I believe that God uses difficult circumstances to grow us in our faith. I will likely be canceled by some readers of this blog and that’s okay. Followers of Jesus need to focus on the life changing impact of the Gospel more than political rants. The lengthy political division in our nation has given us lots of opportunities to reevaluate priorities in our relationship with God and others. The frightening uncertainty of the past few years has also given followers of Jesus a chance to show how faith makes a difference in crisis. The results have been mixed. I used to get angry and judgemental when those who identify as Christians didn’t live up to their title. Now I mainly feel sad at missed opportunities to show how Jesus makes a difference when we trust Him during trials. Christians should have a message of hope during this confusing and anxious season. Jesus followers should be demonstrating that trusting God gives
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This week we will finish one of my least favorite tasks of the year. Taking down our Christmas decorations always fills me with melancholy. I love Christmas and the message of hope and joy it brings. That God entered human form and gave us hope in a Savior who understands our struggle. We packed up a treasured Nativity creche that has been a part of our family tradition for decades. That miracle in a Bethlehem stable is where I place my joy as I head into a very unstable New Year. I find my joy in the Messiah, the Lord – who was born in the city of David. It is so easy to remember the reason for hope during Christmas. It also easy to forget that when things turn dark. We also packed away a decoration that spells out JOY. Now that we are past this wonderful season it would be easy to pack away joy in the attic and concentrate on cultural
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One of my contributions with these modest weekly musings is to ask tough questions. While listening to the Christmas carol “Away in a Manger” my inquiring mind kicked in. You likely know verse three of the song. The cattle are lowingThe poor Baby wakesBut little Lord JesusNo crying He makes As I listened an important series of difficult and probing inquiries popped into my head. I can’t answer the last question but I can help with the others. Lowing is defined at dictionary.com as “the characteristic sound uttered by cattle; a moo”. So little baby Jesus was awakened by the characteristic sound uttered by a cow. That would not have flowed well in the lyric so I understand using lowing. The next part of the song is disturbing to those of us who are or have been parents. If any of the babies who grew up in our household were awakened by cattle lowing they would be squalling (defined as “the characteristic sound uttered by a ticked off baby;
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This is the week we finish one of my least favorite tasks of the year. Taking down the Christmas decorations always fills me with melancholy. I love Christmas and the message of hope and joy it brings. That God entered human form and gave us hope in a Savior who understands our struggles. We packed up a treasured Nativity creche that has been a part of our family tradition for decades. That miracle in a Bethlehem stable is where I place my joy as I head into a very unstable New Year. I find my joy in the Messiah, the Lord – who was born in the city of David. It is so easy to remember the reason for hope during Christmas. It also easy to forget that when things turn dark. We also packed away a decoration that spells out JOY. Now that we are past this wonderful season it would be easy to pack away joy in the attic and concentrate on
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It was so sad to hear of the passing of the incredibly talented singer Mandisa. I remembered a duet from Mandisa and TobyMac that touched me deeply. They addressed the heartbreaking issue of racism and political division that affects our culture and often impacts the church. These lyrics immediately grabbed my heart. Are you left?Are you right?Pointing fingers, taking sidesWhen are we gonna realize? We all bleed the sameWe’re more beautiful when we come togetherWe all bleed the sameSo tell me why, tell me whyWe’re divided. Why indeed? I am praying for another leader like Martin Luther King Jr who will remind us that hateful rhetoric never, ever, ever changes a heart. Followers of Christ have a message of hope and light that is desperately needed. But we can get caught up in the politics of our world and snuff out that light. I have been guilty of that in my journey at times. I fear our culture will get darker in
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Social media can be deeply distressing. So many posters are downright mean. If you disagree on an issue the broad brushing judges assign you to outcast status without any effort to understand your heart. May I share honestly what bothers me even more on social media? When those who claim to be followers of Jesus are divisive, judgemental, and graceless. How can we claim to have something of eternal value when we can’t focus on what unites us? A song from Mandisa and TobyMac came up on my playlist this week. The message is so important for all of us. Are you left?Are you right?Pointing fingers, taking sidesWhen are we gonna realize? We all bleed the sameWe’re more beautiful when we come togetherWe all bleed the sameSo tell me why, tell me whyWe’re divided. Why indeed? I am praying for leaders who will remind us that hateful rhetoric never, ever, ever changes a heart. Followers of Christ have a message of hope and light
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Time Magazine decided to try and rank the most important historical figures by aggregating millions of traces of opinions into a computational data-centric analysis. Their researchers ranked historical figures just as Google ranks web pages, by integrating a diverse set of measurements about their reputation into a single consensus value. Number one on the list was Jesus Christ. I am fascinated by the impact of this man. From the time Jesus began His three-year ministry He never had an office. One person tagging along with the Nazarene asked if they could join the group. Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” (Luke 9:58) Songwriter Rich Mullins wrote that “the hope of the whole world rests on the shoulders of a homeless man”. Jesus came from modest means. He lived on the wrong side of the culturally acceptable tracks in the town of
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