Making a Difference in your Life, in the Parts that are for Keeps!
(repeat from 3-21-12)
What do these three experiences have in common?
PUNISHMENT
PERSECUTION
SACRIFICE
Brace yourself, especially for the application.
All three involve suffering.
Punishment—you suffer, and it’s your fault.
Persecution—you suffer, and it’s not your fault.
Sacrifice—you suffer, and it’s your choice.
Application—using the above definition, ask yourself, “When was the last time I sacrificed for anything, or for anyone?”
For me, Christmas this year will be getting together with my children who are in the state, over New Year’s weekend. That may explain some of my deeper reflections the past several days.
So, I was working alone on my trailer brakes with some mechanical challenges and severe cold weather, while most people were with family. Yesterday I may have gone too long without eating and was eligible for a migraine, which hit during the night. I didn’t want to get out of the warm bed, and my medicine was in another building.
While I was lying there, I realized I was transitioning from a dream where I was sharing all-important things of life with my children—things I want them to remember when I’m gone. But I so much want them to catch this now, so I can know I made a difference in their lives in the parts that are for keeps.
Some of those reflections are lost, as is the case daily. I don’t get to record a lot of the insights that come, and that is hard. But here is part of what I hope to share at the awesome meal this weekend. (You won’t find better eating at a restaurant—several amazing cooks, and my daughter has a dream cooking store)
The common table prayer, expanded:
COME—Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-loaded, and I will give you rest.” And we say, “Come to our table, come to our family, come to our hearts and lives.”
COME, LORD—“One day every knee will bow; One day every tongue will confess, ‘You are Lord.’ Still the greatest treasure remains For those who gladly choose You now.” The choice today will not be open long.
COME, LORD JESUS—His name means “Savior,” because He saves us from our sins. That too is by invitation only—by invitation accepted only.
COME, LORD JESUS, BE OUR GUEST—“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and have supper with him.” It is my greatest desire that each of us individually invites this Guest and makes Him welcome, today, and permanently.
COME, LORD JESUS, BE OUR GUEST, AND LET YOUR GIFTS—Thanks for the food, thanks for the friendships within family and others, thanks for provision, thanks for Your love, thanks for Jesus, thanks for the offer of salvation, thanks for all the gifts that come from You alone.
COME, LORD JESUS, BE OUR GUEST, AND LET YOUR GIFTS TO US BE BLESSED—We don’t deserve Your blessings. We stop to recognize that all we have comes from You—not our own doing.
COME, LORD JESUS, BE OUR GUEST, AND LET YOUR GIFTS TO US BE BLESSED, AMEN.—See the little baby Amen. Lying in a manger Amen. On Christmas morning. Amen. Amen. Amen.
And everybody that believes in Jesus says,
AMEN !
I’m a writer, but not a poet, so I read a few items on the internet with the above title. Bottom line—check out the one at “The Foundry” from The Heritage Foundation.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . .this morning J.J.Jasper on American Family Radio mentioned that nothing clears out faster than a circus the day after it’s over, except for Christmas the day after. That has often bothered me. Others must feel the same way, because you see some Christmas lights for a week after. But, for the most part, never a hint of Christmas in a business or public place.
I believe this reflects the true meaning of Christmas—missing in commercial, material pursuits before the “holiday.” If that is all of your Christmas, you put it away as fast as you can December 26, because you have nothing left to gain after the day.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . that was nice—in fact, it was wonderful.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . we had fun—and food—and then some.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . reality returns—back to work and worry.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . it’ll take a few days to recover—understatement—name the category.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . there’s no sign of Christmas, except for the return lines for stuff you don’t need or don’t like.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . and . . . did I miss something?
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . THAT’S ALL, FOLKS.
NO ! NO ! NO ! Please don’t let that happen to you. Baby Jesus didn’t disappear the day after Christmas. His purpose here had only begun. He changed people’s lives for years. And then you know how His life ended—but it didn’t end. That part of His job was done, “IT IS FINISHED.” But even then His work was not done.
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . that is only the beginning of the story
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . why hasn’t He come to fix everything?
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and . . . AND
. . . He’s waiting—–for you—–to follow Him, to sign up today to join the crowd forever in heaven, to ask Him, “Jesus, please write my name in Your Book, today.”
‘Twas the day after Christmas, and
. . . and Jesus says your name, and then He says, “Come to Me.”
By the way, did you ever see the church sign that said, “NOW OPEN BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND EASTER”?
Do check out the ‘Twas the Day After Christmas” poem at “The Foundry” from The Heritage Foundation.
“You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart.”
I wish to make this short—something you can remember.
