Most of you will be doing candlelight services tomorrow. We had ours last night. (I'll explain if you ask.) It is always a highlight of our church calendar for me. Perhaps it is the utter simplicity of the time. Were it not for the fact that the folk at our assembly are addicted to sitting in the back of the Worship-Center, we would probably do away with microphones.
Our room is lighted by candles, we sing familiar Christmas carols, and read scripture. That is only about half the program, though; the other part is made up of people sharing about what God has done in their lives.
The angel told Joseph, Mary "will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) We heard about that last night. There were reports about God, in His grace, had delivered people from the ravages of sin, as well as praise offered for God's hand in keeping folk from sin's power.
Matthew 1 gives another name for God's Son become human--Immanuel. It comes from the Prophecy of Isaiah and means God with us. John points out, in his gospel, that for a time God tabernacled--pitched His tent--among us. From the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem it is always God's desire to be in the midst of His people. Last night I was powerfully reminded of the desire that ought to be in our heart for Him to be with us.
Simplicity vaulted to profundity. I don't know about the others who were there, but the lesson on the names of Christ had a greater impact on me than any sermon I can remember.

Lord, may I remember what those names mean--not just in abstract, but what they mean to me.
Amen.

It's STTA.

As I type my wife is doing something very Christmasy--standing in line at the post office.
I wonder if Mary or Joseph sent a note back to Nazareth after the birth of Jesus. We know people sent mail in First Century Israel. Many letters from the era have been discovered. What would a note to the family say?
"The baby is here. All are well. Much to tell you."
Or perhaps:
"No time to write much. We have to leave for Egypt. If soldiers come don't say anything. Will write more when we can."
We don't know. Part of the reality into which Jesus was born was that Mary and Joseph were real people. They had families and friends and history. Luke and Matthew give the genealogy of His earthly family. I'm a grandpa. Did Jesus have grandparents who were still alive. Did they hold Him on their knee, and talk baby-talk to Him. I figure so.
I do know that when Jesus grew up he talked about the games children play. He became like us, so that He could save us.


It's STTA.

It is Simple:

I try to read things that challenge my mind. I enjoy talking to people who make me think. At this point in life, I find myself scanning articles or blogs and saying, "This is old stuff--material I've already thought about--I don't need to read this." When my intention is to use my time more wisely--trying to stay on the growing edge--that is sound analysis. The problem is when my filtering becomes snooty, elite, "I'm beyond all that." As if everything important is on an upper intellectual shelf.
Last night I was reminded about the wonder of seeing things through simpler eyes.
Regular readers of STTA, know that CBC recently presented a live nativity to our community. I've been posting pictures from the program in these emails. We really try to make the scenes and the narration represent the truth put forth in Scripture. Maybe it's because I have been involved in the program for years, but my thoughts about our presentation are mostly analytical. "This would be better if . . ." or, "That isn't quite accurate." etc.
My friend's comment was something like, "When I saw the donkey, and the sheep [Actually it was a goat, but there I go being all analytical.] it helped me see that Jesus coming was real."
We need more of that refreshing bottom-shelf, basic reality kind of thinking.
To paraphrase a famous Christmas story, Yes, Virginia, The Son of God really did become man.

Find out more about what it means to you here.

It's STTA.

Snow!

If you open the door you can hear two sounds--one very slight and the other emanating from many sites some distance away. The snow that is falling has just enough iciness to it that, if you listen carefully, you can hear its fall. The other sound comes from the throats of children, cheering the Snow Day, NO SCHOOL!
This close to Christmas, in my part of the world, folk join Bing in dreaming of a White Christmas.
Maybe.
The snow does serve as a reminder as to why the Son of God came to earth. The Prophet Isaiah, who has much to say about the Savior born in Bethlehem, said, "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. . . ."
That is the kind of White Christmas that ought to really interest us. Another prophet, John the Baptist, proclaimed when He saw Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

You can have that kind of a White Christmas. Find out more, here.

It's STTA.

Coming into a cold world:

My church just gave a Christmas gift to our community. Like most really good gifts it was a present that we made ourselves. We presented a Live Nativity, portraying the birth of Christ and seven other scenes. I would say most comments members of my church family made about the event had to do with what a joy it was to share this wonderful story with our neighbors. A close second was, "It is cold." I'm not sure if some of our dedicated volunteers were completely warm for a week.
Yesterday, when some guys were involved in the tearing-down process, between the cold and the wind, it was frostbite cold.
The Gospel of Luke records the simple fact that Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths. She wasn't getting Him ready to pose for a Christmas card picture. Like all babies He had to be kept warm. We don't know exactly what time of the year Jesus was born, but whenever it was He was born into a world that hostile to Him. Isaiah predicts that He would be despised and abused. In Philippians 2, Paul speaks of Him being "obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

If we aren't careful we'll get the idea from Christmas cards and such that the world welcomed its Creator with candles and a warm embrace.
No. It was cold.

It's STTA.

People, trouble, & sparks:

". . . man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7, NASB95)
So said Eliphaz in his first speech in the book of Job. Eliphaz and Job's two other buddies had come to comfort him in his time of affliction. They were so appalled at his wretched condition that they sat with him in silence for a week. That was the best thing they had to say. Not that they didn't say true things. Much of what Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad pronounced was true, but if you take the overall thrust of their reasoning it is patently false.
This afternoon I was saying "Amen!" to Eliphaz's proverb about people, trouble and fires.
We are getting ready to launch a major outreach to our community. Our live nativity is a highly labor intensive activity. Today I was getting some vehicles ready for the operation. There were untimely flat tires, lugs that froze up and had to be cut off, a dead battery, and parts that stores didn't stock.
It is the way things are in this world.
Where Eliphaz was wrong was in his conclusion that Job's trouble was a specific response by God to some specific sin on Job's part. No, it's life.
Even Jesus faced trouble in His walk on this earth. The Apostle Paul said that "all who will live godly in Christ will suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12)
God doesn't insulate us, but He does give us grace. (see 2 Corinthians 12)

It's STTA.