Monday, December 17, 2012
Joy for Advent
The carol says "Joy to the world. The Lord has come". Christmas is a bitter sweet season for many people. Some of us miss the people and the celebrations of past years. Sometimes it is necessary to alter our traditions, to do things differently, and we are saddened by the changes. For some the inability to purchase the desired gifts for their family members because of the scarcity of money gives a bitter edge to the holiday season. For some ill health or distance from home will cause them to miss the family gatherings this year, resulting in a nostalgic homesickness. Tragic events such as the horrible massacre in Connecticut this week cast a pall of grief over the season of joy.
So is there really "joy to the world"? Yes, indeed. We do not primarily celebrate our circumstances or our relationships with other people, although we may enjoy both very much. But the event that we celebrate is the coming of Christ into our world to be Emmanuel, God with us, for each person. No sickness or sadness or sorrow can change this glorious happening. We can find joy in this event regardless of any of the circumstances of our lives. The true joy of Christmas lies in the presence and love and forgiveness of our Savior. Let's lift up our hearts and rejoice in His coming.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to this world to bring us love and forgiveness and joy in knowing You. Amen.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Peace for Advent
My mother-in-law often used to quote a
saying, "Peace at any price." Peace is priceless. Without it, there
is no rest for the weary. Philip Keller in his book "A Shepherd Looks
at the 23rd Psalm" talks about how restless sheep become and how they
fail to thrive when their peace is disturbed. We, too, become anxious
and fractious and fail to do well when there is no peace in our lives.
How can we find the peace we need?
There are three kinds of peace that are crucial to our well-being. The first is peace WITH God. As long as we struggle to go our own way and do our own thing and ignore our Creator and Redeemer, there will be unrest within, because God has made us with a deep need to know Him and acknowledge His Lordship in our lives. When we accept the Prince of Peace as our Savior and surrender completely to His control, there is a tremendous sense of relief. As one man put it, "Lord, I've been my problem for a long time, but I'm not my problem anymore. I'm Your problem now!" This acceptance of Christ and commitment to Him will bring us peace WITH God.
Second, there is that peace OF God which is beyond human understanding. It comes about when we pray about everything in our lives--all our needs, problems, and concerns--and entrust it all into God's hands. But, unconfessed sin can disturb that peace, and we must keep our repentance up to date, confessing as we sin, if we want to continually experience that wonderful peace OF God.
A third kind of peace that is of vital importance to us is peace with other people. Few aspects of life destroy our peace as thoroughly as fractured relationships. God gives us His love with which to love others, even those that are more difficult to love. He makes it possible for us to forgive others as He has forgiven us, so we need to say, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me," as often as needed. We find a sweet kind of peace in the pleasure of happy relationships with other people.
I have a little chihuahua that loves to settle down in my lap and take a nap. I can hear her sigh with contentment as she relaxes. I, too, can find peace and contentment in the Presence of my Heavenly Father as I rest and relax in Him and in His care for me.
Father, thank You that, through Your Son, the Prince of Peace, we can have peace with You and know we are Your children for all eternity. Thank You that You care about every concern we have, and we can commit all our cares into Your keeping and trust You to bring about the best in our lives. Thank You for Your love with which we can love others and Your forgiveness of us that we can pass on to others. May all our relationships be sweet. Amen.
There are three kinds of peace that are crucial to our well-being. The first is peace WITH God. As long as we struggle to go our own way and do our own thing and ignore our Creator and Redeemer, there will be unrest within, because God has made us with a deep need to know Him and acknowledge His Lordship in our lives. When we accept the Prince of Peace as our Savior and surrender completely to His control, there is a tremendous sense of relief. As one man put it, "Lord, I've been my problem for a long time, but I'm not my problem anymore. I'm Your problem now!" This acceptance of Christ and commitment to Him will bring us peace WITH God.
Second, there is that peace OF God which is beyond human understanding. It comes about when we pray about everything in our lives--all our needs, problems, and concerns--and entrust it all into God's hands. But, unconfessed sin can disturb that peace, and we must keep our repentance up to date, confessing as we sin, if we want to continually experience that wonderful peace OF God.
