Category Archives: Maturing in the Lord

Christmas, A Christian Holiday

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“for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11, NASB95)

I am excited about celebrating Christmas. It is a wonderful time to spend with family, eat delicious food, and give and receive gifts. I am off work for the day. I look forward to the specialness of the day. It is not an ordinary day. We decorate, time a break from our routine and make it a festive day. But it is more than that. It is Christmas! That’s what I want to write about today.

Christmas is a word that simply means the Mass of Christ. It is a religious, Christian holy day (holiday). It is a celebration of Christ’s birth. It is a festival to remember that God loved us so much that he became Immanuel, God with us. It is a time to remember that God incarnate dwelt on this earth and participated in life with mortal man. It is the opportunity to remember that God became human flesh. He did this so that he could become the perfect man and thereby the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Since Christmas is a religious holiday, celebrated by Christians and cultures influenced by Christianity, it amazes me that so many non-Christians choose to celebrate it. They obviously don’t celebrate it as a day to worship the Almighty, praising him for the gift of salvation through his Son. What is their purpose for celebrating?

If I decided to take Feb 27 off from work, spent days cleaning, decorating, and planning for Maha Shivaratri, my friends and family would think I was crazy and had lost my mind. I am not Hindu. To make plans to celebrate an Indian holiday that is designed to worship Lord Shiva, a deity I do not believe in, would be absurd. It would be even more ridiculous for me to celebrate it and tell all the traditional worshippers that they needed to take Lord Shiva out of the holiday. People would think I was insane to celebrate their religious holiday without celebrating their religion or faith.

It seems to me that it is equally insane to celebrate Christmas without a decidedly Christian view. It is also absurd for people to think that I want to or should have to celebrate the holy day without reference to the Deity that I worship. To leave Christ and references to him out of the celebration is to negate the reason for the holiday. It is not at all odd or strange for me to celebrate Christmas; I believe in Christ. On the other hand, it is quite peculiar that so many who openly make fun of religion and claim no faith, celebrate Christmas.

I wonder if this is because the Christian community has not celebrated in a way that we distinguish Christmas as a holy day. Do we center it around the gift of the Christ Child? Do we worship on that day? Is my focus on the Great Gift Giver or the great gifts? Is my celebration any different from my secular counterparts? If I expect the world to respect my Christian traditions and faith, then I have to make them about Christ. Let us each pray that God through the power of the Spirit leads each of us into holy celebration this Christmas. Let’s do our part to keep Christ in Christmas.

A New Discipline

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Dear Friends, I am sorry that I have not been on the blog for a couple of weeks. I have had some added time constraints. I had jury duty. It was an enlightening experience for me, but time consuming.

A trial is a slow process. We had quite a few delays and breaks. I was reading some books on the spiritual disciplines while I waited. In one, “The Spirit of the Disciplines”, Dallas Willard explained that many activities can be spiritual disciplines if they help curb our sinful tendencies. I found that interesting, but couldn’t think of a non-traditional discipline that would benefit me. I found one as the trial wore on.

I discovered that I was frustrated and upset that I couldn’t ask other peoples’ opinions on what I was learning about. I heard a lot of evidence and received quite a bit of new information, but I was allowed to discuss it with no one. I had to think it through and make my own decisions. I wasn’t even allowed to do research.

This was so hard for me. Of course, I could discuss it with God. I found that this helped some, but I was still afraid that
I could be making the wrong choice, and I wanted other people to confirm my decision. Through this unexpected form of discipline, I learned that I am much too dependent on the opinions of others in my decision making. I need to depend on the Lord.

Paul was not concerned about the opinions of men. He was focused on what God wanted him to do. This is what he wrote, “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, NASB95). I need to have this same attitude because I want to please God who sees my heart, and not worry so much about peoples’ opinions.

The only way I am going to learn this is by learning to make some decisions with God’s help alone. I can depend on him. He will lead me and guide me. I don’t always need to have a consensus of everyone I know before I act. If I act in the power of the Spirit, and by the leading of God, I will be make right decisions.

I am confident now that the trial is over that the decision I came to with God’s help was the right one. It was easy to decide when the time came. Things were extremely clear. I learned a valuable lesson in this process. I need to trust God and his power to lead me. I also learned that I am much too dependent on others opinions. To fight these issues in my life, I am going to adopt the spiritual discipline of making some decisions without the opinions of people. I will learn to rely on God.

