Why He Came

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God and was vocal about it. His wife, however, believed and raised their children to have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come. He refused, adding, "That story is nonsense! Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!"

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. The man sat down to relax before the fire. He then heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn’t see more than a few feet.

When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what was hitting his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on.

They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt compassion for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe. There they could spend the night and wait out the storm. He walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.

But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.

"Why don’t they follow me?" he exclaimed. "Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said aloud. He had an idea.

He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!"

Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese – blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized.

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come.

Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

Be in that number

Why do I like to number things? I’m not really sure. I think it’s because I like numbers and data.

I can tell you exactly how many miles I have run this year and how many miles I have ridden my bike and exactly how many hours it took, thanks to GPS technology. Hey, some of us like are like that!

God is into numbers! There are numerous examples of it. There is even a whole book called "Numbers."

Matthew 1 has an interesting genealogy of Jesus, as does Luke. Matthew sums his up in a rather tidy numerical way.

Matthew 1:17 — Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

More interesting to me than the number is who is in that number. There are lots of flawed, deeply flawed people, people who did some really terrible and terribly immoral things, yet they turned back to a God who loved and loves them.

Matthew’s genealogy, strategically placed before the birth of Jesus, invites all of us, no matter what we have done, to understand God has come to us and is with us. Immanuel. Jesus came to save us from our sins.

Lord, I want to be in that number!

Christ Was Love

A few years ago a school in California was having its "Winter Program," performed by the kindergarten class. One mother, Candy Chand, described what happened.

Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.

So, when my son’s class rose to sing "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken back by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, all adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the front row, center stage, held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love." The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her, a small quiet girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down, totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W."

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one’s mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her "W." Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.

In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

CHRIST WAS LOVE

He still is!

What's in a name?

What parents name their babies interests, and sometimes amuses, me. My wife and I were careful in naming our four children. Three of the four share the name of Bible characters but also of someone significant in our extended family. One of four is named after a great grandfather who was great.

Recently I saw the list of the top names for 2013. The most popular names for boy were: Jackson, Aiden, Liam, Lucas, and Noah, and for girls it was Sophia, Emma, Olivia, Isabella, and Mia.

The same website also posted a list of the most unusual names. It was fairly long, so I’ll just share a few that caught my eye.

Girls: Blip, Duda, Ezgi, Kukua, Nyx, and Zona.

Boys: Ajax, Baobao, Cheese, Chow, Hurricane, Rocket, and Tintin.

Alrighty then! You have to wonder what impact a name has on the child’s behavior. Watch out for Hurricane!

In God’s Story, naming people is significant. That’s a good thing to remember at this time of the year.

Matthew 1:21-23

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

No Time for That

Christmas Day was drawing near, and a young mother was moving quickly from store to store in a stressful way. Suddenly, as she juggled bags and boxes, she became aware the little hand of her three year old son was no longer clutched in hers.

In a panic she retraced her steps and found him standing with his little nose pressed against a window. He was staring intently at a manger scene. In his excitement, he missed his mother’s frantic tone.

With innocent excitement he shouted, "Look mommy! It’s Jesus, baby Jesus in the hay!"

Missing his joy and wonder, she impatiently jerked him away saying, "We don’t have time for that!"

It's Possible

Letters to Santa Claus are pretty common at this time of the year.

"Dear Santa, you did not bring me anything good last year. You did not bring me anything good the year before that. This is your last chance." -Alfred

"Dear Santa, there are three little boys who live at our house. There is Jeffrey; he is 2. There is David; he is 4. And there is Norman; he is 7. Jeffrey is good some of the time. David is good some of the time. But Norman is good all of the time. I am Norman."

I’m not Norman. Are you? You might relate more to the next story.

A boy was asked by his teacher, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be possible," the boy answered.

"Possible? Of all the things you might be, why do you want that?" the teacher asked.

The boy replied, "Because my mom and dad are always saying I’m impossible."

Every feel that way? One of the beautiful reminders of Christmas come from the angel’s words to Mary, recorded in Luke 1:37.

"Nothing is impossible with God."

God makes possible dramatic change and salvation for any and everyone, including you. The result is peace and joy in the midst of a world that is often chaotic and destructive.

This is the message of Christmas.

Don't Miss the Point

In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their flying machine off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine:

"We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas."

Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, "How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas." He totally missed the big news -- man had flown!

We often do the opposite. We focus on flying through this time of the year with all of its activities and miss the point of Christmas. How about we take some time to remember and reflect about the Incarnation of Jesus?

John can help out with his words found in chapter 1.


In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Can you hear me now?

Think Along 294

Can you hear me now?

There’s a painting by Holman Hunt that hangs in the British National Gallery in London. You probably have seen it. It shows Jesus gently knocking at a door, a door that has not been opened for a long time. Notice the weeds. The painting is an illustration of Revelation 3:20.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
A little girl was standing in front of the painting with her father. "Daddy," she asks, "why don’t they answer the door?"

The father replied, "I don’t know why."

