Making Right Choices (in the Woods)

In Hosea chapter 10, we can read these words of challenge and conviction from the Lord:
12Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.13You have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, Because you trusted in your own way, In the multitude of your mighty men.

I believe strongly in the principle of sowing and reaping - it's taught in the Scriptures, and as we think back on our lives, perhaps we can see incidences where the choices we have made have resulted in negative consequences.  The trajectory of our lives becomes guided by the decisions that we make.

So, as we enter a new year, it's important that we allow God's Word to guide us.  Where we have missed the mark, we can confess our sins and ask the Lord to give us wisdom in the future.  If we're reaping the results of errant behavior, we can still rely on the grace of God to sustain us.  And, even when we face pain and suffering that is not of our own making, we can still trust Him to take our adversity and use it for His glory.

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We can be challenged by a passage of Scripture from Galatians 6, which reads:
7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.8For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.9And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
The movie, Into the Woods, based on a Broadway play of the same name, has made quite an impact on the movie box office so far - it actually edged out Unbroken to move into the number 2 slot last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, and even though it contains a share of fairy tale characters, it definitely would not be for small children.   It plays like a "happily-ever-after" story; only things really go dark during the final third of the film, as some of the characters experience the consequences of their choices.

The synopsis: a baker and his wife are childless and make a deal with a witch to be able to bear children.  She challenges the couple to bring her 4 items from the woods: a cow, a cape, golden hair, and a shiny slipper.  As the plot unfolds, the couple finds the items, belonging, respectively, to Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Cinderella.  But, the baker and his wife are willing to steal and deceive in order to comply with the witch's proposed bargain.  Even though the movie builds to a seemingly happy conclusion, it then portrays a cautionary tale where bad choices result in negative consequences.

To reinforce this sowing and reaping principle, I came across an article on The Christian Post website recently that reported that Teen Mom 2 star Leah Messer has had a tumultuous year but recently called it the best year of her life, "by the grace of God."

Not being familiar with the show, I came across a biography of Ms. Messer.  According to the website, Hollywood Life, Leah Messer "shot to fame after appearing on 16 & Pregnant, and she has sparked controversy because by the time she was 20-years-old, she was married twice and had three children."

The show, 16 & Pregnant, as well as her current series, Teen Mom 2, are products of MTV. The biography continues:

She and her boyfriend Corey Simms welcomed twin girls called Aliannah and Aleeah on Dec. 16 2009. They got married after a whirlwind proposal, but divorced in April 2011. Leah went on to marry Jeremy Calvert in April 2012, and they had their first baby, a girl, on Feb. 4 2013.

The Post article says that "Messer has had a year filled with a custody battle with her ex-husband, accusations of infidelity, and taking care of three children, one with special needs."  She also reportedly had quit the television show, only to announce her return.   But, the report says that Leah recently called 2014 the best year of her life, "by the grace of God."

Apparently there is a faith element here.  An earlier Christian Post article reported that Leah is said to be renewing her faith amid reports of ongoing personal struggles.

She was reportedly spotted attending a service at the Sissonville Community Church in Charleston, West Virginia on Nov. 22 where a source claims she appeared to be engaged during a sermon.

The article reports that a source told InTouch magazine, "She's started going to a church that embraces forgiveness and recovery. She's determined to make a complete turnaround," .

During the Nov. 22 sermon, her pastor was preaching about finding strength in Jesus to overcome addiction and substance abuse.

"He said that bad habits like drugs, sex and alcoholism can be broken when one finds Jesus. Leah was nodding her head in agreement the entire time," the source continued. "It seemed to really hit home for her."

So, it's reported that Leah Messer, or Messer-Calvert, has taken a step toward God's grace, and, if her turn to the Lord is sincere, I would say, "good for her."  But she is obviously experiencing the consequences of some errant choices that she has made, that she has allowed to unfold in a very public setting.

Sometimes life will be tough because we live in a fallen world.  Sometimes our circumstances go south on us because of poor choices that we have made.

I have to think about the people who came to Jesus in John chapter 9:
1Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.2And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"3Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Regardless of the type of year that you have had, the coming of 2015 gives you the chance to hit the "reset" button. And, really, because the Lord's mercies are new every morning, according to Lamentations 3, we can approach each day with a fresh start and a fresh perspective.

You may be reaping the consequences of some bad choices that you have made.  While the Lord offers us forgiveness, there is no guarantee that we will be exempt from the consequences of our sins.  But, His grace is sufficient each day.

We can also seek God's wisdom and rely on God's strength to make good decisions.  Even though we have may have made bad choices, we can partner with the Holy Spirit to learn from our mistakes and begin to make right, God-honoring decisions.

You may be experiencing pain and suffering in your life for no apparent reason - we can have hope in the Lord and trust that He will use our adversities for His glory.  We live in a messed-up world and life "in the woods" can be disappointing, confusing, painful, and fraught with trouble, but we know a Lord who walks with us and will direct us.  As we enter a new year, we can make the overarching decision to allow the Lord to control our thoughts and our actions.

Not-So-Merry?

In James 1, we see the exhortation to walk in a manner that reflects the character of Christ:
19So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

God has called us to walk in love and to exude His peace and joy. It's a world that can be frustrating on so many fronts. There are those who do not appreciate our faith perspective and will even be hostile toward us because of our walk with the Lord. Jesus told His disciples in John 16 that we would encounter tribulation in this world, but to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. We are called to be people who are so connected to Christ that we reflect His character in our dealings with people. When we encounter those who are angry, we can respond in peace, and we have to guard against allowing anger to have a foothold in our lives.

