What Do You Want For Your Birthday?

December 2, 2014

What Do You Want For Your Birthday?

December is a month for some significant birthdays in my life. My precious Mom’s birthday is December 6th. Two dear high school friends’ birthdays are today and December 13th. The birthday of one of my Godly mentors is December 26th.

Oftentimes, a simple question is asked to those we love before their birthday: “What do you want for your birthday?” If you are like me, I just want to ensure my loved one is honored in the most meaningful way. Isn’t that what we want for our birthdays…to know we are loved and cherished?

The most significant person in my life, really in this world, celebrates His birth each December 25^th. Isn’t it wonderful that we all adorn our homes in Christ-mas finery and decorate the inside and outside with bright lights in honor of His birthday? We bake treats, buy gifts and send cards to our most significant loved ones , friends, and coworkers (and even strangers), and go above and beyond to volunteer and do “random acts of kindness” this time a year. Why? Perhaps it truly is all part of His birthday celebration, honoring the Light Of The World.

However you may feel about Him, one fact is irrefutable. History sets its time stamp of demarcation with Jesus’ birth—BC, “Before Christ”, and AD, “Anno Domini,” Latin for “In the Year of Our Lord.” Even the Old Testament prophesied Jesus’ birth (especially in the book of Isaiah) at least 700 years before He was born! Isn’t it fitting that we give Him our best as we celebrate His birthday?

When I was growing up, we baked a birthday cake for Christmas Day and sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. I will always remember those sweet memories.

So, on this December 2, 2014 AD, in the year of our Lord, 23 days before His birthday, I encourage you to ask Him a simple question: “Lord, What Do You Want For Your Birthday?”

Then listen…

Could His birthday gift be:

to reconcile with your loved one…

to rake the yard of and sit with an elderly neighbor…

to babysit for a worn-out married couple to have a date night…

to share your testimony and love of Jesus with your co-worker…

You can almost hear His still, small voice, can’t you?

“Your Heart, Dear One. That’s all I want. Your Heart.”

Reflect:

How will this Christmas, Jesus’ birthday celebration, be different from years past?
How can we listen and act more intentionally after asking the question, “Lord, what do You want for your birthday?”

Renew:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” –Colossians 3:23
“I am sending Him—who is my very heart—back to you.” –Philemon 1:12.
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the Truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart.” –1 Peter 1: 22

Recharge:

After asking, seeking, and listening, what intentional actions in your life have you been prompted to take?
Consider baking a birthday cake on Christmas Day and singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. Let’s party!
Please leave a comment.

Resource:

Check out the last verse lyrics –“In the Bleak Midwinter” http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh221.sht

November 18, 2014

Bath Towel Theology

A few years back, hunter green towels hung in my bathroom on display. You know the ones. The ones you don’t really use but they hang for weeks at a time. Just don’t sniff them too closely. Then you realize they need washing.

Just the other day it struck me that there is some theology behind those towels. Dark-colored towels versus white ones. Theology?!?! Yes.

White towels hang on my bathroom towel racks today. And I use them. They aren’t just for show, for display. Every stain and soil, though, can be easily detected. It seems I wash them every couple of days. Do you think that’s why hotels only display white towels? So all stains are detected? And so they can be bleached?

Back in the day, though, when I used dark-colored towels, nasty stains could pile up on those things, and no one could tell. I sure couldn’t tell without taking a close-up whiff. I’m embarrassed to tell you that I often forgot to wash my towels except every few weeks or so, possibly even after a month. Disgusting.

These towels remind me of our hearts, our lives, with and without Jesus. The dark towels remind me of my life before accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. My common sin stains were rarely detected. They could pile on and didn’t get cleaned very often.

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” –Psalm 51:7

When we accept to have our hearts are transformed by the Holy Spirit, our hearts become like a white towel. We can detect our sin stains so much easier (cussing, gossiping, pride, excessive spending or drinking, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, and so many others–none fun for me to list). When our hearts are truly transformed by Jesus, there is no way I wanna back to my nasty sin stained-heart from the past.

