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What’s Your Choice?

March 21, 2013 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

English: Atlas statue at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In New York City on 5^th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan there are two statues across the street from each other. On one side of the street is Rockefeller Center. Out front of the building known today as 30 Rock, is the famous statue of Atlas holding up the world. With every muscle of his perfectly formed body taught with strain, he holds the world on his shoulders. You can see the burden of all the world’s weight coming down upon him in his furrowed brow.

Across the street is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Behind the high alter is a shrine of the boy Jesus. There is a statue of Jesus, perhaps eight or nine, holding the world with no effort in the palm of his hand.

Comparing the two statues: how stressed Atlas looks with the world’s weight and how peaceful is the face of our Lord.

What a powerful illustration of the choice we all have to make. We can try to carry the world with all its burdens, worries and cares on our shoulders or we can give them to Jesus and let Him carry them in His hands.

On our shoulders the burdens of the world can be overwhelming. In His hands, they seem small. On our shoulders we strain and fall. In His hands, He holds them effortlessly.

We all have burdens in this world. We have struggles and problems. But we all have a choice in what we do with them. We can keep them on our shoulders and let them weigh us down and stress us out. Or we can put them in the hands of Jesus and experience His peace.

^“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:6–7 (NKJV)

Accept No Substitute

November 29, 2010 in General with 0 Comments

In Nome, Alaska, teachers receive the same professional journals and publications as teachers in other states. But the situations they face are quite different from all the other states.

A fourth-grade teacher, a newcomer to Alaska, had just received her latest curriculum resource and was discussing with the class the suggestions for a Christmas pageant. The instruction manual read: “For the children playing Santa’s reindeer, there should be brown outfits, and passable reindeer horns could be made of bare branches, trimmed to the proper shapes and painted.”

She looked out at the barren, treeless, snow-covered landscape. “Well, children,” she sighed, “I guess we’ll have to do something else. We can’t make horns of branches because there isn’t a tree for miles.”

The children looked disappointed. Then one little boy spoke up, “We haven’t any trees, teacher,” he said. “But we do have lots of reindeer horns.”

Sometimes we have to improvise. Our shepherds wear bathrobes. We make camels out of cardboard. But sometimes we substitute so much that we overlook the real thing.

We adults do a good job of substituting as well. We are so caught up in the festivities that we have forgotten the real message of Christmas. We have let Santa Claus and bright lights and packages take the place of the Christ Child and His message of salvation and hope.

This Christmas, let’s not substitute any longer. We will still have joy and happiness, but it will come from having Christ in our hearts and not tree branches on our heads.

Keep Calm and Seek First

April 6, 2010 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

At the beginning of World War II, as the German Army was taking over all of Europe, the people of England became increasingly anxious. The British Ministry of Information issued a series of three posters. Their intent was to assure the nation and keep the nation focused and not give in to fear and panic.
The posters were initially distributed in September 1939 and immediately began to appear everywhere. However, a third design was not widely distributed and remained virtually unseen by the public, until a copy turned up more than fifty years later in a box of dusty old books bought in auction.
This poster was simple. At the top it had a crown, the symbol of their king, King George VI. Underneath the crown was the simple message, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” It was meant as a message from their King to not give in to the fear of the world, but to stand firm.

We have a message from our King as well. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us to stay calm. Our King tells us not to give in to the fears and pressures of this world, but to look to Him. He says that to carry on is to seek Him first. Jesus reminds us that if we put God first in our lives and trust Him, we won’t be living fearful chaotic lives, but lives of purpose and contentment.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Matthew 6:31–33 (NLT)

Out of the Mouths of Babes

December 16, 2009 in General with 0 Comments

As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21 (NLT)

Christmas Eve was a hectic day. Father was worried with bundles and burdens. Mother’s nerves reached the breaking point more than once. The little girl seemed to be in the way wherever she went. Finally, she was hustled up to bed. As she knelt to pray, the feverish excitement so flustered her, that when she prayed she said, “Forgive us our Christmases, as we forgive those who Christmas against us.”