Right or Righteous?

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“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18–25, NASB95)

We are getting close to Christmas. “`Tis the Season” to reread the account of the nativity. It is my habit every year to restudy the Biblical narrative of Jesus birth. I learn something new every year. This year, the history of Joseph and his reaction to the events surrounding the birth of Jesus caught my attention.

It is compelling that Joseph chose to take Mary as his wife even though she was pregnant. Joseph was a righteous man. He did have questions about this. Anyone would. I often thought that his dilemma was with the fact that Mary was pregnant and as a righteous man he would not appear righteous if he still married her. But I studied the meaning of righteousness and came to a different conclusion.

Righteousness is often confused with being right. It doesn’t mean perfect or always accurate as I thought. The word righteousness is a relational word. It means that you are keeping promises, acting justly, and meeting reasonable expectations in a relationship.

Joseph was a keeper of the law. He obeyed God’s Word. But there had to be more than that, or he wouldn’t have been pondering what he should do. The law seemed pretty straight forward.

If Mary had been with another man, according to the law, the right thing to do was to have her stoned (Lev 20:10). She was pregnant, and it wasn’t his child. He could have brought her before the Pharisees and ruined her. But being a righteous man he did not want to disgrace her or see her die, because had a relationship with her. In relationship, in love he wanted something else for her, so he pondered (meditated) on these things.

God provided an answer. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and explained the circumstances. Mary was miraculously pregnant. God had a righteous plan. The Savior of the entire world was to come through Joseph’s bride. Joseph would have the responsibility of loving, protecting, and providing for this woman and for the Son of God.

It wasn’t a plan that made everyone look good. Most people thought Joseph had married a loose woman or that they had been together before it was proper. There would be gossip and rumors for the rest of their lives. No, this plan didn’t make them look right, but it was a righteous plan. It was God demonstrating his righteousness. It was God keeping promises, acting justly, and meeting expectations.

Joseph didn’t have a problem following this plan. Joseph got up and obeyed God. It was second nature to him to obey God. He was a righteous man. He had a relationship with God, so he responded by meeting God’s expectations, acting justly, and keeping the promises and commitments he had made. Joseph was a righteous follower of God, a righteous husband and a righteous father.

This Christmas, I have learned that I truly want to be righteous. I want more than just to do the right thing. I want live in relationship in a right way. I want righteousness to be my character. I want to get out of bed and obey God. Not to be right, but because I have a relationship with God through his Christmas gift, Jesus.

He Passes By and Says, “Live”

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Check out this video-Aborted Baby Miraculously Lives

“And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment.” (Ezekiel 16:4–7, ESV)

I recently watched the posted video. It was emotional for me, because it was such a powerful testament to life being a precious gift. It reminded me of these verses in Ezekiel. Left for dead and unwanted, God sees our “inherent worth” and intervenes on our behalf. He passes by and says “Live”.
Against all odds, against all reason, in spite of human effort, God sees value in us and gives us life. Each one of us has been discarded by someone. Each of us has been unwanted and unloved by someone that should have loved us. Our stories may not be as dramatic as this baby living through torture in her own mother’s womb, but we have all been discarded. God saw our need and intervened.
Praise the Holy One who gave life. “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45, ESV) Praise God for Jesus and his gift of eternal life. Without him, there would be no hope.
Thanks be to God who didn’t see us as an inconvenience. God knew that we would act inappropriately. He knew we would have problems and messes that he would have to solve. He had already planned to send Jesus to give us life. We were not considered an inconvenience, but something of immense worth. We were worth the sacrifice of his son.
All glory to the Almighty who can sustain us when all else is against us. “By You, I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of You. I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long.” (Psalm 71:6–8, NASB95)
Melissa, the woman in this video is a marvel to many. It is a miracle that she survived. As God sustains us and saves us from the attacks of our enemies, we become a marvel to many. It is a miracle that we survive. We can do nothing less than praise God and glorify him for his salvation and his gift of everlasting life.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:1 ESV)

