all this is Mary, all exhausted from travel and childbirth.  She hasn't had a midwife or family or friends to help her through the delivery or the cleanup.  Childbirth is a messy business.

Joseph has done what he could to make his little family comfortable and safe.  All the concerns of a new father have just been made real in his life.  They are far from home because of the decree of some far off, foreign emperor to find out how many subjects he can tax.  The journey to Bethlehem was hard ... how hard is the journey home going to be now that there is a baby to be tended?  How much income is he loosing because he is away from his place of business?

We tend to overlook the human aspects in this story because of the divine.  The glorious news of the Savior's birth is glorious us to us because we don't have to deal with the day to day realities that Mary and Joseph and yes, the new born Christ child were dealing with. Enter the shepherds, all excited and animated as they tell of the appearance of the angels and the prophesy that was told to them.

Both Mary and Joseph had their moments of divine intervention, but that was months ago. we humans have a problem; even if we have experienced a divine moment, after a while the concerns of our daily life push the divine to the back of our mind. enter the shepherds, all excited, all talking at once, waving their arms with excited gestures, overflowing with the enthusiasm of their own divine intervention. The scriptures do not record how long this party went on before one of the shepherds realize that they have walked off and left her sheep. But it does say that they went away praising God.

And that's what Christmas means to me.

2013 July 22

 

Hebrew Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 9:6-7

A child will be born for us. A son will be given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Councilor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince

of Peace.  His government and peace will have unlimited growth. He will establish David's throne and kingdom. He will uphold it with justice and righteousness now and forever.

Gospel Reading:  Luke 2:8-20

Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! l have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David's city. This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have

his good will." The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. "Everyone who heard the shepherd’s story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart always thought about them. As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Message:    "What Christmas Means to Me"

Chris-mus and Christ's-mass are two of  my favorite holidays.  They weren't always.  I grew up in a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, agnostics and atheists.  None of which celebrate the Christ's Mass.  The atheists' and agnostics in the family did at least celebrate Chris-mus.

You know the difference right?  For a long time I didn’t know the difference.  I didn’t even know that one was a holiday and the other a holy day.

Christ's Mass celebrates the birth of the Christ child.  The promised savior of sinful man.  The fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham that, through his decedents, all people will be blessed.

Chris-mus, (notice the way it is pronounced ... Chris rather than Christ) on the other hand, is a secular holiday that celebrates gift giving, Santa, flying deer, evergreen trees and colored lights.

My mother, a Jehovah's Witness, celebrated neither holiday nor did my sister.  My brother celebrated Chris-mus and gave gifts and decorated their home.  I was nearly the age of his children and occasionally would also receive gifts from him.  (actually is was his wife who was in charge of gifts).  As I grew older, I also exchanged gifts with my nieces and nephews.

When I had children of my own, we celebrated a hybrid version of the two holiday's.  We decorated and gave gifts but the focus was on the birth of Christ.  My kids knew the Santa myth but were never encouraged to believe it.

Now that I have grown into being Santa, my grandchildren and great grandchildren believe in Santa.  I enjoy it.  Santa is an example of the best of what we are as humans.  he is loving, jolly, giving soul who puts everyone else's happiness above his own and goes out of his way to be a servant to others.  And he gets paid in cookies and milk.  How great is that?

However, as we've all heard, Jesus is the reason for the season.  So I've made it my mission to put Christ back into my holy day greetings by trying to remember to say Merry Christ's Mass

Our Hebrew scripture reading from Isaiah delivers the promise that "A child will be born for us."  Did you catch that?  For us ... a gift ... for us.  For us ... not a random birth ... but a birth with a purpose ... for us.  I had a startling, mind opening thought here.  Listen ... here it comes ... the gift is never more important than the recipient.  Right?  The new socks that I received are not more important than I am.  The piece of jewelry that I gave is not more important than the person to whom I gave it.  Do you see it?  Do you understand what that means?  God valued US more than his son!  Or, if you understand the reality of the Trinity ... God valued US more than Himself.  But don't take my word for it, hear the words that Jesus himself spoke,  "For God so loved the world (us) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  That revelation alone should take us humbly to our knees to praise God for His love of us.

