Jesus Removed from Christmas?

A number of years ago, I heard a story that went something like this. A married couple decided to go out for dinner. So they climbed into their (or better said, "his") pick up and pulled out of the driveway, he behind the wheel, she by the passenger door. After several minutes of silence, hubby looked over at his very quiet wife (which was unusual for her) and said, "OK. What's wrong?"  His wife, with tears streaming down her face launched into this gloom and doom story of how their marriage was going south ... that the closeness that was once there was gone. She then pointed out that when they were first married they would snuggle up close together as they traveled together in the pickup. When she was done, her husband looked at the steering wheel, then looked at her and said, "Well, it wasn't me who moved!"

During this advent season ... I always hear people bemoaning that Christ has been removed from Christmas. That might be so. But keep in mind that it is not Christ who has removed himself from Christmas. It is we who have done so. Therefore, let's each one of us do all we can to make sure our focus is on Jesus Christ this coming holiday season. If you are serious about doing so, I encourage you to get involved in our Essential Jesus Challenge. For more information, check our our Essential Jesus blog. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Thursday A La Carte

Here are this week's offerings . . . enjoy!

1. The Enemy loves to destroy marriages. Take a moment and read the following article on 10 Ways that Satan Loves to Watch Marriages Fall Apart.

2.  Here's a read that I found compelling, You Don't Have to Like What's Happening to You, As Long As You Rejoice! 

3. Here are five questions from Tim Keller ... questions to ask any text of the Bible that you are reading to help you to apply the text to your life.

4. Here's a great prayer from Scotty Smith on Loving others in light of the promised return of Christ.

5. On a lighter note . . . 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Finding Joy on a Terrible Day

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." This is the first sentence of a book I used to read to my kids (quite some time ago now!) and you have probably read to yours (and one I am sure to be reading soon to my grandkids!). The book is titled, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It was first published forty years ago and its sales are still going strong.Why? Because all of us can relate to Alexander’s plight. We all have those days when we wished we could crawl back into bed and restart the day. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Any day you have to call a tow truck to get your car back on the driveway would classify as one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days (check out my post from yesterday for the details).

Yet in the midst of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I was reminded of a very precious and powerful truth. No matter how much life seems to unravel around me, God is with me. He is ordering my steps. He is directing my path.  Nothing – absolutely NO-THING comes into my life that has not first passed through His hands (see Ephesians 1:11). Knowing this, I can rejoice even in the midst of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. My heavenly Father is allowing me to walk this hard path because He loves me and he wants to grow me in my faith. Therefore, I can “count it all joy” when I encounter various trials, knowing that my Abba is at work through these trials to do His work in me (James 1:2-4)! When I got a hold of that perspective yesterday – all of a sudden my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day didn’t seem so terrible, horrible, no good, very bad any more. 

Thank you, Father, for helping me to see life from your perspective. 

And thank YOU for stopping by . . . 

pj

Snow, A Slide and Two Happy Grandsons (with a lesson thrown in)!

This morning, as our weekly staff meeting was wrapping up, I got a call from my wife. She had been backing out the driveway (ours is on an incline) when the car slid and the two tires on the driver's side both slid off the macadam. Since there is an embankment on that side of the driveway, when my wife tried to pull the car back up, the rear axle of the car got hung up on the driveway's edge. This prevented the car from moving.

Once I got home and evaluated the situation, I pulled out my AAA card and called the number for roadside assistance (hmm ... I was hoping "drivewayside" qualified!). The agent I talked with was quite helpful and passed my request onto the dispatcher. Within a few minutes the dispatcher called to inform me that a tow truck would arrive within the hour (well, due to slow traffic conditions caused by the weather, the hour turned into an hour and 45 minutes). But the tow truck finally arrived ... to my relief and the the outright joy and happiness of my 26 month old and 18 month old grandsons. In fact from the moment they heard that a tow truck was coming ... they were ecstatic. Sure enough ... once the tow truck arrived, they were glued to the window watching every move (hmm .... maybe for future birthday parties I should just hire a tow truck to come for a half an hour ... better than getting a clown, I would guess!).

