‘Tis The Season . . . Almost

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Thanksgiving is 4 days away. 4 days, people!

I have a hard time comprehending that, even though I have a short work week coming up.

After that comes the Christmas season and Advent and all things tinsel.

I hope that I won’t get caught up in all the commercial hype and get carried away by all the glitter, but remember that Christmas is about the arrival of the Christ child over 2,000 years ago.

I hope I will instead prepare my heart to receive the infant Jesus and remember that it really is His birthday we’re celebrating.

I hope I won’t get so caught up in the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays debate that I forget that this Christmas spirit isn’t about one day out of the year, but about all the days of the year. I personally would rather have someone who says “Happy holidays” and is kind and considerate as opposed to someone who says “Merry Christmas” and is rude and impatient.

I’m looking forward to reading my Advent devotionals and seeing the candles lit and being reminded again that Christmas is really about the birth of Hope.

Plus, I’m looking forward to wearing my brand-new tacky Christmas sweater.

 

Choices

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“The Teacher explains our power to choose:

‘There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened’” (C. S. Lewis).

I agree. I do think that choices are important. On a side note, it does seem to me that sometimes people put as much consideration into choosing a marriage partner as they do in choosing a phone case or a color scheme for their kitchens. Sometimes less. But that is another topic for another day.

Choices do matter. Failure to make a choice is a choice.

The verse in Deuteronomy essentially says that the choice is between life and death, so choose life. Joshua tells the rest of the Israelites to choose whom they will serve, whether it be the gods of the other peoples or God. He then closes with these words, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I’ll admit I don’t fully understand the whole sovereignty of God vs. man’s responsibility. I won’t even attempt to address that. But I will say that the choice is still there. I do believe that Jesus never turns away anyone who truly wants to find Him and never abandons those who follow after Him with all their hearts. Jesus is still worth whatever the cost.

 

Ahhhh, The Weekend

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Part of me is always glad to see Friday. For me, Friday equals sleeping in the next day. And I do so love my sleep. Especially when Lucy the Wonder Kitty curls up on the pillow next to mine and purrs herself to sleep. I like that.

But I’m beginning to realize that every day that I wake up is a good day. Every day that I live through is a good day. Even Mondays.

The verse says that this is the day the Lord has made and to rejoice and be glad in it. That was the favorite verse of one of my old pastors, Bro. Livy L. Cope, and I still think of him whenever I hear or read this verse. In fact, I can almost see him as he used to stand behind the pulpit and proclaim that verse over us.

There’s a reason he liked the verse so much. It’s a reminder that you and I won’t find God in our past if all we do is relive glory days and bemoan missed chances and past mistakes. We won’t find Him in the future, either, if all we’re about is obsessing about possible doomsday scenarios and wondering about potential outcomes to all our problems.

God is here in the present. God is waiting for us, here and now, ready to speak to us and ready to show us all the blessings that He has for us right now. Blessings we will miss if we’re too busy living in either the past or the future. Most often, these will be the blessings that we can only see if we look with eyes of gratitude and joy.

True joy comes in seizing the moment, doing that carpe diem thing. True joy comes from being grateful for what you have and who you have.

But there’s still something special about Fridays. And sleeping in.

Some Thoughts on Waiting

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Tonight’s guest blogger is Henri Nouwen. I found some thoughts of his on the process of waiting that I thought I’d share with all my loyal readers out there. Here’s one.

“Waiting is essential to the spiritual life. But waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not an empty waiting. It is a waiting with a promise in our hearts that makes already present what we are waiting for. We wait during Advent for the birth of Jesus. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit, and after the ascension of Jesus we wait for his coming again in glory. We are always waiting, but it is a waiting in the conviction that we have already seen God’s footsteps.

Waiting for God is an active, alert – yes, joyful – waiting. As we wait we remember him for whom we are waiting, and as we remember him we create a community ready to welcome him when he comes.”

Waiting isn’t passive. It’s actively seeking to prepare for the next step, the next part of God’s plan for you. It’s preparing your fields to receive the coming rain, to borrow a very good illustration from the movie Facing the Giants.