Listen as the promise continues, "A son will be given to us."  Now the promise is restated "to us".  "For us" spoke to the sacrificial nature of God's gift.  "To us" speaks to the direction of this love.  This love is to us ... not from us ... not because of anything that we have done to deserve it ... it is just "to us".

"The weight of the government will rest on his shoulders."  For centuries this was understood by most to mean that the Christ would rule an earthly kingdom.  A kingdom such as the people understood but with a benevolent leader who would unite all mankind under his rule.  We, from our perspective, have heard Christ's response when Pilate asked him about his kingdom.  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight to prevent my arrest by Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

No, in his earthly life the only things place on his shoulders were the weight of the cross and the burden of our sins.  And yet, just as the prophet said, His kingdom continues to grow, there is no end to it.

I doubt that the shepherds who received the angel's greeting centuries later were thinking of Isaiah's words.  And yet, they were still waiting and expecting the Christ to come.

I try to inject myself into these scriptures and imagine what it was like to be a shepherd on those dark hills that night.  No smog and no light pollution from our modern cities.  The sky would have been as black as the inside of a cave.  And yet the sky was ablaze with the light of billion upon billion of stars such as few of us have ever seen.  Most of the team of shepherds were dozing while a few kept watch, constantly aware that there are predators and other dangers in the dark.  They were probably talking about the scores other favorite sports are rebuilding (or whatever men talked about before professional sports and automobiles ... I have no idea.)  A small fire is crackling nearby.  It is not so large as to ruin their night vision but just enough to keep the chill of the night at bay.  Fragrant smoke curling upward carrying the scent of olive branches and grapevines toward heaven.  And into this peaceful setting, an angel, glowing with unearthly light, suddenly appears and says, "Do not be afraid."  Too late!  I would have already wet myself.  "Do not be afraid?"  You are kidding, right?  Then the angel continues, "Boys, I've got great new that will have everyone wetting themselves with joy!"  Okay, that's not a direct quote but understand that this news is unlike another news before or after.  No other news in all creation was more important than "Christ has come!"

The shepherds are not commanded to find him but it is assumed that they will so they are given this simple way to recognize this new born Lord of all, "He will be wrapped in

strips of cloth and laying in a feeding trough."

I'm sure that Bethlehem was no where near the 25,000 people that live there today, but it was a city who's population was swollen because of the people who had come to be registered for the emperors census.  How did the shepherds find Him?  Well, first of all they were not looking for a baby born in a house.  The baby was laying in a manger.  Probably the parents were travelers so go look where travelers go ... inns.  Or more precisely to an inn so full that guests would have to seek shelter in the stable.  And with the added assist of some divine guidance, the shepherds find him just as the angels had said.

And what was the scene in that stable that the shepherds found?  Well, unlike the romantic paintings, there were no angels hanging about outside or floating above the baby.  If you've ever been in a barn where animals are kept, you don't have to imagine too hard and long as to what it smelled like: a mixture of new hay, old wood and animal odors.  The animals are awakened by all the activity and probably expecting to be fed.  This would have not been unusual for shepherds.  But in the middle of all this is Mary, all exhausted from travel and childbirth.  She hasn't had a midwife or family or friends to help her through the delivery or the cleanup.  Childbirth is a messy business.

Joseph has done what he could to make his little family comfortable and safe.  All the concerns of a new father have just been made real in his life.  They are far from home because of the decree of some far off, foreign emperor to find out how many subjects he can tax.  The journey to Bethlehem was hard ... how hard is the journey home going to be now that there is a baby to be tended?  How much income is he loosing because he is away from his place of business?

We tend to overlook the human aspects in this story because of the divine.  The glorious news of the Savior's birth is glorious us to us because we don't have to deal with the day to day realities that Mary and Joseph and yes, the new born Christ child were dealing with. Enter the shepherds, all excited and animated as they tell of the appearance of the angels and the prophesy that was told to them.