In the above promise, the secret to finding Jesus is your heart—your whole heart.
God is not impressed by how smart we are, and He does not respond to our inventing what we think He should be.
God wants us to come with our heart that is not divided by all sorts of ideas and philosophies and efforts to be good.
Come to Jesus empty-handed and open-hearted, on His terms totally.
And where do you find His terms? He wrote it down in the Bible, simply and clearly.
Read it for yourself. Start with the book of John.
What is tonight for you?
What is tonight for me?
If you’ve read my writing for awhile, you will know what to expect as I answer the question for me. But I’ll also share what you may not expect.
(to be continued shortly)
I’m back, six hours later, to continue.
What is tonight for me?
I
AM
BABY
STORY
FAMILY
EMOTION
ACTIVITIES
DIFFERENCE?
I
AM
Did you know that God identifies Himself as “I AM” ?
For me, tonight is about a God who is big enough to become a BABY and still be in charge of all creation.
Tonight is about the STORY of all history, because it’s all His-story.
For everyone, tonight is about FAMILY. For this one evening, everybody puts everything else aside to be with family.
Tonight is EMOTION—indeed. There is a month of buildup and then, tonight. For many tonight meets the expectation and anticipation, and it’s the emotion highlight of the year. Some get blindsided tonight, with less than favorable relationships, or without relationships. It is real. It is real tough.
So what can you do? ACTIVITIES help, much better than just sitting. But busy-ness comes to a stop on this night, and reality sets in.
What makes the DIFFERENCE tonight between joy and celebration for some, and loneliness and depression for others?
I AM is at the beginning and I AM is at the end of everything—the word tree above, this essay of reflection, festivities come and gone, food, fun, and football, full house, empty house, best of times, worst of times, friends and family, or alone.
Life is full of cycles, and we actually need some of the ups and some of the downs to appreciate life.
What is tonight for me? I’ll leave you with two thoughts:
one—–It is my desire to make a difference in your life, in the parts that are for keeps. The broader my range of experiences, and yes, emotions this night, the better I am able to consider how you may feel, and then say something that makes a difference.
two—–Love never fails, from God. Because He loves you and me, we have Christmas, and Good Friday, and Easter, and our own Resurrection Day if we come to Jesus now.
I know what it’s like to be alone on Christmas Eve years ago, and cry out to God, “WHY?” from an empty church parking lot five minutes after the service was over. But I also know what it’s like to be alone right now this Christmas Eve, writing to encourage someone like you that
“. . . life is worth the living, just because He lives.”
Gun Free Zones create Crime Free Zones ? ? ?
Absolutely Not ! ! !
Gun Free Zones create Free Crime Zones.
What will protect us from guns in the hands of bad people?
Very simple:
A—–More Good People
B—–More Guns In the Hands of Good People
And how do we do that?
A—–Invite God Back Into Our Personal Lives and Into Our Public Life
B—–Encourage Gun Ownership—Second Amendment the Only Gun Law Needed
We may soon experience the main reason our founders included the Second Amendment—self-defense against a tyrannical government.
This is my all-time favorite series of movies. There are ten DVD’s in all now, and I just finished watching all of them again (and that’s not just the second or third time . . .).
Michael Landon, Jr. followed his father’s footsteps (“Little House on the Prairie”) and wrote the screenplay for the first movie “Love Comes Softly”—based on the authentic and inspirational pioneer books by Janette Oke.
He knocked on doors in Hollywood for years before Hallmark finally agreed to make the first movie. When it aired on TV, it broke all Hallmark records. So now millions of us are blessed with eight sequential, moving stories of this extended family of faith and courage. And now there are two prequels just as real and touching.
I guarantee that watching these movies will fix what your family needs, or keep alive the dreams that could be.
“The hireling flees, because he is a hireling, and does not care for the sheep [horror for the sheep].
I am The Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine [comfort for the sheep].”
Every time BHOB* quotes from the Bible, it is blasphemy, because he does not care for the sheep (in this country), and he certainly does not know The Good Shepherd.
Don’t let anybody you know ever get away with being fooled any more by this evil man with smooth words.
Speak up, and tell the truth.
*Barack Hussein OBama—Say BHHHOB aloud and it sounds like the warning for Christians in the 2008 election: “Beware of sheep’s clothing.”
There has always been a significant factor in legal matters known as “guilt by association.” Judicial rulings confirm that “bad company corrupts good . . .”
With the rise of analyzing everything psychologically in recent decades, we have a very real and troublesome twist on the reasonable conclusion of “guilt by association.” It is now superseded and replaced with “guilt by accusation.”
