The illustration of Christmas

Luke 2:36-38 (NIV)

36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Those to whom Christ is made known have reason enough to give thanks to the Lord for so great a favour; and we should be excited to that duty by the praises and thanksgivings of others; why should not we give thanks likewise, as well as they? Anna concurred with Simeon, and helped to make up the harmony. She confessed unto the Lord (so it may be read); she made an open profession of her faith concerning this child. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

When the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci went to China in the sixteenth century, he brought along samples of religious art to illustrate the Christian story for people who had never heard it. The Chinese readily adopted portraits of the Virgin Mary holding her child, but when he produced paintings of the crucifixion and tried to explain that the God-child had grown up only to be executed, the audience reacted with revulsion and horror. They much preferred the Virgin and insisted on worshiping her rather than the crucified God.

As I thumb…through my stack of Christmas cards, I realize that we in Christian countries do much the same thing. We observe a mellow, domesticated holiday purged of any hint of scandal. Above all, we purge from it any reminder of how the story that began in Bethlehem turned out at Calvary.

[Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Zondervan, 2002), p. 25]

Let us all give thanks to The Lord for what He has done. Let us not remember Christmas as just the birth of Jesus, but also the coming of a savior who suffered for our sake that we might have eternal life with Him in heaven.

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends. May God bless each one of you! May pains and sorrows be wiped away! May joy fill your hearts are you celebrate with family and friends! May God’s love cover all the hardships of life and bring joy into your world.

The next few weeks I will be taking a break from writing while I reflect on the holidays and enjoy this time with family and friends in the celebration of The Lord Jesus Christ. I may not know each and every one of you personally, but my love is extended to you just a Jesus extended His love to all of us.

The leak in the dam

Proverbs 17:14 (NIV)

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

When a dam is breached the water may first trickle out slowly; but as the water presses forward the hole becomes larger, and larger, and larger until finally the dam breaks. So it is with a quarrel. The quarrel may start small, but as time continues and the conflict persists the quarrel can grow and destroy relationships.

In October, 2011, The New York Times ran an article about two musical giants whose longtime relationship unraveled over a tiny piece of music. Helene Grimaud, a brilliant and magnetic pianist, and Claudio Abbado, a revered conductor, have performed together at least a dozen times since 1995. They were supposed to perform in Switzerland and London, but organizers cancelled their concerts due to "artistic differences."

There was only one issue at the heart of their conflict—a 1 minute and 20 second cadenza from Mozart's concerto No. 23 in A. (The article defines a cadenza as "unaccompanied flights in a concerto that play on its themes and show off a virtuoso's mettle.") The conductor Abbado prefers Mozart's original cadenza, but the pianist Grimaud feels that Mozart's original work is "not the most inspired." Instead, she prefers another cadenza for No. 23 based on the later work of an Italian pianist named Busoni.

Ms. Grimaud said it was her prerogative to choose the cadenza. Anything else would have been "a sellout." But Mr. Addabo contends that it's his "territory." According to another colleague, Mr. Addabo "is very strong and probably, like most conductors, used to dominating the artistic process." Neither side was willing to compromise. An official for one of the cancelled concerts said, "[Their musical relationship] was just somehow sort of dead. I guess they didn't relate to one another." [Daniel J. Wakin, "Titans Clash Over a Mere Cadenza," The New York Times (10-31-11)]

Only a small piece of a larger piece of music caused the breakup of two artists. It makes one wonder how many times a small quarrel has grown and grown until a relationship finally fell apart. Once the dam has broken it takes a long time to mend it.

Commit to The Lord

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

It is a very desirable thing to have our thoughts established, and not tossed, and put into a hurry, by disquieting cares and fears,-to go on in an even steady course of honesty and piety, not disturbed, or put out of frame, by any event or change,-to be satisfied that all shall work for good and issue well at last, and therefore to be always easy and sedate. [Matthew Henry]

In a 2015 commencement speech at Dillard University, Denzell Washington urged graduates to put God first and thank him constantly:

Put God first in everything you do … Everything that I have is by the grace of God, understand that. It's a gift … I didn't always stick with him, but He stuck with me … While you're [on your knees], say thank you. Thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what is already yours … True desire in the heart for anything good is God's proof to you sent beforehand that it's already yours … When you get it, reach back, pull someone else up.  [Michael W. Chapman, Denzel Washington to College Grads: 'Put God First,' CSNNEWS.Com (5-11-15)]

If you are making plans, commit them to The Lord; for The Lord knows the desirable things for your life.

