pomp and circumstance

It was another good night at Kairos, a young(ish) adult worship event that takes place at 7pm every Tuesday night at Brentwood Baptist Church (shameless plug). It’s located off I-65 exit 71 if you’re ever in the area (another shameless plug).

Tonight, Mike Glenn spoke about how Jesus, who defined how we measure history, came into the world in an inauspicious way. He didn’t come with pomp and circumstance to Jerusalem or Rome. He was born to peasant parents in backwater Bethlehem and the first eyewitnesses to the event were some smelly shepherds keeping their flocks in a nearby field.

The takeaway from tonight? Jesus is looking for a good place to start.

If I can offer up even the most hesitant agreements and the most tentative yes to God, He can completely transform my world and then use me to transform the world around me. I still believe that because I’ve seen it too many times not to believe.

That’s why I love the Christmas story. Jesus didn’t ask us to get our acts together and get cleaned up so we could make our way to Him. While we was still mired in sin, Jesus came down to where we were and became one of us. Not as a high and mighty ruler or a holier-than-thou mystic, but as the son of a carpenter. A regular joe.

By the way, if you come to Kairos, they have free coffee and Cheez-Its. For me, that’s an irresistible draw, but I understand that not everyone has come to truly experience the awesomeness of the little snack crackers known as Cheez-Its. I pray they one day will.

And if you’re stuck in a rut or don’t like where you are, remember that God is always looking for a good place to start. Maybe that next place is in you?

I really can’t believe it. Only 3 more days left in the year? 72 hours? It seems like it’s only been a month since we rang in 2014. Two, tops. Seriously, the year has flown by. But in a little over three days, we’ll be ringing in 2015 with all the usual pomp and circumstance but sadly with no Dick Clark. I still miss that guy.

2014 has been anything but expected, but it’s been good. Why? I’m still here. That’s the best reason of all to celebrate– being alive for one more day.

I’m not dying just yet. I’m just extremely grateful these days, most of all for the gift of life.

Here’s a sampling of some of what I’ve written this year:

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/my-commentary-on-current-events/

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/6882/

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/life-lessons-from-a-great-movie/

Those are three randomly chosen blogs that I wrote at some point during 2014.

On a side note, 2015 is the year we finally catch up to Marty McFly from Back to the Future fame. As you remember from the 1985 classic, he first went back in time to 1955 to save his parents’ marriage (and as a result, he saved himself). In the sequel, Marty goes into the future to save his kids– October 21, 2015 to be precise. Of course, there’s a third movie where Marty goes back to 1885 dressed up as a pink Clint Eastwood. But that’s not important right now.

I have to admit most of the clothing looks like the 80’s on steroids. I’m thankful that current fashion isn’t based on Back to the Future Part II. Especially not that jacket with the retractable arms. And the technology has surpassed in many ways what the movie envisioned for 2015 (like for instance the very excellent blu ray version of the Back to the Future trilogy).

I’m still waiting on the hoverboards. And I can’t wait to see what God will do next in 2015.

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