May you be encouraged today that Jesus washes our hearts so sweetly with His own blood–like bleach. Our hearts are transformed into luxurious white towels. Still getting soiled with sin, but so much easier to clean over and over.

This bath towel theology may seem pretty simple. Faith in Jesus is just that simple. Just that hard. Whatever color or shape our life’s “towels” are in, remember that Jesus loves you so much. He’s the only truly stainless One.

Reflect:

–Which towel describes your life right now?

–What will you do about it? Please comment.

Renew:

–“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” –Psalm 51:10

–“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” –2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

–“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” –Hebrews 10:22 NIV

Recharge:

–What will you do differently now that your heart is “whiter than snow?”

–To demonstrate this heart cleansing to a group of senior high students, I took a bottle of water and mixed it with purple Kool aid powder. Then I added one drop of bleach to the bottle of purple Kool-aid water. In one minute then entire bottle of water was miraculously clear. Please try it. It’s pretty cool way to show easily what Jesus does to our hearts.

November 11, 2014

The Cost of Paying Attention

Last week’s yard raking brought on a much-needed life lesson for me.

My huge oak tree, affectionately named “The General,” sheds practically every leaf each fall and winter. At the base of this tall oak tree is a small dogwood tree. In the 13 years I’ve lived in my home, both the oak and dogwood have been there, coexisting sweetly in my front yard. I appreciate the oak’s shade and its majesty. I appreciate the dogwood’s beautiful white and bloodstain-tipped blossoms in the spring, right around Easter, reminding me of the blood sacrifice Jesus made for all of us.

Back to my story. So I was raking last week, just as I have raked for 13 years. I was soaking in the beautiful autumn blue sky, gentle breeze, crisp air. I looked down and saw a bright red berry in the grass. Where could a berry have come from in my front yard? I looked up and saw the dogwood. I squinted and noticed something different. Clusters of deep, red berries amidst the changing leaves of the dogwood! Beautiful. The sight was beautiful! Blood red berries, as deep as the red on the bloodstain-tipped blossoms in the spring. I was awestruck.

All these years, all these autumns. I missed it…until now. I paid attention. Grabbing my phone, I captured this photo.

How have I never noticed the autumn berries on my dogwoods before now?

Why have I never noticed? Why have I not paid more attention?

“Pay” attention. The verb we use before the word “attention” causes me to ponder. Pay. Like paying for an item in a store. There is a cost. There is value. There is sacrifice. Yes, I desire to pay more attention.

The Bible is full of passages about “paying” attention.

“Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach.” –Proverbs 22:17 NIV

As Lysa TerKeurst writes in The Best Yes, “Unrush me.”

Forgive me, Lord. Forgive the blinders of my eyes and heart. Forgive my hurried pace. Please help me pay more attention. Help me notice You, Lord. Help me pay attention to Your majesty, from the gorgeous full moon last week to the fresh morning dew in my front lawn to the bright red berries on my autumn dogwood leaves and branches. Beauty surrounds us if we look. Paying attention is worth the cost, Lord. I pray to experience life through Your lens and Your timing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reflect:

–How would you rank your life’s pace? Please comment.

–What intentional act will you do to unrush yourself? How? Please comment.

Renew:

–“The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your GOD that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.” –Deuteronomy 28:13 NIV

–“My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight.” –Proverbs 5:1 NIV

–“You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” –Isaiah 42:20 NIV

–“We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. –Hebrews 2:1 NIV

–“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” –2 Peter 1:19 NIV

Recharge:

–Please enjoy at least one unrushed moment with your spouse, child, loved one today.

–Savoring a few minutes of prayer and quiet devotional time in the Bible sets a more unrushed pace and peace for the day.

Resource:

–www.thebestyes.com