Happy Thanksgiving! Today I am truly thankful because God is good. I am thankful because God’s love is steadfast and endures forever. I am thankful because I know these things from years of experience and a personal relationship with the Lord. I know this verse is truth.
On Sunday, I heard my son quote this verse. It brought back memories from 25 years ago when I first helped him learn this verse. It was one of the first verses he memorized in AWANA. He was 5 years old and in Sparks. He learned this verse quickly and easily, and he obviously still remembers it.
A couple of years later, I helped his brother memorize this verse. A couple of years after that my daughter learned it too. In my 17 years as an AWANA leader, I helped many children learn this verse. I taught it to them because I believe it. And I never forget it. I remember it too! We should give thanks. God is good.
Thinking back over the last 25 years since my son learned that verse, I am amazed at God’s love. I am blown away at how steadfast and consistent his love has been. I have gone through many tragedies and victories in that time. I have made friends and lost friends. I have lost family and been there when new life came into the world. Life has ups and downs, but there is one thing you can always count on. “God is good, and his steadfast love endures forever.”
Today I am thankful for the AWANA program and all that we learned through it. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve God. I am thankful for my family, especially my children. My heart is full of gratitude to God for the life he has given me, with the ups and downs. I am most thankful for God’s goodness and steadfast love.

Magnify the Lord Your God

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“Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!” (Psalm 34:3)

On a recent flight to Lima, I had a window seat. I like window seats. I have always enjoyed watching out of windows. I used to get in trouble in school for not paying attention because I would look out the window and daydream. Windows are a trigger for my brain to start imagining.
We were nearing the end of our whirlwind tour of Peru, headed back to Lima after some adventures in Puno. It was a beautiful day. It was a little cloudy which always makes a plane flight interesting. It was less cloudy the closer we got to the coast. We circled Lima getting ready to land. Then my imagination got really carried away. I saw a bunch of colorful little blocks. They looked like Lego blocks. I started guessing what they could be.
My guesses weren’t even close. I didn’t realize how far away I still was and how massive the “Lego blocks” truly were. As we got closer, I could tell they were quite large. I saw a truck parked next to one of the colorful boxes. That’s when I realized they were shipping containers. A far cry from Lego blocks!
What appeared to me as colorful one inch building blocks, where actually 20 foot long shipping containers! The reality was the same whether I was close or far. The difference was my perspective. As I said, they appeared as small blocks. The reality was that they were enormous shipping containers. In my imagination, I could move them around and build beautiful toys. In reality, I couldn’t move them even an inch. My perspective made a tremendous difference.
I started thinking about my perspective of God. Sometimes I see him as small. That is not reality. It is that I am too far away. He seems small when I am at a distance. At times, I think I can control Him, move Him according to my whims. The truth is that God is massive. I need to see Him from a different point of view.
So how do I get my perspective right? I need to magnify God. I need to enlarge my view of Him. That is something we sing about. It is something we talk about. But how do you do it? I had that question, so I went to Scripture to find an answer.
“I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30).

If we want to see God magnified, we need to praise Him and thank Him. When we do this, it takes us to reality. It brings our hearts and minds close to Him so we can see His true dimensions. When we praise and thank God, we are moved close to Him so we can see His power and glory. He will be magnified.

Dear Lord change my perspective. I do not always see you the way that I should. I move away, and from a distance you can seem small to me. That is not the truth. Let my mouth and my soul praise you and thank you for all that you have done. As I move into your presence through this praise, worship, adoration and thanksgiving, I know you will be magnified. I will see you as you are Big and Strong. I will confidently say that you my God are formidable and unmovable. I will know that you are Great and Mighty. In you, I put my trust.

Put Forth the Effort

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“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27-33, ESV)

Technology is a marvellous thing. It keeps getting better. As it does, we keep upgrading in hopes of improving our productivity. My friend recently upgraded to a new smart phone. She had only owned simple cell phones and had a hard time just adding people to her contact list. Then she decided to upgrade to something even more complex.
When I asked about her new phone, she showed me the picture on the screen. It was beautiful and quite large. I asked how she liked the phone. She told me about all of the features she looked forward to using. It seemed that her phone could do everything.
She asked about my iPhone, and I told her how much I liked it. I told her about the features that I liked the most and the ones I used most often. She told me that her phone could do all of the same things. I thought that she truly loved her new phone and was actually enjoying all of its benefits.
I was wrong. Over the next few weeks, I saw how she struggled with the phone. She couldn’t make it work. She did not know how to use all of the wonderful features. The phone did have a lot of capability, but the user had to know how to use it. The problem was that my friend expected to pick up this complex phone, with many different apps and programs, and use it without any training.
I laughed when I thought about this later. I know that the more complex something is, the more effort we must exert to learn about it. My friend expected to pick up the phone and understand all of its complexity without putting forth any effort. Things just don’t work that way.
It was a powerful lesson for me. I realized that this is often our attitude about living and abiding in Jesus. We come to know Him and trust Him as our personal Savior, and then we expect that the most complex and involved relationship of our lives will be easy. We don’t even think about the effort required.
We certainly should be willing to put in the work. The benefits are enormous. As we take time to get to know the Lord of the Universe in His complexity, we will be better able to function in the program He created. Also, our lives will become more useful. Our time will be better spent. We will not just look pretty on the outside, but will be useful and a blessing. Our ability to reach out and touch others will grow exponentially as we learn about the Source of Power.
Put forth the effort. It will be worth it.

