Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Quiet


              O, what a glorious night, the night of the Savior’s birth!  But a silent night it likely was not.  Remember, Bethlehem was bursting at the seams with all that came for the census; hear the sound of shouting voices and shuffling feet.  On a dark hillside, a multitude of angels astounded a band of shepherds with their hallelujah chorus.  Even in the solitude of the stable, a donkey brayed, sheep were bleeting, a woman cried out in pain, a man prayed, and the cry of a baby was heard.  But there was joy and purpose resounding in this cacophony!  Heaven had come to earth, and there was no keeping quiet!

            Now consider an average evening in our homes.  We settle in for what we think will be a quiet evening after a long day at work or school, ready to just put up our feet and rest a bit, and chaos breaks out.  The phone starts ringing, TV starts blaring, the kids start arguing, the microwave beeps, the oven buzzes, and then, sirens start screaming from somewhere down the street.  All we want is to find a quiet place, maybe even a place to pray or just reflect on our day in peace.  But silence is scarce, and for some it’s even scary.  We fill our moments with mayhem, then wonder why we’re so frayed and tired. 

            Good news!  Jesus is our quiet resting place!  He is our Peace!  The clamor of our lives is unavoidable, but it does not have to wear us ragged.  In fact, a quick and quiet prayer, breathed in the middle of a storm is what Jesus waits to hear. The busy bustle of Bethlehem on the night of the Babe’s birth welcomed Him, it did not deter His coming!  It did not interfere with the angels’ song; it did not keep the shepherds from their faithful watch.  Each individual in the Christmas story entered into the fray, accompanied by the knowledge that the God of the Universe was doing something magnificent.  And certainly He was.  It may have been a strange way to do it, but He was beginning His promised work of salvation, His gift to the world He created. 

 

“Then in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth I said,

for hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men!”

 

Then peeled the bells more loud and deep; God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!

The wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men!”

 

So, when you find yourself this year wondering where the peace and quiet is, pause in wonder at the Peace that Jesus is.  When all the world would say “there is no peace”, when they search for it in all the wrong places, be His reminder that Peace is real and it can be found in Jesus.

 

May this be your Merriest Christmas ever, and 2015 your best year yet! 

           

                                                                                    From our home to yours,

                                                                                                      Roger and Angela

 

Monday, December 8, 2014

He Fills My Life With Good Things


Psalm 103:4-5,  He redeems me from death, and crowns me with love and tender mercies.   He fills my life with good things. 

I had to stop my reading and just let this sink in.  I am awed and humbled that God has chosen to show Himself so gracious towards me.  My life is so full of good things, and the good things just keep coming. 

In July, Roger and I had the privilege of having all our children and grandchildren, our parents, and most of our siblings, along with some dear friends, gather with us to celebrate thirty-five years of the life that God has given us together.  And celebrate we did! For a week as a family we ate together, played games together, hung out at the pool together and around the firepit; there were laughs, and stories, and time spent just sharing our hearts, burdens and prayer requests.  We sang together, and we worked together to see the week culminate in a beautiful ceremony of shared commitment and renewal to the future God still has in store for us.  Everyone pitched in, from the youngest with rakes and brooms, to the older ones with weed-eaters and lawn mowers, and from cleaning to cooking, to make sure everything was ready for our special day.  And when it was all over, we hugged and cried, said our goodbyes, and began looking forward to the next time we’d all be able to be together again, not knowing when that might be or what might change before that next time. 

We believe what we have as a family is something to be treasured.  But maybe like your family, we’re not perfect.  We have our moments.  We don’t always agree on everything, nor do things quite the same way.  In fact, we can be quite opinionated and passionate about a lot of different things, and the family setting has often been the place those things have been “loudly discussed”.  But that is part of what makes it so great.  We all have a desire to honor God.  We all love and respect each other.  Our love and commitment to Christ keeps our love and commitment to each other strong.  He always brings us back to what is right, and what may need to be made right with each other.  He makes what we have worth any effort it may take on each individual part to keep the whole intact. 

Two take-aways:  1) People matter, and 2) It’s not about “stuff”. 

People matter. 
Relationships matter, but they take work to be good and strong.  Relationships need mutual respect and consideration, selfless giving and honesty, humility and forgiveness.  The Scripture says that “if it be possible, as much as lies within you, live peaceably with all men,” (Romans 12:18).  This infers that in some situations with some people it’s just not going to happen.  We cannot control how others choose to handle themselves.  All we can do is determine to love like Jesus loves, forgive like Jesus forgives, and pray for those that would choose not to “live peaceably with all men”. 

In a recent conversation with someone in a rather desperate situation, I was being asked for help.  But they also explained they did not want to hear any of my “Christian hogwash, since my life had been so perfect” (and that was the decent version of their comments).   Yet, they were calling me!  And I wanted to say, “NO, MY LIFE HAS NOT BEEN PERFECT, BUT IT SURE HAS BEEN GOOD.  And you may not want to hear it, or acknowledge that God has had anything to do with the fact that my life has taken quite a different turn than yours, but at least I know that my choices to honor God and live to serve Him have kept me from the many hard times and heartbreaks that have come as a result of nothing more than selfish and sinful choices." 

Some hurts are unavoidable.  Some situations are beyond my control.  But even those times, if not intrinsically good, I can trust God to bring good from or work to my good as He promises to do (Romans 8:28, James 1:17).  So I said the only thing I could say to this person, “You know me.  You may not want to hear it, but it’s all I’ve got for you.  You need God.  You need His forgiveness.  You need to allow His love to really penetrate your heart and give you hope and a future.  He can, and He wants to, but He won’t do it against your will.  I love you, and I’m praying He will intervene and give you a chance to know His mercy and grace.”  That person is still living in a despairing and miserable situation, but only because they won’t choose to do otherwise.  And at the same time they want me to feel guilty and accuse me of thinking I am better than they are because I have a good life.  I refuse to do it!!  I will praise God for filling my life with good things. 

It’s not about “stuff.”
For some, having a life filled with good things is all about “stuff”.  They can never have enough stuff.  We have had times with very little and what would not be considered, “nice stuff”.  We’ve had times when we have been able to have nice things.  “Stuff” can make life a little easier, pleasant, less stressful maybe.  And don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for all the “stuff” God has blessed us with. But it’s not about “stuff”.   It’s about being able to go to sleep at night content with the day you’ve had, happy and at peace.  It’s about loving others and knowing you are loved.  It’s about this deep joy inside even when you are hurting, that just can’t be explained.  It’s about being able to trust in Someone greater than yourself when your inadequacies are overwhelming, when your limits are stretched, when the situation seems hopeless.  My heart is weary for those that,  with disdain, shun this type of goodness, goodness of the purest sort.  Stuff is ok; stuff is nice to have, but having lots of stuff doesn't constitute a good life. 

 “It’s a wonderful life!” “Life is good.” “Living the good life.”  You know the cliches.  However you want to say it, it’s all good and I’m grateful.  I can say that mine is a wonderful life.  I can say my life is good.  And I really hope you can say with  me, “He fills my life with good things.” 
 
God is great, God is good.