Both Mary and Joseph had their moments of divine intervention, but that was months ago. we humans have a problem; even if we have experienced a divine moment, after a while the concerns of our daily life push the divine to the back of our mind. enter the shepherds, all excited, all talking at once, waving their arms with excited gestures, overflowing with the enthusiasm of their own divine intervention. The scriptures do not record how long this party went on before one of the shepherds realize that they have walked off and left her sheep. But it does say that they went away praising God.

And that's what Christmas means to me.

2013 July 12

2013 July 12 Friday

We were at the dentist yesterday so that Ella could be x-rayed.   Today we were back so that the dentist could explain about all the work needing to be done and how much it was going to cost.   And this was my day to have my mouth fully x rayed and to determine the amount of work to be done in my mouth plus the cost.   Over the next few months were going to spend a lot of time at the dentist office.   And it's estimated that, after the insurance pays, we will still owe about $2000.

Today after leaving the dentist office we stopped at the new Dunkin Donuts.  I really love their Bavarian creme donut without chocolate on it.   Guess what they didn't have.   Yep that's right, Bavarian cremre donuts without chocolate.   So I had a crewler and an iced coffee while Ella had coffee and a maple frosted donut. 

When we arrived home we picked up some items that needed to go over to the HitchHiker.   And once at the HitchHiker, I picked up some things that needed to come back to the Excel.

Ella is now working on something for our lunch.   She works 2 to 9 today and I work 3 to 10.

I am still without my laptop and writing my blogs on the Droid Razr Maxx.   It is getting easier for me to do it this way as I become more custom to doing it.   However, I will be very glad to have the laptop back so that I can add photos

“If Not Me, Who? If Not Now, When?”

“If Not Me, Who? If Not Now, When?”

Gospel Reading: Luke 9:51-62 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him,

"I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Message:

As I was preparing this lesson, lines from a Lovin’ Spoonful song kept coming to mind; “Did you ever have to make up your mind? You pick up on one and leave the other one behind.  It’s not often easy and not often kind.  Did you ever have to make up your mind?  Did you ever have to finally decide? And say yes to one and let the other one ride. There’s so many changes and tears you must hide. Did you ever have to finally decide.”

Well, that is not exactly a hymn, however it does speak to a very human concern. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
As a manager and a business owner I made decisions all day long.  Decisions that affected not just my business and my family but also the lives and families of my employees and my vendors.  Sometimes I had time to weigh all the pros and cons of my choices.  Sometimes however, an answer was needed ‘right now’.

Over the years I have picked up some ideas on how to make decisions.
1. Earnest Prayer
2. The coin flip
3. If not me, who and if not now, when?
4. Don’t let anyone should on you
5. Watch the direction you’re going and go the direction you’re watching.

The first method is, of course, always the best.  Earnest prayer for guidance should always be your first choice.  I remember a conversation that I overheard when I worked at a food production facility.  A contractor was talking to Bill, the company president, about some changes that the contractor wanted to make in a remodeling plan.  Bill said, “It sounds good to me but I need to talk it over with the Boss.”  The contractor grinned and said, “I always talk these things over with my wife too.”  Bill shook his head and said, “No, I meant I need to pray about it.”  The contractor didn’t know what to say.  Bill had just witnessed to his faith that God is ultimately the Boss, the final decision maker in his personal life and in his business.

When you pray expecting an answer and truly tell God what is on your mind and on your heart, you will receive guidance. Don’t try to make it a “pretty” prayer.  Say what you really mean in the same language that you use talking to your friends.  God knows what is in your heart, so tell Him honestly and bluntly what you want.  Sometimes I have been gladdened by the Lord’s guidance and sometimes I’ve been saddened by it.  Sometimes I have followed His leading and sometimes I’ve gone my own way.  Though it is not always easier, God’s way is always better.