Be patient and calm a quarrel

Proverbs 15:18 (NIV)

18 A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

Anger strikes the fire which sets cities and churches into a flame: A wrathful man, with his peevish passionate reflections, stirs up strife, and sets people together by the ears; he gives occasion to others to quarrel, and takes the occasion that others give, though ever so trifling. When men carry their resentments too far, one quarrel still produces another. Meekness the great peace-maker: He that is slow to anger not only prevents strife, that it be not kindled, but appeases it if it be already kindled, brings water to the flame, unites those again that have fallen out, and by gentle methods brings them to mutual concessions for peace-sake. [Matthew Henry]

A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did helped solve the impasse. Finally, in desperation, the young rabbi sought out the synagogue's 99-year-old founder.

He met the old rabbi in the nursing home and poured out his troubles. "So tell me," he pleaded, "was it the tradition for the congregation to stand during the prayers?"

"No," answered the old rabbi.

"Ah," responded the younger man, "then it was the tradition to sit during the prayers."

"No," answered the old rabbi.

"Well," the young rabbi responded, "what we have is complete chaos! Half the people stand and shout and the other half sit and scream."

"Ah," said the old rabbi, "that was the tradition."  [As retold by P. J. Alindogan, The Potter's Jar blog, "Communicate and Relate" (9-4-11)]

Habits become ingrained in our lives. Some are good for us, while others are hurtful. Some habits should learn to be tolerated for they don’t make much difference one way or another. Learn to examine the habits and choices in your life to ensure you are not one that stirs up conflict, but instead brings calm in the middle of a quarrel.

Let God draw close

Ecclesiastes 5:1 (NLT)

1 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God.

This is a warning to those who belong to God. When you enter into His sanctuary you are to listen carefully and keep your mouth quiet so that you will hear God as He speaks to you. God doesn’t want mindless offerings, but instead wants a clean and righteous heart.

Jill Severson (with Lane Severson), "Love to Last a Lifetime," writes in The Guilty Conscience blog  dated (2-5-13); My mom struggles with Alzheimer's. Something about the evening makes her even more confused. Medical professionals have a term for this: Sundowners. It's a common experience for folks with Alzheimer's. For mom, when evening comes, she gets disoriented and demands to be taken "home." My mom and dad live in an apartment facility for the elderly, so we're never sure what mom means by "home."

One night I was watching TV with my mom and dad in their apartment and mom started pleading, "I'm tired. Can someone help get my coat and take me home?" At first her questions are addressed generally to the room and then to me and my husband. She gets frustrated and cries "ACK" with full German disgust. But she focuses on her husband: Why won't he take her home?

Two years ago my dad had his voice box removed so it's difficult for him to talk. He can't comfort his frightened, sick wife. But my mother can't remember the surgery so she demands, "Why won't you talk to me?" He shakes his head back and forth. This makes her angrier. "He just shakes his head and never talks to me," she shouts to the room. She calls him selfish, uncaring, and a host of hurtful words and names. My Dad's eyes are misting. He's a tough man. Strong language is not foreign to this old Norwegian painting contractor. But he understands what she is really saying: "I'm scared and confused." That's what really breaks his heart.

Finally my mom decides that she could spend the night "here" (her apartment). She turns as sweet as she had been horrid. "You poor man," she tells my Dad. "Swede, you are a good man, we can stay here can't we? We'll be fine for tonight." She goes to her room and gets ready for bed. Coming to my Dad one last time before retiring she puts her hands on each arm of his chair, gets her face about a foot from his, and with the most endearing look asks, "Do you have something to say to me?"

"I love you," he mouths.

"I love you too," she replies. And then goes to bed.

They have a love that lasts a lifetime—so ingrained that even the loss of memory and voice cannot touch it.

God also loves us for a lifetime and God never forgets and always speaks to us, we just need to remember to be quiet and listen and let God draw close to us.

Lessons in wisdom

Proverbs 9:9 (NKJV)

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

The words of the teacher tell us that those who are wise will increase in wisdom. Teach a just person and their learning will increase. These things are difficult for the foolish and evil ones.

