Month: December 2020

Merry Christmas!

It’s been a wild ride! I drove to Tennessee to spend Christmas with my daughters and their families. Younger daughter drove from Richmond, VA area. The forecast said 1-3 inches of snow and several of us were hoping for a white Christmas! We were thinking, “Wouldn’t it be nice to gather around the lighted Christmas tree watching the snow fall?” And about midday it began to fall.  And fall! Three inches and still falling!

 We had planned to enjoy a nice Christmas Eve dinner-ham, mac & cheese, deviled eggs, potatoes, broccoli, etc.  Ham was in the oven with other preparations beginning. Then the power went out. Snow was continuing to fall until we had 5 inches! We weren’t cancelling dinner, but we had to alter the menu. No cooked veggies, no mac and cheese. We pulled out the cheeseball and crackers, raw veggies and dip, finished the deviled eggs, and pulled the ham out of the oven. We lit the oil lamp and candles and made a memory.

After dinner we played games and talked about remembering this Christmas-this strange year! When we thought about the year 2020, not much went according to plan. But we survived and only a few of us were touched by the virus. We are grateful to God for mercy!. 

The most uncomfortable part of the evening was having no heat. We layered our blankets and tucked the dogs in beside us and managed to sleep, in spite of the cold. I thought about those precious souls without roofs over their heads and knew I had more than many others in the world. Then I thought of how Mary and Joseph had to alter their plans for the birth of Jesus. Giving birth in a stable isn’t what any mother would choose.

Wishing you and yours a warm and wonderful Christmas and New Year!

“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7).

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

“Christ’s love compels us.”  When I read those words this week, I stopped and reread them. I wondered, “Does Christ’s love compel me?” “Compel” is a rather strong verb, stronger than merely “motivate.” Spending some time in chapters 4 and 5 of 2 Corinthians gave me some insight into what Paul was saying to the Corinthian Christians.

• Paul lived for Christ because of Christ’s love demonstrated through His death and resurrection.
• If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. No longer living in selfishness and pride and no longer having a worldly point of view.
• The purpose of Christ’s death and resurrection was to make a way of reconciliation between Holy God and sinful mankind.
• Those who have been reconciled to God, forgiven and redeemed, are now responsible for this ministry of reconciliation. God made us His ambassadors, “as though God were making his appeal through us” (verse20).

Paul explains in chapter 4, “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (verse 7).  The message of reconciliation is the treasure we humans are to share. Paul goes on relating the troubles and persecution he and his fellow workers experienced. He says, “we always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

You, like me, may be feeling the heaviness of troubles and disappointments of this year. This “jar of clay” (our mind and body) may be weary from it all but isn’t it wonderful we can have a heavenly point of view and not a worldly one.  We have been made new in Christ! He gives us the will and power to keep going.

Gazing on a baby’s face gives feelings of joy and love. Fixing their eyes on Baby Jesus compelled the shepherds to tell the good news to everyone they saw!  How much more should we be compelled to tell the good news of salvation when we fix our eyes on the crucified and risen Christ!

The Baby in the manger became our Redeemer.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

This week has been a hard one. As you know that word “hard” has a slew of meanings. There is almost a half-page in my dictionary to define the word. So, yes, this week has been hard.  I decided to paint a small room in my house by myself. It’s been a while since I did any painting-maybe 8 or 10 years. Anyway, I thought I could do a small room and I did.  I have the sore and stiff muscles to prove it and have concluded I’m a bit older and less limber now. Perhaps, I should outsource this task the next time. Painting is a hard task!

One year ago, my Dad went to his eternal home after living at my house about 5 months. So those memories are hard.  On Wednesday, Cindy and I decided it was time to let “Sport” (my dad’s dog) go. He was having so much difficulty getting around and his hearing and sight were almost gone. It was hard to see him that way, but also awfully hard to let him go.

I must thank God for the physical strength he’s given me. Some people my age cannot live on their own, so I’m thankful for good health and strength. And God not only gives physical strength, but He gives spiritual and mental strength as well.

The Apostle Paul was in prison when he wrote the above verse. God isn’t limited by locations or situations. Being in prison is hard!  I read this morning from the book of Numbers how God provided meat for thousands of grumbling Israelites in the middle of a wilderness! God asked Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?” (Numbers 11:23) Of course, God’s arm isn’t too short. He provides for us just as he provided for those Israelites! Sometimes, trusting God is hard!

Life on this Earth is sometimes hard. God didn’t promise an easy road, but He did promise to be with us all the way! In fact he sent Jesus, Immanuel, “God with us!”

“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5b).

I read another of Wayne’s sermons this morning which he preached on March 30, 1986. Of course, it was Easter and his text included 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 and Luke’s (Luke 24) account of the resurrection of Jesus. I know we are celebrating Christmas right now, but can we celebrate the birth of Jesus without celebrating His resurrection? Many people enjoy the thought of a little baby being born in a stable with angels and shepherds spreading the good news. But those same people may be uncomfortable celebrating a crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.  Christians must never forget why Jesus was born in the first place! Knowing we can live forever with Jesus is the best good news!

The Apostle Paul writes about “when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). In Romans 5:6 Paul writes, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Jesus’ birth and death happened at specific times. God put those events in just the right place in history. Jesus’ death even defines how we measure time as BC and AD. Jesus’ resurrection was the event that proved we could also live with Him through our faith and obedience to His will.

The Baby in the manger shows us the humanity of Jesus, but His resurrection shows us His deity. God came to be like us so He could redeem us.  Here is a quote from Wayne’s sermon:

“Do not say that Christianity can exist independently from Easter. Christianity is not simply a set of values, a moral code, style of living, a grand philosophy. Christian faith is Easter faith. It is the conviction that people matter so much to God that He gave His own Son in our behalf; that He allowed Him to be crucified on the cross for our sins and on the third day, He raised Him from the grave as sign and symbol that our lives are of eternal significance to God. God is involved. Christ is victorious. But even more importantly, we really do matter to God.” Sermon # 774 by Wayne Murphy

So, when we set up our Nativity scene and place Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus in the manger, let’s remember how much God loves us. That precious Baby was God Himself fulfilling His plan to give us the gift of salvation.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”

 (Romans 6:23).