It Smells like Christmas

Christmas decorations have all but disappeared from my home.  Just our plain old house with the regular 365 day a year furnishings.  None of the decorations of a glorious month of celebration remain.  Packed once more into plastic totes in the garage.  Awaiting their return to the attic.  Until next December.

No garland.  Lighted & strung with ribbons of red & gold.  No Nativities.  Reminding us always of God's love through Jesus.  No tree.  Live Frasier Fir covered with heirlooms & history, whimsy & joy.

It makes these January days seem colder still.  Emptier. Less colorful.  Even Scroogey. 

The decor of Christmas - beautiful reminders of wonder - is gone 'til next year.

But there is one place you can go in my home & still know Christmas.  Not where you might expect.  Out of the way.  And just for a while.

The storage closet.  At the bottom of the basement stairs.  It smells like Christmas.

Our vacuum resides there.  It's bag filled with fallen fir needles.  Aromatic indeed.  A reminder of Christmas.

What about you?

As you launch into a new year - full of dreams & hopes, promises & resolutions - is your life a reminder of Christmas?

Year-round - not just one shinning month - does the world see the Savior in you?  Do they hear his grace in your speech?  Do they see his forgiveness in your eyes?  Do they receive his gifts from your hands?  Do they receive his life through yours?

Does your life smell like Christmas?

A Christmas Offering

We bring an offering of worship to our King

No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing

Jesus, may you receive the honor that you are due

O Lord, I bring an offering to you

- Christmas Offering, Paul Baloche -

Offerings are worship.

Humility handed over.

We give what is worthy to the One who is worthy.

Considering the first Christmas and it’s participants, each had a different part.  Each had a different gift to offer.  Each, however, gave more than just some thing.  Each gave themselves.  Each laid their pride at the Child Messiah’s feet as well.

The shepherds gave the offering of their witness.  Shepherds were cultural outcasts.  Ancient nobodies.  Near the bottom of the social ladder.  And stuck out in the fields with the smelly sheep.  Their story is in Luke 2:8-20.  While keeping watch over their flocks they were terrified by an angel of the Lord who appeared with God’s radiant glory to announce the birth of the child Messiah.  A heavenly host chorus - hundreds or thousands of angels - followed, singing, “Glory to God in the highest.”  And these shepherds, overwhelmed as they were, hurried off to see baby Jesus.  What raises my questions is how they lowered their pride.  These guys who so much could have used a credibility lift, went out - at risk of sounding crazy & further damaging their reputation - and spread the news of the Messiah to anyone & everyone who would listen “and all who heard it were amazed.”  They risked the little they had to tell everyone about Jesus.    They gave the offering of their witness, an act of worship, laying down their pride.

Do I believe God worthy enough to tell everyone His message of love?  All the people I know?  All the folks I meet?  To offer my witness of Christ?  Trusting God with my reputation and the judgments of others upon me?

The Wise Men gave the offering of their work.  The magi or kings as they have been known, were astronomers from a far off place.  Matthew 2:1-12 tells their story.  The Bible doesn’t tell what their jobs were.  Were they professional astronomers?  Ancient college professors or professional sages of a sort?  Maybe they were independently wealthy and already had the means to make such a trip?  No matter their funding, the fact remains that they took a trip that may have lasted years to meet someone they didn’t know to give physical gifts worthy of a king.  They risked their lives along the way - ancient travel was dangerous without TSA or cell phones or dependable law enforcement - and in arriving they risked even more due to local King Herod’s murderous ways.  They risked everything for their work of finding the child king.  And, they sacrificed their ability to work & make income to provide for their own family needs.  Plus, they spent the income of their previous work to make the trip.  They gave the offering of their work, an act of worship, laying down their pride.

Do I believe God worthy enough to give my work life & my life’s work fully to Him?  Every minute?  Every project?  Every dream?  To offer my work to Jesus?  Trusting that all I do and all it earns will be enough to provide for my family and all God intends? 