A third kind of peace that is of vital importance to us is peace with other people. Few aspects of life destroy our peace as thoroughly as fractured relationships. God gives us His love with which to love others, even those that are more difficult to love. He makes it possible for us to forgive others as He has forgiven us, so we need to say, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me," as often as needed. We find a sweet kind of peace in the pleasure of happy relationships with other people.
I have a little chihuahua that loves to settle down in my lap and take a nap. I can hear her sigh with contentment as she relaxes. I, too, can find peace and contentment in the Presence of my Heavenly Father as I rest and relax in Him and in His care for me.
Father, thank You that, through Your Son, the Prince of Peace, we can have peace with You and know we are Your children for all eternity. Thank You that You care about every concern we have, and we can commit all our cares into Your keeping and trust You to bring about the best in our lives. Thank You for Your love with which we can love others and Your forgiveness of us that we can pass on to others. May all our relationships be sweet. Amen.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Life's Little Frustrations
What is the secret of Santa's mirth?
It's that he never worries about his girth.
He eats what he likes and he likes what he eats.
He doesn't ever worry about fats or sweets.
You can see why he's jolly, if you just take a look.
It's obvious Mrs. Santa's a very good cook.
It's that he never worries about his girth.
He eats what he likes and he likes what he eats.
He doesn't ever worry about fats or sweets.
You can see why he's jolly, if you just take a look.
It's obvious Mrs. Santa's a very good cook.
Hope for Advent
Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and
secure."
A passenger on a cruise ship was leaning over the ship's railing because he was so seasick. A steward came along and attempted to encourage the miserable man by saying, "Don't worry, sir. No one ever died of sea sickness." The unhappy passenger replied, "Don't tell me that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that is keeping me alive."
Christian Women's Club "Progress Magazine" told the story of a teacher who was assigned to visit a little boy in the hospital and review nouns and adverbs with him. She was surprised to find the boy in the hospital burn unit, horribly burned and in great pain. The shocked teacher went over the lesson as best she could. The next day one of the nurses asked her what she did to that boy. She said they had been very worried about the boy, that he had seemed to give up, but since the teacher came he had begun to fight back. Later the boy explained that he had no hope of living until he saw the teacher. Then he decided that they wouldn't send a teacher to tutor a boy who was dying!
Hope is one of Jesus' greatest gifts to us. It is our hope in Christ that enables us to endure, to persevere, to keep on keeping on through our darkest times--through loss, grief, sorrow, failure, fractured relationships, loneliness, poverty, illness--through all the winter times of life.
Douglas Malloch wrote: "You have to believe the buds will grow,
Believe in the grass in the days of snow;
Ah, that's the reason a bird can sing--
On his darkest day he believes in spring."
On our darkest days we have the hope of heaven to anchor our souls, to keep us steady through the waves and storms of life. Paul gives us this challenge in Hebrews10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
From Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
A passenger on a cruise ship was leaning over the ship's railing because he was so seasick. A steward came along and attempted to encourage the miserable man by saying, "Don't worry, sir. No one ever died of sea sickness." The unhappy passenger replied, "Don't tell me that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that is keeping me alive."
Christian Women's Club "Progress Magazine" told the story of a teacher who was assigned to visit a little boy in the hospital and review nouns and adverbs with him. She was surprised to find the boy in the hospital burn unit, horribly burned and in great pain. The shocked teacher went over the lesson as best she could. The next day one of the nurses asked her what she did to that boy. She said they had been very worried about the boy, that he had seemed to give up, but since the teacher came he had begun to fight back. Later the boy explained that he had no hope of living until he saw the teacher. Then he decided that they wouldn't send a teacher to tutor a boy who was dying!
Hope is one of Jesus' greatest gifts to us. It is our hope in Christ that enables us to endure, to persevere, to keep on keeping on through our darkest times--through loss, grief, sorrow, failure, fractured relationships, loneliness, poverty, illness--through all the winter times of life.
Douglas Malloch wrote: "You have to believe the buds will grow,
Believe in the grass in the days of snow;
Ah, that's the reason a bird can sing--
On his darkest day he believes in spring."
On our darkest days we have the hope of heaven to anchor our souls, to keep us steady through the waves and storms of life. Paul gives us this challenge in Hebrews10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
From Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
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