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In Colossians 4, there is an admonition about the way that we behave toward other people:
5Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

There was a incident at New York's La Guardia Airport the Tuesday before Christmas which resulted in a man being escorted off the plane, according to a story on the New York Post website.

The man was reportedly waiting to board a plane to Dallas when a cheerful gate agent began welcoming passengers with the phrase, "Merry Christmas."

The grumpy passenger, who appeared to be traveling alone, barked at the woman, “You shouldn’t say that because not everyone celebrates Christmas.”

The agent replied, “Well, what should I say then?”

“Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ ” the man shouted before brushing past her.

Once on the plane, he was warmly greeted by a flight attendant who also wished him a “merry Christmas," which led to him lecturing the attendants and pilot about the use of that phrase.   Even though the crew tried to calm him down, he didn't back off and was eventually escorted off the plane as onlookers burst into cheers and applause.

Why so angry - over...Christmas?  Who knows what worldview the man on the plane holds - he may have a predisposition toward Christmas due to some personal pain centered around the holiday or it may be something else.

But, it is astounding that in our culture, there are people who get really worked up over people expressing their convictions to the extent that they want them to just be quiet.

I think actor Kevin Sorbo is on to something.  You know, he played an atheist professor in the movie, God's Not Dead.   A story on the Christian Today website reports on an interview in which Sorbo questioned why some atheists are offended by Christian symbols that they do not believe in.

He told Access Hollywood Live, "It's funny how they can get nativity scenes pulled down because they say it offends them but they're offended by something they don't believe in."

Sorbo added, regarding angry atheists that he has seen on TV, "I see the anger of these (atheist) guys on TV and it's like 'Wow, how do you get so angry at something you don't believe in?'"

Well, he has a point - and it presents a challenge for believers in Christ.  When we encounter people who are angry at us or exhibit hostility toward us just because we are Christians, we have to be careful that we do not respond in kind.   Sure, it's frustrating when people reject our faith perspective and seek to restrict our viewpoints from being shared, but we have to be careful that we don't engage in "shouting matches," figuratively or digitally and lose our ability to reach people with the love of Christ.  Sure, possess strong convictions, be prepared to defend our faith, but do so in a manner that is winning rather than warring.   Christian apologist Greg Koukl speaks of acting with diplomacy rather than "D-Day" regarding those who do not accept our convictions.

And, this story can be a reminder to us to not assume an angry posture.  We should be known by the love that we demonstrate and the joy that we exude, so that when people see us, they are drawn to the Jesus inside of us.  If we are angry and frustrated - and that could occur due to a myriad of stimuli - we reflect to the world a lack of dependence on God and abiding in Christ.

It's a messy world, and there are people who do not know Christ who want us as Christians to just go away and take our symbols and expressions of His existence with us.  That won't happen, and we have to be careful that we are not intimidated into silence or that we are provoked to insolence, which could repel the very people whom we are called to win.

A Christmas Transformation

Christmas is now in our rear-view mirror, and I trust that you had a wonderful time with family and friends, and a time of reflection about what Jesus has done for you in coming to earth as a child, growing up to be a man, living a sinless life, and becoming the perfect sacrifice for our sins, to bring us into a relationship with God.   That relationship includes being able to come before Him and present our requests to Him in prayer.  Jesus taught in Matthew 7:
7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

The old cliche says to "be careful what you ask for."  And, usually that implies a less-than-acceptable result.  For the believer, God wants us to align our hearts with Him and to be careful and thoughtful, led by the Spirit, in what we pray.  Then, as we come before Him consistently, we can have confidence that He will work according to His will.

There may be some obedience required on our part in order to see the answer, but as we are submissive to Him, He may use us in the process of seeing the answer to our prayer, or to the prayer of another.

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In James chapter 5, we can see a powerful template for God-honoring prayer:
13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.15And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.16Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

The Jackson family of Gurley, Alabama were able to return to their home on Christmas Eve, due to the generosity of the people of the city and what was termed a "Gideon miracle."

Here's the story, from AL.com: until recently, Andrea Jackson and her husband, Chris, had lived in the house where she grew up, along with their two sons and her father.  However, because Chris has multiple sclerosis, that presented a set of challenges.  The home was not wheelchair-accessible. and it did not have air conditioning, and the summer heat exacerbated Chris's disease.  Andrea's father had recently become wheelchair-bound, also, resulting in him moving in.  The rent rose to a level that was too great for the Jacksons.  They moved into public housing.

Enter Sue Hereford. She was leading a Bible study on Gideon at her home in Gurley. On the Thursday before Thanksgiving, she gave Andrea a ride home - their new place, not her childhood home they had vacated. On the car ride that night, Sue said that she and Andrea, "...started praying
the Lord would show up in this situation in a huge way, ...where this would be so obviously from the Lord."

Sue said she prayed about the situation constantly over the next few days, and woke up the next Tuesday morning and thought, "What about an extreme home makeover?"  She e-mailed a friend at a home construction company and according to Sue, it took her exactly 20 seconds to email her back and say it was a great idea.  As Sue related, "From there, it just exploded."

Another construction company worked to make the home wheelchair-accessible.  The first company reconstituted the electrical wiring and provided Christmas gifts for the kids.  A local landscaping company worked on draining issues, a local bank donated money to help cover costs, and a painting company repainted the home.  And there are more examples.  Private individuals have also donated money that has been used to buy necessities like lighting, bunk beds for the boys, a mattress.