Dear Lord, I am often lazy. I do not count the costs or pick up my cross daily. I am sorry. Help me. I do desire to know you and have a closer relationship with you. I know that any effort I expend will be well worth it.

A Time to Travel

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I am going on a trip in the near future. I am going to a distant country on another continent. I have never been there before. It has always been a dream of mine to go there. I am going to Machu Picchu, Peru. I have watched documentaries and travel shows about it. I have read books. I am so excited finally to be going.
When I decided to book the trip, I read even more. I read about the people, the culture, the history, the geography, and the climate. I wanted to be prepared. I wanted to get the most out of my journey.
To enjoy the trip fully, I felt that it was necessary to know what to wear. I want to bring the right clothes for the climate. I also want to make sure that my clothes are culturally acceptable, and I don’t want to offend the Peruvians. So I need to know what to pack. I am still unsure, but at least I have some guidelines.
I am also reading about the sites and culture. This way I will be able to ask intelligent questions and gain a better understanding of what I am seeing. I will be prepared to get the most out of the experience. I will not be surprised when they offer guinea pig for dinner. I already know that it is a staple of the Andes called Cuy.
How much richer our experiences are when we are prepared for them. We can be prepared. We can enjoy the adventure at a deeper level. We can be more intelligent about our choices by making informed decisions that are based on knowledge. We can be less fearful as we travel abroad.
Living the Christian life is living on permanent vacation. I am in a foreign land. I belong to a different culture It is exciting, and there are incredible things to see and enjoy. But I get myself in messes because I am not always prepared for the next adventure. I could be if I studied ahead and read the guide book. I better read my Bible today.
I should also talk to the guide who travels with me everywhere I go. He knows all the ins and outs of travel in this world. He also knows all the best places for adventure. He shows me the most beautiful sites and wonders. I better trust the guide today.

Lord, thanks for going on an adventure with me. I am looking forward to traveling through life with you. I will trust you and read my Bible. You are a joyful and exciting companion. I thank you for all the fun.

I Want to be Found Faithful

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And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ (Luke 19:17)

The disciples of Jesus were longing for the Kingdom of God to be established here on earth. They mistakenly believed that Jesus was going to establish this kingdom immediately. Jesus told a parable describing a different future.
The parable describes a kingdom where the constituency refused to accept the king. So the king leaves but before he goes the wise ruler delegates responsibility to his servants. The ruler entrusted each servant with some money. They were to use the money to carry on business and make a profit for the king. Upon the king’s return, there would be an accounting for the money.
When the king returned, he established his kingdom. He then called his servants into his presence to ask about the business of the kingdom. Each servant gave an account for the money that had been entrusted to them. Some are praised for doing a good job. They had been found faithful. Some are condemned for their laziness. They are held accountable for their choices and actions.
The king in this parable says to one of the servants who did an admirable job, “Well done”. The ruler also rewards him with more responsibility. He gives him greater honor and a better position because he had been faithful in the small matters. He worked his way up by doing his best in the little things.
This is a lesson God wants me to learn. Why would he give me great tasks if I can’t be consistent with the small things? I must be faithful where I am at this moment. I need to give my best effort in everything I do. The King is coming, and I want Him to say to me “Well done”.
I recently read this quote, “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble” (Helen Keller). This sums up the point the Lord was teaching me from this parable. So today, I will do the small tasks as if they were great and noble, and I will do them for Jesus!
Jesus is coming back to establish His Kingdom. When He gets here, I want to be found faithful in all matters, great and small.

King of Heaven, I am glad to be your servant. Thank you for entrusting me with little. Let me be found faithful. I agree with Helen Keller. I also long to do extraordinary things for you, but I know that my calling for today is to do the small things to the best of my ability. Bless my small efforts and use them for your honor and glory.