Ragamuffin Gospel

December Eve

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Tomorrow is officially the first day of the last month of the year. 2016 is rapidly drawing to a close. That means I’ll have to get used to writing 2017 on everything (including those rare checks that I write).

There has been so much tragedy lately, between the Gatlinburg wildfires and the tornadoes that have swept through parts of Tennessee and Alabama. It feels a bit like the apocalypse draweth nigh.

But December heralds the coming of Christmas, and with it the arrival of Emmanuel, the baby Prince of Peace born to be the Wonderful Counselor and Savior of us all.

Ever since the fall, nothing in creation has worked quite right. The Incarnation was the first step toward making it right and turning an upside down world right again.

I’m thankful for waking up this morning as usual. I’m thankful for my vintage Jeep that got me to my job this morning, for the clothes on my back and the food in my belly. I’m praying for all those families who lost everything in the wildfires and tornadoes. I’m praying especially for those families who lost loved ones.

Christmas is a time for generosity, and not just for family and friends. Perhaps God has stirred up your heart with compassion to help those in need who otherwise might not have much of a reason to celebrate this Christmas. One way is through DollywoodFoundation.org.

Not everyone may be able to give, but everyone can pray for these families. Everyone can hug their children and their parents a little tighter and breathe a prayer of gratitude and thanks for all they have.

On a lighter note, I started on my list of required holiday movie viewing, beginning with the original Christmas in Connecticut. That’s a classic that never gets old. I figured the world– or at least my world– needed a bit more levity on this last day in November.

 

 

 

The Love of God: December Edition

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“Love is the effort and desire to make someone else everything they were created to be (Timothy Keller).

Advent is all about love made visible. Specifically, it centers around how God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to be born in a feeding trough in the back room of a home where the animals usually were kept.

He gave His one and only Son to pitch His tent and live among us and walk beside us and go through all our experiences and temptations, and to emerge unscathed and sinless.

He gave His one and only Son to choose Calvary and to be the ultimate sacrifice, dying the death of a common criminal, for us who had willfully rebelled against the God of the Universe.

He gave His one and only Son to be the first and only one in history to make His tomb a temporary residence and to rise from the grave after three days, forever defeating death and hell and sin.

He gave His one and only Son so that no one should ever have to perish, to go through this life alone, to live in failure and shame, or to spend eternity apart from God.

God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son for you.

“For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Praying for Gatlinburg

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“When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2b, NIV).

When I first saw the posts about about the wildfires raging between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, I felt like my best friend had just died.

I have so many childhood memories tied up in that place that come alive whenever I drive up into the Smokies. I’m not overly a fan of how touristy the place has become, but I still wax nostalgic whenever I’m walking up and down the main drag.

I’m praying for Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains tonight. Sure, I have my selfish reasons, but I’m also thinking of the many who live and work there. I’m thinking of all the history and nature that’s in peril.

The world needs a place that’s quaint (and sometimes even a little hokey), a place that’s  not hipster-ed to death or upscaled and overpriced into absurdity.

There needs to be a Pancake Pantry and a Space Needle and a Dollywood and all the riot of colors from the leaves turning in the fall. All of those do wonders for restoring my soul.

I’m praying, “God, let it rain.”

That’s what is needed more than anything, I think. A nice long downpour.

Update: Apparently, several structures have caught fire in Gatlinburg. I don’t know which ones, but I know that the residents there would appreciate as many prayers lifted up as possible during the night and into the morning.

Most of all, pray that no lives are lost. Property can be replaced and buildings can be rebuilt but no human life can ever be replaced.

Above all, trust in the sovereign hand of the One who is Lord over both the flood and the flame. God’s still in control.

One more update: I just read where the rain has finally arrived. God is already working.

 

Come, Lord Jesus: An Advent Prayer for 2016

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“Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a wonder at the wisdom and power of Your Father and ours. Receive my prayer as part of my service of the Lord who enlists me in God’s own work for justice.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a hunger for peace: peace in the world, peace in my home, peace in myself.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me a joy responsive to the Father’s joy. I seek His will so I can serve with gladness, singing and love.

Come, long-expected Jesus. Excite in me the joy and love and peace it is right to bring to the manger of my Lord. Raise in me, too, sober reverence for the God who acted there, hearty gratitude for the life begun there, and spirited resolution to serve the Father and Son.

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, whose advent I hail. Amen” (A Catholic Advent Prayer).

At this time of year, I’m always on the lookout for prayers and quotations that reflect the true heart of the Advent season. I found one just now.

The incarnation of Immanuel means so much more than my world getting put right. It’s about the entire world getting put right. It’s about God inviting me to be a part of the revolution that started not from a throne room and a king or a battlefield and a general but from a manger and an infant.

The question this advent: how can we show tangible love to those around us with whom we live and work and play? How can we be the visible body of Christ to those who have never seen or heard this gospel (or who have seen and heard a very distorted version of it)?

I’m praying that this Advent is about more than just me and my own serenity and fulfillment. I want it to be about more than buying and receiving presents. I want to see change in the world and I want it to start in me.

 

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.

 

 

 

It’s Still a Dog-Sitter’s Life

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I’m back dog-sitting on this lovely Thanksgiving evening. I’m thankful that ol’ Millie is still around for me to take care of her again. She even gave me an enthusiastic greeting when I walked through the garage door earlier.

I still think most of us could learn a lot from dogs. They know how to appreciate the little things that most of us take for granted, like going for walks or enjoying your foot or getting a nice head rub. Not nearly enough humans appreciate the joys of a good head rub.

Yes, I just about ate myself into a tryptophan-induced food coma. I probably gained 15 pounds, but it was well worth it. On a side note, I have to give props to my nephew Ethan for his help with the meal. We just might have the Food Channel’s next new star in the works.

But after all that, I’m hanging out with a friendly geriatric dog who is currently snoozing away (which I will be doing very shortly). It could be all that tryptophan from earlier.

That’s another lesson people could learn from dogs– when you’re tired, take a nap or go to bed. Too many of us wreck our health by not listening to our internal clocks and pushing ourselves beyond what we were intended to bear. Rest is not weakness. Rest is simply confessing that you’re human and can’t pretend to do it all.

So that’s it. I’m thankful for being able to dog-sit this friendly old gal who I still hope lives to be at least 20 so I can have many more dog-sitting opportunities in the future.

 

 

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.

 

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?