To Receive You Must Accept

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”” Mark 10:15 ESV

Little kids and big kids love gifts. To get something that is hidden by pretty paper and ribbons. A surprise waiting to be opened by a child full of wonder. It's always fun watching them tear into something and how excited they get when someone gives them a gift. But if they just hold the gift and never accept it then there is no joy or understanding of what it contains. 

In the same way God gave us an incredible gift. He sent His Son to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity in heaven. The problem is we have to accept it. We have to actually reach out our hands past our pride filled hearts and take the gift He gives. 

He gave the greatest gift and once we accept it and receive His guidance over our lives then we daily have the gift of His presence to walk us through each day. 

Merry Christmas - accept Him and receive the most life changing gift ever. Everything else is just stuff. 

Anticipation

Matthew 24:42 ESV “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” 

Anticipation - When I hear this word I go straight to the song for the Heinz ketchup commercial. The song sung by Carly Simon rings in my head when I read that word. Lately I've been thinking that in our fast paced instant access society we have forgotten how to anticipate something. Instead of the growing excitement for something we just feel frustration and aggravation. Instead of hope we struggle with doubt. 

As Christmas approaches this seems especially true. I remember being little and the excitement and eagerness of Christmas Day. Mostly because of the gifts. How hard it was to go to sleep Christmas Eve and how easy to bounce out of bed to open gifts. These days I get far more excited and anticipate the reactions they others might have over the gifts they will receive. 

Today as believers we have lost the anticipation that the Israelites would have had as they watched for a Messiah. Our culture is rapidly leading us to the feelings they must have experienced. Living with the horrible fear of the emperors and kings who took the life of Israelites and then the joy of those who believe the Messiah came. 

As we look around today do we live expectantly and anticipate our Lord coming again or do we live in fear of all that is going on around us?  We so easily forget that we know the ending and when Jesus comes the second time all will be new.  

As I approach Christmas Day I am hopeful and expectant of amazing things. Just as the Jewish people waiting and anticipating the arrival of the Christ child I am waiting for Him to come again. It's so easy to get distracted and afraid of what tomorrow holds. But I just need to remember that each day brings me closer to eternity with Him and to live with the anticipation of seeing His face rather than the fear of the unknown. 

Matthew 24:44 ESV “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Why Do We Assume They Know?

I was told once that when you assume something without asking questions you make an ass out of u and me. Now I don't normally use that word but when we assume we are acting as if we know everything and that is impossible. 

I think for me the worst assumption we make is that people - family - friends - know that they are loved and accepted as they are. We just think everyone knows. Maybe we show it through our actions or through our work or provision but the reality is we can't assume that anyone knows what we feel or think about them. We can't assume that they know that family always has an open door and invitations aren't necessary. We can't assume they because we work to provide food and shelter they know we love them. We can't assume because we give a token gift at Christmas that we want to be with them and spend time together. 

So many times when we make these types of assumptions someone feels neglected, overlooked or left out. This is really hard for me because not being a socially minded person I sometimes assume especially with family that they know they are always welcome in my home (wherever that may be) and that they are loved. Sometimes we wait until it is too late to realize we should have taken the opportunity to say the words and make the invitations. 

We all get so focused in our little world that we forget about those who are in the periphery. As we get older our focus may change to spouse and children and we lose the connections with our siblings or parents. Or maybe changes in our circumstances shift our focus from close friends. We just assume those people will always know they are loved and appreciated. But do they?  So they know that just because we aren't walking the same road and doing the same things that we still want to see them and talk to them and spend time with them. How could they. They may feel disconnected and even though they may deep down know the truth they might not feel the truth. 

I think this is how satan can so easily distract us. We assume that if we don't "feel" God's presence all day every day that He has somehow deserted us. That's when we have to seek the truth. We have to pour over His words and know that the markers of our past, those times we knew He was with us, are real and just because our fickle emotions don't sense His presence, the truth is a strong foundation. He is my rock and my salvation and He will never forsake me. 

As we draw ever closer to Christmas and the giving of gifts I am struck by the greatest gift. God's presence. He came so we could have His presence forever in us. We are blessed to be able to enjoy the guidance of our God because He reigns in us. We don't have to have a priest to go before us. We can walk daily in His presence. I get discouraged sometimes when I can't spend or buy the things I think my family needs or wants and I never know what to tell them when they ask what I want. Because the reality  is I couldn't tell you what gifts I got in the past year for Christmas or my birthday. They are just things and they run together after time. What makes a mark on my heart are the moments shared together laughing, eating, crying or praying. The gift of time. Jesus walked with people and touched people and showed them with His actions and words that they were worthy. They didn't have to assume or try to determine. He left no doubt. 