Flipping a coin, rolling a dice or leaving it up to chance has been a decision making process since the beginning of time.  In the book of Judges it is recorded that Gideon, when faced with a hard decision, puts out a fleece.  He said to God, “I’ll place some wool on the threshing floor.  If there is dew on the wool while all the ground is dry, then I’ll know that you will rescue Israel.”
After Jesus’ ascension, while the disciples were waiting in the upper room, they drew lots (cast dice or drew names from a hat) to choose a twelfth disciple to fill the void left by Judas’ death.
A college professor told me that he would sometimes flip a coin to make a tough decision.  No, he wasn’t really relying on luck to make the choice.  His process would go like this:  Heads I will.  Tails I won’t.  Flip.  It came up tails.  How do I feel about not doing it?  Am I happy that the coin chose that way?  If not … chose the other option.  It forces you to confront your true feelings.  So, flip a coin but don’t necessarily follow its guidance.

Here is another decision making aid that I’ve used.  If not me, who?  And If not now, when?  I first heard those two statements sometime while I was in college.  When faced with a situation, they are great questions to ask yourself.  As a manager and a business owner I used them a lot.  And I’ve tried to teach them to my children.

If not me, who?  Sometimes I am the person to handle the task.  I am the best qualified and capable of seeing this through to the end.  Sometimes I am not.  Sometimes I am the one who sees the need and my task is to bring it to the attention of the one who needs to handle it.  And sometimes I am not.  Sometimes I am ‘butting in’ on someone else’s process.  Sometimes I need to get out of the way.

If not now when?  Sometimes, “This is the day and this is the hour” when action needs to be taken.  Sometimes the “important” have to give way to the “urgent.”  Remember, the early bird gets the worm.  Sometimes, the time is not right and we must have patience.  Remember, the early worm gets eaten by the bird.

Don’t let anyone should on you.  The idea here is simply that the world is full of advice givers.  Don’t make decisions based on what someone else says you “should” do.  Read the book of Job sometimes and look at the good advise that his friends gave to Job.  Really, the advise was not bad … it was just wrong for Job.  If you are going to listen to experts, pick the experts carefully.

Another piece of advice I’ve passed on to my kids, “Go the direction you’re looking and look the direction you’re going.” Which means know your goal and work toward it.  If what you are doing is not leading you toward your goal, readjust.

In his earthly life Jesus called a lot of people to follow him. Each person has to decide for him/herself what to do about Jesus’ invitation/command to follow him.

To Simon Peter and his brother Andrew Jesus said, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And they dropped their nets and immediately went with him.

A little further along the sea shore, Jesus also called James and his brother John to follow him. They left their father and the family business and became disciples of Jesus.

Jesus saw a man named Matthew, a tax collector, and said, “Follow me”. Matthew invited his friends to his home to hear what Jesus had to say.

In these accounts these people immediately dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus. Can you imagine? Jesus walked into their lives … into their businesses and said, “Follow” and they did. This was at the very beginning of his earthly ministry. It makes me wonder what these people saw in Jesus that they would abandon all that was familiar and become his follower.

Not everyone followed. In Matthew 19 we meet the young man who came to Jesus to ask what he needed to do to gain eternal life. Jesus told him simply, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” And then the young man asks, “Which ones?” Notice that this man came to Jesus seeking to GAIN something … eternal life. Jesus gives him the answer, “Keep
the commandments.” To this the man wants to know which ones. He is saying to Jesus “What is the minimum that I have to do to gain what I seek.” Jesus said to him,“If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and COME FOLLOW ME.” The man went away grieving. He weighed what he had against what he had to gain and could not let go of what he had.  Notice that the command to “Come follow” was no different than what was given to the disciples.  It amounts to “stop doing what you are doing and start doing as I do”.

As Jesus’ fame grew so did the crowds.  Many were attracted by the power of his words and deeds.  But as time went on, most abandoned him.  What happened to the thousands that followed when he fed them with a few fish and loaves of bread?  The commitment waned as the days went on.  As he went into Jerusalem crowds gathered and lay their coats and palm branches on the path before him.  Once he was arrested, however, the crowds vanished like smoke.  We know that at his crucifixion only John, Mary (mother of Jesus) and few women were with him as he died.  After his resurrection and during the forty days before his ascension he had gathered only 120 followers back to himself.
Jesus never promised his followers an easy road.  On the contrary he told them (us) that it would be difficult.  He also promised that he would be with us … and that it would all be worth it in the end.

