Christmas Presence

It's here! Do you sense the excitement in the air? The Lord Jesus is having a birthday and everyone is invited to celebrate. There is no need for a special invitation and you are not required to RSVP. The invitation is open to the entire world. Now that is a huge birthday celebration!

This is the most incredible event of the entire year - it is Christmas present.

Many will celebrate with strings of lights and colorful trees filled up with beautiful ornaments. Others will bring in the day with carols and sharing the wishes of Merry Christmas. The most popular way to celebrate is with gifts. Gifts large and small, handmade and store bought, baked and assembled with love, will be exchanged. 

Presents are wonderful but the very best part of Christmas is being with those you love. There is no better gift than the gift of presence; the shepherds new this timeless secret. Though they were poor they paid tribute to the Christ Child with their presence and praise. This Christmas may your heart be filled with love and may you be blessed to be in the presence of those that matter most to you.

Merry Christmas Present From The Daily Journey

Waiting on Christmas

This time of year, as we await Christmas, it gives us a chance to reflect on the meaning of Christmas and of waiting. If you are like most people you spend a lot of time waiting. There are red lights, traffic, checkout lines, appointments, and the really long wait for Christmas. Waiting is no fun at all. However, it sometimes is necessary. Waiting can be frustrating and in some cases, make you lose your patience. Waiting also can be necessary. It may be there to benefit you or to benefit someone else. Waiting may be something that is a wise thing to do in certain situations or may be purposeful even when the reason is not evident. 

I recently attended an invitation only celebration and memorial. All the guests were seated and the host began speaking to begin the program and welcome the hundred or more guests. The woman seated in from of me began talking and continued talking to a couple seated next to her. It was very distracting and I thought very rude. I waited for a few minutes wondering if I should say something to the woman to alert her to the fact that the host was speaking and she was causing distraction for those seated around her. Was I ever glad I wait to say anything and gave it some time. It turned out the woman was a translator for two of the guest that did not speak English. She was just doing her job to help them feel honored.

The next day I was driving and stopped to make a turn on a green light when I saw a man in a wheelchair beginning to cross the street with his dog running along side him. Of course I waited and it took them some time to cross the street. I could see in my rear view mirror that the woman behind me was getting frustrated. The man crossing was hidden from her view and she was likely thinking I was just not paying attention and wasting her time. She could not see that we needed to wait so the man and his dog could cross the street safely.The wait was definitely for his benefit and very necessary.

We are all waiting for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to return. Most of us wonder what is taking Him so long. We are ready and are eyes are seeking Him in the clouds. Waiting for Christmas teaches us that just like we wait to celebrate His birth so long ago in a manger, we wait for Him to return. Perhaps the waiting and the time that is passing seems long and unnecessary. In reality, it is part of God's plan so that there is time for many that might come to know Jesus to actually do that and join God's family. See, the wait may not be for you. The wait is to benefit others. Your job is to be patients and spread the gospel while you wait.

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but  is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Thanks to the Lord

Thank you! It's such a simple phrase, yet it is one that we don't say often enough. It should be something we say daily but we take so much for granted and we often forget to be grateful. Family, friends. home, pets, food, clothing, and of course, freedom are all just some of the incredible blessings we are thankful for. 

Freedom in Christ and freedom in our country are two of the most special privileges we have. There is nothing quite like freedom. In our country we enjoy freedom because of the sacrifices others made for us. In Christ we have the gift of freedom and of knowing it has already been paid for in full. There is nothing we can do to earn or lose what Jesus already so graciously did to pay the price for us. What an amazing and incredible gift we have to be thankful for. Think about that. You are free not because of anything you have done but rather because of the sacrifice and love of others and of Jesus. 

Jesus, thank you for loving us so much and giving us the gift of freedom. Thank you too for creating us with free will and allowing us the ability to serve and sacrifice for others. It is because of you that we have, and cherish, all that we are thankful for.  In you we stand in awe and raise our hands and voices in never ending praise and gratitude.

Let all that I am praise the LORD. O LORD my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty. Psalm 104:1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spending Time

Photo Credit Deb Blankenship

Most of us don't think of time as being limited. If we did, chances are it would be spent in a much different way. Think about it. Consider your week or your month or your year. Where are you spending your time? There are studies that provide insights into the average amount of time you spend sleeping, using an electronic device and even waiting. It's quite surprising to learn that Americans spend about 5 hours a day in leisure time, half of which is spent in front of the T.V. However, only 9% of Americans spend any time each day in religious or spiritual activities. 

What about you? Are you spending time being drawn into the daily drama of our culture or the peace and grace of Christ? Do you have time set aside for watching your favorite reality show but spend no time in a daily appointment with the Living God? If you find yourself being worried, anxious, stressed and overwhelmed with the world, consider altering your day and spending more time with Jesus. You will find the difference to be incredibly positive.

Jesus provided us an important example of the nature and risk of being distracted away from Him. We are blessed to have had this account shared with us by Luke.

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary,who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Hype

No matter the time or age, the enemy will try to distract from and hide the truth with hype. Hype is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, twisted words, deflections and spin to confuse. Hype is not new. It has been around since the Garden of Eden. That tricky serpent used hype to deceive Eve way back then. He knew just what to say and how to say it. The truth was twisted and so eloquently covered up and packaged into a lie that was believable. Just think about it. Eve was in the Garden of Eden with all its beauty and love but still the devil found a way to create a lie so believable he tricked even her.

Fast forward to the time of Jesus. The hype then was how Jesus, the very Son of God, would disrupt the status quo and harm the order of the world as the Jews knew it. The truth was right in front of them! God himself spoke to them and taught them and loved them but they did not see through the hype. You know the rest of the story.

Today, in the day and age of social media, the devil with his hype is having a field day. It is as though the serpent from the garden is right in front of the eyes of every human constantly. Still disguised, and with smoke and mirrors beyond measure, the enemy clouds the minds, hearts and souls of the people. 

Don't be fooled by hype and lies. Be thoughtful and still. Ask the Lord to give you eyes that see the truth and can help you to discern deception and made up spin so you will know the way to act in opposition of the enemy.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Matthew 23:27-28