Sue Hereford said, "It's been incredible." Other than the first friend she contacted, she says she has not asked anyone for a single thing. She added, "This is a Gideon miracle."

She says that for the Jacksons, the home means a renewed sense of pride and stability, and everything else that comes with home ownership. For those that worked on the house, the universal sentiment has been one of thankfulness to be involved in the project. Sue says,  "I've heard over and over how much more meaningful this Christmas is than any other Christmas...This is a time of great joy. It's the best Christmas ever."

The best Christmas ever - not only for the family that was on the receiving end of the generosity of people, but for those that helped out.

It all started with one woman's sensitivity to hear from the Lord.  She had been teaching a Bible study on Gideon, who won a major victory after drastically cutting the number of soldiers fighting with him to only 300 people.  That victory, you could say, was something that could only be attributed to the Lord.   Remember what Sue prayed, that the resolution to the situation "would be so obviously from the Lord"?   

I think that can be a great prayer for us - to ask the Lord to show up in such a profound way that He and He alone gets the glory.  Sure, God used people to accomplish His work, as He generally will, but the outpouring of support and compassion was a demonstration of God's mighty, guiding hand.

We can also recognize the importance of being sensitive to the needs around us.  Sue Hereford was in touch with Andrea's plight, and she responded in two important ways:  she prayed consistently for a resolution.  She also received direction from the Lord and walked in it.   Fervent prayer and corresponding obedience and powerful components in seeing the work of the Lord done.   

So, we examine our hearts.  We know that God responds to the prayers of His people, and so we can approach Him with confidence.  We can also be prepared to act in faith as He provides direction, not to help Him out, mind you, but to experience the incredible partnership of allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to bring honor to God and God alone.

Advent-ure Day 23: Wise Men Worship Jesus

In the Christmas narrative, we see that there are definite times where worship occurs.  Mary rejoiced at the news that she would be giving birth to Jesus, the Messiah.  The angels had shouted, "Glory to God in the highest," and the shepherds, we're told, responded in worship after they had made haste to visit the Child.  The Wise Men rejoiced at the sight of the star, and worshiped Jesus upon their visit.

Perhaps during this Christmas season, you would consider how you can engage in worship to God and enter into His presence.  Psalm 84 says:
1b How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
2My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
And, here is what verse 10 says:10For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
As the song says, "Better is one day in your courts...than thousands elsewhere."  
We can be challenged to take time out - in the middle of our busy schedules, the preparation and the celebration, to prepare our hearts to meet with God and to rejoice in Him for sending his Son, Jesus, to bring us salvation. Thank Him for His great love and His faithfulness!

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We continue to approach Christmas Day as part of 25: A Spiritual Advent-ure, and we find those Magi, the Wise Men from the East, who have come to Jerusalem, visited King Herod, then followed the star - His star - to the house in Bethlehem where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were staying.   We read in Matthew 2:
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

There are several components to this visit in Bethlehem. Not only had they worshiped - rejoicing with exceedingly great joy - when they saw the star again, leading them to the place where Jesus was, but they worshiped at the house and present gifts to Him.  Now keep in mind that they didn't just run out to Target to pick up a few selected items to present to the Child - no, this was the culmination, apparently, of an intentional effort to show their appreciation to a special child to be born.

Their worship was intentional - it was deliberate, and I would say it was heartfelt.

I would dare say our challenge during this Christmas season is to take time to worship.

Make time to worship Jesus this Christmas...

This year marks the 100th anniversary of a remarkable event that took place across the front lines in World War I, just after the beginning of the conflict.  According to a CBS News report, the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914 took place "when groups of German and British soldiers briefly stopped shooting at each other and met and mingled in the no-man's-land between their lines -- before going back to shooting at each other."

"On the 100th anniversary, the encounter has been re-staged at one of the places along the old front line in Belgium where the truce originally occurred."

Chris Barker, whose three great-uncles were killed in the war, said the truce should be remembered because it shows a different side to a war more known for wholesale slaughter than humanitarian gesture.  He is quoted as saying, "I think it just shows the good in people that can be there...Whereas days before and afterwards it was barbarous and savage, but people can suddenly lay down their differences."

The CBS News report says that the truce is now "seen as a triumph of the human spirit, an interlude of reason in the madness of war. And it may have happened because the FULL madness of this war hadn't happened yet."

At the Imperial War Museum in London, historians like Alan Wakefield say the bitterness and hatred had not yet taken hold.

"The war hadn't got that sort of, as you say, dirty at that stage," said Wakefield. "It's really 1915 that things like poison gas comes along. Zeppelin airships are bombing London, Germans sink the liner Lusitania with civilian casualties. And the propaganda machine hasn't really fed on that and actually created those sort of hatreds between the two forces."

There are varying accounts as to what happened in the trenches along the front lines. The diaries of some British soldiers say they heard calling from across the way from the German line saying, "If you don't shoot, we won't, either."

It's unclear who stuck their heads up first, the British or the Germans. But before long troops were flooding out of trenches on both sides of the line and moving through the wire into "no man's land..." 

Then the story gets a little clouded, because there are reports, just a few, that a football, er, soccer game took place.  But, as CBS News points out, a British-German soccer game likely never happened.

Wakefield says, "If it happened -- and there's very few collaborative accounts -- there's second-, third-hand accounts of somebody hearing of a game going on somewhere."

Nevertheless, a commemorative game was observed last week in Aldershot, one of the sites where the truce took hold.   And, the carol, "Silent Night," was sung by soldiers on both sides in their respective languages.

