Merry Christmas!

"The Holy Night" by Carlo Maratti (c. 1650, courtesy Web Gallery of Art)

Christmas is arguably the most important event in human history (after Creation, of course), because it celebrates the moment that God the Father entered the world as a little baby, Jesus the Son, God incarnate. I know that there are many who refuse to believe this fact, and there are many more who allow other aspects of the holiday (such as decorating, giving and receiving presents, taking vacations, etc...) to cloud the real "reason for the season."

But that's okay. After all, I think that's one reason this blog exists: to help remind the world that Jesus is THE Way, the ONLY Way, in fact, to be reconciled unto God. So, toward that end, I am rededicating this blog to the One whose virgin birth we celebrate this week (and always).

So what does this mean? I am beginning a long-running series on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, mostly based on Biblical references, but augmented with other historical and contemporary sources. I have already compiled a list of more than 40 topics, which I plan to revisit periodically. Eventually, I will create a new website, independent of Blogger, where all of these posts will permanently reside.

I will continue to post occasionally to my other blogs (see side panel), while most personal updates will be relegated to Facebook.

May your Christmas be joyous, and may you live every day with the love of Jesus Christ in your heart!

Your Worth

My son (now in 9th grade!) recently joined a city basketball league team, with his friends. While they have been playing together at our homeschool co-op for several years, none of them is especially good, and this is the first occasion they've had to play as a team. They lost their first two games by wide margins, and my son's experience reminded me of my own.

Ever since I was Kylen's age, I've loved playing basketball. Trouble is that I've never gotten very good at it, and that has always bothered me. Even as an adult who still plays pick-up games almost every week, I often come home disappointed in my lackluster performance on the court. I like to think I have many other talents, but despite the fact that this is my favorite sport, I cannot seem to improve. And that really bothers me, to the point that I risk seeing myself as worthless.

But as a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, I know better. The Bible teaches us that we are all of great intrinsic value to God. This means that my worth does not hinge upon my accomplishments, or the number of accolades I've received over my short existence. While our society bestows greater honor upon its sports, entertainment, or political heroes, God "is no respecter of persons." That means winning a championship or finding a cure for cancer earns you no more "brownie points" with Him, than if you came in last place or got dropped out of college.

He knows that you can do nothing of real importance without Him, and just to prove it, He usually picks the lowliest of the low to show Himself strong through. Who was Abraham, before God told him that He would make a great nation of him? Who was Moses, when God called him to lead His people out of the hands of Pharaoh? Was David not the youngest of many brothers, when God had Samuel annoint him the second king of Israel? How could He choose a lowly manger as His first throne, on that first Christmas day?

Yes, Christmas is the reminder that He valued each one of us enough to die on the cross for us, even before we even drew our first breaths! He has a plan for you, and He will do great things through you, despite your shortcomings. In fact, it is through those very weaknesses that His strength will shine!

Merry Christmas!

Potter's Comeuppance

One of our favorite movies to watch at Christmastime is, of course, It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart. He plays every-day good-guy George Bailey, who lives in a small town but has big dreams of seeing the world (and changing it for the better, while he's at it). But his plans are consistently derailed by external circumstances and his admirable drive to put others' needs above his own.

It's interesting to note that George is also deeply frustrated that his endearing, Christ-like quality is keeping him from following his (somewhat selfish) dreams. How far better off would he had been if he had come to grips with the fact that a man cannot do everything he wants, and it is often the case that doing the right thing requires personal sacrifice? George sacrifices, but he does so while kicking and screaming. But by the end of the movie, he learns that putting others first is far more rewarding than his own aspirations.

The film's antagonist is Mr. Potter, a greedy, grumpy old man who owns the entire town. Well, not quite all of it. The Bailey Building and Loan, which George takes over after his father's death, remains a thorn in Potter's side. But when George's bumbling uncle unwittingly hands the Building and Loan's $8000 bank deposit to Potter, Potter sees a delicious opportunity to ruin George's reputation and destroy his only competition. He nearly succeeds, but for the intervention of a "second-class" angel and the generosity of the countless people that George had helped over the years.

It makes for a very satisfyingly happy ending, that warms our hearts with the spirit of giving that has been so commercialized in recent decades....

...except for one small thing....

Potter never gets what's coming to him! He gets to keep the $8000, he undergoes no change of heart, and no one suspects him of any wrongdoing. In movies, we're used to seeing the bad guys get what they deserve (insert most any Disney feature cartoon here), or at least see them turn to the good side, just in time to make the ultimate sacrifice and save the day (Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, anyone?).

So why did director Frank Capra and the script writers leave that loose end untied? I don't have the definitive answer, but I have a plausible theory.