Now that the car is safely back in it's place (with no apparent damage done), I can look back and chuckle. But I must confess that I was not chuckling initially. In fact, I was a bit upset with my wife (even though the slide was really more the result of the slush on the driveway than anything my wife did). And as I stewed on her role in what happened, the Lord brought to my mind an incident in which I ran our mini-van into a concrete post in a Pizza Hut parking lot. That incident cost me a lot more than a few hours of my time (as this one did). This was God's way of saying to me, "John, lighten up! Everyone makes mistakes and that mistake you made was a real lulu compared to this mistake of your wife!"  I had to pause right then and there to confess my sin and move on!

I don't know about you, but I am SO VERY GLAD that the Spirit of God nudges us (or, in my case, hammers us) when we need to put off wrong thinking and put on right thinking. And today, I needed an attitude check.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

A Prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise

I hope you will have a joy filled Thanksgiving Day. To help you offer up thanks to our generous God, here is a prayer from one of my favorite devotional books, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. 

O My God,

You fairest, greatest, first of all objects,

My heart admires, adores, loves You,

For my little vessel is as full as it can be,

And I would pour out all that fullness before You in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with You

Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,

Ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,

Ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,

Crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless You for the soul You have created,

For adorning it, for sanctifying it,

Though it is fixed in barren soil;

For the body You have given me,

For preserving its strength and vigor,

For providing senses to enjoy delights,

For the ease and freedom of limbs,

For hands, eyes, ears that do Your bidding;

For Your royal bounty providing my daily support,

For a full table and overflowing cup,

For appetite, taste, sweetness,

For social joys of relatives and friends,

For ability to serve others,

For a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,

For a mind to care for my fellow-men,

For opportunities of spreading happiness around,

For loved ones in the joys of heaven,

For my own expectation of seeing You clearly.

I love You above the powers of language to express,

For what You are to Your creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

Amen. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

When Christmas Excludes Christ

Two months ago, my wife and I purchased a car. We were looking for a smaller car that would give us good gas mileage. So we went with a Nissan Versa sedan which has not disappointed. The car came with a three month free subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio. I have not used it enough to warrant keeping it once I have to pay for it. But my wife and I have enjoyed listening to, among other things, the channels dedicated to playing the hits from the '50's, 60's, and 70's. It has sparked a lot of conversations about our memories from yesteryear!

Recently I found a channel titled "Holiday Traditions." Feeling a bit in the holiday mood, I began to listen to it. Then yesterday it hit me. In the week that I have listened to it, I had not heard one (that's right ... not one!) song about Jesus Christ. The songs were mainly about Santa with a few songs about snow and shopping and general holiday cheer sprinkled in. How sad is that! The holiday on December 25th is CHRISTmas ... not SANTAmas. And this trend away from Jesus seems to increase with each passing  year.

So what does that mean for you and me? It means we have to work harder to keep our focus on Jesus Christ during the holiday season. Parents, be sure you teach your children that Christmas is first and foremost about JESUS ... and all the other cultural trappings are just extra. Believers, grab the opportunities that will surely come your way to talk about Jesus during the holidays. Why should we hold back when the holiday is named for HIM?

Let's all purpose to get intentional about focusing on Jesus this Christmas. And for those of you who call Grace Church at Willow Valley ... I would encourage you to get involved in our Essential Jesus Initiative. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Don't Count Twinkies Down for the Count Just Yet!

Yesterday it was announced that Hostess Brands (the maker of the long-time favorite Twinkies) will go into mediation with its second largest union. The mediation was agreed upon after a bankruptcy judge questioned the rationale behind the strike. Twinkie fans are hoping that the sit-down between the company and union will result in an agreement that will end the crippling strike and give new life to this "All American Favorite" (I mean, who hasn't delighted in the experience of eating a Twinkie!). Hmm. Makes me wonder if this was all a marketing ploy by the company to sell more Twinkies (which have been flying off shelves everywhere!).

Well ... whether or not Twinkies will get a second chance will make no difference to me (since I don't eat them .. at least with any regularity!). But I can say I am filled with gratitude that God gave me a second chance (which I in NO WAY deserved). The Bible has a word (and it is MY FAVORITE Bible word) for this ... it is the word "grace." In Ephesians 2:1-10, the apostle Paul talks about this grace and what it means for us who so desperately need a second chance. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I encourage you to spend a few minutes reflecting on this passage and thanking God for HIS grace and the new life (and new destiny) that it provides you. No cost to you ... but at a great cost to Him! Thank God for HIS grace!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

PS - If you would like to receive this "second chance" from God, please check out Two Ways to Live: A Choice We All Face.