Saul (who became Paul) had a lot going for him.  He was both a Jew (God’s chosen people) and a citizen of the Roman Empire (the Super Power of its day).  He was well educated far above the norm.  He wielded the power given to him by the leaders in Jerusalem.  Here is what he has to say about what there was to gain and what there was to loose by following Jesus.  “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

Decisions!  Yes or no?  Now or Later?  That is what today’s gospel reading is all about.  Did you ever have to make up your mind?  Did you ever have to finally decide?

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  Unlike most Jews who avoided Samaria, Jesus has passed this way before. Remember the woman at the well who came to believe that Jesus was the messiah and brought her townsfolk out to meet him?

But on this pass through … even though he had sent people ahead to make reservations for the night … the Samaritans would not accept him.  And why?  Because he was bound for Jerusalem.  One of the biggest divides between the Samaritans and the Jews was over where to worship God: in Jerusalem or on the mountain where Jacob had built his altar.

The Samaritans could not give up their hold on an ages old grudge over property and ideology to follow the Messiah.  His own disciples were no better when they asked,“Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"  Obviously they had their own prejudices that they could not abandon.

How sad and frustrated Jesus must have felt.  Three years of concentrated teaching and instruction and two of his “inner circle” were behaving like this?  After all, when Jesus said, “Follow me.”  He didn’t mean “walk behind me”. He meant, “Do as I do, speak as I speak and love as I love.” These words were spoken by the man who knew that if you truly love your enemy … you have no enemy … only another loved one.

They went on to another village.  I find it interesting that the gospel writer does not say if they are still in Samaria or if they have crossed the boarder into Israel.  At any rate, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

This sounds like music to his ears … don’t you think?  Then Jesus warns him of what it will cost to be his disciple by saying, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." He may have been referring to the rebuff that had just happened in the last village, however it more likely that he was stating the fact that the follower must be willing to give up his home, his family or whatever might tie him to a place. The writer leaves us wondering … did the man make good on his statement and continue to follow … or was being homeless too great of a stumbling stone? We have to ask ourselves these same questions. Though we may not be asked to give up our homes or our families … are we willing to do so?

Jesus invites another to follow. But the other said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."  That sounds harsh doesn’t it? Remember that Jesus has a totally different view of death than most have. Death is not a permanent condition.  Death is not the end … it is only a transition.  Death was not as important as proclaiming the kingdom of God.  Every once in a while you have to stop and re-adjust your thinking.  This is one of those times.  Nothing, not even death is more important than reaching the kingdom of God.

Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Before the days of GPS guided tractors, the way to plow a straight furrow was to look for a guide post at the far end of the field.  Line it up with the front of the tractor (maybe using the exhaust stack like the sights on a rifle) and go straight for it … constantly keeping your eyes on the target.  If you keep looking back to see how you are doing, you’ll end up with a crooked furrow.  And since the first pass through the field is used as a guide for all of the other passes… if the first is a mess … all of the rest will be a mess.  Looking back will never get you where you want to be.

Jesus was clear as to where he was going, to Jerusalem and to the cross, to the grave, to the resurrection and to the ascension. He was also clear as to where his followers were going. “And if I go prepare a place for you, I shall come again and bring you to join me, that where I am you shall be also.” John 14:3

In this day and age Jesus is still calling for disciples. He asks each of us to follow him. Did you ever make up your mind? Did you ever finally decide?

Jesus is calling for people to follow in his footsteps and continue his teaching, his preaching, his reaching out and his healing. He is willing to save us from our sins … from ourselves. And his call is universal as he is unwilling to see any perish. As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Once you are saved then what?  That is when we follow Jesus’ last command and pass it on.  Or as Paul wrote, “How, then, can they (the unsaved) call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone to tell them?”

Whose job is it to tell the good news?  Ask yourself. If not me, who? And If not now, when?