Friday, December 15, 2017
Christmas Memories
Thinking about Christmas brings many fond memories to my mind. Our mother was a telephone operator and our dad was a mechanic. We didn't have much money, but our parents made sure that we had a roof over our heads, and they always planted a garden which kept food on our table and for our neighbors. My brother Marc had many allergies. He was allergic to evergreen trees. When we were growing up there were NO artificial Christmas Trees. Our awesome dad very carefully spray painted Christmas trees green so Marc wouldn't get sick. I can remember that one year the new fashion was coats with hoods. All my friends had one. I probably was around 10-11 years old. I knew my parents couldn't afford one, but I wanted one, no matter what and nothing else was on my list. I selfishly dreaded Christmas Day because I knew I wouldn't get what I had asked for. Marc woke up early and came to my room wanting me to wake mom & dad up. He would have been 3-4 years old. I took him to our parent's room. He was so excited and I was being pouty. Well when we went into the living room, there under the tree was the most beautiful coat with a hood. Our mom had taken my dad's pin stripe suit and made me this beautiful coat, completely lined. Our parents made so many sacrifices, showering us with love. They may have not had much money, but they tried to be sure Marc and I had wonderful Christmases. They taught us what real love is all about - Giving instead of receiving. Through the years as I recall this special Christmas, I think about God my Father giving us His son Jesus on that cold night in Bethlehem. If God loved us so much, and my parents could go to so much trouble showering Marc and I with love, then I need to do the same. CHRISTMAS is LOVE! Love we don't deserve, yet it is freely given. That tiny little baby, the most wonderful gift given to all of us. As you celebrate Jesus' Birthday, give Him a gift - your HEART! Remember God loves you and so do I.
Monday, December 4, 2017
CHRISTMAS
Christmas 2017
Over the years when I felt something was spoiling my Christmas, The Holy Spirit reminded me that no one or anything could spoil Christmas. Christmas happened centuries ago. When My Father gave the greatest gift of all time, His Son. Some have tried. There are humbugs, those you are offended by people who go around wishing others a Merry Christmas. For me Christmas is celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Trying to love as He loved, not hesitating to wish all A Merry Christmas, sharing, caring and spreading Jesus’ love to all I meet.
I especially enjoy Christmas music: I read a Devotional that talked about the Christmas Carol Silent Night. Having just experienced being in the birthing room of our granddaughter when our eight great grand baby was born, I was able to relate to this Devotional. Anyone who has experienced the miracle of a baby being born, knows it may be noisy. A baby being born is beautiful, but far from quiet. Now close your eyes and imagine you are witnessing baby Jesus arriving in a stable, animals possibly offering their unintelligible commentary during the event. A silent night, not likely. The writer of this Devotional said, “No, ‘silent night’ means a night like any other.” This birth happened on an ordinary night, to an ordinary family, in an ordinary town, in an ordinary stable. But there isn’t anything ordinary about this night or this baby boy. Yes Isaiah had predicted a Messiah was coming, that He would be born like any other baby. Have you ever thought about the Son of God, being so tiny He was placed in a manager. How could something so extraordinary: power, love, purity, be carried in this tiny baby? How could the Sovereign be seen so simple and helpless? This tiny baby was history’s greatest hero! He seemed so fragile yet, he would bear the sins of the world and establish his kingdom around the world. His life was marked with wisdom, power, majesty, and glory. Silent Night is a lullaby about peace. It pictures the baby Jesus sleeping soundly the evening he was born. As it progresses it is about the peace he brings, to those near by and those far away. He brought a stillness to our relationship with God and each other. Jesus sang our souls to sleep in the rest of our peace with God. When we wake up each morning we meet the dawn of redeeming grace and never-ending mercies.
I also like Christmas lights and decorations. It reminds me of Jesus’ humble birth, why he came and walked among us. That He is light and His birth brings Joy, and Peace. As I remember I wonder if I am humble enough, how I would have felt when the angels sang and told the shepherds about the baby in a manger. Would I have been afraid, would I have been curious, would I go and see this baby in a manger. I like to think I would feel great excitement and would have gone to see this very special child.
We are so fortunate, we know the story, we know the outcome. It never gets old. I read the story over and over in the gospel: Matthew 1: 1 - 2: 23; Luke 1: 1 - 2: 40 and John 1: 1-14. Also it is exciting to read Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah. The four Gospels in the New Testament present four unique and yet complimentary pictures of Jesus -- and this is evident in the way they record the birth of Jesus: Matthew presents Jesus as the King of the Jews worthy of obedience and worship; Luke shows a humane Savior that brings good tidings and liberation to the poor, neglected and marginalized; Mark present Jesus as Lord that serves in secret and thus shows a new way, free from the fight for supremacy and status; and finally, John presents Jesus as God, who comes as the Word become flesh and this shines in the darkness to bring a new beginning in this world.