I pray that God will help me to be intentional in giving the gift of my presence (not stuck in a book or phone), my active presence with my people and then that I will use the words that they need to hear from me. Words of love and acceptance and affirmation. Because those gifts can't be given when they are gone. 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17 NIV

Just a Baby

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” 

Luke 2:10-11 NIV 

I saw this picture on Facebook the other day and it made a mark on my mind. It seems so normal. So often when we see pictures of Christ it's as if the artist is somehow trying to make Him appear better than or more holy than all other pictures. And of course He is God and He is holy but He came to us in the most humble way. 

A baby. Tiny, wrinkled and most likely screaming into this world. The Bible indicates that He experienced all of humanity and yet never sinned. A baby - completely helpless and dependent on a mom and dad who were completely unprepared. Babies don't come with manuals and how to guides. They come each one different and unique. With personalities and quirks and issues that are individual. 

I imagine that Christ was the same way. He was a baby and a boy and a teenager and then a man. Just like every baby boy born He faced all the same things. We don't know if he was a part of the in crowd in high school or a kid on the fringe. I imagine he befriended the weird kids and the outcasts and the less than perfect teens. 

He might have even been a colicky baby or one that got His days and nights backwards for a while. I imagine that at times Mary questioned if she was doing anything right. And Joseph held the responsibility of teaching God about daily Hebrew manners and life. As a parent the feelings of parenting another life can be overwhelmingly frightening. The fear that we are going to somehow mess up our children. I can't even begin to imagine how Mary and Joseph felt parenting God. That's a whole other level of pressure. 

This morning I was working on my current memory verses Luke 2:10-11 and the thought of God coming as a baby overwhelmed me. God came completely humbled putting on flesh that bleeds and breaks all so He could suffer and die for me. WOW!  That's so amazing. Why would He do that for such a sinner as me. Because all He ever wanted was to commune with those He created. All of us. All the broken, ugly, bruised and outcast people. He loves us so much. 

This year think of the sacrifice made as you look for the perfect gift or make the perfect dish - God came imperfectly and lived perfectly so we could someday stand in His presence and be made perfect. That's the greatest gift of Christmas. Don't let it get overshadowed in the expectations of the perfect holiday.  Just focus on Him. 

Where We Come From

Over the years I've struggled reading the lists of genealogy and records in the Bible. I love to hear God's word and seek the information the Spirit wants to impart but the list of names seems tedious. Recently I had a moment of enlightenment. The genealogies define who the people of the Bible are. How they were shaped in life and what that means for their role on earth and in teaching us about their character. 

Growing up I didn't have the opportunity to know my grandparents well. We lived away and saw them over the summer and sometimes holidays and I have great memories although sparse of those times. Before I was out of elementary school I only had one grandparent still living.  For my kids I prayed they would have the opportunity to know their grandparents and even great grandparents with some depth of relationship. 

My kids are blessed to have known their great grandparents some and their grandparents very well. They can ask about where they came from and have wonderful memories of time spent with them. 

At this time of year I'm especially thankful for that. As parents we shape our children. For the good and the bad. We make choices hoping to give them the best opportunities to grow wise and caring. One choice I made a few years ago was to be sure that even though their father and I would not be together that I would do all I could to help them not lose any family connections. Their father and I worked together to be sure they could maintain those relationships. 

I'm grateful for that and I know they are as well. They haven't had to choose between us. 

As they get older they will have to choose to be intentional in keeping those relationships.  With their parents as well as their grandparents. They love hearing of their genealogy. The people who came before and how they came to be and as they grow and have kids they will have that to pass on to their kids. 

Lately I've been more aware of just how important that is. Families can damage one another in ways that outsiders never can. Through words and actions we can tear each other down and manipulate each other causing great difficulties and pain. Some even choose to turn their back on their families and leave heartache in their wake. I think the saddest part is when someone walks away from family and doesn't get to come back. They lose so much. As my parents get older I know how blessed I am to have had time with them. We don't always agree and I don't always agree with my siblings but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are my family and I am loved. 

I pray that during this holiday season if you can't trace your roots or you've some how disconnected from your family tree that you will take an example from the Bible and mend your genealogy.  Make peace a part of your Christmas and be sure that you don't wait until it's too late and someone has slipped away permanently. We aren't guaranteed forever and time flies too quickly. Before you know it - kids are grown and parents are gone and making peace becomes impossible. 

““Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV 

Foggy Brain

“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””

John 20:29 NIV

This morning was a foggy morning. We've had a few of those this past week as the weather can't decide if it's going to be hot or cold. Living in the south has it advantages and mild temperatures can be part of that but right now the weather is just confused. 

