A Christmas Gift from the Heart

(This is the 3^rd of a 4 part series on “Memories of Christmas”.)

Matthew 2:1-12

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202%3A1-12&version=NIV;GNT

  

Over the years, I have many good memories about Christmas gifts, but there are three in particular that stand out.

 

The biggest gift that I ever got was from my wife. Apparently, I had pestered her so

much that year that she surprised me with a Ford F150. She presented the gift by driving the keys up to me in a battery operated toy F150. It was a huge surprise to say the least.

 

One of the most fun gifts that I ever gave to my wife was a little black kitten. He was the last in the litter and kind of ugly. It was about a week before Christmas, so I hid him in my office. He would hide under my desk when I came in and arch his back and hiss when I tried to pet him. Since

he was a Christmas kitty, my wife named him Nicholas.

 

The wise men, or Magi, were following a star that they believed would lead them to find the King of the Jews; the Messiah. Along the way they stopped in Jerusalem to get directions. With the news of the foreigners, King Herod was paranoid beyond belief and plotted to kill the baby.

 

With the unwitting help of the Jewish religious leaders, Herod told the Magi where to find the Messiah. Eventually the Magi found the child Jesus. They had traveled far in order to give him their gifts from the heart.

 

I mentioned three gifts in my opening paragraph. The smallest, and likely least expensive, was from daughter. When she was in kindergarten, the teacher provided small Christmas gifts that the children could buy for their parents. That year, my daughter gave me a key chain that said, “I ‘heart’ My

Daddy”. Over thirty years later, it’s the key chain that I still use – a gift from the heart.

 

Christmas is a time to give gifts. The Magi gave gifts to worship the King of the Jews, the Messiah. In the tradition of the original Christmas, we continue to exchange gifts that touch our hearts and give us a lifetime of memories.

 

Our Father in Heaven has given the greatest gift of all, His only son. If you accept His gift, it will not only touch your heart, but change your life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We Three Kings" by Pentatonix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obHJVGVCKGw

 

 

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A Christmas Tradition is Born

(This is the 2^nd of a 4 part series on “Memories of Christmas”.)

Luke 2:1-7

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202%3A1-7&version=NIV;NLT

 

Christmas traditions are generally carried over from generation to generation; but some just happen.

 

About ten years ago we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. Afterwards, we thought it would be fun to drive around and look at some lights. Eventually we started getting hungry.

 

Have you ever tried to find a restaurant open on Christmas Eve, e.g. The Christmas Story? The only one we found was Lee Garden – a Chinese restaurant. The food was great. However, Chinese karaoke on Christmas Eve was a little strange. But that night a new Christmas tradition was born for our family.

 

There are a multitude of Christmas traditions that families observe. Some are fantasy, like Santa Claus. While others are based in fact, like the Nativity scene. Even then, the Nativity scene of today is a stark contrast to the reality.

 

It must have been a crazy time in the young lives of Mary and Joseph. An angel had visited Mary and told her that she would become pregnant through the Holy Spirit. If that wasn’t hard enough to believe, he also informed her that her son would reign over Jacob’s descendants (Israel) forever; that his kingdom would never end.

 

How could she explain this to Joseph since she was a virgin; to her parents who had raised her to be a righteous Jew; to people in the village who might even choose to stone her for her apparent sin? But her relative Elizabeth understood.

When Mary went to visit her, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb.

 

And now, when she was almost due, she and Joseph had to make a three day trip to Bethlehem for a census. Of course, when they arrived the city was bursting at the seams. As a result, there was no room in the inn, so Mary gave birth to the baby in a stable where he was laid in a feeding trough.

 

My family will never forget about that first visit to the Lee Garden Restaurant and how our Christmas tradition was born. In the same way, we will never forget that our celebration of Christmas was born in Bethlehem with the gift of God’s only son as an expression of His pure, unconditional love for us.

 

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.           1 John 4:9-10 NLT

 

 

if you click on this link, you can listen to a beautiful song about God's love seen through the gift of his only son. It is called “How Many Kings”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYe9sWYKdo

  

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Christmas Lights

(This is the 1^st of a 4 part series on “Memories of Christmas”.)

