The Beauty of the Incarnation

Philippians 2

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I love this passage of Scripture. Not only is the language beautiful...it expresses the wonder of the incarnation. God became a man ultimately to die & to be raised from the dead so that we could live forever in glory with Him. It's a captivating truth really. I remind you of this passage today because soon you will be in full celebration during this Christmas season with lots of food, lots of family, lots of presents, and hopefully lots of fun! It's the "lots of family" part that can be interesting. Perhaps your family knows what this season is all about...Jesus, but chances are you're going to be elbow to elbow with some people that you see a couple of times a year that you know full well don't know Jesus from Adam. At this point you & I will have a choice to make. Will we let the attitude of Christ Jesus be expressed in us? Will we become a servant to those around the dinner table and share Christ with words & actions? OR will we let ourselves be annoyed at Aunt So and So's silly jokes & Uncle Billy Bob's awkward social posture? My encouragement to you is to remember the grace Christ Jesus gave to us & give it away to someone else as you celebrate this Christmas.

Where is Jesus?

This week I heard a grandmother talk about a darling picture of her grandchildren dressed like Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. What caught my attention was that this lady was saying how "Mary" (her pre-school granddaughter) did not want to cooperate; therefore, they took the picture without her and cropped her in later for the Christmas card. The picture was still adorable and the story is cute. BUT.....it challenged me to think about how often Jesus is missing from the Christmas story and how He is not even "cropped" back into it. Perhaps Santa or Rudolph or and elf might be put in, but not Jesus.

I was thinking: "Surely I would never be guilty of cropping Jesus out of the Christmas season!" But as I think about my 'to do' list and how I get busy baking, cleaning, decorating, shopping, etc. I was gently convicted by the Holy Spirit that I need to make sure my focus is on Jesus Christ and the real meaning of the season. May we all take EXTRA time out of our schedules to truly make Him the center and to spread the Good News of his birth to those around us!

"Hark! the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the newborn King! ' Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners (me) reconciled. Joyful all ye nations rise; join the triumph of the skies With angelic hosts proclaim, 'Christ is born in Bethlehem.' Hark! the herald angels sing 'Glory to the newborn King!'"

a marathon to inspire

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him" (Lamentations 3:25).

In Lamentations chapter three, the spiritual leader Jeremiah points out how the power of God is greater than the power of the Israelites' enemy, the Babylonians. John Maxwell notes how Jeremiah, "dwells on his vision of God's plans: God will deliver His people and give them a hopeful future."

Jeremiah explains in Lamentations 3:22-23: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not; they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness."

About three years ago, my friend Jackie (pictured above on the far right as an "iPod") went into a coma after getting hit in her car by a drunk driver. About two years later, she came out of the coma. She is now out of it (praise God!), yet she is still in recovery and is not able to live on her own. However, this past week, I learned that she was able to participate in a marathon!

Her family, friends, and community have been lifting her up in prayer all of these years. I believe that her family's faith in God's divine power has helped them push through the doubts that could have held them back as they raised money to help Jackie recover. Today, they are thankful to see her alive once again.

As this year wraps up before the holidays, I have seen how God's power and wisdom are beyond my understanding and worthy of my trust. So much in my life has changed, but I have been blessed to see what He has revealed to me about HIs plans so far!

Psalm 37 explains: "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you" (verse 5).

As we approach this season, I pray that we trust in the power of God and are able to share with others the unending love that He has given us!

The link to Jackie's story:

http://www.wfaa.com/sports/more/Woman-injured-by-drunk-driver-to-participate-in-marathon-78913677.html

First Christmas!

"With my own eyes I've seen your salvation; it's now out in the open for everyone to see: A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations, and of glory for your people Israel. Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, A figure misunderstood and contradicted—the pain of a sword-thrust through you—But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are."
Luke 2:30-35 (the message paraphrase)

"For my eyes have seen Your salvation." Luke 2:30 (HCSB)