Here’s another good quote about actively waiting with patience:

“How do we wait for God? We wait with patience. But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise. It is an active waiting in which we live the present moment to the full in order to find there the signs of the One we are waiting for.

The word patience comes from the Latin verb patior which means ‘to suffer.’ Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, tasting it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing there the first rays of God’s glorious coming.”

That Peaceful Easy Feeling

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Here’s something that I learned yet again. Or you could say I was reminded yet again. Peace is not a feeling. At least not primarily.

Many times, people (including me) think of peace as the kind of calm similar to when you finish eating your favorite meal and you’re full, but not too full.

But that’s not peace. At least I don’t think so.

I think peace is the assurance that the outcome is in God’s hands. It’s knowing the future that God promised is so certain that you live as though it were already present.

Peace isn’t a zen-like absence of any worry or doubt. Peace can exist in the midst of worry and doubt, because real peace isn’t the absence of mayhem but the presence of Jesus with you in the midst of that mayhem. It’s not knowing how everything will work out, but knowing with confidence that it will.

It may sound trite, but it’s true. Peace isn’t a feeling or a state of mind. Peace is a person– Jesus. He truly is the Prince of Peace.

That’s where I am. I’m trying not to equate peace with contented cows in a pasture. Sometimes, it looks that way, sometimes not. I just know that for me, peace is wherever Jesus is, and if I’m with Jesus, I’ll have true peace.

Gratitude Revisited for the Umpteenth Time

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in. This is God’s will for all of you in Jesus the Anointed” (1 Thes. 5:17).

Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life? Unless you’re that one weird guy who still lives in his mom’s basement and never leaves the house, then you’d probably say yes. Even that weird guy would probably say yes.

What is God’s will for your life? I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you one thing. God’s will for you is that you give thanks. Be grateful.

Give thanks in everything, as one translation puts it. Not FOR everything, because not everything in your life that happens to you is good. You don’t give thanks for getting fired or totaling your car, but you can still give thanks in those circumstances.

Give thanks for the little things, like waking up this morning. For the sun shining on your way to work. For you still having a job. For having a working vehicle.

One thing I’ve learned is it’s better to give thanks specifically. Don’t be like me at the end of the day and say something like, “God, thank you for everything You’ve done for me in the last 24 hours.”

God knows what He did, but when you remember what He did, it changes your perspective. As I’ve quoted before, “Gratitude makes what you have enough.” When you’re thankful, you forget about how much you don’t have and realize that you have everything you need.

I love what I heard recently. If you have God and everything else, you don’t have anymore than if you had God and nothing else. God is enough.

So give thanks. Right now, I’m giving thanks for my mentally disturbed feline who likes to curl up in my lap and rub her face against the corner of my iPad. I’m thankful for a roof over my head, a comfy chair, and for warmth on a very cold night.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I know you northerners always get a kick out of us southerners complaining about how cold it is when it’s 40 degrees outside. Well, guess what. It really is cold outside. As in 24, headed for a low of 16. That’s cold for just about anybody, right?

I do love cold weather, as long as I get to enjoy it from inside a heated house. I even love snow as long as I don’t have to drive in it. Or better yet, drive amongst other people who don’t know how to drive in it.

But back to it being cold. It’s cold. Like winter cold. And it’s not even Thanksgiving. Where’s Al Gore and his global warming when you really need it? I’d settle for some Tennessee warming.

Anyway, it’s Monday and Monday is almost over. And I survived. I woke up this morning and God was still on His throne and that happy ending in the book of Revelations still holds true. Jesus wins. Spoiler alert.

Once again, I’ll be a broken record and say that I really and truly am blessed. That will never get old for me. Or at least I hope not.

Promises, Promises

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

“Protect me, God, for the only safety I know is found in the moments I seek You.
“I told You, Eternal One, “You are my Lord,
    for the only good I know in this world is found in You alone” (Psalm 16:1-2)

That’s something I need to remember. Especially in these days when everything seems so unpredictable and topsy-turvy and nothing seems settled, when the only constant in this world seems to be that change is inevitable.

