Will you have a good Christmas, this year?

If your household is like mine, the Holiday Season has already begun. There is a tradition that I try to keep going in my home. My wife likes Poinsettias. I try to watch for the first ones to arrive in the stores, so I can get Kathy one early in the season. The first of the lovely red Christmas plants is on our dining room table.I tell you about our little tradition to remind you about one of the ways to insure that you have a good Christmas. Christmas is a wonderful time to emphasize family. Even though my little tradition involves purchasing a gift, I'm not talking primarily about buying, rather I'm encouraging us to look for ways to invest in those we love. Gifts that are bought may not last until New Year. Investing--giving our time, energy, and love--ourselves in our families will bring results that will last for eternity.The flower, lovely as it is, is like the wrapping on the gift. The gift is my love.If you truly give yourself--not just stuff--you're more likely to have a good Christmas.

It's Something to Think About.

President Lincoln and a little boy:

Long before there were TV networks--before Oprah or even Donahue--President Lincoln pulled off the perfect soft-news coup. Shortly after coming to office, presiding over a nation that was ripping itself apart, President Lincoln wrote this note on bahalf of a young boy: I did see and talk with master George Evans Patten, last May, at Springfield, Illinois. Respectfully, A Lincoln"George had met Lincoln at a campaign event, and--kids have always been this way--his friends wouldn't believe him. Honest Abe took the time to vouch for the young man's veracity. I'm generally unimpressed with memorabilia that bring impressive bids at auction, but if you want to buy this note and give it to me, I'll frame it. There are a number of photographs of President Lincoln, but this is a snapshot of his heart, and a lesson from a great man. However busy I am, today, I need to take time to be kind. It's STTA
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/20/lincoln.letter/

WALKING THE WALK:

In a review of the movie Blind Side, (World Magazine) Megan Basham talks about the skepticism of our age. She quotes lead actor, Sandra Bullock, concerning her doubts about the reality of the faith of the family upon which the film is based--a Christian family. Bullock said that she had been impressed--or perhaps I should say "unimpressed" by people of faith "who use their faith and their religion as a banner but don't do the right things, yet still go, 'I'm a good Christian and I go to church and this is the way you should live your life,'" (Quoted in World article)There is a powerful lesson here for those of us who believe. It is a lesson that is as old as Christianity. James speaks about it in Chapter 2. Talk is cheap; in fact, it is free. Show me your faith, then maybe I'll be interested in listening to you. As Ms. Bullock said, "I finally met people who walk the walk."
It's Something to Think About.

IDOLS:

I remember a missionary from a village in Africa showing us a smooth flat, long, black rock. Before the people of this community became believers in Christ this had been their god. It had its own hut and was served daily offerings of food and drink. While visiting a museum in Ukraine, my Ukrainian host pointed to several squat wooden sculptures. He told me that in Ukraine's pre-Christian era folk had worshipped these images.
I have been in American people's garages, houses and yards and seen other idols. One of the clearest results of the Fall--the entrance of sin into our culture and personal lives--is the tendency for the creation of false gods--anything that takes the place in our lives that only God should occupy.The people of Israel were at the foot of Sinai; they could see the smoke and lightning, and their leader, Moses, was on top getting instructions for them from God who had just delivered them from Egypt, yet they were busy making and worshiping an idol.
Find out more Sunday at 8:30 or 10:55.
It's STTA

He does not bear the gun in vain:

I have some friends who are police officers. All of them carry guns. I was recently at a local government hearing where one of my law-enforcement buddies was the official security. He had on his uniform, badge, and patches that identified him as an officer of the law. He carried a gun. As I sit here thinking I cannot recall that any of the officers of the law with whom I am acquainted have ever shot anyone. I didn't observe that anyone at the public hearing, I mentioned, who looked like my friend's gun made them nervous. Thankfully, in the community where I live the reality of Romans 13:4--"He bears not the sword in vain"--is not a reason for law-abiding folk to be afraid. In fact my friend's presence brought security.In recent news the question has been raised about whether an Army officer, who went rogue, should have been able to purchase a gun. Perhaps the more significant question is, "What is wrong with a culture that produces an officer sworn to protect his nation who cannot be trusted?" It could be you and I have a part in that.

It's STTA.

A KID'S GAME THAT'S NOT A GAME:

A common pastime for youngsters, especially little boys, is bug-catching. I remember filling jars with lightning bugs or capturing other insects that I found interesting. Sometimes the captives wee liberated by my mom. Other times--well, there is no need to go there.The other day I saw a presentation about an orphanage in Africa. Not surprisingly, one of the activities that the kids got involved in was bug-catching, or I should say "insect-harvesting." For these youngsters it isn't a game. Properly prepared the little critters provide an important protein supplement. I don't want to go the "Eww!" factor. The fact is, there are a lot of things that others eat that I don't like, and vice-versa. I need to be reminded, though that many in the world live every day without a great many things that I take for granted every day.
Lord, help me to process that rightly. It's STTA..