(Please read Psalm 37, Psalm 73, and Psalm 94, for some encouragement regarding the wicked prospering in our fallen world.)

Unlike most other movies, there is indeed a God in this one. Ok, so He looks like a little blinky light, but nevertheless, He is there, and He is all-knowing and all-powerful. We can rest in His promises that unless Potter finds his way to Him and repents of his sins, he will one day face Judgment, and it's not going to go well for him. Instead of feeling dissatisfaction, we should pity Potter not only for not having anyone to share Christmas with, but also for what awaits him, unless he comes to the Lord. For his part, George doesn't need to know who was behind his near-demise, because he has already taken his first step toward knowing the all-powerful, all-loving Creator and Savior, Who has his back and has prepared a place for him in Heaven.

Likewise, we may not see everyone who has wronged us get their just desserts, and we shouldn't even seek such things. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay." Our part is to continue to witness to others and put their needs ahead of our own. After all, isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Cul-de-Sac of Power

Merry Christmas, everyone!  As has been my Christmas blogging tradition, I'd like to share something from my life.  A few blocks from our house is a lane with about 12 houses, which ends in a cul-de-sac.  Every December, all the houses but one go out of their way to decorate for Christmas.  There is even a Jewish family that gets into the spirit.  The picture above is a full-on view of what we like to call, "The Cul-de-Sac of Power!"  I'm sure the local power company just LOVES these guys!  ;)

It's become a family tradition for us to drive down their street at least once a year and take in the sight of this free light display.  Yeah, so it's the commercialization of Christmas, taken to a high degree, but it's also a testament to the closeness that these neighbors probably share.  Our cul-de-sac decorates, too, but not to this degree.

I wish you all the very best of Christmases and a New Year filled with the joy and peace that only our Savior can give!  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Don't Forget the REAL Reason...

A couple days ago, our sweet, 9-year-old intellectual asked something akin to, "When did Christmas get hijacked by commercialization?" (my words, but I think it expresses the original gist of it). I told him I don't really know, but the above comic strip drives the point home....

We normally shy away from jokes that involve God or religion, because they are almost always irreverent of our Lord and Savior. However, in yesterday's Foxtrot (actually first printed 11 years ago; link only available for a couple weeks), the last two panels are a warning to us to keep CHRIST in Christmas, especially for the sake of our children. Presents are fun and all that, but if we make a bigger deal out of them than of the celebration of our Savior's birth, we do a serious disservice to our kids.

Another aspect is all the stress and running around that this time of year brings. At a time that's supposed to celebrate the arrival of "peace on earth and goodwill to men," isn't it ironic that we spend much of it stressed out about getting that perfect gift (while it's still on sale!!!) and trying to cram as much family time as possible, in as short a timespan as possible? Time with family and presents are great, but Satan is probably giddy with joy that those things distract from our Heavenly Father, who has given us the greatest Gift of all.

A song currently playing on Air1 asks how God's heart could not have broken on the day of Jesus' birth. For though the world celebrated the birth of a Savior, God was probably thinking of that coming day of the cross....

Some random thoughts. :) Merry Christmas, everyone! May God give you a renewed appreciation and admiration of His wonderful plan of salvation, for a world that deserves far worse. Let us spend another year celebrating Jesus' birth and gift, personifying to those around us the star that led the magi to the Savior! See you in 2010!

The Hand of God: Another Christmas Memory

I think I'm going to start making a tradition of sharing memorable Christmas-time memories with you all. Last year, I shared something from the distant past (not-too-distant for some of you, I guess! Hee-hee!). This particular incident actually happened last year, on Christmas Day.

My wife's uncle had arranged for a four-day, big family Christmas retreat, at a ranch in North Idaho, a couple hours from our house. We were to drive up there several days before Christmas and come back Christmas Day, just in time to go to dinner at my parents' house.

To say that it was going to be a White Christmas is a gross understatement! A snowy front had settled in the area, and white stuff just forgot how to stop coming down. The roads were pretty bad on the way up there, and they were even worse on the way back! With our Honda Accord, equipped only with all-weather tires, I was afraid we'd get stuck and have to spend Christmas by the side of the road! But the Lord was with us all the way (isn't He always???), and we got back home in one piece. We had about an hour to drop off our bags, and then we headed back out, for dinner with my parents.

The Interstate was extremely icy; icier than I had seen it in years. We were doing about 30, when I noticed a police car, by the right side of the road, its lights twirling hypnotically. I was safe in the second lane, so I just held course. The road was straight and clear; no problem, right? WRONG! We were less than 200 feet from the cruiser, when, out of the blue, we started to fishtail! I tried to keep the front tires facing forward, as we glided all over the road, but the car was definitely no longer under my control. To our terror, we were headed straight for the police car. I could not see the officer, but I confess he was furthest from my mind. I was instead concerned with the financial and legal trouble I'd be getting into, after our two vehicles got better acquainted. Impact was imminent and unavoidable. I also had a column of cars behind me, which I imagined would quickly find my rear bumber and make us into a Honda sandwich (hold the hubcaps, please).

