The holiday’s are here! Families, if able, will gather together for a big Thanksgiving Day feast. In my mind I am picturing the festive outfits which will be adorned as part of the celebration. There are some who have put forth a great effort to find the perfect outfit. Isn’t funny the emphasis our culture places on “how to dress” regardless of the situation? I can’t think of one person who will wake up in the morning and say “I don’t care what I look like”. Do you realize Amazon.com places books on “how to dress” in at least 10 different categories?
Recently I had a humbling experience on how to dress. One of the categories from Amazon.com is “how to dress according to body type”. On my way to Greenville to attend a high school football game with Meghan I decided that blue jeans would be preferable to the warm-up pants I had on. The Columbiana Mall has a Sears store and I knew Sears carries my favorite brand of jeans (Levi’s). It did not take long to locate the department where the jeans were located. I was looking for a specific style. If anyone has shopped for jeans as of late the different styles can leave one searching for hours to find the perfect style. I went into the store looking for a specific style. Straight leg jeans are ok but I wanted boot cut jeans. After an hour of scouring the racks some boot cut jeans were discovered. They looked a little different but nothing out of the norm. Found my size but decided to try the jeans on. Putting them on, my first thought was “I don’t remember Levi’s being cut this slim”. It took a few minutes but I squeezed into this pair of jeans. Of course the standard question comes to mind as I wondered if these made my butt look too big {chuckling}. In a crunch the jeans would work but something was not right. Upon further inspection I noticed these were skinny jeans. Staring at myself in the changing room mirror while wearing these jeans it was evident that the world, much less those who know me, was not ready to see me wearing skinny jeans. Can’t honestly say I was ready to see myself in those jeans. Needless to say normal boot cut jeans were finally purchased in another store in the mall.
All in all I wasted valuable time while looking for clothes I felt would make me look my best. We were late getting to the game. In the Sermon on the Mount part of what Jesus teaches is we should not worry about what to wear. When worry invades our hearts and minds time is wasted as a solution to the problem is sought. Our focus becomes inward as we see only part of the picture instead of the whole picture. Through out Scripture God has never abandoned humanity. Humanity has abandoned God thinking it knows best. If only I had been satisfied with what I was wearing more time would have been spent with Meghan and Jackson. They are by far and away more precious than a pair of jeans that make me feel good about myself.
What is your deepest hope this Christmas? How can we share the hope we find in Christ with others? Advent is a time of preparation to receive God’s gift of love revealed in Jesus. Rather than worry about how our butts look or what outfit makes us look best maybe we might place our trust in God to take care of our needs and desires. Another way might be by avoiding internal solutions to our worries grounded in our finite understanding but seeking God’s kingdom first. Doesn’t God know us better than we know ourselves? Placing trust in God enables us to see the big picture. The needs of others, including our community, are made known. Now we are able to be dressed in clothes, which make us look our very best. No longer is time being wasted while looking for the perfect outfit. Through us, the church, the message hope of in Jesus Christ can be revealed to a world wanting to be adorned in the finest clothes.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
There's Gotta Be More
Where has the time gone? What happened to Halloween? I am not really sure I am ready for Thanksgiving Day to be here. The holiday rush unofficially kicks off on Black Friday (Day after Thanksgiving). On this day, some folks will camp out in front of the store, long before it opens, which they feel holds the key to happiness on Christmas Day. Others will continue a meticulous search until the ultimate happiness is located. Then there are those, like me, who coast through the holiday rush until they wake up in a panic realizing there is much work needed to be done. Ultimately, in each case, we are trying to be prepared for a single moment in time which is gone in the blink of an eye. Is it any wonder we walk around in a daze, looking confused, struggling to locate the happiness we so desire?
What brings about happiness for you during this time of the year? For me, I have always enjoyed watching Christmas movies. Nothing beats the classics. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Claymation), A Charlie Brown Christmas, and A Christmas Carol (1938) are a few I enjoy. My absolute favorite is A Christmas Story based on a novel by Jean Shepherd. Hours upon hours are spent viewing many movies. Let’s not forget about “TBS presents” a “24-hours of A Christmas Story”. Unless all the movies are seen, the Christmas experience seems unfulfilled. Happiness is defined by the time wasted watching programs that bring about a temporary satisfaction. As soon as the holidays are over I am left with confused thoughts, asking “Is this all there is?”
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we tend to expend energy in hopes of achieving happiness. During this process confusion at times creates a lack of direction. If we lose direction, then possibly we loose purpose. Without purpose, we see no hope for the future, much less the present. Everyday matters create a high level of distress. Solutions elude out grasp.
Advent starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. In the next four weeks we will spend time preparing for the receiving of God’s gift in Jesus Christ. We are getting ready for the celebration of Christmas. Advent points towards God’s promise to dwell among us. In the midst of our hope and despair, all is not lost since God is walking with us. We see purpose for our lives. In that purpose, hope abounds leading us to happiness. A permanent happiness that fulfills every molecule of our being is found in Jesus Christ. As we experience a transformation in our lives, we are able to see the needs of others. We then take the hope found in Advent to the community through our outreach: a happiness that never ends.