I really love this story - and it's a reminder for each of us, during this Christmas season, to perhaps call a time out, and maybe even enjoy a Christmas Truce.  We read about the shepherds and Wise Men rejoicing, and that can challenge us to engage in worship ourselves.  Take time out to attend a special service.  Enjoy Advent with your family or friends.  Maybe take time out to serve someone else.  And, maybe you can carve out some personal time to worship the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, who came at Christmas to bring you new life.

And, maybe it's time for your own Christmas Truce, with respect to relationships.  It occurs that for some, Christmas can be a time when you are placed together with family members with whom you disagree or just flatout don't get along with.  Maybe this Christmas, the Prince of Peace can work in your heart to mend broken relationships.  Perhaps when the anger or disgust rises within your spirit or floods your mind, you can call an internal truce to allow God's peace, that passes all understanding, to give you a clearer picture on how you can live peaceably with those particularly irritating people.  God is exalted when we place Him in the center of our hearts, the center of our celebrations, and in the middle of our relationships, even with those who do not know our Savior.

Advent-ure Day 22: Wise Men Seek the Child

In the 8th chapter of Proverbs, the writer uses personification to describe wisdom - true wisdom that comes from God:
12"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.15By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.16By me princes rule, and nobles, All the judges of the earth.17I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
Here, wisdom is likened unto a person - wisdom, which encompasses knowledge, discretion, understanding and strength, is a characteristic that we can acquire and in which we can grow. Another verse in Proverbs tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So, if we want to be wise in God's eyes, we start with a reverence for God's ways and allow Him to teach us by His Word and to gain understanding and the ability to apply knowledge into the situations we face.  He offers us His wisdom - now our challenge is to really seek it out.

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The story of the birth of Jesus is one of promises kept and personal encounters.  Jesus came as a fulfillment of God's plan for redemption, and He came in a personal way into a personal world.  And, people saw Him face-to-face:  the shepherds, Simeon, Anna - all brought, in a way, to meet with Jesus.

In Matthew 2, we read the story of men who were brought from a faraway land to behold Jesus.
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,2saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 

We're told that Herod was troubled at this news.  He summoned the religious leaders, who directed Herod to that passage in Micah that said that he would be born in Bethlehem.  He dispatched the wise men to Bethlehem, as we see in verses 8 and 9:
8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
This portion of the Christmas story includes the concept of following God's direction.  In this case, the wise men saw a star, they discerned that it signified an important event, and they made a long journey to Bethlehem by way of Jerusalem and King Herod.  There was something indeed special in store for these sages, who were pursuing the heavens and found the One sent from heaven.

The wise men were on a search - they wanted to know the meaning of the sign in the heavens.  They were confident that they would find the "King of the Jews."  They identified the star in the East as "His" star.

If you are searching the Scriptures online, one site you may utilize is Bible Gateway.  The website has released some findings about what people have been searching for in the Bible during 2014.  According to a Christianity Today article on the study, the report shows that readers searched for love more than any other term. The word never fell out of the top 10 searches, and was the top searched word more than 200 days of the year. Other words such as forgiveness and healing largely remained in the top 50 search terms throughout the whole year, while words such as freedom and labor spiked during the Fourth of July and Labor Day, respectively.

The top verse searched for on Bible Gateway this past year? Why, it's John 3:16, followed by Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:13, Romans 8:28 and Psalm 23:4.

By contrast, according to another Christianity Today piece, YouVersion had Romans 12:2 in its top slot of searched Bible verses, followed by Philippians 4:8, Philippians 4:6, Jeremiah 29:11, and Matthew 6:33.

As CT points out, the two studies had only three verses in common in their respective top 10 lists: Philippians 4:6, Jeremiah 29:11, and Proverbs 3:5. CT says that this suggests a "discrepancy in what Bible readers seek for themselves versus what they think others should read."

I think there are three action verbs that we can take away from this portion of the story of the Wise Men.  One is preparing.  Another is searching.   The third is acting.   Consider this about these Magi:

They were learned men.  They knew that the star in the East signified that something special was occurring.  That's not to say that they were necessarily true believers, but they were scholars who had apparently spent time studying the stars.  Their study prepared them to be able to analyze what they saw.  Likewise for us as believers - it's helpful that we are studied up - and prayed up - so that we can have a sense of God's wisdom and understanding to discern what is taking place in and around our lives and to have a working knowledge of God's principles.

The Wise Men were knowledge about the Scriptures and the stars, and they wanted to know more. This thirst for knowledge propelled them to actually take a journey from what is presumed to be a far country.  They wanted to know the meaning of the star, and they were willing to take the steps to back up their search.  Sometimes we can sit and wonder without searching diligently.  Sometimes we can search - to a point - but never take the necessary steps to gain the knowledge we need. Searching coupled with diligent, Spirit-led action can bring significant results.

Advent-ure Day 21: Anna Gives Thanks

The visit to the Temple in Jerusalem that we read about in Luke chapter 2 was quite significant - it fulfilled the dictates of the Law, and offered two individuals the chance to behold the Christ Child, and to proclaim the truth of the identity of Jesus.  We read:
36Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;37and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.38And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.39So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

One lesson from the story of Anna is that our encounters with Jesus can produce a sense of thanksgiving in our hearts.   Anna was faithful to serve the Lord, and responded to the coming of Jesus into the Temple by giving thanks and then proclaiming His truth to, as we read, "all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

We can take time to express our gratitude to our great God for sending Jesus into the world to bring redemption for us and to allow Him to use us to demonstrate His presence in our lives.  As we anticipate what God will do in our lives, we know that He will show Himself to be faithful and to demonstrate His presence through those who are faithful to Him.