After a moment’s pause, the little girl said, "Maybe they’re making too much noise to hear him knocking."

I wonder, especially at this time of the year, if we are so distracted we fail to hear the message of the God’s entry into our world?

Immanuel, God with us.
I need to take time to be still and think about what all this means. Again.

Cold

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.

Their dying fire in need of logs
The first man held his back
For of the faces round the fire
He noticed one was black.

The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church
And couldn’t bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy shiftless poor.

The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.

                                       -- James Patrick Kinney

Life Lessons in Poetry

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bile. It has more verses than 14 Old Testament books and more verses than 17 New Testament books. It is a 176 verse prayer celebrating living by God’s word.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic, a feature we miss in our English translations. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, so Psalm 119 has 22 stanzas, one for each letter. Additionally, each verse in each stanza begins with that letter. For example, all the verses in the A (Aleph) stanza begin with A.

Here is one of the stanzas (He). It’s a great prayer for the week, by the way!

Psalm 119:33-48 (The Message)

God, teach me lessons for living
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—
my whole life one long, obedient response.
Guide me down the road of your commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous ways!

Do You Believe in Magic?

A doctor and an engineer entered a chocolate store. As they were busy looking around, the doctor stole 3 chocolate bars.

As they left the store, the doctor said to engineer, "Man! I'm the best thief ever, I stole 3 chocolate bars and no one saw me. You can't beat that."

The engineer replied, "Okay, you wanna see something better? Let's go back to the store and I'll show you real stealing."

So they both went up to the counter and the engineer said to the shop boy, "Hey, would you like to see some magic?"

The shop boy replied, "Yes!"

The engineer said, "Give me one chocolate bar." The shop boy gave him one, and he ate it. He asked for the second, and he ate that one as well. He asked for the third, and finished that one too.

The shop boy asked, "Okay, what are you trying to pull here? Where's the magic?"

The engineer replied, "Check in my friend's pocket. You'll find all three bars."

* * *

Hey, it’s Friday and a good day to smile a bit. This story did make me think of this verse.

1 Timothy 5:24 — The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.

Persevere!

I really enjoy endurance athletics for lots of reasons, but one of them is learning about perseverance. Participants really learn how to keep going when they feel like quitting, especially when they feel like quitting. Perseverance. What drives them? Amongst several things, the reward of finishing.

One of my favorite passages is Hebrews 12:1-3, where the image is about persevering in running. The writer wants his readers, who are struggling and wanting to quit, to know many are cheering them on, encouraging them to persevere.

Ultimately he holds up Jesus as the example. Because he knew the reward of finishing his course, he was able to endure the pain of the course. Here’s Hebrews 12:1-3


Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

My prayer for you today, especially if you are in the midst of giving up on something you shouldn’t, is you will find the strength to continue. Listen to those around you encouraging you to continue, and look to Jesus. Persevere!

Your Body

It seems to me most people do not like their bodies. What do you think of yours? Most of us probably have a few things, a few spots we wish were different.

Let’s think about it in a different way.

Our bodies are wonderful things, and as one who enjoys endurance athletic events, I am amazed at what bodies can do. Truly, to use King David’s words in Psalm 139:14, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Henri Nouwen has some great thoughts about our bodies, specifically encouraging us to respect and to take care of them.

In so many ways we use and abuse our bodies. Jesus’ coming to us in the body and his being lifted with his body in the glory of God call us to treat our bodies and the bodies of others with great reverence and respect.

God, through Jesus, has made our bodies sacred places where God has chosen to dwell. Our faith in the resurrection of the body, therefore, calls us to care for our own and one another's bodies with love. When we bind one another's wounds and work for the healing of one another's bodies, we witness to the sacredness of the human body, a body destined for eternal life.

1 Corinthians 6:19,20 — Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Honor God with your body. I like that.

Seldom is heard

Home on the Range is the state song of Kansas. Did you know that? I didn’t.

I like the chorus:


Home, home on the range,

Where the deer and the antelope play;

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day.

"Seldom is heard discouraging word." I like that, and I’d like to live there. You too? Where I live, some would say, "Seldom is heard an encouraging word."

Discouragement tends to dominate and draw the most attention. A while back someone told me discouragement always has Satan as its source. After thinking about it for a long time, I believe that’s right.

Encouragement is rooted in God and his goodness. Encouragement seems in short supply at times, so let’s make sure we are a part of the solution. Encourage someone every day in a meaningful way. You might just find that some of it comes back your way.

Hebrew 3:13 — But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

What do you want?

I am reading through the Bible this year, using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message. Sunday’s New Testament reading was from 1 John and included verses 15-17.


Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

When I read this, I smiled at the timing of it. Here we are in the middle of the crazy commercialism of Christmas, where so much is driven by unhealthy desires to get or to gain something. All of that stands in tension with the "reason for the season."

We are simplifying again this year. Less gifts, no debt, and more focus on family time around the table. The stuff of this world is fleeting, but the relationships we strive for, modeled after the one God desires to have with us, will last. It’s also what we will remember as we grow older.