I will NEVER forget my first Christmas as a first-generation NEW BORN Christian...I was a 22 year old married young mother that accepted Jesus 07/21/85 and now I was celebrating JESUS for my very first Christmas (12/25/85)! My husband had just become a NEW Christian a few weeks before Christmas and WOW did we have so much of JESUS to Celebrate-tears flow from my eyes just remembering such a MIRACLE my life in Christ Is! When I read "The Christmas Story" from The Book of Luke~Chapter 2 for the very first time in my very first BIBLE, I could not hardly take in each word without Joy bursting from my heart and tears gushing from my eyes...I didn't just read these words, I felt them just like they are written in Luke 2:32-35, "with my own eyes, I've seen your salvation" and I wanted EVERYONE to know HIM & celebrate JESUS with us! "This child (Jesus) marks both the failure and the recovery of many..."; that is what my First Christmas represented so deeply I can hardly express it to you in words...a life that had been radically "recovered" from darkness into His Marvelous LIGHT...a LIGHT that I will NEVER get over and hope to PROCLAIM to others so that they too will experience JESUS now and for eternity!!
I have many examples I could share with you of Christmas' before Jesus came into my life and set me free with His Gracious Salvation...God uses those memories to remind me to never forget what it was like being LOST and use those feelings to reach out to others that NEED TO BE FOUND~BORN AGAIN...My First Christmas began as a grown woman of 22 but I felt like a new born child that the manger represents to me in so many ways!! God has my heart gripped with memories of my life "before Jesus & after Jesus"...let me just share that EVERYONE is searching for real meaning in this world and they will NOT find it until they meet JESUS and FOLLOW His Light everyday, there is not doubt that I know how to reach out to those that are searching searching searching...if we do not lead others to JESUS, the STAR of BETHLEHEM, they will continue to search in darkness that leads to an empty Christmas of unmet needs that Jesus so wants to fulfill!
What a JOY & PRIVILEGE to give the greatest GIFT that we could GIVE this CHRISTmas...Let's Share JESUS with someone that is searching searching searching for the cry of their heart=JESUS!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OIWymhNEbw
(Cry In My Heart!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hls8lCHtSS0
(Glory To God In The Highest!)

Choices

"But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today the one you will worship" (Joshua 24:15a, HCSB).

Life is full of choices. Some days I have so many decisions to make that I can't even think anymore. Many of the choices are minute and don't seemingly have much eternal value. Others will change lives forever.

This weekend, we have just begun the long process of having our master bathroom fixed. It is hard for me to believe that I was ever in the design business. There are so many choices out there and every decision seems to affect something. The tile on the shower walls changes the tile on the floor, the trim, the paint color, and even the sinks we use. The finished product will be changed and I have been reminded that these choices are ones that I have to live with the rest of my life! While they don't have eternal value, they do remind me of the importance of making the right decision at the right time.

On a daily basis, we must choose to serve the Lord. In fact, we must choose the Lord at every turn. Do I pray about tile choices? I do. I admit to praying about everything. So I sure pray about many more important choices. Do I ever make the wrong decision? Of course...but hopefully not on purpose.

Choose the Lord. Pray about choosing Him at every turn. Let's make sure that we choose today to worship the Lord with every decision we make. As leaders, people are counting on us to make the right decision.

Twinkling Lights

The bright hope of Christmas is that Jesus Christ, our God, became a man to extend salvation not only to the nation of Israel, but to save us. His arm stretched out to gather in even the Gentiles unto Himself. His desire was for the nations.

Isaiah 49:5-6
And now the LORD says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD
and my God has been my strength-
he says:
"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

This passage of Scripture captivates my heart when I allow it too. The Father made the Son "a light for the Gentiles" in order that salvation would reach "to the ends of the earth." If you're anything like me the lure of twinkling lights, pretty nativity scenes, hot chocolate, Christmas celebrations usher in this cold winter-like season in which we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Without care we miss the mystery & miracle for which Christ came. The hustle & bustle quickly pulls us away from the plan of God into consumerism, materialism, me-ism. If we are thoughtful and reflect for a while however soon we see that the light of Christmas is not found in the lights on our Christmas tree or in shiny new gifts, but in a baby boy born in the most lowly of places. This One of lowly birth will one day rule the nations as an exalted King. Christ's desire is for nations...for the ends of the earth. If we are not careful in our very American world Christmas consists of nothing more than self preoccupation, thoughtless spending, & gluttony. BUT what if this time around Christmas was more than that for us...what if it was more than the annual Christmas cantata & the reading of Luke, although these things are quite profitable. What if our thinking around Christmas extended to include care packages for the refugees who are taking up residence in our cities...what if it extended to include prayers for the missionaries and lost people groups around the world. Basically, what if our Christmas celebration called us to the things the Father had in view when He sent His Son to earth...what if we asked the Lord to let the light of Christ shine in us in such a way that the nations would come to Jesus!

As I look at the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree in my own home...these are just my thoughts.

awe-filled wonder

"Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so Christ shall all be made alive." -1 Corinthians 15:21-22

How are we made alive in Christ? This week, I have been alive in Him as I am in awe of God as I have seen His wonder in snowfall, a little girl, a concert, and an answer to prayer.

Earlier this week, I got to see a group named Doxology perform Handel's Messiah. This opera-like performance proclaims Christ's story. The performers sing verses from the prophecy of His coming in the Old Testament, to His life on earth and His resurrection as described in the New Testament. This was composed so many years ago, but watching it helped me experience the wonder of God again!

One song included the verse from Romans 10:15:
"How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

How may we share His love today? This is one time of year where every moment another thing may remind us of the precious gift of His Son. I pray that today we are able to see His unmatchable love and are able to share the story of that holy night when He came to save us!

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, the King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour, and he shall speak peace unto the heathen." -Zechariah 9:9-10