Advent-ure Day 20: Simeon Beholds the Christ Child

After the birth of Jesus and the visitation of the shepherds, we read in Luke 2 about a journey to Jerusalem to present Jesus and to offer a sacrifice.   They went to the temple and were met by a man who was directed by the Spirit to go there, as well.  His name was Simeon, who held to a promise that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.

He spoke these words over the baby Jesus:
29"Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;30For my eyes have seen Your salvation31Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,32A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."33And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.34Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against35(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

Marvelous words, spoken over a marvelous Child! Simeon is a great example to us of a person who was full of anticipation, and someone who listened to God. He had received a word from the Lord that he would not die until he saw Christ Jesus, and He followed His direction to go to the temple and see the baby for himself. He was full of wonder and devotion - and that can be a challenge to us as we consider the coming of Jesus.

Advent-ure Day 19: The Shepherds Rejoice

Christmas is a time for rejoicing, and a time to reflect on how to incorporate His presence and His principles into the various areas of our lives, no matter how desperate the circumstances we may encounter.  1st Peter 1 reminds us of this perspective of rejoicing even in our adversity:
6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,7that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,8whom having not seen you love...
Trials come and we face circumstances that could crush us, if we allow them - but in God's purposes, our difficulties can be tools used in His skillful hands to strengthen us and cause us to grow in Him. If we adopt an attitude of rejoicing - no matter what - we find that our perspective changes and we have a greater appreciation of the presence of God with us.

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We are continuing our 25-Day Spiritual Adventure, as we continue to look at the response of the shepherds to the news of Jesus' birth.  In Luke 2:20, we see:
20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

This is great encouragement for us.  When we have an experience with God, we recognize that while the internals may have changed, we still have to live in the same world - the shepherds "returned," which means, I assume, they returned to their fields and their occupation of tending to their flocks.   But, their hearts were full of praise to God.

We can process how a deepening of our walk with God affects the way that we respond to the externals - how an experience with the Lord can affect how we relate to our families, our workplace, our service in the church, and every arena of life.

And, we can be challenged to shine the light of Christ even in the darkest of times.   The people of Sierra Leone are facing that during this Christmas season.  According to a piece on the ChristianityToday.com website, the government has just banned public gatherings that celebrate Christmas and New Years amid anxiety about the spread of the deadly disease known as Ebola.

In a Sunday address, President Ernest Bai Koroma stated, “Ebola is hitting us very hard because we are a very close-knit society."  He added, "We are in very close proximity to each other, we can reach each other's towns and villages in record time; our relatives are everywhere seeking jobs, businesses and other opportunities. That is why a tragedy anywhere in Sierra Leone is a tragedy everywhere in this country."

Sierra Leone currently has the highest number of cases of Ebola. Since the outbreak began, it has suffered more than 8,000 cases and roughly 1,900 deaths, reports the BBC.

Victor Zizer, a Sierra Leone theologian supported by ScholarLeaders International, a John Stott-related ministry, talked about how Ebola will make this year an "atypical commemoration":

Christmas in Sierra Leone will be very different this year. The ravaging effect of the Ebola outbreak has created a very unfriendly and unwelcoming environment. Whole areas have been quarantined to limit peoples’ movement. Friends and relatives outside of Sierra Leone who plan their annual visits around this period have all been scared off. As the Ebola disease continues to rear its deadly head in defiance to all efforts to mitigate it, claiming lives, with the rate of new infection soaring over 500 per week, we see a murky picture of Christmas in 2014.

The only consolation comes as Sierra Leoneans reflect on what Christ’s birth, and His coming into the world – (to Africa especially) means for us even in our kind of scenario. In the context of Mk. 1:30, we see Jesus visiting the home of one of His disciples, Simon Peter, where he was told of Peter’s sick mother in-law. Finding the woman, he healed her and she “began to wait on [serve] them.” His healing of her also became an occasion for many more healing and deliverance miracles to be performed in the lives of other sick and oppressed people; thus, His visit to Peter’s family became a blessing to many more.

Kim Kargbo, the founder of Women of Hope, a ministry working with disabled women in Sierra Leone, told Christianity Today: “It’s hard to know what to do in this complex situation. How to work around the risks and regulations that hamper the ability to work? The church in Sierra Leone is small. But what if it were mobilized to act? The goal would be to get each believer thinking about his or her biblical responsibility in this crisis.”

The shepherds were challenged to take their sense of euphoria over hearing the message and meeting the baby Jesus back into their circumstances.  In Sierra Leone, only 10 percent of the 5.7 million people are Christians.  60 percent are Muslim.   But the question that Ms. Kargbo asks is a pertinent one, about the church, "what if it were mobilized to act?"   

A question for us this day, and each day, is how to incorporate our relationship with Christ and our rejoicing in Him into the circumstances we face.   God has saved us and is sanctifying us so that we certainly can come to know Him better, but He is also directing us to do His will.  He is setting us apart to use us for His glory, to make Him famous, and to spread the news of His name.

In Sierra Leone, there is danger of Christmas being cancelled, on the surface. But, in the hearts of His people, the Spirit of Christ will always live.   And, when we face the dangers of this world, we can turn to the Prince of Peace and reflect on the hope that He can give.

Advent-ure Day 18: Mary Ponders the Events

In Psalm 104, we read a passage of Scripture that incorporates the glory of God, the worship of our Lord, and the fine art of meditation:
31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works.32He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke.33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.34May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.