On February 22, 1911, Gaston Hervieu climbed the Eiffel Tower to test a new parachute for pilots. He checked the wind, took a nervous breath, and began the test. His silk parachute filled with air, then sailed safely to the ground. Hervieu did not make the jump himself; he used a 160-pound test dummy. To one man this was an outrage. Franz Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who was developing a parachute of his own. He denounced Hervieu's use of a dummy as a "sham" and, one year later, on the morning of Sunday, February 4, 1912, arrived at the Eiffel Tower to conduct his own experiment.

As Reichelt posed for pictures he announced, "I am so convinced my device will work properly that I will jump myself." Gaston Hervieu pulled him aside and tried to stop him. Hervieu claimed there were technical reasons why Reichelt's parachute would not work. The two men had a heated discussion until, finally, Reichelt walked away.

Modern parachutes use 700 square feet of fabric and should be deployed only above 250 feet; Reichelt's parachute used less than 350 square feet of fabric, and he deployed it at 187 feet. He had neither the surface area nor the altitude needed to make a successful jump. Hervieu was not the only one who had told Reichelt that his parachute suit would not work. It had also been rejected by a team of experts who told him, "The surface of your device is too small. You will break your neck."

He not only ignored experts, he also ignored his own data. He tested his parachute using dummies, and they crashed. He tested his parachute by jumping thirty feet into a haystack, and he crashed. He tested his parachute by jumping twenty feet without a haystack, and he crashed and broke his leg. Instead of changing his invention, he clung to his bad idea in the face of all evidence and advice.

Reichelt fell for four seconds, accelerating constantly, until he hit the ground at sixty miles an hour, making a cloud of frost and dust and a dent six inches deep. He was killed on impact. [Adapted from Kevin Ashton, How to Fly a Horse (Doubleday, 2015), pp. 88-89]

May we never be as blind and foolish as to disregard the teachings and advice of others! Envy blinded Reichelt and he would not listen to others or take note of his own observations of failure.

Let us always be willing to listen and see the foolishness of our own ways.

The resurrection and the life

John 11:25 (NIV)

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;

Those who place their faith in Christ as The Savior will have eternal life after death in this world.

A friend of mine used to work as a denominational official in Minnesota. One of his jobs was to travel to little rural communities where they didn't have churches to do funerals. He would go out with an undertaker, and they would drive together in the undertaker's hearse. One time, they were on their way back from a funeral, and my friend, John, was feeling quite tired. He decided he would take a nap. Since they were in a hearse, he thought, Well, I'll just lie down in the back of the hearse.

Sounds like kind of a creepy thing to do, but this is a true story. The guy who was driving the hearse pulled into a service station, because he was running low on gas. The service station attendant was filling up the tank and he was kind of freaked out, because there was a body stretched out in the back. While he was filling the tank, John woke up, opened his eyes, knocked on the window and waved at the attendant. John said he never saw anybody run so fast in his whole life.  [John Ortberg, "The Empty Tomb: How Will You Respond?" Menlo Park Presbyterian Church]

We don’t expect the dead to come back to life, but that is exactly what happens upon death in this mortal world. The question is will you place your faith in Jesus Christ to be with Him when that moment happens for you.

Light of the world

John 8:12 (NLT)

Jesus, the Light of the World

12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. One of the rabbies saith, Light is the name of the Messiah, as it is written, Dan. 2:22, And light dwelleth with him. God is light, and Christ is the image of the invisible God; God of gods, Light of lights. He was expected to be a light to enlighten the Gentiles (Lu. 2:32), and so the light of the world, and not of the Jewish church only. [Matthew Henry Commentary]

One weekend, author Paul Tripp gave his teenage son permission to spend the weekend at a friend's house. But during the weekend Paul received a call from the friend's mother, informing him that Paul's son was not at her home. (Her son had felt guilty about covering for Paul's son and confessed to his mom.) After Paul told his wife about their son's deception, Paul said, "Luella could feel my anger, and she said, 'I think you need to pray.' I said, 'I don't think I can pray for him right now.' She said, 'I didn't mean for you to pray for him; I think you need to pray for you.'"

Paul writes:

I went to my bedroom to pray for God's help, and it hit me that, because of his love, God had already begun a work of rescue in my son's life. God was the one who pressed in on the conscience of my son's friend, causing him to confess to his mom. God was the one who gave her the courage to make that difficult call to me. And God was the one giving me time to get a hold of myself before my son came home. Now, rather than wanting to rip into my son, I wanted to be part of what this God of grace was doing in this moment of rebellion, deception, hurt, and disappointment.

