Merry Christmas to ALL!

"And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to ALL people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:9-11 NKJV

You don't have to look very long to see that our country is divided. We are divided in our views of politics, social issues, faith, etc. When there is division you get the subtle idea that you can't please all people...so pick a side. Hopefully you pick the right side, because nobody wants to be on the wrong side. Unfortunately, the spirit of division has crept into the Christmas season. Even some headlines declare there's a "war" on Christmas. Again, the unspoken message is "pick a side".

I am so thankful that 2000 years ago that God didn't choose a side. He could have, but the good news is, He didn't. His first declaration of the birth of  His son was "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to ALL people". Sadly, this message has been lost in our culture and traditions. Even among those who are "pro-Christmas".

The biggest stigma given to Christmas is that it's a "religious" holiday. With that connotation it makes Christmas appear to be an exclusive holiday. This notion could not be further from the truth. Christmas isn't just a day to be celebrated by a particular group, it is an act of God's love towards all people. Love came down from heaven and invaded earth for all to behold!

The original Christmas was not part of God's plan to build a multi-denominational religion or to create a society of law abiding citizens. That first Christmas morning was an expression of a Father's heart. Not just in the birth of His Son, but for us to all become sons and daughters. "Yet to ALL who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12 NIV).

This Christmas, no matter which side you find yourself on, I hope that you are able to remove yourself from all the distractions and focus on the Father's amazing love for you. Merry Christmas to ALL!

The Humility of God

"Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?" Psalm 113:5-6 (NKJV)

Most likely you will never hear a song titled "Our God is a Humble God". I don't know if humble is even a blip on our mental radar when we think of the quality traits of God. It just doesn't quite carry the weight as awesome, powerful, or mighty. Even though these traits are true and worthy of our praise, I wonder if we are overlooking something that could potentially change our hearts forever. When we praise God for His power it reveals His worth to us, but when we see His humility it reveals our worth to Him. 

The true story of Christmas goes beyond the cry "A savior is born!". It's about the humility of God. God chose to come as a child so that men could come to Him. The shepherds came to see Him. The wise men came and worshipped Him. He was approachable at His birth and has been ever since. That's "good tidings of great joy"!

God's humility didn't end at the birth of His Son. Jesus "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant... And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:7-8 NKJV). Why would Jesus come and humble Himself to the point of death? Because we are valuable to Him. The cross reveals our value!

This Christmas when you sing :

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the King of Angels:
Chorus:
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Remember, He adored us first by humbling Himself and coming to us.  Jesus' invitation to us is "Come to me... for I am humble in heart." (Matt. 11:28-29 NIV) Will you?

Everything for Life

I find it interesting how culture dictates what's important. Have you ever noticed how very little promotion is done for Thanksgiving? Mega retail stores will promote Halloween around the first of September and slowly add Christmas items to their shelves. Once Halloween has passed the focus is almost completely on Christmas. They bombard you with catalogs, flyers, TV ads, and whatever means possible to create a desire for the things that you don't have. Whether the non-promotion of Thanksgiving is intentional or not, they want us to focus on our lack instead of being thankful for what we do have. An attitude of lack can rob us of a life of joy and peace. If we are not careful we can become victims of this subtle attitude that pollutes the atmosphere of our hearts.

Now I'm not going to say that I'm above all this. I do have a "wish list" of the things I would like to have and if I'm not careful my list can influence the attitude of my heart. Proverbs 4:23 says "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (NIV). I realize that sometimes that this can be a challenge, but God doesn't leave us to do this on our own.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV).

Prayer is powerful, but have you ever been in a situation where no matter how much you prayed nothing seemed to change and peace seemed nonexistent? In fact, your prayers only seem to make you more anxious and conscientious of your problem. So what gives? This can be a very precarious place for our hearts if we allow ourselves to think that God is holding out on us. We need to be careful not to let our lack define what is true.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him..." 2Peter 1:3 (NIV)

Everything? Really?

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32 (NKJV)

When God gave us his Son he held nothing back. He "freely" gave us all things through Him. It's important that we grow in our "knowledge of him" to realize how much we have been given. Only when we lack in our understanding do we truly suffer.

{MAGNIFY}

"I will praise the name of  God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Ps. 69:30 ESV

I enjoy looking up the definition of a word. Even if I have an idea of what a word means, I still take the time to look it up because it may help me to see something from a diffent perspective.

Take "magnify" for example. It is most often understood as praise. In fact, if you look up the definition for magnify at merriam-webster.com the first thing you'll read is "extol" or "laud". I know that when I have an attitude of thanksgiving it's easy to praise God. Even though this validates what I already know, it was the other part of magnify that got my attention. Magnify also means to "increase" or "enlarge".

This made me pause and think. Is it possible that I can increase God with thanksgiving?

To help "enlarge" my understanding I looked up the original Hebrew word for magnify. The word is "gadal" which means "to grow, become great or important, promote, make powerful, praise, magnify, do great things."

Now I'm not saying that we can literally make God bigger, but we can increase our understanding, perspective, and revelation of who He is in our life.