But then something that I can describe only as the Hand of God, pushed us around the police car and safely into the deep snow, 50 feet beyond it. When I got out, I noticed that were not the first, not the second, but the THIRD car to end up stuck by the side of the road. The policeman was making the rounds on his rollerskates, asking what size drink we wanted with our burger. Actually, I cannot imagine how he must have felt, as cars whizzed past him and into the ditch; I could have easily killed him.

In the end, God worked it all out, in His perfect way. For starters, all parties were safe and sound, as were the vehicles. Due to the first two cars already having had their fun, a tow truck was already on its way, and we got a group discount! Ever wonder how God provides for the lilies and sparrows that drive tow trucks? Well, He gets some middle-class saps to run off the road and spend $80 to get bailed out, because the daddy sparrow, even in his need, had just given his son some much-needed Christmas money.

Second, even though we were late, we still had dinner with my parents, which made us all feel a whole lot better.

And ever wonder what actually made us fishtail in the first place? Driving that same familiar stretch in the spring, it dawned on me: For about a quarter mile, trucks had made deep ruts in both lanes, which can cause sudden jerks, as the tires fall in and out. When the road was icy (and the tires not too good), that caused us to fishtail. Thankfully, they fixed the road this summer, and I got brand-new winter tires (which could almost pay the shop owner's mortgage bill!).

So the next time that you ask yourself how God could have allowed hard times or tragedies to befall you, look for the opportunity for good that He's opened up, either for yourself or someone around you. Remember that for every guy that prays for sunshine, there's a neighbor that's praying for rain. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

First of all, I'm sorry that it seems like I dropped off the face of the earth. I've been too busy with work, Christmas preparations, and homeschool co-op responsibilities, to even think about blogging. But, with Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to post a little something, to commemorate the birth of our Savior.

For Christmas, I thought I'd follow Larry's example and share a little story from my distant past. The little guy you see in the picture above is none other than yours truly. It was taken in our living room, in Bucharest Romania. Perhaps the most noticeable piece of furniture was the donut-shaped coffee table that you see in the lower-left corner of the picture. I seem to remember that it was made of a brass-like metal and had a sizable hole designed into its center. At Christmas time, that's where the tree went, right in the middle of that table.

Now, as an interesting sidebar, I should mention that in Romanian tradition, Santa (the Romanian name for him is pronounced "mosh-cruh-CHOON" and translates to "Old Man Christmas") brought the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. My parents would tell me to go take a nap, and then they would scramble to get the tree ready in time. I remember one time when we had a bunch of people over, and I was in my room, playing with my friends, when all the lights went out. We were pretty scared and ran towards the living room. When we got there, they came back on, and there was the tree, fully decorated, and all the presents underneath it! And since we didn't set up the tree until so close to Christmas, we kept it up way into January.

Anyway, back to my story. I was probably six or seven, and I was still on Christmas break. Mom was at work, and while Dad was technically home at the time, he had to step out for a few minutes. I guess I was bored, because I must have gone into the living room and noticed that the tree was a little crooked. Being the little perfectionist that I was (and still am!), I thought that just pulling on the tree would fix it. Yeah, right.

Well, needless to say, the tree was little too big, and the boy was a bit too small. There I was, barely able to keep the tree from falling any further, and Dad was nowhere in sight! I cannot say whether the tree was too unwieldy, or if I was just too panicked to think things through, but I felt utterly unable to do anything but just stand there holding it up, and hoping that Dad would be home soon, to rescue me.

Mankind, before Christ, was much the same way. During the time of Moses, God set up the Law, imperfect as it was, to show us the way. But Israel made a real mess of things and got itself in a position where God's intervention was necessary. Jesus came to save us from our sins. When we were burdened with the load of sin, He rushed in and took that tree upon His own shoulders. He took the blame for our mess and made a way for the Holy Spirit to come and make us righteous, as God intended from the beginning. This is why we celebrate Christmas. :)

In case you were curious how it all turned out, Dad came in pretty quickly and was puzzled and amuzed to see the predicament I had gotten myself into. He took that big tree off my hands and straightened it, as only he knew how. I was so relieved that he was there to help me. He got me out of plenty other rough spots, but those are stories for another time....

Nearly two decades later, Jesus came into my heart, took that load of sin upon Himself, and straightened me up, just like that crooked Christmas tree. I am so thankful to Him, for everything He has done (and continues to do) in my life!