As we collectively think on that verse of Scripture in Luke 2 that tells us that Mary pondered what took place around the time of the birth of her son, God's Son, we recognize that God wants us to think more deeply about His nature and His truth.  He wants to illuminate our minds and to teach us more about Himself as we come before Him in humility.  As we consider His Word and how it might apply to us, we gain a greater appreciation for the reliability of His truth and the sweetness of His presence.

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So far this week, in our 25-Day Spiritual Advent-ure, we have focused mainly on the way that the lives of the shepherds were changed.  The theme for the week is "alteration," and certainly when confronted with the message of and presence of Jesus, their lives were affected - they shared the news and people, we're told, were in awe of what they heard.   So, the message leads to changed lives, as the message of the gospel does today.

And, Mary and Joseph were no doubt transformed in this overall series of circumstances.  In Luke 2:19, we can read:
19But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The message of Christmas is still alive in our culture today - even though, as I highlighted this week, there are attempts to remove or reduce the symbols of Christmas in public life, still a large percentage of people, according to a recent Pew survey, believe various elements of the story of Christmas.

The Christian Examiner website has an analysis of the survey.  It says that:

Atheists trying to make their mark across southern states with billboards that mock Christianity as a fairy tale face disappointing statistics this week revealing that most adult Americans -- 73 percent to be exact -- see the story of the virgin birth of Jesus as historical fact, not fiction.

The Pew survey results, released earlier this week, also show 81 percent of U.S. adults believe Baby Jesus was laid in a manger, 75 percent hold the account about wise men to be true, and 74 percent accept that angels announced Jesus' birth to shepherds.

Even a third of those with no religious affiliation believe in the virgin birth and more than half say the manger was Christ's bed at His birth.

The article states that "the Pew research shows mixed feelings about nativity displays and Christian symbols placed on government property."  The report says that, "Advocates on both sides of these disputes can take some heart in Americans' views...On the one hand, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (72 percent) favor allowing Christian symbols on government property in at least some cases – either by themselves [44 percent] or with symbols from other faiths [28 percent]."

But the findings also point out that looking at the data from another perspective, "nearly half of Americans (48 percent) express reservations about these displays, either saying that Christian symbols must be accompanied by those from other faiths [28 percent] or that no religious displays should be allowed on government property at all [20 percent]."

BREATHEcast declared in its headline, "In the Battle for Christmas, Jesus Reigns." Its report opens by saying, "The war on Christmas seems to be failing in America according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

So, what do we take away from this information?

I think for one thing, there is still a robust level of general Bible knowledge out there, especially when it comes to the Christmas story.  I would concede that the level is declining, but nevertheless there are still quite a few people out there with at least an awareness of elements of the Christmas story, and other areas as well.  So, we can take heart and even capitalize on this general knowledge, and perhaps help people understand what this story actually means.

Also, just as Mary pondered the events surrounding Jesus' birth, Christmas is a great time for each of us to ponder those events, too.  Even though there is no glamour about the physical aspects of the Christmas story, it has been glamorized in society, and we have to work beyond that.  It's great to know that 3-in-4 people believe in the virgin birth and about the same percentage believe the message was announced by angels to shepherds, but the story doesn't end there - this boy grew up, became a man, and called people to follow Him - in obedience, to walk in holiness.  And, there's the rub - people feel comfortable with a baby in a manger, but when it comes to the radical obedience to which Jesus calls us, that no doubt makes a sizable number of people feel uncomfortable.

So, what does it mean to us?  I encourage you to ponder this week: how does the Christmas story change your life?  In our observance of the wonderful traditions of Christmas, think more deeply about the reasons why and allow the Holy Spirit to draw you into a more dedicated walk with our Savior.

Advent-ure Day 17: The Shepherds Spread the News

As we continue to walk down this path in our series of Advent readings, "25: A Spiritual Adventure," we come now to the instance of the shepherds, after visiting the baby Jesus, went forth to spread the news of what they had heard and seen.  Peter encourages us in 1st Peter 3 to be ready to share what God has done in our hearts:
15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;16having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

God has written a story in our lives and is continuing to produce in us fruit to His glory, as we remain connected to Christ.  He has brought us into salvation through Christ, and even the way that He drew us into that relationship can be part of our overall story, or testimony.  We can testify to how we have seen Him work in our lives, we can tell of His faithfulness, how we have experienced His love, and call attention to His blessings.  As we reflect on our personal story, willing to share it with others, we grow in our walk and perhaps can lead others into an encounter with this powerful Lord!

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On this 17th day of 25: A Spiritual Adventure, we continue to share the shepherds' experience.  They have been greeted by a throng of angels, who announced the birth of this special Child in Bethlehem. Yesterday, we saw how they hurried to the manger, and today we see what happened next...

Luke 2, verses 17 and 18 read:
17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

You might say that the shepherds, in a sense, were the forerunners to first evangelists - they certainly were excited about the good news they had received and did not keep it to themselves.  And, they provide a strong example for us - we are entrusted with a wonderful message that can challenge us:  if we have come to know Christ and are walking consistently with Him, then we can share what He has done for us in bringing salvation to us.  Perhaps God will use our communication to lead others to a saving knowledge of Christ as you are faithful to share your story.