Christmas is almost here and there is always a flurry of activity. There is so much to do and so little time. Decorating and cooking needs to be done. There are parties to plan and attend. We all have special programs at school and church. And, of course, there are gifts to buy and wrap. The list is endless. On we go, trying to cram a year of joy and peace into a few short days. “Oh Lord, forgive us our Christmases!”

Why is it so easy to lose sight of Christmas? Is it because we too often lose sight of the Christ Child. He becomes nothing more than an ornament on the coffee table with the rest of the nativity scene.

Pause for a few moments and think. Think of the moment that His love first became real to you. Remember the joy and the peace that you experienced. Remember the times in your life when, during a crisis or deep hurt, Christ whispered His grace to your heart. Remember the deep assurance that you felt. Christmas is when we remember that Christ came into our world just for those times.

Advent can be a time when we can experience afresh (or for the very first time) the love that God has for each of us. All we have to remember is that Christmas is not something that we do to each other. It is something that we receive from the hand of God.

Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father,

Forgive us when we get lost in all our busyness and forget You. Help us to remember Your love and why You sent Your Son.

In Your Son’s name, Amen.

The Gifts of Advent

December 12, 2009 in General with 1 Comment

advent wreath

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 (NLT)

When asked to explain what the four candles of an Advent wreath represent, seven-year-old Luke began to explain, “There’s love, joy, peace, and…”

His six-year-old sister piped up, “I know!” She said excitedly, “Peace and quiet!”

If there is anything that Advent doesn’t bring to us it’s Peace and Quiet. We sing, “Silent Night,” but our hearts are far from being silent. We read the heavenly hosts’ words about peace on earth, but peace has escaped not only our lives, but our vocabulary.

What’s a person to do? There always seems to be two ways of thinking about the matter. First, just accept it. This is the way the Christmas season is. Just cope with it as best as you can. Or second, just forget it. Christmas is way too commercial. Let’s just get rid of all the hype and gaudy trappings.

Perhaps there is another way. I don’t believe we have to resign ourselves to the frenzy, nor do we have to trash all our Christmas decorations. Just as in our everyday lives, true peace comes not from a lack of activity around us, but from an abiding presence within us. It comes from having our hearts and minds focused on what is truly important. Don’t focus on the energy sapping, joy stealing hysteria of the world, but on Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Remember that Christmas is about Jesus and why He came to earth and lived in human flesh. Remember that Christmas is about sharing the love and joy that we have because of the love that was shown to us through Jesus Christ. Remember that all of the decorations and activities are pointless unless you have a reason to celebrate.

Do you want a little peace and quiet during the holidays? Think about Jesus and how much God must have loved you to send Him to earth. Do that a couple of times a day between now and Christmas. I think it will make a difference.

Prayer:
Dear God,
May our days of Advent be ruled by the Prince of Peace. May Your holy love and not our schedules control our hearts.
In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

No Time For Jesus?

December 10, 2009 in General with 0 Comments

Hurried Crowd

But although the world was made through him, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted.
John 1:10-11 (NLT)

I heard the story of a woman who was very busy on Christmas Eve. She had her little son with her as she ran from store to store. She had just come from the supermarket and now was battling her way through a department store for some last minute gift buying. She had made her purchases and was looking around for her son so that she could rush home and finish decorating the house.
The little boy was looking at a manger scene. He saw his mom and yelled out: “Mommy, look! It’s Jesus! There’s the baby Jesus in his crib.”
Quite impatiently the mother grabbed him by the arm and said, “Come on, we’re in a hurry. We don’t have time for that!”

Hurry is the number one enemy of the Christian life and the number one destroyer of Christmas joy. Hurry robs us of the opportunity to let God speak to us through the wonder of a child. Hurry steals the power of the message of hope that comes in a manger. Hurry makes us rush past God as He tries to get our attention.
Hurry keeps us from thinking about God’s wondrous love as we decorate our homes. It keeps from receiving His indescribable gift as we try to buy for those on our lists.
So what do we do? I doubt that we can bring all of it to a stop. We can try to slow down and would probably benefit from doing so. But I think the best solution at the moment is to ask God for eyes of grace so that we can catch a glimpse of the Holy moments of Christmas. Those times when we see the wonder in a child’s face. When we pause at a nativity scene and remember that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to us. When we actually listen to the words of a Christmas carol and hear the message of God’s love.
Make time for Jesus this Christmas. You’ll be glad you did.