What brings about happiness for you during this time of the year? For me, I have always enjoyed watching Christmas movies. Nothing beats the classics. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Claymation), A Charlie Brown Christmas, and A Christmas Carol (1938) are a few I enjoy. My absolute favorite is A Christmas Story based on a novel by Jean Shepherd. Hours upon hours are spent viewing many movies. Let’s not forget about “TBS presents” a “24-hours of A Christmas Story”. Unless all the movies are seen, the Christmas experience seems unfulfilled. Happiness is defined by the time wasted watching programs that bring about a temporary satisfaction. As soon as the holidays are over I am left with confused thoughts, asking “Is this all there is?”
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we tend to expend energy in hopes of achieving happiness. During this process confusion at times creates a lack of direction. If we lose direction, then possibly we loose purpose. Without purpose, we see no hope for the future, much less the present. Everyday matters create a high level of distress. Solutions elude out grasp.
Advent starts the Sunday after Thanksgiving Day. In the next four weeks we will spend time preparing for the receiving of God’s gift in Jesus Christ. We are getting ready for the celebration of Christmas. Advent points towards God’s promise to dwell among us. In the midst of our hope and despair, all is not lost since God is walking with us. We see purpose for our lives. In that purpose, hope abounds leading us to happiness. A permanent happiness that fulfills every molecule of our being is found in Jesus Christ. As we experience a transformation in our lives, we are able to see the needs of others. We then take the hope found in Advent to the community through our outreach: a happiness that never ends.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I wonder who God voted for?
Election Day has come and gone. This alone should cause us to get down on our knees and thank God from whom all blessings flow! Inevitably God always seems to be a big part of campaign speeches and supporters of various candidates. So this begs the question, did the candidate endorsed by God win the election? In the United States we like to equate God with our political beliefs, which generally include party affiliation.
The Sunday after Election Day 2004 I prayed for the newly elected leaders to seek God’s will, not their own. One of the church members stood up, walked out, and did not attend church services for several months. She was upset because she felt the prayer, names of candidates were never mentioned, was stating George W. Bush was God’s candidate. I tried to explain that we should be praying for our elected officials to seek God’s direction in all decisions. Quickly I was informed that not one person should ever pray for President Bush since “he is evil”.
Rarely do I listen to the Focus on the Family radio show hosted by James Dobson. The show has, in my opinion, strayed from James Dobson’s strengths as a psychologist while focusing on political choices. One particular day, prior to the 2008 elections, I left the radio show on as two Republican candidates seeking office in Colorado were being interviewed. Inferences were drawn concerning the political stances of their opponents. In essence, a vote for the Republican Party is a vote for the candidates endorsed by God.
If you voted, whom did God tell you to vote for? Did you ask? Isaiah 9 reminds us of God’s political choice. For the follower of Jesus the Christ (notice I did not use the term “Christian”), we should remember how the quality of God’s reign has been ushered in through the authority given to Jesus. In this passage is a vision of a world government that is peaceful, that will never end, and that seeks God’s will, not the will of human logic. God isn’t interested in any particular candidate. Maybe, if we start seeking discernment from God, it will not matter who is elected but that God is being invited into our decision-making. Perhaps then we see the beginnings of a peaceful government, grounded in God’s redeeming grace, which has no end.
The Sunday after Election Day 2004 I prayed for the newly elected leaders to seek God’s will, not their own. One of the church members stood up, walked out, and did not attend church services for several months. She was upset because she felt the prayer, names of candidates were never mentioned, was stating George W. Bush was God’s candidate. I tried to explain that we should be praying for our elected officials to seek God’s direction in all decisions. Quickly I was informed that not one person should ever pray for President Bush since “he is evil”.
Rarely do I listen to the Focus on the Family radio show hosted by James Dobson. The show has, in my opinion, strayed from James Dobson’s strengths as a psychologist while focusing on political choices. One particular day, prior to the 2008 elections, I left the radio show on as two Republican candidates seeking office in Colorado were being interviewed. Inferences were drawn concerning the political stances of their opponents. In essence, a vote for the Republican Party is a vote for the candidates endorsed by God.
If you voted, whom did God tell you to vote for? Did you ask? Isaiah 9 reminds us of God’s political choice. For the follower of Jesus the Christ (notice I did not use the term “Christian”), we should remember how the quality of God’s reign has been ushered in through the authority given to Jesus. In this passage is a vision of a world government that is peaceful, that will never end, and that seeks God’s will, not the will of human logic. God isn’t interested in any particular candidate. Maybe, if we start seeking discernment from God, it will not matter who is elected but that God is being invited into our decision-making. Perhaps then we see the beginnings of a peaceful government, grounded in God’s redeeming grace, which has no end.
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