Without my explaining, I’m sure you can easily come up with examples and applications in today’s world. Here are some of mine:
ONE—–I first realized the application in marriage disputes and marriage counseling. It is one of those handy tools that are easily employed to manipulate friends and professionals alike to take your side. Just say that someone is controlling, and you gain immediate sympathy without evidence, and the other person is at a loss without defense. Needless to say, that example is only the tip of the iceberg.
TWO—–“Intolerant” is perhaps the best tool or weapon to sling and make “guilt by accusation” stick. Again, how do you defend against a charge of intolerance?
THREE—–“You don’t have the right to offend me” is another classic angle currently used to the point of absurdity. Sadly, the courts have lost all sanity in bowing down to yet another wave of anti-God and anti-American ideology sweeping over this country—sweeping us away like a tsunami.
FOUR—–“Israel (or U.S.) military killed civilians” gets full press and ensuing international sentiment against the good guys. Reality is—the other side is usually committing such atrocities more, by ten to one.
FIVE—–“We must be more reasonable and understanding with terrorists [who have all vowed to kill us].” America’s unfounded guilt trip spread around the world the past four years is killing us now.
SIX—– Hate Crimes. Thought Crimes. (need I explain?)
SEVEN—–“Extremists are always wrong.” (that would include Jesus)
EIGHT—–“You must limit your fight for life, family, and religious freedom to the democratic process and non-violence. Anything more than that negates your cause—guilty, even if you just think or talk about it.”
—Where would that leave us with England 236 years ago?
—Where would that leave us with England 200 years ago?
—Where would that leave us with slavery 160 years ago?
—Where would that leave us with Germany 100 years ago?
—Where would that leave us with Germany and Japan 70 years ago?
—Now, where has that left us with God out of schools for 50 years?
—Now, where has that left us with killing a whole lot more babies than last Friday, for 40 years?
—Now, where has that left us with bowing to gay ‘rights’ for 30 years?
—Now, where does that leave us with the blitzkrieg dictatorship currently blowing up every single thing listed in this paragraph for 4 years?
—Now, where does this “guilt by accusation” (which we allow by free will, nationally and individually) leave us today, and tomorrow?
—Where does it leave the rest of our babies that are still alive?
—Where does it leave our marriages that are still God-ordained?
—Where does it leave our faith and freedom we still have to tell others about freedom from all guilt, with Jesus?
Is not this something worth fighting for, again, like others did for us? What measures were they willing to use, for us? What measures are we willing to use, for our children?
NINE—–Another example on the individual level, that affects the entire country:
This one explains the dramatic rise in child abuse for the past several decades. We had an entire generation conditioned without authority and confidence in parenting. They were told,
—“You don’t have the right to discipline with physical pain.”
—“You have to earn the respect of your children first.”
—“You have to reason with your children.”
—“If your children don’t act right, figure out what you are doing wrong.”
When parents start off feeling guilty and reluctant to discipline quickly enough to instill instant regret, they delay the inevitable. Pressure builds and defiance escalates, and ultimately the parent lashes out abusively instead of authoritatively.
TEN—–Now the most volatile current “guilt by accusation”:
“Guns are the cause of violent crime.” That gets a lot of mileage at a time like this.
Just say “NO” to gun control. Don’t let anyone make you or anyone else feel guilty for owning guns. It is what it means to be an American—FREE.
Gun control made last Friday’s horror possible, and all but one like it since 1950, and probably the next one. Your gun could be the one to stop the next one. Think about it. Think about the lives you may be called to save, with deadly force. You will be right before the Constitution, you will be right before your fellow citizens, and you will be right before God.
AND PRAY.
Most church members are so stuffed with pre-digested denominational theology that they can’t even taste it. They don’t have to chew it, so they swallow it, and then regurgitate it further predigested for the next new member, thereby meeting the qualifications for approval by those who predigested it for them, and keeping them malnourished spiritual babies.
Now if you found that paragraph unnecessarily complex, you should try reading the theology books written for theology students. I remember. But their show goes on.
I can laugh about that now, personally. But sadly, the typical theology student entering seminary, steps on a conveyor belt that drops him off in a church four years later, equipped to do what he was taught; but he really doesn’t know what happened to him. (that analogy compliments of my nephew—a pastor)
I think of Martin Luther and others who wanted the Bible available to the common people in their language. They got run out of town, and some even got run out of this world, because the idea threatened the “PDD” degree holders (Doctor of Pre-Digestion).
Someday I’ll write on SIBA—SIMPLE BASICS REVOLUTIONIZE THEOLOGY.
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