What kind of Gift?

 

(Today’s reflections are some I have shared just about every Christmas season. May God teach us to be like Him, giving because we love.)

Gifting. It’s a major part of our holiday season, isn’t it?  Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Finding the “right” gift is not always easy. What’s appropriate? What will be meaningful?  Admittedly, some of us miss the meaning gifting which is what I’ll address in a moment.  Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which we give at Christmas .

The CHEAP giver is driven by one goal - buying something, anything, that satisfies the need to offer a present.  He wants to spend as little money or energy as possible. My one question to this person is - "why bother?" You have missed the meaning of Christmas entirely. Save yourself the effort because the person who receives your 'gift' will only be obligated to write an insincere 'thank you' note!

The HURRIED giver just wanted to get it over and done. She darts from store to store, grabbing this and that and checking off the names on his list. Obligation, not love, is the primary drive behind their search.

The "PAY MY DEBTS" giver hopes that with one gift, usually one that is far too extravagant, that she can make up for her failures through the year. No gift can do this, and this shopper is sadly set up for disappointment already!

The "I'D SURE LIKE THAT giver" buys gifts he would like to receive. His gifts are often very nice, but they do not bless the recipient. Why? They just don't 'fit.' Why? His gifts are not thoughtfully chosen because he is too in love with himself to be aware of what really going on outside of his own skin.

The "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" giver finds the heart of Christmas!

This person thinks carefully about the tastes, the needs, the personality of the person for whom she is getting a gift and, after a careful search, prepares a gift that she presents for no reason other than the joy of blessing another.  Her gift has no payment, no obligation, nor guilt attached!

The heart of the Christmas story is about God’s Gift that was given for us, costly, to meet a real need, to restore us.  The passage is so familiar you may be tempted to skim through it, but let your mind and heart absort the words with faith.  “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV) 

Paul exults in the extravagance of God’s gift. "God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!)" (Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT)  He is totally sufficient in Himself, yet He gave. He has no aim other than to bring us life. His Gift was rich, prepared from eternity, given to settle my debts, based on my need, and shaped by His love for me!

In your gift-giving, make LOVE the reason.
Having trouble finding a gift for someone on your list? Think about who they are, what they need, and how you can express love in a language they'll understand.

It will come to you!

And remember this - The best gifts are, like God's gift to us, the gift of ourselves; our love, our tender care, our gentle words, our encouragement.

Let’s be great givers this Christmas season. 

(Video of this blog at this link)
______________

Christmas Day 

Joy to the world
On a night like no other
Emmanuel
God is with us

Beggars and kings
Let us come and adore Him
Rest in His peace
And bow before Him

Sing all you people
The Lord almighty reigns
Sing ev'ry creature of God
Come bless His name
For He is good for He is good
He was born to conquer the grave
Light of the world
The reason for Christmas Day

Stars we have seen
Over deserts and oceans
The darkness was deep
But never hopeless
Redemption came
And His name is Jesus 

From the mountains
We will shout it out
For the Lord our God almighty reigns
He is with us
He is with us now
For the Lord our God almighty reigns

Light of the world
The reason for Christmas Day 

Andrew Bergthold | Ed Cash | Franni Cash | Martin Cash | Scott Cash

© 2019 Alletrop Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Andrew Bergthold Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Capitol CMG Genesis (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

McTyeire Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

We The Kingdom ASCAP Designee (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

We The Kingdom Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CLI License # 810055

 

JOY, really?

 

In our Advent journey brings us to “Joy.”  Are you experiencing JOY?  It is a choice we make based on the promise and Person of Jesus.  As yesterday closed, I reflected over a day of mixed emotions – some positive, some not so much. Our pastor had urged us to choose joy.  He made the point that the joy of the Lord is beyond situation and circumstance.  As much as I agree, it can be a challenge to actually live joyfully in a world where evil produces so much pain.  So, last night, in the dark of my bedroom, I prayed for faith to accept joy and to live to bring joy to the world.

On the night of Jesus’ birth, God’s messenger declared - "I bring you good news of great joy."  The angels sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them."(Luke 2:14-18, NIV) And in that worship, they found joy.

Will you choose surrender of your own agenda, your own desires, to find the joy of the Lord today?
His joy is found at the end of our striving and our demands to live life on our own terms.  In the choice for joy worship is the key.  It’s more than the worship that that we do in a church sanctuary. 
True worship is the presentation of ourselves to our God with humility, our very lives a prayer to honor HIM in our thoughts, our words, our choices.

Want to find the joy that we talk about as Christians?

First, turn to Jesus, seek Him, worship Him.   

That worship starts with a willingness to set aside the demands of the day. The shepherds could have remained with their sheep. But they chose to go to see the Baby. They became part of a strange and wonderful story of God’s entry into our world. Wherever you are today, whatever your situation – find time to look for the Savior, to thank Him, perhaps just to wait quietly before Him as you offer yourself in worship.

Second, ask God to make you a source of joy for others.

Paradoxically, when we give away our demand to be ‘happy,’ and turn outward, we create the possibility of joy for ourselves and others.  Your circle of friends includes many who need to know God's love. Perhaps they feel worthless or forgotten. Perhaps they are overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. They may be carrying the weight of a chronic illness, or experiencing  the limitations brought on by aging. It could be they are weighed down by guilt and regret.  