Mary gave the offering of her whole being.  As a teenager betrothed - like engagement but more binding - to be married to an older carpenter named Joseph, she was surprised by an angel to learn of her pregnancy.  Luke 1:26 and following tells her story.  “How can this be since I am a virgin?,” she asked.  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” told the angel.  Not by an act of flesh, but by the power of God she was a mother.  Mother to God in flesh.  Emmanuel.  God with us.  And, Mary answered in Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”  She was willing to give everything.  Her physical body to carry, bare, and care for this child.  And if child bearing was not hard enough, and the nine months pregnant donkey travel and manger delivery didn’t make it harder, she would have this child in a cloud of suspicion due to the immaculate conception.  She gave her reputation.  She gave her community standing.  She believed God.  And so she gave her whole self as an offering, an act of worship, regardless of her pride.

Do I believe God worthy enough to give him my everything?  My life?  My control?  To offer my whole being?  Trusting the entirety of myself and my future completely to Him?

We don’t live in the Ancient Near East.  No donkey trips for census.  No camel journeys following stars for us.  But we sure have pride.  Selfish pride.  Posturing, self-righteous pride.  And we have communities of people who watch us.  And judge us.  Even today.  And we do allow our perception of their judgment, our concern for reputation among others, and that foolish pride of ours to hinder our obedience to our God and Father.  Our offerings become subject to self-righteous scrutiny.  Humility is hamstrung by pride.

Each of us must consider.

My witness.  My work.  My whole life. 

Do I trust God enough?

Do I love God enough?

Do I worship God enough?

To give Him the offering He desires.

The offering He is worthy of.

Even if it means laying down my pride.

The Father's Direction

A player piano sits in the lobby of a local hospital. A fine, Yamaha, baby grand. With a blinking, electronic box affixed under the high notes.  It makes a nice space feel classy.  More importantly it fills it with music.

Sometimes hymns. Sometimes classical. Sometimes jazz.  Sometimes easy listening.

It's nice.  But.

It is a player piano.  With a blinky box.

It is not the same as heart & soul, fingers & feet.

There I sat.  Near the piano.  Enjoying its sound. Lamenting it's lack of soul.  When two men arrived.

One in his sixties.  Distinguished.  Business-like, even in casual dress.

One in his thirties.  Challenged.  Struggling to walk, body wracked in debilitating disease.

Father & son.

We exchanged smiles & made small talk while they waited.  They waited until a third man came.  Quickly. With a key.  To turn off the blinky box.  In order that the young man might sit & play.

Real life.  Heart & soul, fingers & feet.  Tumbled hard onto the bench.

And he waited.  The son at the keys waited.  For his father's direction.  The name of a song.

Softly.  Almost unheard.  The father would whisper.

Slowly.  Processing direction.  The son would respond.

More than a dozen songs as I observed.

Son waiting.  Hands in lap.  Head titled slightly back & right.  Sitting in silence.  The father would whisper. The son would cock his head forward.  Place his hands over the keys.  Pause.  A few breathes.  Then play.

Sometimes hymns. Sometimes classical. Sometimes jazz.  Sometimes easy listening.

Heart & soul, fingers & feet.  The young man who struggled walking, soared playing.

So beautiful his music.

So much more beautiful his response to the direction of his loving father.

Can you hear God our Father's voice?  How do you respond to His direction?

Play your part.  Play with heart & soul, fingers & feet.  Play as our Father directs.  Play with all you have got.

"What To" Truths for Parents

You love a good “how to” article, don’t you Mom and Dad?  You really want to know how to do this Christian parenting thing.  In your honest moments, like all of us, you would confess feelings of inadequacy, fears, worries, and even failures.  If parenting as a Christ follower was easy, then we would not need Christ.  Jesus makes up the difference when we fall short.  And God's Word guides us when we don't know where to turn next.

As a Christ following parent you probably know of Deuteronomy 6:4-7.  It provides a “how to” model for us.  It says, ⁴ “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  ⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  ⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  ⁷ Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up

You heard it in a sermon.   You read it in a magazine.  You spent some time thinking about it.  You considered teachable moments.  You live it when you remember it.  You may have it memorized.   You may be practicing it.

And you may have stopped right there.

Right there in Deuteronomy chapter six, I mean.  Be honest.  You lose interest right from the whole "binding them on your hands and forehead" part.  Interesting fashion accessories those would be.  And you are a bit concerned with "writing them on your door-posts and gates" too.  I mean, what reputable decorating magazine would recommend that?