Some days my brain is that way. Confused. Foggy and just slow. Today was one of those days. I was practicing my memory verses with my son on our ride to work and I got them all convoluted. My brain was as foggy as the weather. 

The last few days I've been thinking about doubt. The definition of doubt is a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.  I have those days. Days where I doubt everything. My clothes, my hair, my whole physical being. I doubt that food is healthy and that what I see in the mirror is real or right. I doubt people and what they say versus what they do. Even worse some days I doubt what I believe.  Thankfully those doubtful days aren't lasting. Usually it's just a passing thought. A question that comes up and I wonder. 

Isn't that how it starts? A passing thought that so easily leads us down a path of searching and seeking and sometimes burying us in the wrong thing. I've learned that when I have those doubts no matter how big or small I have to immediately take them captive and filter them through truth. I have to reach for the hand of my Father - through His word and prayer and allow the Holy Spirit to replace those thoughts with His thoughts and truth. 

When I think of doubt in the bible I think of Peter and Thomas. Two disciples who both had doubts. Peter briefly took his eyes off Jesus when he was walking on the water and he begin to sink until he took the hand of the Savior. And Thomas had to see to believe that Christ was resurrected. Both had to see and touch the Savior to redirect their minds. 

The fog only obscures the things around it until the sun burns it off. Just like our doubts. Until the Son burns them away they are like the fog that clouds our faith. Seek Him at the first sign of fog. 

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?””

Matthew 14:31 NIV

Never Let Them Steal Your Joy

Joy is different than being happy. It's  taken me a while to get the difference between the two and some days I need a reminder. 

When I talk about joy I'm talking about the joy of the Lord - the gladness of heart that comes from knowing God.  It's a deeper sense of belonging and finding peace with all that goes on around me.  Being happy is a choice and is fleeting often determined by circumstance. 

I'm not always happy and I'm not one given to showing extreme emotion. It's just not my nature. I've learned over the years that the peace that abides in Christ and the joy of knowing Him go far deeper than my circumstances. 

The picture above is a ring that was given to me by a sweet friend who had a grasp of joy and peace. She told me when she gave it to me to never let anyone steal my joy. At the time I don't believe I fully comprehended what she meant. Since then I've learned that to maintain my joy is to keep my focus where it belongs. On the one who gives me eternal joy. 

Oh that doesn't mean I will always be happy. My emotions may fluctuate and I will face times where im not happy. But I can rest in the truth that joy is far greater than happiness. The joy of God is the deep assurance that one day my hope wil be complete in eternity with Him and the temporary sorrows of this world will vanish. That's real joy and guarding that truth against anything that happens in this world or from those who choose to be bitter and ugly or negative is what it means to not let anyone steal my joy. Don't let life keep your focus off of God. Spend time in the word and feeding on His truth and the joy will be present - even when life doesn't seem very joyful. 

“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 15:10-11 NIV

Sitting on the Roof

“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”

Proverbs 21:9 NIV

This past weekend I had to go up on the roof of the house to take care of some minor repairs. My helper - my son - came up with me to help me get the job done and monitor my safety. While we were up there he discovered it was actually a pleasant place to be. The weather was perfect and he discovered a stronger wi-fi connection. 

The next day it was also beautiful and he asked if he could spend some more time on the roof. At the time I thought this was humorous and had to refuse because there wouldn't be anyone there to know if he fell. 

Today as I was getting ready for work I was reminded of why we might all want to sometimes hide on the roof.  It's rather peaceful. When the weather is nice it tends to be quiet and there is a certain amount of solitude.  In our world today there is so much chaos and quarreling.

I was reminded of the verse in proverbs that mentions the corner of the roof being better than a house with a quarrelsome wife. Whether it's a wife or husband or just people it sometimes seems like the roof is the best place to be. Away from people and the opportunity for quarrels erupting. We all face choices that can create conflict and sometimes we would rather hide on the roof. 

Our society today seems to feed on differences of opinion. We all want our way to be the only way and the right way.  The reality is we are all different and we will have different views.  We allow our fear of what we do not understand to make us quarrel. Last night I was reminded that Christ came as a tiny baby requiring someone to do everything for Him. He didn't come with flaming swords and chariots into battle. He came humbly and lived His life serving those around Him. He taught His disciples that the first should be last and we should be like little children and care for others as if they were children. 

“Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.””

Mark 9:35-37 NIV

Being a Christian doesn't mean hiding on the roof to avoid those we don't want to serve or don't agree with. It means serving others humbly. It means not judging those who aren't exactly like us. 