Stories are compelling, aren't they?   Jesus was a master at using stories.  Carolyn Arends on the program Monday talked about the power of stories, especially what she refers to as the "Story of Stories."   On today's program, you'll hear from some storytellers: C.S. Fritz, who is a pastor who writes children's books that are laced with Biblical truth.  There's also someone who has gained quite a reputation as a musical storyteller, Mark Schultz.  And, author Josh Kelley is currently travelling the country with his family - that can certainly be a source for stories through this unique event.

Some stories can be short, others long, some are prose, others are poetry.  One of our listeners, who is an author and blogger and who was a guest on The Meeting House a few months ago in connection with the Heart for Homeschooling conference in Montgomery, submitted a poem to me.  From her blog, A Good Tired, Lauren Souers writes:

“Twas The Night Before [The First] Christmas”

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the camp

not a creature was stirring, not even a lamb.

The Scriptures were read and explained with great care,

in hopes that Messiah soon would be there.

The shepherds were waiting, their eyes to the sky,

while the promise of His coming delighted their mind.

And they all with their goats, and I with my sheep,

had just settled down for a winter night’s sleep.

When out in the darkness there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my blankets to see what was the matter.

Away to the meadow I ran with my staff,

For fear that a wolf was attacking a calf.

The moon in full circle gave light to my haste,

And it seemed the darkness had been fully erased.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

but a host of bright beings engulfing the sphere.

With the glory of Heav’n surrounding that squad,

I knew right away they were angels of God.

More splendid than lilies, their garbs they adorned,

And they sang with clear voices and blew with loud horns.

“Messiah! Good Shepherd!

Alpha and Omega!

Deliverer! Redeemer!

Emmanuel! Jehovah!

To earth He has stooped,

He made Himself small.

But that small, helpless babe

Will be Lord of All!”

As the wind that precedes a great tempest does blow,

And the roar is acknowledged by the mighty and low,

So up to the heavens the messengers flew,

leaving us with the tidings of a King to pursue.

And then, in the sky, I heeded our guide,

We followed her light and away we did ride.

As I drew close I scarce believed what I saw,

For I discovered my Lord, reclining in straw.

He was wrapped in soft rags from His feet to His chin,

And He lay among cattle, for there was no room at the inn.

The Lamb dwelled with lambs; He slept in their fodder,

And He looked like a baby who never would matter.

His eyes – how they held me! Full deity within!

And His hands seemed prepared for His work to begin.

His body, now whole, would one day be broken;

For His wounds and His shame had all been forespoken.

His frame, now so small, would shoulder a burden

In order that man may take hold of His pardon.

But this night His great submission would be

That the Almighty God would be rocked to sleep.

He was God become man, the manifestation of Himself.

And I knelt when I saw Him, because of myself.

For in the presence of that Babe all my sin was displayed,

But that Babe was my Savior, so I wasn’t afraid.

He spoke not a word, but His manner told all.

He loved His creation! He would undo our fall!

I watched as the King reclined on His mother,

And knew that His dreams were up with the Father.

I sprang from my knees, to my friends gave a whistle,

Made one final tribute ‘ere taking dismissal.

I ran to the city, proclaimed loud and clear,

“Salvation to all! Your Messiah is here!”

This poem is, of course, a retelling of the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which was said to be written by a seminary professor and scholarly author named Clement Clarke Moore.  According to the Poetry Encyclopedia, Moore is said to have recited the poem to his children in 1822.  It was published in a book of poems in 1844, although it had been printed anonymously in a Troy, NY newspaper in 1823, according to MentalFloss.com, which has published some insight into the poem's history - and who may have actually written it.   

You see, Moore took credit for the poem 13 years after its publication. However, the family of Henry Livingston, Jr., claimed their father had been reciting "A Visit From St. Nicholas" to them for 15 years before it was published.  The articles says, "They even said they had evidence - a dated, handwritten copy of the original poem with revisions and scratch marks all throughout. Unfortunately, the house containing this gem burned down, taking the Livingston family's proof with it."

So, for us, as believers, when we reflect on the telling of the story by the shepherds, we can be certain that we know who the author actually is.  The eyewitnesses, the shepherds, began to share the news, and we're told that people were in awe at what they shared.   For us, the story of the birth of Christ, as told by Luke, and then the incredible stories of what we read in the gospels about what Jesus did on earth, as well as the significance of His death and resurrection, can bring us to a deeper knowledge of our Savior.  

We also can be challenged to share what God has done for us personally.   Our stories of the work of God in our lives can produce God's intended results.  He is writing an incredible story of love, of grace, of truth, in us, and He desires for us to reflect that in our interactions.  As we testify to His greatness, we can trust that people will be drawn to the presence of God within us.  Tell your story - and see God use that story that He has brought about in your life to radiate the good news of the gospel.

Advent-ure Day 16: The Shepherds Hurry to the Manger

In 2nd Corinthians 6, we are reminded that God wants to meet us where we are and that He is inviting us to experience His salvation, without delay:
1We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.2For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.3We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.4But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God...
We can consume significant chunks of time engaging in idle activity that does not lead to spiritual growth. Perhaps you have heard the message of Jesus, but have never taken the step to follow Him in salvation, to make Him the Lord of your life. God is giving us the opportunity to experience Him more deeply, without delay.  He is calling us to respond to Him - as He has spoken to our hearts, He calls us to know that He is available to us, desiring to bring us into a fulfilling relationship with Himself - in salvation, or in a pathway to spiritual maturity.

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In Luke chapter 2, we now look at the response of the shepherds to the glorious announcement that Christ was to be born.  They wasted no time as they went to see the Christ Child.
15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

The shepherds were told the news, and it only makes sense that they wanted to see for themselves, whether in an investigative sense, a sense of wonder, or all of the above.   Their curiosity was aroused, for sure, but there was something more, a desire to see and know the truth.