Now let’s talk about gifts. When you celebrate birthdays and give gifts to the one who is having the birthday. This is exactly what you are doing at Christmas. One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas, is to remind us of the presents given to Jesus by the Wise Men: Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus. We love because God first loved us. We give to each other because God gave us the best gift of all. Christmas is a season of sharing, giving, loving, and helping. Why is that? It is because at Christmas we take the time and make the effort to acknowledge our fellow man in the manner that we should all year long. This is particularly true as it relates to the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the sick, the weak, and the disenfranchised. We give to each other and especially to those who have less, because in doing so we are not only emulating God’s generosity, but we are giving to Jesus, the birthday boy.
Over the years when I felt something was spoiling my Christmas, The Holy Spirit reminded me that no one or anything could spoil Christmas. Christmas happened centuries ago. When My Father gave the greatest gift of all time, His Son. Some have tried. There are humbugs, those you are offended by people who go around wishing others a Merry Christmas. For me Christmas is celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Trying to love as He loved, not hesitating to wish all A Merry Christmas, sharing, caring and spreading Jesus’ love to all I meet.
I especially enjoy Christmas music: I read a Devotional that talked about the Christmas Carol Silent Night. Having just experienced being in the birthing room of our granddaughter when our eight great grand baby was born, I was able to relate to this Devotional. Anyone who has experienced the miracle of a baby being born, knows it may be noisy. A baby being born is beautiful, but far from quiet. Now close your eyes and imagine you are witnessing baby Jesus arriving in a stable, animals possibly offering their unintelligible commentary during the event. A silent night, not likely. The writer of this Devotional said, “No, ‘silent night’ means a night like any other.” This birth happened on an ordinary night, to an ordinary family, in an ordinary town, in an ordinary stable. But there isn’t anything ordinary about this night or this baby boy. Yes Isaiah had predicted a Messiah was coming, that He would be born like any other baby. Have you ever thought about the Son of God, being so tiny He was placed in a manager. How could something so extraordinary: power, love, purity, be carried in this tiny baby? How could the Sovereign be seen so simple and helpless? This tiny baby was history’s greatest hero! He seemed so fragile yet, he would bear the sins of the world and establish his kingdom around the world. His life was marked with wisdom, power, majesty, and glory. Silent Night is a lullaby about peace. It pictures the baby Jesus sleeping soundly the evening he was born. As it progresses it is about the peace he brings, to those near by and those far away. He brought a stillness to our relationship with God and each other. Jesus sang our souls to sleep in the rest of our peace with God. When we wake up each morning we meet the dawn of redeeming grace and never-ending mercies.
I also like Christmas lights and decorations. It reminds me of Jesus’ humble birth, why he came and walked among us. That He is light and His birth brings Joy, and Peace. As I remember I wonder if I am humble enough, how I would have felt when the angels sang and told the shepherds about the baby in a manger. Would I have been afraid, would I have been curious, would I go and see this baby in a manger. I like to think I would feel great excitement and would have gone to see this very special child.
We are so fortunate, we know the story, we know the outcome. It never gets old. I read the story over and over in the gospel: Matthew 1: 1 - 2: 23; Luke 1: 1 - 2: 40 and John 1: 1-14. Also it is exciting to read Isaiah’s prophecies of the Messiah. The four Gospels in the New Testament present four unique and yet complimentary pictures of Jesus -- and this is evident in the way they record the birth of Jesus: Matthew presents Jesus as the King of the Jews worthy of obedience and worship; Luke shows a humane Savior that brings good tidings and liberation to the poor, neglected and marginalized; Mark present Jesus as Lord that serves in secret and thus shows a new way, free from the fight for supremacy and status; and finally, John presents Jesus as God, who comes as the Word become flesh and this shines in the darkness to bring a new beginning in this world.
Now let’s talk about gifts. When you celebrate birthdays and give gifts to the one who is having the birthday. This is exactly what you are doing at Christmas. One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas, is to remind us of the presents given to Jesus by the Wise Men: Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus. We love because God first loved us. We give to each other because God gave us the best gift of all. Christmas is a season of sharing, giving, loving, and helping. Why is that? It is because at Christmas we take the time and make the effort to acknowledge our fellow man in the manner that we should all year long. This is particularly true as it relates to the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the sick, the weak, and the disenfranchised. We give to each other and especially to those who have less, because in doing so we are not only emulating God’s generosity, but we are giving to Jesus, the birthday boy.
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