I once sat in a coffee shop and overheard a group of ladies discussing other ladies who weren't present. Couched in prayer requests that quickly turned to gossip and judgment. I was tempted to hide on the roof. I have done the same thing and I'm ashamed to say it's sometimes easy to pass judgment on other friends and family who aren't living the way I think they should. 

When I was thinking about the "quarrelsome wife" I felt my heart sink. I do not do conflict well and I sometimes wish I could hide on the roof. But as a believer I'm called to stand for God and serve others. Having a servant's heart means thinking of others first. If we all did that more we wouldn't have to spend time on the roof to find a quiet place to rest. We would be encouragers. Striving to encourage one another to be the most like Christ we can.

Giving Grace

I've been thinking on grace lately and God has been speaking to my heart.  How He gives us grace daily and how we should give grace as well.  The definition of grace is the free and unmerited favor of God.  Free - undeserved - favor.  Our culture struggles with acceptance and worth and yet our God freely gives it to anyone and everyone.  I struggle with giving grace.  I can look back at the last few years and pat myself on the back for giving grace in some big ways and then turn around and judge someone who is living different than me in little ways.  That doesn't say much about my ability to give grace. 

We had a dog name Grace.  She was the epitome of grace.  A mix between a lab and a dachshund and no matter what she loved her family.  She didn't care how long between petting sessions or playing sessions - if you walked out the door she was giving grace.  We miss her terribly in our house and it's a vivid reminder of what grace is about.  If we don't have grace we miss it immensely.  We feel the judgment and ties of life deeply and when we just turn to the Father, He is there waiting to give grace. 

He forgives so easily and loves so freely.  All we have to do is seek Him.  Daily seek His grace.  And when we do then we can give grace so much easier.  Some situations - specifically in regards to relationships - broken trust, broken hearts, broken promises - seem to be impossible places for grace and forgiveness - but God.  Because only with God can we give grace in those situations where it seems like anger and bitterness and revenge would be better.  I know personally about this - I've experienced loss and hurt and broken trust and it haunts my every step in dealing with people.  But I also know God and every day that I receive grace I am more inclined to give grace. 

I'm also learning not to pat myself on the back about giving grace.  Because although one moment it seems easy - the next seems more challenging.  I am no better or no worse at giving grace than anyone else.  I am just a broken follower striving to be like Christ.  Some days I really struggle with grace and wonder how I deserve to be free in Christ.  I am surely not as good as someone else or maybe I'm a little better than someone else but then I'm gently reminded that no matter how I think I stack up to someone else - I don't know their story and even more I shouldn't care how I compare with anyone else.  I should only care how I compare to Christ.  Am I more like Him today than I was yesterday?  That should be my only comparison and my only goal. 

As Christmas approaches I'm looking forward to the time with family and friends.  It should be a celebration - an anticipation of the reason that we can have hope - Grace.  Grace wrapped in a blanket and laid in a manger.  Grace wrapped in skin to walk among us and die for us so that we can be free and we can give grace.  Learning to be like that little baby, willing to die for those who don't deserve grace.  Willing to love like Christ and not get caught up in the stress that so often comes with the holidays.  That's what Christmas is about - the hope of Grace. 

John 1:16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

Change is Good

Psalm 62:1-2 NIV “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

Faith is a living, breathing, active word. In the Bible Study I am doing right now I was reminded that faith isn't just a word it is an action. If we believe something we have to act like we do. Faith grows when it is used. Just saying we believe God has a plan and sitting back and waiting for it to happen isn't having faith that God will work out that plan. 

We actually have to move. To listen and discern and question what that plan is and then trust and exercise faith as we take the steps to move forward. 

Doing new things and moving forward is scary and difficult. It's so easy to just sit still and be comfortable. But as believers God calls us out of our comfort zone to be the people He wants and that usually requires change. It's not always big changes like moving or starting a new job or career. Sometimes it's little change like recognizing a weakness in our faith that we have to do something about. Taking the first step to seek forgiveness or just letting God know we see it and begin to allow Him to move in us to change it. 

Change requires faith. The kind of faith as small as a mustard seed that can move mountains. The kind of faith that overcomes fear because we know that God is faithful and doesnt leave us to change on our own. He walks beside us and holds us when we are afraid of change. He illuminates the next step with His presence even when we can't see the hallway. 

Trust and obey is more than just a song. Trusting God requires obedience and obedience requires trusting. We can dwell in the truth that is His word and when we seek Him daily He will move us forward and that will include change. 

So today I'm just gonna keep moving forward trusting in Him. Even if my faith is as tiny as a mustard seed. Because really that's enough for today.