Love makes joy possible!  The suffering person needs more than your happy song.  Be the Joy of Jesus shown in love.

Be a reflector of the Light, . Only in God can we find a reason for real and lasting joy, a hope that is bigger than any set of circumstances in this world.

Let’s take on the mission of the angels and announce JOY!  You might say, "Hey, Jerry, I’m no angel."  Neither am I. But we are people of the Spirit, “Christ’s ambassadors.” We have the awesome privilege of leading others to Him, sharing with them the Hope we have found. So, let’s pray for opportunities to be bringers of joy, messengers of hope. If your heart is so heavy that Joy seems impossible, by faith let me remind you that HE is the Healer of broken hearts, the Restorer of our relationship with the Father, the Hope of the hopelessness. Ask Him to help you. His answer may not come in the way you expect, but He will come to you. He promises!

Here is a word from the Word.  I’m using a contemporary paraphrase of the Scripture today – The Message.  Lord, use Your Word to shape our lives today. Amen.

"So reach out and welcome one another to God’s glory.
Jesus did it; now you do it!
Jesus, staying true to God’s purposes,
reached out in a special way to the Jewish insiders
so that the old ancestral promises would come true for them.

As a result, the non-Jewish outsiders have been able
to experience mercy and to show appreciation to God.

Just think of all the Scriptures that will come true in what we do!
For instance: Then I’ll join outsiders in a hymn-sing; I’ll sing to your name!
And this one: Outsiders and insiders, rejoice together!
And again: People of all nations, celebrate God! All colors and races, give hearty praise!
And Isaiah’s word: There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy,
fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives,
filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit,
will brim over with hope! " (Romans 15:7-13, The Message)

(Video of this blog at this link)
______________ 

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus (Hyfrydol)

Come Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth Thou art
Dear desire of every nation
Joy of every longing heart

Born Thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a King
Born to reign in us forever
Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone
By Thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to Thy glorious throne

 

Charles Wesley | Rowland Hugh Prichard

© Words: Public Domain

 

 

Don't miss Christmas!

 

Christmas!  Right after Thanksgiving, my home was decorated for the holiday. My Alexa devices spill the sounds of the Season throughout my house. Yes, it’s Christmas and in spite of my age, I’m loving it!  The story is well known to me, the reason we celebrate is familiar but still compelling.  I anticipate the hour in worship together on Christmas Eve, one of the year’s highlights for me.  Oh yes, I know that by January 1, I'll be spent, ready for a few gray days of winter and the usual slowdown after the holidays.

Some, and I do not plan to be one of them, will celebrate the Season and miss out on Christmas. How so?   They will go to parties, gather at family dinners, exchange gifts with friends, decorate their homes – and mostly forget Jesus, replacing Him with Santa and parties. 

Please do have fun this Christmas. Enjoy the decorations of tinsel and blinking lights. Listen to the songs of the Holiday - secular and sacred - joyfully. Buy gifts that are appropriate and affordable. Just do not forget the why of it all!  Millions, even Christians, will – to all outward appearance -  forget Jesus. Christmas will be a Santa holiday extravaganza. Don't be one of them. I do not have any issues with the whole "Santa Claus" deal. It's fun, but despite his ubiquity, he's not 'it!' The good news is old, yet new, news - "Jesus, the Savior, is born!"

OK. Here it comes, predictably, from this guy.  Yes, I am going to tell you that you need to plan to attend worship services. Presenting ourselves to the Lord, alongside of others, creates opportunities for the Spirit to work in us in ways that we cannot discover alone.

Also, I want to urge you to build 'down time' into your schedule, for prayer and reflection.  Schedules get full with concerts, kids’ programs, invitations, family visits, travel, shopping … tired, yet?  Prioritize making first things, first. Wouldn't it be a sorry thing to announce a birthday party and not acknowledge the person who is the reason for it?  Get up a little earlier and spend some time in prayer and meditation. Turn off the TV a bit sooner in the evening and find a few moments with your Advent devotions. Got a houseful of noise?  Escape to your car and soak in the silence, listening for the voice of the Spirit.

Do not confuse an emotional experience with true worship. Meditate on the Truth. Christmas is the story of God come to us. Human religions teach us to reach up to God, to try to make ourselves worthy of the Divine. It’s a futile effort, because we are broken, because we are incapable of ascending to the Heavens.  But the Truth is Grace. The message is Love. The result is Salvation.  Take this Scripture to heart. “To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this rebirth comes from God. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father." (John 1:12-14, NLT)  

Yes, this is Christmas!

Most of us will come to the end of December weary, but if our efforts have had a purpose, if we blessed others with loving encouragement, if we have renewed our Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love through devotion to Christ, our tired will be a good kind. Focus and then re-focus on the story of God becoming Flesh, a baby born in a manger who brought the Word to us.

The word from the Word is a fact. Believe and live. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10, NIV) "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:15-16, NIV)

Lord, fill our minds with the Love of Jesus. May we live in faith so that the Hope of Heaven pulls us to Your ways. Amen.

 (Video of this blog at this link)
______________

 Angels We Have Heard on High

 Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o'er the plains;

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

 

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

Say what may the tidings be;

Which inspire your heav'nly song?

 

Come to Bethlehem and see,

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

 

See within a manger laid,

Jesus, Lord of heav'n and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

With us sing our Savior's birth.

 

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

© Public Domain