After giving his son a couple of hours to relax upon his return, Paul asked him if they could talk.

"Do you ever think about how much God loves you?" Paul asked his son.

"Sometimes," he answered.

"Do you ever think how much God's grace operates in your life every day?"

His son looked up but didn't speak.

"Do you know how much God's grace was working in your life even this weekend?"

"Who told you?" his son asked.

Paul said:

"You have lived your life in the light. You've made good choices. You've been an easy son to parent, but this weekend you took a step toward the darkness. You can live in the darkness if you want. You can learn to lie and deceive. You can use your friends as your cover … You can step over God's boundaries. Or you can determine to live in God's light. I'm pleading with you: don't live in the darkness; live in the light."

"As I turned to walk away," Paul wrote, "I heard his voice from behind me saying, 'Dad, don't go.' As I turned around, with tears in his eyes, he said, 'Dad, I want to live in the light, but it's so hard. Will you help me?'" [Paul David Tripp, Forever: Why You Can't Live Without It (Zondervan, 2011), pp. 151-153]

Peace for the family

Genesis 21:11-17 (NIV)

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. 17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.

This is the promise of Ishmael becoming a great nation, as he fathered the nomadic Arab nations.

In the Old Testament Abraham cannot have a child with his wife, Sarah. So, she gives him her handmaiden Hagar. With Hagar Abraham has a child, a son, Ishmael.

Eventually, though, in her old age Sarah conceives of a child with divine help. That child is Isaac. After the birth of her son, Sarah forces Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away from their home. Although, in the Qur’an, it is Allah who tells Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael into the desert.

While some Jews and Christians believe they are descendents of Isaac, Muslims believe they are the inheritors of Ishmael’s legacy – that they, along with Jews and Christians, are the “children of Abraham”.

And they believe it was Ishmael, not Isaac, Abraham almost sacrificed to God. The sparing of Ishmael’s life is celebrated with the festival Eid ul-Adha. When God spared Ishmael, the boy was replaced with a ram – it is because of this Muslims make animal sacrifices during the festival.

Ishmael is highly regarded in Islam for his goodness and wisdom. After wandering in the desert with his mother – Hagar’s search for water is reenacted during the Hajj each year – they settled in Mecca. There it is believed Ishmael built the Ka’aba with Abraham. [http://muslimvoices.org/ishmael-islam/; Muslim Voices; Ishmael and Islam; by Rosemary Pennington; December 10, 2008]

Abraham had two sons. Ishmael was born by his slave Hagar. The second son Issac was later born to the wife of Abraham. While Ishmael did not found Islam, those who were descendants of Ishmael followed the teachings of Muhammad. Today there are struggles of two great nations, Christians and Muslims, which began long ago due to Abraham and Sarah not listening closely to God. A generation of family problems has lasted for thousands of years..

Pray that healing for the family of Abraham can take place so there may be peace across the world. We are the “children of Abraham”, may God bring peace back into the family.

The actions in your life

1 Samuel 1:23 (NKJV)

23 Talk no more so very proudly; Let no arrogance come from your mouth, For the Lord is the God of knowledge; And by Him actions are weighed.

Here is a warning that we would not boast with pride or arrogance about the things we have done; for The Lord God is the God of knowledge and known to Him are all deeds of man, both good and evil.

There is an axiom that says, “Actions speak louder than words.” Jesus said in Matthew 7, “17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” So people are known by the fruit or the actions they produce in their lives.

Let’s use the letters from ACTION to show how a person can demonstrate good fruit in their life.

A – Accountability. We must hold ourselves accountable for the actions we take in our lives.

C – Consistent. Our actions must be consistent. We do not want to be hot one day and cold the next.

T – Thought. We must put though into our actions so as not to be careless or hurtful.

I – Integrity. Our lives should be filled with integrity so others know our actions are honest and fair.

O – Opinions. Fact must out weight opinions. There are many opinions, but facts hold truth.  

N – Negotiate. At times we must negotiate to ensure fairness is provided to all parties.

Be careful with the actions of your life for the Lord God will weight them and see whether they bear good or bad fruit.