Displaying Christ

Each year as the Christmas season begins to unfold, I cautiously bring from our attic three large cardboard boxes which contain our mantle nativity scene and gently remove the brown paper wrapping from each piece. Whenever I unwrap the baby Jesus, he always welcomes me with outstretched arms as if to say, "I was wondering when you were going to take me out of this box!" I then give him his prominent place upon our mantle alongside Mary, Joseph, and the three wise men.

Throughout the Christmas season, those who enter our home are drawn to the two-to-three-foot figures, their uniqueness, and their beauty, while the set's primary placement in our home helps us  remember to keep Christ at the center of our hearts and all our holiday activities.

The nativity is always the first Christmas decoration I display and the last one I put back in the attic. Sometime during the first week of January, I carefully remove it from the mantle, wrap the figures, pack them back in the boxes, and return them to the attic until the next Christmas season.

This year, as I contemplated my annual ritual, I sadly surmised that far too often, I deal with Christ this way in my daily life ~ putting him on display for specific occasions, or during moments of hardship and then, as soon as the occasion or situation passes, quietly tucking him away again. How this must sadden the heart of my Lord! How many opportunities to display Christ have I missed simply because I placed him back in the box to await another season, another occasion, another hardship?

Today I will return our nativity to a dark corner of the attic once again. But this year I am choosing to make a simple change: I will not put Christ back in the box! I will display the Jesus figure in the center of our home throughout the year as a subtle reminder to myself that displaying Christ is not a seasonal event, but a daily necessity.

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light" (Luke 11:33, HCSB).

Jesus came as the Light of the world. Displaying Christ in all that we say and do is vital to our relationship with God, our families, and our fellowmen. It is my prayer for this year that the precious Christ of Christmas will remain in the most prominent position of my heart and yours, never to return to a place of obscure darkness again.

Where have you positioned Christ in your life? Have you given him a place of prominence for all to see, or have you hidden him away? Can you hear him say, "When are you going to take me out of this box?"

Let today be the day! He is waiting with opened arms.

The End Is in Sight!

 

Tonight will mark the 105th New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City's Times Square. Jubilant choruses of "Auld Lang Syne" will be sung, a ton of confetti will descend, and the deafening cheers of a million partygoers will usher out the old year and ring in a new one. But for most of us, 2012 will take its final bow and make its quiet exit virtually unnoticed and with little fanfare. Some will embrace its passing with only a nod as they pull the covers more snugly over their heads while hoping 2013 will offer brighter days for which to wake up.

 

For me, 2012 has been quite a journey. It has provided exciting new avenues and challenges, sometimes tempered with dead ends and unexpected sadness. There were days when I thought I had it all together and others when I wondered if I would even be able to hold on for the ride ~ days when making a strong finish seemed doubtful. And then there were days when I wondered if the God who had launched me from the start would even show up in the end. However, in those eleventh hours, he proved himself faithful time and again.

 

I would not trade my journey for any other. I have seen my Lord in some of the most unusual places. I have been awed by him in the ordinary and humbled by him in the extraordinary. Throughout this process I have been changed ~ for the better, I hope ~ and yet, I have found my Lord to always be the same: loving, steadfast, true, full of mercy and grace, and ever faithful!

 

So I will move on! I know not what lies ahead, or whom I will meet along the way, but one thing I know for sure: my Lord will make the journey with me, and beyond that he will be there to greet me at the end. Upon my arrival, there is but one thing I long to hear him say: "Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21, NIV).



Star Search

 

We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." 

Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV)

 

Over two thousand years ago, Magi living in the east marveled at the appearance of an unexplainable star which prompted their search for the prophesied newborn king of the Jews. Departing from Persia, they began their five-to-six-hundred-mile trek westward toward Jerusalem.

 

Matthew's gospel account of the Magi stopping in Jerusalem to ask King Herod for directions suggests that the star they saw "when it rose" disappeared and was not actually visible for the greater part of their journey. King Herod, noticeably disturbed by their questions, personally did not see the star.  However, after consulting with the chief priests and scribes and hearing the prophecy, he sent the Magi on their way toward Bethlehem. Soon the star reappeared, going ahead of them. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy" (Matthew 2:9-10, KJV).

 

Many of us can relate to the uncertainty of being lost on the highway. Yet, the apprehension we experience on one of today's well marked multilane highways pales in comparison to the Magis' sense of remote isolation in the vast, rugged hill country of Judea. Our immense relief on seeing a familiar landmark or road sign holds no likeness to the "exceeding great joy" that washed over them as they saw the star shining overhead once again.

 

For much of their journey, the Magi were not guided by what they saw, but by what they believed in their hearts to be true. Consequently, they journeyed to Bethlehem by faith, continuing through uncertainty until they found the king they were seeking.

 

Can you relate your journey to the Magis'? Where is your Bethlehem? What are you seeking? Is your terrain uncertain?

Walk on! Follow what you believe in your heart. You may see a great light!