John 1:1-13

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201%3A1-13&version=NIV;TLB

One of the things my wife and I enjoy during the Christmas season is to drive around and look at all the lights. We love driving through a random neighborhood to see how we might be surprised by some outstanding light display.

 

Over the years there have been some “professionally” done displays that have really stood out for us. One that we enjoyed was the Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights in Wheeling, WV. Another was the St. Nicholas Light Display sponsored by Domino’s Pizza in Ann Arbor, MI.

 

But locally, none compare to State Auto’s Christmas Corner located in downtown Columbus since 1932. Featuring a life-sized Nativity scene, it is recognized around the world for its beauty and attention to artistic and historic detail. Fridays and Saturdays include three choir performances and hot chocolate. Life doesn’t get any better than that.

 

Christmas lights are a timed tested tradition to enjoy and create wonderful memories, but they have a much more significant meaning than a family activity and entertainment.

 

^1-2 Before anything else existed there was Christ, with God. He has always been

alive and is himself God. ³ He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. ⁴ Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. ⁵ His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.           TLB

 

Not only is Jesus the Light of the World, but as believers and followers of Christ, we carry his light within us. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples during the Sermon on the Mount.

 

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your

light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.      Matthew 5 NIV

 Because of this, it is our privilege to share that light, not only at Christmas time but throughout the year. So go ahead and make some memories while looking at Christmas lights. Then share the Light of Jesus who is the True Christmas Light.

  

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One Thing Only

Psalm 27

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2027&version=NIV;NLT

  

Last weekend all eyes were on the world of college football in Columbus, Ohio. Saturday night the Buckeyes made their case for getting into the College Football Playoff by defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Championship game.

 

The waiting began for the Buckeye nation shortly after midnight when the game was over. Through the night the committee of thirteen people diligently hashed out what schools would be in the 4-team playoff… and who would not.

 

Finally, at noon on Sunday, the 4-hour announcement program began. Four 4 more hours! Unbelievable! But about an hour into the show, after tolerating the talking heads as they blabbed on about nothing, it was finally announced.

 

The wait had been excruciating… as all waiting is. We don’t like to wait do we? We

want what we want, when we want it. We don’t like the thought of waiting for someone else to have control over some part of our life.

 

According to my NIV study Bible, “David knew from experience what it meant to wait for the Lord. He had been anointed king at age 16, but didn’t become king until age 30. During the interim, he was chased through the wilderness by King Saul. Later, he was chased by his son Absalom.” Yet David waited patiently for the Lord.

 

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.          NLT

 

What gave David such confidence and contentment during these difficult times? For David, there was one thing only. For him, waiting patiently was directly proportionate to seeking the Lord and being in His presence.

 

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple… ⁶ Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me…           NIV

 

Ultimately, the Buckeyes couldn’t count on the committee. But you can always count on the Lord! He may not always give us what we want, when we want it. But He is always with you. He loves you deeply and unconditionally. He is always faithful to His word. And you can take that to the playoffs every time.

 

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The Big Picture

Ephesians 3

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+3&version=NIV;ESV

 

You may be familiar with the “parable of the talents” in Matthew 25. A land owner gives one of his servants five talents; to another 2; and to another 1 talent. Each servant was a steward over the talent(s) they were given.



However, you may not be as familiar with the concept of being a steward of God’s grace. Paul was. He wrote about it in Ephesians 3.

² …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³ how the mystery was made known to me… ⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ESV

 

Paul is taking a Big Picture look at his life and his ministry. He didn’t focus on his past, feeling guilty about how he aggressively persecuted the church to the extreme of imprisonment and even death. And he didn’t focus on his current circumstances while writing this letter in prison potentially feeling powerless or sorry for himself.

 

Instead, Paul focused on the calling he had from God to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. Paul was a steward of all that God had given him which included his calling.

 

In the same way, God has given each of us, you and I, a calling on our life. It is up to us

to look at the Big Picture, not the past or the present, and to be good stewards of His Grace.