Pushing the Christmas sled uphill:

As I write there is a group of kids upstairs working on a Christmasproject--gifts for some folk less fortunate than they. I hope they get the point that their leaders are trying to communicate--we all have something that we can use to make someone else's life better. Our Lord told us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Our Twenty-first-Century, Western culture has made that a hard lesson to teach. The advertising world takes aim at youngsters, seeking to convince them that the good life consists of something bought in a store or ordered on the internet. Kid's are liable to describe a life without the latest gadget, toy, or accessory as dark and dismal beyond any grown-up's ability to comprehend.During this Christmas season it is important for we parents, grandparents and leaders to push the sled back uphill. Just resisting the "Give-me-more!" mentality is not enough. We need to supply other meaningful messages.It's far from the whole answer, but let me encourage you to put something on your calendar. December 18-20 is the Live Nativity presentation here in Covington. (See the box to the left.) It will help you point your kids to, and remind you of, the real reason Christ came.

It's STTA.

MAKE ROOM FOR THANKSGIVING:

Other than Turkey suppliers, it seems most businesses ignore Thanksgiving. Halloween has become a much more profitable celebration in recent decades, and since retailers regard Thanksgiving as the official start of the Christmas shopping season, most stores use the three or four weeks between Ghosts and Goblins, and Turkey-Day to ramp up for Santa Claus. Thanksgiving gets little mention.By nature Thanksgiving is hard to market. Leading up to Halloween, kids ask one another, "What are you going to dress-up as?" and, How much candy do you think you will get?" We are all aware of Christmas expectations. We try to teach kids that it is better to give than to receive, but just look around. Getting gets a lot more press.Thanksgiving forces us, even as greedy as our culture is, to look back on what we have, rather than ahead to what we want. Other than plane tickets and turkeys, how do you translate that into ringing cash-registers?Thank God for that intrepid band of Pilgrims at Plymouth, and President Lincoln, and everyone else who has passed down to us this wonderful holiday. Begin now. Make plans to make this a true THANKSGIVING.
It's STTA.

Blessings in Muddy Boots:

Sometimes blessings wear muddy boots. When they do, they are hard to be thankful for, at least as thankful as we ought to be. I observe a frequent pattern in the Bible--one of my teachers in college called it the conservation of grace. God came down to Mt. Sinai, but Moses had to hike up. In Hezekiah's day,God delivered the people of Jerusalem from the Assyrians, but only after a time of intense soul-searching and prayer. Christ fed the 5,000, but the lad provided his lunch, the Apostles distributed the food and then gathered the left-overs--which, by the way, they ate later. When Peter was imprisoned, God miraculously opened the jail, loosed his shackles, and enabled him to pass by the guards, to escape, but Peter himself had to put on his coat and shoes, and walk to the house where his comrades were praying.Trivial, though the requirement may be, God's provisions often require some effort on our part. God typically doesn't do for us what we can do for ourselves. In the world of finance, we often hear the term "leverage." It enables one to make a small investment and have a huge impact. In the money-world the concept has often been abused leading to disaster. In the Spiritual realm, my act of obedience places me in the realm of God's blessing, as a friend of mine used to say, "Under the spout, where the glory comes out." On the front end, it is worth the investment; on the back end, thanksgiving is always in order.

It's STTA.

"So Tonto says to The Lone Ranger, "What do you mean, 'We,' paleface?"

The election is over.
Stretching back to three days before the civil war--slight exaggeration--candidates and their surrogates have been campaigning.* Now various friends and foes are busy positioning themselves in relation to the winner and losers. Everyone wants to be seen as being a friend of and core-supporter of a winner, while losing candidates may find phones going unanswered and emails ignored.
"What have you done for me lately?" has expanded to, "What can you do for me in the next ten minutes?"An old adage says that "Politics makes for strange bed-fellows." I would add that often politics--at least the Twenty-first Century variety--makes for very poor friendships.
From kids trying to negotiate the social jungle at their school, to hard-charging adults trying to get ahead, there is a temptation and a tendency to use others to try to advance. A true friend will still be my friend the day after I lose, and more to the point: I need to be the kind of friend that others can count on when they really need a friend.

It's STTA.

*For you folk unfortunate enough to not live in the Old Dominion or who are not fortunate enough to not live in New Jersey, I might need to remind you that we just had an off-year election.

JUDGMENT:

Yesterday I sat in judgment-not as the one doing the judging, but as the one being judged.*It’s not fun. If I had been making the call I would have done it differently. My mind raced with, “Yeah, buts!” and “What about?s.” There was a part of me that wanted to say, “How can you judge us? You don’t even know the whole the story. But, I didn’t say anything. My part in the process was a silent one. And in that regard, I was right. I was not the one given the responsibility of passing judgment. My task is to learn from the process and do my job better. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the supreme Judge, and the verdict He will render. Unlike the panel before which my colleagues and I sat, the Lord has all knowledge-no extenuating circumstance escapes His notice. He judges based not only on the truth, but according to the truth of who I am.Before His scrutiny every mouth will stop. Not because we shouldn't speak, but because we will know that we have nothing to say. (Romans 3:19)

Don’t show up for that judgment unprepared.

It’s STTA.


*(Don’t worry. I’m not going to jail. The judgment had nothing to do with legal matters. This concerns the evaluation of an organization in which I’m involved. If you happen to know where I was & why, likewise don’t worry. Our organization is OK. We have some hoops to jump through, but none of them are on fire. We are and will be fine.)