 

" . . . for we walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7, ESV

 





The Remaining Gift

 

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift"

2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)

 

Last year, due to the busyness of the Christmas season, I was unable to wrap our Christmas gifts before Christmas Eve. Until then, an unassuming red box with a stick-on silver bow maintained its lonely vigil beneath our tree. The box was a gift our eldest daughter had brought to us the previous Thanksgiving Day. Oddly enough, it was empty! 

As Christmas Day arrived and family members gathered, each brought and placed a small object of remembrance and thanksgiving into the box as instructed by our daughter. Later, after an extraordinary dinner, we sat around a beautifully lit tree, opened the box one by one, took out the article each had put in, and shared our thoughts concerning it.

Cherished memories spilled forth, accompanied by gratitude, laughter, and an ocassional tear while the spirit of Christmases past and present wondrously filled the room, our hearts, and our lives.  As a result, those who had passed on took their rightful place within our family circle once again in almost tangible presence, reminding us that they live on beneath everything we do and all that we are.

Today, the red box, after being opened numerous times at two Christmas family gatherings, still remains! It appears no worse for the wear as its profound impact on our family lingers.

The God-given gift of a family is a circle that can never be broken, a gift that will always remain. And just as the impact of the little red box will  maintain a prominent place within our hearts after all else has faded, so will the spirits of those we love.

It is quite astonishing how full an ordinary, empty box can be when the true Spirit of Christmas fills it and pours the contents of his love upon our hearts and lives. This outpouring, is truly an indescribable gift which will always remain!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Matthew 15:2

 



It is the day after Thanksgiving, and a surplus of leftovers is precariously stacked in my fridge.  So precariously, in fact, that the thought of having to unpack the milk for this morning’s cereal causes me to settle for dry toast with a smidge of jelly snatched quickly from one of a dozen jars in the door. I have no time this morning to risk the avalanche that may result, nor the energy to rearrange the fridge’s chilly interior before my first cup of Java Joe kicks in.

 

Yesterday, after pushing back from a table laden with ham, turkey, giblet gravy, dressing, and all the trimmings, I vowed never to eat again. Now, before the dawn breaks and with only the light of the refrigerator piercing the morning darkness, one bleary-eyed glimpse of Tom Turkey and a half-eaten pumpkin roll has me eagerly anticipating my next meal.

 

Leftovers are rarely seen as choice fare, but for the Canaanite woman, even leftovers were  desirable. Seen as only a “dog” within this pharisaical community, she was deemed unworthy of anything more than table scraps. However, the desperation that seized her soul regarding her daughter’s well-being propelled her to push past the disciples and the self-righteous glares of the crowd to fall humbly at the feet of the Master. This outsider had the vision needed to see the One who contained the power to alter the outcome of her daughter’s life, while those he came to save blindly looked on. The apostles must have felt a sense of smugness as Jesus’s initial silence appeared to validate their deeply embedded beliefs. Little did they know a few well-thought-out words from Jesus would swiftly extract their shallow roots.

 

The words of Jesus seem callous, yet he typically seized the moment to demonstrate his unconditional love and to foreshadow the coming salvation of the Gentiles. In spite of his seeming indifference and the intolerable attitude of the disciples, the Canaanite woman clung to the hope that she had placed in Jesus.

 

True, Jesus had come to save the lost sheep of Israel, but this humble, outcast woman believed in her heart that even scraps from the Master’s table were more than enough to restore her daughter’s life. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” she said (Matthew 15:27). Jesus’s response to her was, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28). As a result of her faith, her daughter was immediately healed.

Today, as I sit munching on my meager toast, an abundance of food is piled high in my fridge. Do I, an heir alongside of Christ, take for granted all I have, and yet feel entitled to more? Or, do I with undaunted faith desire whatever God has to give, knowing that even scraps from his hand will bring more healing to my bones than the surplus of leftovers stacked in my fridge?

 

It is not how much we receive but the spirit with which we receive it that brings not only the results we desire, but the leftover sounds of thanksgiving that our Master so longs to hear.

 

Red Light! Green Light!

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD."  Psalm 37:23

 

When I was a child, I often played an outdoor game called “Red Light! Green Light!” The child designated as “it” played the part of a stoplight, forcing all other children to freeze on command.

Yes. I know. Playing a stoplight does not rank high on a child’s list of things to do today, but in a day when children actively entertained themselves rather than passively expecting to be entertained, being a stoplight was a highly desirable position.

Once someone was designated as “it,” everyone else lined up about twenty feet away. “It” would then turn his back to the others and call out, “Green light!” As the children ran toward him, he suddenly shouted out “Red light!” and quickly turned around. Anyone “it” caught moving would have to go back to the starting line. Whenever someone reached and tagged the human stoplight, that person would then get to be “it.”

As I reflect on this game, I am saddened to think of how often God still sees me caught up in this same childish thinking―still on a quest to be “it.” As an adult, this can only be viewed as a less than favorable position. If someone says, “She thinks she’s it,” I certainly don’t want to be the focus of their statement!

Psalm 37 tells us, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” And in the same chapter, we are told, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”

Life is full of stops and goes. I often look at the stops in my life as being negative and the goes as being positive, but George Müller, a nineteenth-century British evangelist, stated, “The stops of a good man as well as his steps are ordered by the Lord.”