When I was a kid, my world seemed a lot more secure. People never lost jobs, friends were always healthy and vital, and all my cousins and uncles and aunts and grandparents were always around for holidays and special occasions. It seemed to me that all my friends’ parents stayed married and everybody I knew had a happy family.

But these days, that’s not the case. I’ve said goodbye to too many loved ones already. I’ve had my fair share of job losses. I’ve even lost one or two friends. Too many people I know have gone through divorces and unhappy homes.

But the promises of God are secure. Absolutely secure. As in “good as done” secure. God’s promises are so sure that we can believe in His future for us and live that reality now. We can speak of the future promises in the present tense even when we can’t see them yet.

That’s worth celebrating. No matter what happens tomorrow, good or bad, these words of God will not fail. Even if I fail, they will not. As the Bible says, even if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Even when my feelings and my thoughts tell me otherwise, God is true even when they lie. Always.

As I’ve heard it said before, it’s not about big faith in God, but faith in a big God, even if that faith is mustard-seed small. As my friend used to say, it’s a big world out there, but a bigger God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Occasional Soapbox Post Strikes Again

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I have to admit something. I’m a little concerned about evangelical Christianity in America.

I hope I’m wrong about this, but it seems we’ve sold out. In order to get along with everybody and to be at peace, we have compromised our convictions and doctrines in order not to be offensive. We’ve come to the point where we believe that all lifestyles and beliefs are valid and true and where no one can ever say that anything anybody else says or does is wrong. At least not if we don’t want to be labeled as “judgmental” or “bigots” or “hate-mongers.”

From what I know about Christianity, the gospel itself is offensive. It’s scandalous. If we’re faithful to proclaim it and to strive to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, we will be rejected. And ridiculed. And persecuted. How do I know that? Because He Himself promised it would happen.

The Bible says that we apart from God love darkness and hate the light. We hate the truth and anything or anyone associated with it. It takes more than just convincing of our logic. It takes the love of God invading our hearts for us to be transformed.

I think part of the problem is that we interpret what the Bible says through the lenses of emotion or sexuality or politics. It should be the other way around. The truth is not politically correct and it isn’t always the popular opinion. In fact, many times, the truth will be in the minority.

I do believe in the Bible the same way orthodox believers have believed in it for centuries. My faith is the faith of the apostles and saints through the ages. That is Christianity. Anything else is not. You are free to believe and practice your belief however you choose, but if your faith has stepped outside of the boundaries of orthodox faith, you are believing in something other than the Christ of Christianity. I don’t say any of this out of pride or arrogance. In fact, I’m a fairly lousy Christian at times, saying one thing and living another. Or in my case, not really saying anything at all.

I still believe that Christians are called to love those who think and act differently, regardless of whether they ever change. Jesus loved those who opposed Him most vehemently, yet still proclaimed the truth boldly, calling a spade a spade. Jesus died for the ones who murdered Him.

Love is still the way to go, but not love that has no standards. That’s not love. That’s just permissiveness. God’s love says in effect, “I love you just the way you are right now, but I refuse to leave you that way. My love will make you everything I created you to be.”

As always, I’m just a ragamuffin out there telling other ragamuffins where to find the Bread of Life.

 

 

Perfect Timing

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

This appeared in my emails and I thought it could not have come at a better time. Not just for me, but possibly for some of you as well:

“God knows how to give you a life far greater than the one you planned.

No matter where you find yourself right now, or where you have come from, you can trust that the plans God has for you are so much better than anything you could have ever thought of.

The word tells us that our minds can not conceive of the plans he has in store for us.

Honestly, I find this very comforting because so many times it seems I mess everything up.

Praise God for his redemption and commitment to bring us to a better life!

Trust that The One who loved you and gave himself for you wants the very best for you in every way – even better than the plans you have for yourself” (Neil Vermillion).

I hope this speaks to you like it did to me. May you find that life God has planned for you and live it to the brim.