Thanksgiving can be the key that opens the door that gives God the opportunity to move in our lives. When we offer thanksgiving we actually humble ourselves and make  God bigger than our problem or situation. When Jesus fed the multitudes he took what was given him, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks (Matthew 14:19). He knew that God was bigger than the problem.

As a thought, maybe thanksgiving is not for God as much it is for us so that we can experience an increase of His presence, power, provision, and phavor in our lives.

Honor Giving

Okay. It seems that I've been a holiday blogger. This was not my original intent, but I'm believing that this will change next year. I really do enjoy writing, but family, work, and the joys of life win my time and attention on a daily basis. 2012 will be different. You will be reading a lot more posts from me. If you choose to be a follower, please feel free to comment and critique any post. I welcome any feedback (good or bad) that you may provide. I would appreciate it!

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is upon us again. The holiday season is my favorite time of year. There is a noticeable shift in the atmosphere as people get ready to celebrate life with friends and family. I do realize that this "atmosphere" is not necessarily a positive "shift" for some, but  I think for most of us it's "the most wonderful time of the year" (sorry, couldn't resist the cliche).

Apart from eating great food (and lots of it) Thanksgiving can be a time of reflection. In fact, how often are we encourage to do some form of reflecting from ministers, well meaning friends, celebrity tweets, and even the media? Why is it so important? I believe that it's important because it honors the giver. To truly be thankful, honor must be present.

When we give thanks for our family we honor them for the love, compassion, joy, and even the trials that draw us closer to one another. When we give thanks for our friends we honor them for the laughter shared, perhaps a time of mourning together, and any sacrifice they may have made to be a part of our journey.  We honor our service members by thanking them for their service to our country and for protecting the freedom that we enjoy. When we are thankful it honors the giver. For those who are truly thankful, honoring others comes very natural for them.

We are taught from an early age to be thankful, but have we learned to honor others? 

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another..." ~ Romans 12:10 NKJV

Love Lifts Up

For the past few days I've had a verse that kept coming to my mind.  It's not your typical verse for the Easter season.  In fact, it's more common during the Christmas season because it directs our attention towards God and reminds us of the gift that He gave with the birth of his Son.  I'm sure most of you already know which verse I'm referring to. It's John 3:16.

So why is this particular verse grabbing my attention this week when most people are reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus and not his birth? To satisfy my curiosity I finally decided to look up the verse.  What I discovered may surprise you.  This verse has more in common with Easter than I originally thought.  You see, John 3:16 has to be read with John 3:14 and 15 to understand the gift of God was not only with the birth of his Son, but also in the death and resurrection of his Son.

"...the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Isn't it interesting how something can get lost in our traditions?  Jesus said in Matthew 18:11 "The Son of Man came to save that which was lost." (NKJV) not "the lost".  Sadly most people won't see this because this verse is not in every translation. That which was lost was the ability to have a relationship with the heavenly Father and enter into His presence.  A price had to be paid and that price was fully paid with the death and resurrection of his Son.

This relationship with the heavenly Father is available for all who believe. The beauty of this amazing reality is that God does not wait for us to enter into His presence. He brings the fullness of His presence into our hearts the moment we believe so that we can experience new life with Him - all because of His love for you.

Life - God's Charisma

Amy and I spent last night wrapping Christmas presents for the kids.  I was a little reluctant at first only because I was overwhelmed by the amount of presents that needed to be wrapped (one of the side effects of having four kids), but after wrapping the first gift I was in the 'spirit'.

Truth be told, I enjoy wrapping presents.  I think it's the anticipation that begins to swell within me when I envision the reaction of my children as they tear the wrapping paper in hopes of revealing "the gift" that they have been anxiously waiting for. I love giving gifts to my children!

Unfortunately, no matter how perfect my gifts are, or how much my kids beg and beg for a specific gift, there comes a time when that gift no longer captures their attention and it's on to the next thing.  Does that stop me from giving gifts?  No, because my love for them never stops.  Even though my love is imperfect at times, I am given a glimpse into our heavenly Father's heart.  The words of Jesus saying "So if you know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will your Father in heaven keep giving good things to those who keep asking him!" (Matthew 7:11 Complete Jewish Bible) start become more clear.

Our God is a generous God and he has a gift for you... LIFE!

"...God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus" (Romans 6:23 The Message).

Many of us are living, but are we experiencing "real life"?

Zoe is the Greek word for "life" in this passage.  It means "absolute fullness of life, real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed."  Can you honestly say that these words describe your life?  I'll be honest and admit that my life, at times, has lacked these qualities.  I have spent my days striving for it, and coming up short -but why?  You see, this life is a gift.  It can only be received.  It can not be achieved through my efforts.

The Greek word for "gift" is "charisma". It means "a favor with which one receives without merit of his own; the gift of divine grace".  If you're like me, receiving doesn't come easy, but I'm learning.  My children don't have a problem with receiving.  The love getting presents! They can't wait for the next time they'll receive a gift.  Perhaps we should take their lead and live life with that kind of expectancy.  Is it possible that this is what Jesus meant when he said "I can guarantee this truth:  Whoever doesn't receive the kingdom of God as a little child receives it will never enter it." (Mark 10:15 God's Word Translation)?

My prayer this Christmas is that I become a better "receiver" so that I may experience life, God's charisma.