 

In looking at the Big Picture of your life, ask yourself, what are the “talents” that God has given you to be a steward over? How can you use those “talents” to spread the Gospel of Christ? To build the Kingdom of God? What desires has He given you to touch the lives of others?

 

Paul concludes his look at the Big Picture in Ephesians with a powerful prayer for the Gentile believers. His prayer is just as powerful for you and me today.

 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power,

together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and  deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.   NIV

 

 

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Expect The Unexpected

Sometimes I don’t recognize how God is at work providing for my needs.

 

In 2012 I had surgery on my ankle. Shortly afterwards, before my first physical therapy session, my therapist observed that my ankle was quite swollen. He immediately sent me to the hospital where they discovered that I had a blood clot. As you probably realize, blood clots, if not detected, can be fatal.

 

Recently I shared this story with a friend. His response was, “Wow! God really provided for you”. It’s more than a little embarrassing for me to admit that after more than five years, it had never occurred to me that God had provided this physical therapist who very well may have saved my life.

 

All the creatures look expectantly to you
    to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
    you open your hand and they eat from it.     MSG

 

We live in a society based on modern technology and information; not an agrarian society based on farming. Psalm 104 was written by someone living in an agrarian society whose livelihood depended on the weather, on the soil and little seeds. Today, most of us buy our food at Whole Foods or some other mega grocery store.

 

But if you expand your understanding of the verses above to not just mean the food you eat, but to include all of the needs that you have, then you begin to understand how expansive God’s provision actually is. It even includes a physical therapist’ insightful observation.

 

Scripture tells us, ^“Every good and perfect gift is from above”. Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." He also referred to himself as “The Bread of Life”. God’s ultimate provision is that Jesus was sacrificed in our place.

 

There is much to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving. But there are so many small, unexpected ways that God provides for us every day. Things we are never even aware of. The lesson for me is to expect the unexpected. Expect that God will show up.

 

Therefore, let us pray using the words of the Psalmist,

 

 

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Lilies of the Field

Matthew 6:25-34

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206%3A25-34&version=NIV;NLT

  

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was speaking to the masses. If you can imagine that during his sermon, he looks around at the crowd. He sees people from all walks of life.
Some are farmers; some are religious leaders; some are common laborers; some are sinners like tax collectors; some are beggars; and some are business men. All are struggling to survive.

 

And what does Jesus tell them?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.          NLT

 

If we look at our own life, we’re not all that different from the people in the crowd to whom Jesus was speaking. We are trying to survive; to get ahead in the world; to provide for our family; to live a comfortable lifestyle. We desperately try to control our world to accomplish our goals.

 

Jesus isn’t speaking some pleasant sounding platitude like, “Don’t worry, be happy”. What he’s telling the people, and us, is that God is in control. He knows our needs. He loves us. He is always with us. He is always at work in our lives. So trust Him to provide for you, to meet your needs. Just how is this accomplished?

 

In 1963 there was a movie titled “Lilies of the Field” starring Sidney Poitier. The title
comes from today’s passage. It was about an itinerant handyman who stumbled upon some German nuns who were barely surviving in the Arizona desert.

 

They had faith in God that He would provide a church building for them. To Sidney Poitier’s chagrin, HE was the answer to their prayers. It’s a humorous, but touching story about how God provides.

 

³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.         NLT

 

That’s what the nuns were doing; that’s what we are to do. It’s not a formula. It’s how you live. Seek God. Then look to see how God is providing for you; how God is at work in your life. And like the lilies of the field, God will provide for you.




 
 

 

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To the Unknown God Within You

Exodus 20:2-4

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A2-4&version=NIV;NASB

 

 

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Acts 17:22-23 NASB

 

Talk about hedging your bets. Just in case they didn’t have all the bases covered, the men of Athens had a place to worship the Unknown God. No doubt, that made them feel safer; more secure. And feeling secure is a big deal.

 

In America, normally you don’t find an idol or an object of worship set up in the house. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have them; they’re just more subtle.