Nowhere in God’s Word is this truth more evident than when God led his children through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. “Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped” (Numbers 9:17, HCSB). Both the stops and the starts were orchestrated by the Lord. For the Israelites, God was It, with a capital I, and they were to walk accordingly. No running ahead when God turned his back.

What about me today? What about you? Have you been running ahead of God lately? Every time we move outside of God’s direction, every time we desire to be “it,” we run the risk of being sent back to the starting line. Neither having to start over, nor being the stoplight is a highly desirable position. Proceed with caution!

Lord, help me to acknowledge you as It with a capital I, and to walk accordingly. Amen

“Since we live by the Spirit,

let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)

 



Go With the Flow

These leaves finally let go of the lofty position they had held for so long, only to be carried by the wind and brought to rest in deep waters. Where the waters will carry them is still a mystery, but one thing is sure; they served their purpose along the way....They brightened up my day!

 

It was only in the letting go . . . .

 

 

that their beauty flowed from among the masses!

 

"There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth....

A right time to hold on and another to let go...."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 6 (The Message)

 

 

Fit for a King

A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord;

make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”

Isaiah 40:3 (NIV)

Jackhammers, roadblocks, detours, and major traffic jams are pretty much the norm as our city’s main thoroughfare undergoes massive reconstruction. Soon its irregular pavement, potholes, and unmarked lanes will be transformed into one of America’s leading corridors, welcoming travelers from the Great Lakes of Michigan to the eastern Carolina shores.

Those of us who must maneuver our way daily through this seemingly endless obstacle course will welcome the day we can move from point A to point B unhindered by such “progress.” Roadways, whether accommodating the gleaming chariots of old or the world’s latest hybrid automobiles, have always been in a constant state of repair.

Isaiah 40:3 points toward John the Baptist as the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”  

 In John’s day, before the arrival of a king into a village or city, the residents not only began sprucing up the market square, but they set out to prepare the roadway for his coming. Great measures were taken to ensure the removal of any large boulders or obstacles that would hinder the king’s entrance into the city. On the day of his arrival, the city would be truly fit for a king.

Today, preparing the way can be compared to rolling out the red carpet for our nation’s celebrities or foreign diplomats. Think of the immense renovation process in a city prior to hosting a major event such as the Olympic Games. Imagine the embarrassment of the people of the city if, upon the Olympians’ arrival, the venues were still incomplete.

Some days our lives and circumstances resemble a broken concrete thoroughfare or dusty wilderness highway as unconfessed sin leaves our hearts emotionally devastated and in need of repair. Potholes, roadblocks, and detours along poorly marked wilderness paths can leave us circling the same mountain time and again with no clear off-ramp in sight. How do we exit this roundabout? How do we restore the highway of our God?

John’s desperate cry in the wilderness states our needed response: “Prepare the way” . . . Repent! “Make straight a highway for our God”. . .  Pave the highway! We must humble ourselves before him and pave the highway of our hearts by removing any obstacle hindering the entrance of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Preparing the way requires getting serious about God’s call to repentance. When we humble ourselves before him . . . he will come! And the venue of our hearts will be found “fit for the King.”

 

Unfolding Grace

 

Showing signs of being torn and battered by life . . . . .

 

 

 this butterfly briefly pauses to remind me . . . it's still flying! 

 

"We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.....So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever."    2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18   (The Message)

Eye Opening Wake-Up Call

"You prepare a table before me. . ."  Psalm 23:5, NIV

"Breakfast is ready! Come to the table!"

Who has not uttered these words or at least heard this call?

Often what follows is silence and a period of waiting, soon to be followed by another call and another period of waiting ~ then, perhaps another, and another.

Frustration certainly sets in after I prepare a nice breakfast and those I have called do not come, or they simply choose to come on their own timetable. Then, upon arriving at the table they groggily devour what I have prepared with hardly a word spoken, much less one of gratitude. 

Starting our day with a good breakfast boosts our energy, increases our attention spans, and heightens our sense of well-being. By recharging the brain and body, we are more efficient in just about everything we do. 

Recently, God reminded me of how, more times than I care to confess, I hear his early morning call and yet keep him waiting after he has prepared a wonderful table for me. Far too often I choose to grab a quick bite on the run by reading a one-minute devotional, listening to my favorite worship CD, or by pulling up an inspiring message on my iPod. Though beneficial, these are all poor substitutes for spending time at the table with my Savior, enjoying his presence, gleaning from his Word, and pausing to give thanks. 

Just as eating a good breakfast maintains our physical and mental well being, coming to the table upon the Lord's call enhances our spiritual well-being. Our inner man is energized, our spiritual awareness and discernment heightened, and our knowledge and love for the Lord and others grows deeper. By recharging our spiritual bodies, not only do we become more efficient in all that we do, but all that we do glorifies Him.

Oops! I'm so sorry. I hate to run. But I think I hear my Father calling.

By the way, do you have breakfast plans this morning?

"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him . . ."  Luke 24:30-31