And, that's where we should all be as believers, wanting to go deeper, wanting to discover more about who Jesus is and how He desires to operate in our lives, to know and experience His love and to take His truth and apply it to our lives.

For us, we recognize that God is central to our lives.   According to director Ridley Scott in the movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings, well, not so much.   The Plugged In review of the movie on its website states:

God is obviously a big part of the Exodus story. And while Ridley Scott doesn't make Him central here, to both his credit and detriment the director does give Him screen time.

I have seen online discussion about the portrayal of God, or one of His messengers, as a child in the movie.  As the review says:

He either is God or he speaks directly for Him, calling Moses to his sacred work and triggering the plagues as well. This God is powerful … but is shown to act like a petulant, willful child.

Plugged In goes on to say that:

Scott also leaves open the possibility that God is a figment of Moses' imagination—a hallucination brought on by the rock that hit his head. No one but Moses can see Him, of course. And when the plagues are in full force, Ramses' advisors suggest they might all be the result of naturalistic causes. Even the parting of the Red Sea feels more like a weird-but-still-natural anomaly, especially at first, than a supernatural event.

Of course, we know that the director is not exactly approaching the story from a religious perspective.  The review states: 

"The biggest source of evil is of course religion," he told Esquire in 2012. When the interviewer pressed him on the point, Scott said, "Can you think of a good one? A just and kind and tolerant religion?"

Ted Baehr of Movieguide writes on the CNSNews.com website that:

Director Ridley Scott’s new epic, EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, tries to follow the Bible, but it does so in a manner that avoids the richness of the biblical story and could be summarized as the Cliff Note version of a comic book version of the story of Exodus. The best that can be said is that it’s gloriously junky, with magnificent battle scenes and spectacular special effects, but diminished by mediocre character development and an annoying lack of setup of biblical events.

He does say this, and I agree: "In the final analysis, therefore, what the Christian community and others of faith and values, including Jews, should do is help people understand the true story of how God set His people free. Reading the Bible after seeing EXODUS was thrilling. So, be prepared to hand out copies of the Bible or just the Exodus story."

So, what looks on the surface to be a Biblical epic is turning out to be an epic fail in the area of truth. But, it was number 1 at the box office on a relatively slow movie weekend, so people are going to see it.  And, this may give us an opportunity to get more familiar with the incredible story of a man God used in His plan to free His people - it is truly all about Him!

I do want to add a word about that world-record live nativity scene that I referenced yesterday in the context of my contention that the birth of Jesus was a huge event that was performed by a God who specializes in doing big things.   I mentioned that it was part of a Mormon campaign called #ShareTheGift.  Blogger Tim Challies issues this word of caution:

...This campaign is meant to reclaim Christmas as a religious holiday but also to serve as a gateway into Mormonism. At the end of the video is a brief testimony by Steven Sharp Nelson of The Piano Guys who shares what Christmas means to him and who points to a second video titled “He Is the Gift.” This video, in turn, leads to a page at Mormon.org that shares why you, too, ought to become Mormon.

As I said, you’ve got to be careful what you share online. What looks good at a glance may harbor some deep concerns.

He also shared these important truths:

This video reminds us that Christians—true Christians who hold to the true gospel of the Bible—are not the only ones who use biblical language and who sing the great hymns of the Christian faith. Mormons sing many of the same hymns as we do, though they often change the lyrics to remove any references to the Trinity or to otherwise make them palatable with Mormon theology. (e.g. Where in “Holy, Holy, Holy” we sing “God in three persons blessed Trinity” they sing “God in his glory, blessed Deity.”) Mormons claim to be Christians and to honor the Bible; they speak of Jesus as their Savior and Redeemer and claim that he is the only begotten son of the Father; they proclaim a gospel of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Spirit, and persevering to the end. But they also deny the doctrine of the Trinity, they deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, and they deny justification by grace alone through faith alone. Though they proclaim that they are Christians, in reality they are Christ-deniers. We do not need to apologize for this and cannot over-emphasize it: Mormons are not Christians. Yet they share just enough of our beliefs that they can masquerade as Christians if we do not look deeper than the surface.

Which helps to return us to the actions of the shepherds in response to the angels' announcement of the birth of Christ.  I don't think that they were skeptical and just wanted to verify the angels' claim - they just wanted to experience what the angels referenced.   They wasted no time in travelling to discover firsthand the wonder of a Savior.

Some takeaways for us today:

For one thing, we can of course be challenged to be seekers of the Lord and what He has in store for us. The shepherds heard the message and set out to experience it for themselves.  God is calling us to know Him more deeply and to experience his wonder for ourselves.  He wants us to know not just about Jesus, but He is calling us to really know Him.

And, keep in mind that there will be messages in the culture that may seem to be consistent with Biblical truth, but actually are not.  I have given two examples today of media products, if you will, that seem to be Biblical on the surface, but in fact, do not deliver in a manner that is Scriptural. God can give us wisdom and discernment to be able to distinguish what lines us with His Holy Word.

Finally, God does not want us to wait to experience Him in a fresh way.  The shepherds "came with haste" to see Jesus.  We can spend significant amounts of time thinking that we might need to do something to improve our spiritual condition, but if we don't take the proper and prudent action, we will end up just wishing we had done more.  God does not want us to have regrets about our spiritual activity - we can take the necessary steps to come to know Him more deeply.  He will guide us by His Spirit and His Word.