Prayer:
Holy Father,
Forgive us when we forget You. Forgive us when Christmas is nothing more than another item on our to-do list. Touch our hearts again with Your love and let us see the Savior once again.
In Christ’s name, Amen

Be Still This Christmas

December 9, 2009 in Videos with 0 Comments

LOOK IN THE CLOSET

November 30, 2009 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

gifts in closet

“For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes.”
2 Peter 1:16 (NLT)

Little Johnny’s parents were puzzled when he announced that he no longer wanted the list of toys he had included on his Christmas gift list.

“Didn’t you write Santa Claus asking for them,” his mother asked.

Johnny answered, “Yes, but I looked in the closet the other day and I’ve already got them!”

Isn’t that wonderful news for Johnny? All the presents he wanted, he’s already got. What more could a child ask for?

You want to know even better news? Every thing you wanted for Christmas, you’ve already received as well. You’ve wanted peace, deep inner peace, from the nagging of the world? You’ve got it! You’ve wanted joy, a contentment with life? You’ve got that too. You’ve needed hope when facing discouraging setbacks. It’s here! They’re all found in Jesus Christ.
When God sent His son into our world, He was meeting every need that we would ever have. We do not have to wait for some future time for God to work in our lives. He’s here. He’s waiting. All we need to do is to look in the closet and see. He’s already yours.

Prayer:
Holy Father,
Thank You for the wonderful good news of Your Son. Thank You for giving us everything we needed on that first Christmas. May we have eyes to see His glory this Christmas.
In our blessed Savior’s name. Amen

Magnets

November 20, 2009 in Daily Faith, General with 0 Comments

Electromagnet

In the book, Arabian Nights, Sinbad the Sailor warns his shipmates about a great magnetic rock in the Indian Ocean that is so powerful that it draws all the nails and bolts out of passing ships. The ships literally fall apart and sink. Sinbad tells his shipmates that they were to steer clear of that rock lest they lose their lives.

This world has a magnetic pull on us as Christians. It draws us away from God’s heart. The world distracts and entices us. Gradually pulling us out of the circle of God’s loving embrace. It draws us away from Christian fellowship and from spending time with God. The influence of this world loosens the nails and bolts that holds our lives and our families together. Our lives are pulled apart.

However, there is another magnet. When Christ resides in our hearts, we have an internal magnet that can pull us together. That magnet is stronger than the pull of the world’s magnet, but it’s like an electromagnet. It has to have a power source. And worship is what powers that magnet.

The magnet powered by worship pulls all the pieces of our lives together. Public and private worship holds us together in a world that wants to pull us apart. Worship is not a waste of time. Worship is what makes the rest of our time make sense. It holds together all our loose ends of our fragmented lives.

Don’t let the world pull you apart. Spend time with God in worship and your life will hold together.

Noise Cancellation

October 13, 2009 in Daily Faith with 1 Comment

I have seen advertisements over the last few years for headphones that have a “noise cancellation” feature. Here’s how it works. A microphone in the headset picks up nearby noise and the built-in processor then sends a sound to the headset at an opposite frequency, thereby canceling out the original sound. When you wear these headphones you hear nothing unless you have the connected to a music source such as a radio or an MP3 player. Basically, you put them on and the noise of the world seems to disappear.We live in a world full of noise. There are tv’s and radios blaring. There are machinery sounds coming from appliances to tractors. Telephones and school bells add to the clamor. It would be nice to put on some noise cancelling headphones and find some quiet.But our world has other sounds as well. Life often gets too loud with the criticism and complaints of others, the temptations of the enemy, the rumbling of your own doubts, or even our own nagging blame for past mistakes and failures.

The Bible also has a noise cancellation feature. God’s Word has a response to all of that “noise.” God speaks His peace and love to our noisy hearts and minds.

I have learned that the more time I spend in the Word, the less distracted I am by the racket the world makes. Reading God’s Word cancels out the sounds of temptation and doubt and makes it possible to hear the music of His grace and love. I challenge you to focus today on listening to God’s Word, not the noise of this world.

“”I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27, NLT)