So, you stop with verse seven.  And that is not a bad place to stop.  Not bad at all.  If you can love God with all you have got.  If you can keep His Word in your heart.  If you can pass that sort of honest-to-goodness faith to your kids.  Wow!  You are doing great!  So, what's the fuss?

Well, no fuss.  Just a call to look further.

You have the “how to” above.  How about a model for the “what to”?

Practicing good biblical hermeneutics, we read the context.  The chapters and verses before and after the a given passage.  In the case of Deuteronomy Six, just as clearly as the “how-to” of teachable moments in verse 4-7, we see a template for the “what-to” in verses 20-25.  Let’s take a look: 

²⁰ “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ ²¹ tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. ²² Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, ²³ but He brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that He swore to our fathers. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. ²⁵ Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’ 

“When your son asks,” states verse 20.  Not if.  God made us in His image.  Creative and inquisitive.  Our children ask and experiment to learn.  What truths about God should we teach them.

There are four “what to” teach topics in Deuteronomy 6:21-24:

• Experiences with God. Verse 21 teaches that you should be ready to share stories of lives impacted by an intersection with God.  Scripture stories.  Your own stories.  The stories of others you know.  We must “always be ready” to speak of the hope within us commands 1 Peter 3:15.  These stories should illustrate the greatness of God to meet our needs.
• Judgment of God.  Verse 22 shows that God is just and will judge sin.  This is essential truth. In order to call Christ our Lord and be saved, we must first recognize our own, personal sinfulness as in Romans 6:23.  Sometimes, these are conversations in the midst of administering discipline.  More importantly, like Moses in Deuteronomy, these are conversations during the good times to set boundaries as warnings to the consequences of judgment during the rebellion that will come.
• Purposes of God.  Verse 23 points to God’s leadership in all circumstances.  When our own faith is challenged we must rely upon the sovereignty of God in all of life.  Good or bad.  Anything that touches our lives has either been caused or allowed to work His good purpose within us we learn throughout Deuteronomy and from Philippians 2:13.
• Obedience to God.  Verse 24 is clear that God’s Word is not for our convenience, but our obedience.  And that obedience leads to the blessings only God can provide.  John 14:21 teaches that our obedience is a love issue.  If you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem.  We must make sure we know God’s Word.  And obey it.  And teach our children to follow us as we follow the Lord.

And what will be the hallmark of the life following God as these verses teach?  Righteousness.  A state of right being and living that can only be fully powered by God’s Holy Spirit and can only be fully reward by God’s amazing graciousness.  Stories.  Boundaries.  Sovereignty.  Obedience.  These four foundational teachings are the “what to” truths we build our children’s lives on.  Now stop reading and go parent with these truths in mind, Christ follower.

Fatherhood Manifesto

The following is a guest post from Chad Missildine. Follower of Jesus, Husband, Father, Pastor, Blogger, & friend from the Twitterverse. He was kind enough to allow me to share this challenge for Dads. Link to his blog for the original post here.  Follow him on Twitter here.

Fathers, guard well what has been given to you.
It is not your job to simply bring home the bacon.
It is not your job to simply make sure the lawn is mowed.
They don’t need your wallet, even though they will some day ask for it.
Security is important, but it is not everything.
What they need is different.
What they need can’t be purchased.
What they need is set apart.
What they need is you.
All of you.
Heart.
Soul.
Attention.
Affection.
The part that may be locked deep inside of you.
It is time to reach in and let it come out.
They need to see the real you.
Imperfections and all.
They need you.
They need to know you love them.
They need to see that you love them.
No matter what.
Even when they are bad.
That you will always love them.
That you love them so much that you will show them a different way.
Through your gentleness and respect.
Through your consistency.
Through discipline.
By being authentic.
By being all there.
By showing them the example that you’ve been called to show.
Even when it hurts.
And even when you don’t know how.
This is your job.
When the world tells you it is about buying their heart.
You will win it by a different method.
You will win them over with love.
And they will change the world because of you someday.
Now go live it.

Dads, what is the single greatest challenge you face as a father? Those that are not dads, what is something you’ve picked up about fatherhood that may help the rest of us?  Leave a comment & let us know.  And be sure to subscribe here or with Chad.