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 25th. 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:

November 25, 2014

Giving Thanks, Breaking, Giving Away

Have you ever just read a verse you’ve read before, and was finally hit by its profound truth? On this Thanksgiving week, one such verse hit me. A simple verse, really.

“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take and eat; this is my body.'” –Matthew 26:26.

From the first Lord’s Supper to today’s Lord’s Supper, the same sentiment is expressed in each sacrament. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it away.

Two points jump out at me.  1) Jesus took and gave thanks. 2) Jesus broke it and gave it away.

Point one: May we give thanks for everything we are given, for every person, every circumstance in our life. May we have an attitude of gratitude. It’s hard to grumble when you’re grateful. So often I/we complain over what we don’t have instead of thanking God for the many blessings we do have. I am so guilty of this. Forgive me.

Point two: Jesus broke the bread before He gave it away. Although Jesus could, He does not use anything or anyone unless the item or person is broken. The bread was/is broken, not whole. The wine came/comes from smushed, fermented grapes. Even His own body had to be broken on the cross to save all of us from our sins. He broke Himself in order to give Himself away. May it be so of us.

Jesus does not use us unless we are broken and available to Him. The only people in the Bible Jesus couldn’t stand were those people who acted like they had it all together—the Pharisees.  We are the most whole in Christ when we admit to our brokenness.

Thanks and Brokenness. Jesus both focused on gratitude and brokenness in life and in the sacrament of communion.

Side note. I love stained glass. Do you know why I love beautiful stained glass so much? Stained glass is simply broken shards of glass arranged in a pattern. It is only when Light shines through the brokenness that we can see the beautiful image and purpose. That’s us. That’s you. That’s me.

As we prepare to celebrate our national holiday of Thanksgiving, may we use Jesus’ example to take and give thanks.  May we then give ourselves away as broken and beautiful vessels. Happy Thanks-LIVING, friend.

Reflect:

  • How will you transform Thanksgiving into Thanks-Living?
  • For what, for whom are you thankful?

Renew:

  • “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth.” –Psalm 98:7-9.
  • “Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” –Psalm 100:4.

Recharge:  

  • Please start a Gratitude Journal this week and  list at least three blessings daily. It could be a warm house, your health, laughter, cozy coats and boots. Keep going. You can do it.
  • Please let me know of some of your many blessings.

Resources:

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.

 

 

 

 

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