 

The best way to self-evaluate is to take a look at your time, talent and treasure. Then ask yourself, how do you use them? Look at your calendar or checkbook or online banking account. How are you spending your time and your money? How do you use your talents?

 

John D. Rockefeller, was at one point the world’s richest man and first ever American billionaire.  Considering he was a billionaire in the early 1900’s he is still considered as the richest person in modern history.  When a reporter asked him, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.”

 

Whether it’s about money or something else, don’t we all feel that way at one time or another? But we are created for something more; something better; something bigger. Here is what Paul wrote to follow up his words about the Unknown God.

 

This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. ²⁴ “He is the God who made the world and everything in it... ²⁷ “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.  Acts 17:23-27 NLT

 

What is it that you want “just a little bit more” of? God wants the best there is for you. Should you settle for less?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Here's another thought on the same passage.)

 

The Promised Land

Exodus 20:2-4

 

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.          NASB

 

The land of Egypt was not only a house of slavery! It was a den of darkness; of depression; of desperation. It was a land of hopelessness and powerlessness. It was a land of futility without a future, where it was a struggle to see God at work.

 

You may have experienced a time in your own life when you felt like you were in the “land of Egypt”. I know I have. In college, my girlfriend unceremoniously dumped me for another guy. As a young married, our first born was still born. And later in life, as a middle aged man, I struggled with the depression.

 

God brought me through each of these times through the support and faith of people who became significant in my life. They were people who believed in me; saw something more going on than the circumstances around me; encouraged me to look to God, to His word, to His love and to His presence in my life.

 

³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. NASB

 

God spoke these words to the nation of Israel after delivering them from the “house of slavery” of Egypt. He spoke these words as He prepared to take them from slavery into the Promised Land. And what are the first words out of His mouth? “You shall have no other gods before Me” or “make an idol”. And what is the first thing Israel does? They make the golden calf.

 

Think about that for a second. The Lord had already miraculously delivered them from Egypt. He was promising to take them to a “land of milk and honey”. Yet Israel turns to other gods. Are we any different? I think not.

 

The Lord spoke the words above to Israel, but also to us. Therefore, it is critical for us to

be vigilant; to be alert; to ask ourselves the tough questions. Are we slipping? Are we looking to other people, things or ourselves to find the Promised Land?

 

Listen closely for the answers; change what needs changing; and find the Lord your God.

 

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The Choice is Yours

Acts 13:44-52

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2013%3A44-52&version=NIV;NLT

 

 

Last week, when all the buzz was about the upcoming Ohio State/Penn State football game, the host of a local sports radio talk show told how he and his wife had recently

celebrated their daughter’s first birthday. Of course, even at the age of one, she is a HUGE Buckeye fan!

 

 

The brother-in-law, who IS a huge University of Michigan fan, gave his niece a stuffed U of M teddy bear and U of M pajamas. The mom was incensed, and told her brother that he wasted his money; that no daughter of hers would ever use anything with U of M on it.

 

The question was posed: Was it more important to be polite, or to ream out her brother? All the callers agreed… she did the right thing. But here’s the question that came to my mind: What is most important - family or football; relationships or rivalry?

 

In the Acts 13 passage, the phrase “the word of the Lord”, is repeated multiple times

implying the importance of it.

 

The word of the Lord gave Paul strength and focus in his life and ministry. It helped him to weather the hard times and move forward with purpose and power. It enabled him to be used by God impacting the lives of both Jews and Gentiles. Without the word of the Lord, Paul would have continued down his path of persecution, rather the road of redemption. Paul was a force to be reckoned with because of the word of the Lord.

 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.            John 1:14 NIV

 

Here’s how The Message interprets the first line of this verse: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” That picture brings it home and makes it very personal. The point is that the word of the Lord can’t be ignored.

 

So, regardless of whether you are a Buckeye fan or not, you must ask yourself the question - what is most important to me; the word of the Lord, or something else?

 

The choice is yours, but keep in mind that your answer will be life-changing.

 

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