god

Advent Eve

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“Awaken! Remember that God comes! Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today, now! The one true God, “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, is not a God who is there in Heaven, unconcerned with us and our history, but he is the-God-who-comes.”

That’s what Advent signifies. God is not the otherworldly deity that we can never reach but Immanuel, God with us, wherever we are.

God is not I Was or I Will Be, but I Am. For whatever your present need is, God is your supply and God is present in your tears and your pain.

Advent means that God is not indifferent to your plight or immune to your cries. He has come and He is here in the midst of your suffering.

Advent is a reminder that Christmas is more than maxing your credit cards to buy stuff for people who already have too much stuff. It isn’t about gorging on all those holiday dinner staples. It’s not about how many strands of light you can staple to your house.

It’s about the fact that God in Jesus has come near.

“At first sight, joy seems to be connected with being different. When you receive a compliment or win an award, you experience the joy of not being the same as others. You are faster, smarter, more beautiful, and it is that difference that brings you joy. But such joy is very temporary. True joy is hidden where we are the same as other people: fragile and mortal. It is the joy of belonging to the human race. It is the joy of being with others as a friend, a companion, a fellow traveler. This is the joy of Jesus, who is Emmanuel: God-with-us” (Henri Nouwen).

“Immanuel, Our God is with us
Yes He is with us still
Immanuel, He has not left us
And He never will” (Geoff Moore).

Ornaments

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Today of all days had me thinking of decorating the old Christmas tree. It’s a family tradition that usually took place after Thanksgiving.

Some of the ornaments were old. Some had cracks and had some of the paint missing. Most of them probably should have been discarded long ago.

But something glorious happened when they all ended up on that tree. Suddenly, they looked shiny and new. It always made me feel 10-years old again.

Some of us are probably feeling old and a bit cracked lately. People might relegate some of us to the discard pile after the first glance.

But something amazing happens when we get put together into the holy temple of Jesus. Suddenly, we’re beautiful and whole and shiny.

We’re definitely better together as the body of Christ than we could ever be as separate individuals. It’s a lot like the way broken and shattered pieces of glass can come together to form the most stunning stained glass windows.

The beauty of the coming Advent season is that Jesus came expressly for the outcasts and losers and nobodies of the world. The ones everyone else looks past and ignores. Those are the ones Jesus sought out and made the first eyewitnesses and missionaries.

Remember that before you toss out an old ornament. That was once you.

 

 

 

Thanks-living: 2016 Edition

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‘Go through His gates, giving thanks; walk through His courts, giving praise. Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name. Because the Eternal is good, His loyal love and mercy will never end, and His truth will last throughout all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5, VOICE).

Tomorrow’s the day we give thanks. Well, for most of us, it’s a day to eat ourselves into tryptophan-induced food comas and then become one with the couch for the next several hours watching a) football b) Netflix or c) Christmas movies (for those who like to get a jump on the season).

Maybe today’s a good day to start– on the thanksgiving part.

You don’t have to relegate gratitude to one day out of the year. In fact, the Bible commands us to give thanks in every circumstance. Note: it does not say to give thanks FOR every circumstance but IN every circumstance.

Don’t have any thing to be thankful for?

Did you wake up this morning? Check.

Did you have at least one meal today? Check.

Do you have a roof over your head right now? Check.

Do you have more clothes than what’s on your back? Check.

Did you drink a glass of water that wasn’t contaminated by bacteria and uncleanness? Check.

The point is that even if you don’t have every single thing you want, you still have a lot. You have more than enough to live in gratitude and thanksgiving for the rest of your life.

So give thanks. Better yet, live your thanks. Show your gratitude for what you have by paying it forward to those who have less. Be kind and generous with everyone. Even yourself.

Tomorrow, be sure to eat lots of your favorite foods, whether that be turkey, ham, tofurkey, or even tofu. I recommend trying a little of everything and saving room for dessert.

 

What If

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I’ve had some random “what if” questions running through my mind lately and thought I’d share some with you:

-What if instead of shaming people for voting and thinking differently than you, you actually took the time to listen to why they vote and think the way they do?

-What if enough people decided that the two-party politics-as-usual system doesn’t really work anymore (and when has it ever?) and finally were brave enough to vote for a third party candidate?

-What if people who profess faith in Jesus spent less time boycotting and belittling and more time loving their neighbors and living out the Gospel wherever they live, work, and play?

-What if there really is a Tardis floating out there in the universe and you could possibly be invited to go on adventures in it with the Doctor?

-What if more people decided to stop following the mass media like sheep and starting thinking for themselves?

-What if I went to bed at a decent hour for once instead of typing up these blog posts at the very last minute?

-What if Christianity meant less of a political platform or a morality code and more of a transformed lifestyle that looks like Jesus?

-What if we were grateful for every little thing and took time to express our gratitude to those around us in tangible ways?

-What if cats are really aliens who are studying us and are really reporting back to the mothership when they randomly disappear?

-What if I took seriously Paul’s admonition to do everything to the glory of God and offer all of my life as a spiritual act of worship?

-What if we really listened to the people who are confiding in us instead of waiting for a chance to respond?

-What if you could discipline yourself to be joyful in every circumstance, no matter what?

 

Obscure But Not Forgotten

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“All these I have mentioned died in faith without receiving the full promises, although they saw the fulfillment as though from a distance. These people accepted and confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on this earth because people who speak like this make it plain that they are still seeking a homeland. If this was only a bit of nostalgia for a time and place they left behind, then certainly they might have turned around and returned. But such saints as these look forward to a far better place, a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God because He has prepared a heavenly city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16, The Voice).

I recently saw an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor and Amy Pond were able to visit Vincent Van Gogh. One of the most poignant moments was when they took him to 2010 Paris and to a museum where many of his famous art pieces were on display. He was finally able to see and feel the immense appreciation for his life’s work.

Of course, that’s how it should have played out. In reality, he only ever sold one painting during his lifetime (and that was to a family friend). He never knew he would one day be considered one of the greatest painters the world has ever known.

I also remembered a documentary I saw about an artist named Rodriguez who was relegated to obscurity here in the States but became a phenomenon in South Africa. For years, he was working as a day laborer, unaware that he was bigger than Elvis or the Beatles to the majority of South Africans.

Some of us feel like that. We often feel forgotten and neglected and unappreciated. At times, a lot of us will wonder if any of what we did made any difference at all, even if the world would have been better off if we had ever existed.

What you do matters. People are watching. You may never know how far the ripples of your little acts of kindness will travel. You may end up touching the lives of many whom you will never meet.

Ultimately, God knows. He sees what is done in secret and rewards those who persevere without recognition. A life of faithfulness is never a wasted life.

I end with a favorite movie line from Gladiator that fits in perfectly: what we do here echoes in eternity.

 

Follow Me

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That’s the offer Jesus made to two men in the Gospel of Matthew. One was a tax-collector who dropped everything and followed. The other was a rich young ruler who might have wanted to follow but loved his possessions too much and said no.

That’s the offer Jesus still makes: follow me.

Most of us won’t have to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor.

But eventually everyone of us must decide one way or the other: to follow or not to follow.

I know that I have never regretted deciding to follow Jesus.

I wonder if the rich young ruler ever looked back and wished he could go back and choose differently.

As a pastor once said, Jesus didn’t run after the young man or beg him to follow. He respected his decision and let him walk away.

So my question to you is this: will you follow Jesus?

 

Finding What You Love and Loving What You Do

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I attended my company’s 55th anniversary celebration at Maggiano’s on West End. One of the unexpected highlights of my evening was watching the balloon guy.

It probably doesn’t sound like something a grown up would enjoy, but this guy was incredibly talented and obviously enjoyed what he was doing. I never thought making balloon animals and such could be an art form, but this guy elevated it to that level.

That’s the ultimate goal of everyone who works for a living– finding that dream job where you get to do what perfectly suits your talents and passions. Something that doesn’t feel like work most of the time.

The reality is that most of us for whatever reason aren’t in a position to live out that dream job fantasy. Most of us have to make the best of the work situation we’re in.

My advice is to treat it like your dream job. Find the parts that you enjoy and do those with great enthusiasm. Whatever you do, remember that your employer is ultimately God, so work as though you reported directly to Him (which you ultimately do), and not for a human boss.

“Work is love made visible.” That quote still haunts me long after I finished the book. That sums up everything. If you view your job as an opportunity to serve others —  whether that be customers or fellow employees– it changes the way you view what you do. It changes your whole outlook to where you actually care about making a difference versus merely earning a paycheck from week to week.

Whatever you do, do it with love. Do it as unto the Lord, as the verse says. Remember that your job is not your whole life. You still have family and friends and hobbies and other things. Bear in mind that you do spend most of your waking day working so make it count for good.

 

 

Still the Same

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“You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message” (Colossians 1:21-23, The Message).

It’s the same Gospel message that still saves anyone who comes to God in faith.

It’s the same Gospel message that saved a wretch like me.

It’s the same Gospel message that has the power to transform and liberate.

It’s still the same.

More Hump Day Weirdness

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Hopefully by now you’ve grown accustomed to the occasional random blog posts from me. I could say that they’re exercises in expanding my creativity and practicing free-thought expression, but really they’re just the things I write when I can’t think of anything organized to say. It happens more frequently than I’d like.

I’m still taking trips in the Tardis, visiting the Doctor and all his companions. For the non-Whovians out there, that means I’ve been watching more episodes of Doctor Who. I’m on the series with Matt Smith, and while he’s quite good, he’s still no David Tennant. And don’t get me started on the lack of Rose Tyler.

As always, there are precious few things better than a sleeping/snoring/purring animal next to you at night to keep you company. Those furry little guardian angels are the best.

I love that it’s fall weather, but us Tennesseans could sure use some rain to get some of the crud out of the air. I can’t remember it ever being so dry around here. If you happen to have a few rain clouds, send ’em my way, please and thank you.

My old-school musical journey continues. I’m currently listening to Ernest Tubb in the car, with Ray Price and Porter Wagoner next in line. I think everyone should experience music recorded before they were born.

If you’re wondering what I want for Christmas, I’d still like one of those red Mini-Coopers. I’m also wanting an Apple Watch and one of those Nintendo Classic gaming systems that are rumored to exist (though I have yet to see a real live one with my own eyes).

My cat Lucy is currently snoring away beside me. I think that’s my cue to wrap this up and call it a night. That and the fact that it’s 11:09 pm. That’s past my bedtime, folks.

 

The Ultimate Fairy Tale

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“It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name….That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still.” (Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale).

Perhaps that’s why so many of us are still drawn to fairy tales after all these years.