Faith to Do Great Things

"All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them."
~ J. Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China

The Characters of Christmas

I've often wondered about some of the characters who played a part in the Christmas story. While the Scriptures make only passing mention, they were real people living real lives every day. How did their part in the story alter their lives ... or did it?

Think of the innkeeper there in Bethlehem. Did he ever come to realize who it was that he turned away? Did he live with regret? Surely he could have found a little bit of space somewhere. His own room perhaps? But no, there was nothing available for a young couple in crisis. The Son of God had to be born in a stable.

The shepherds are an interesting lot. They were loners who had long since lost the good reputation they had enjoyed in David's day. Yet it was to them the angels revealed Jesus' birth. What might their lives have been like after that miraculous night? Did they think about it often in the years that followed?

Then there was Joseph. We just don't know much of this man who played such a role in the life of Jesus. He was there. I imagine he was scared. I would have been. Who was this young girl giving birth? Who's baby was it ... really? He knew her story. He'd had a visit from an angel himself assuring him that it was alright. But that night, it all became so very real for him. Too real. What would the rest of his days bring as he guided God's very own Son through this life?

Each and every one of us is given insights and opportunities in this life. They are God-given opportunities to play our part in the Divine plan. It may be as big as preaching the gospel to multitudes or as small as making room for someone in need. It may be as simple as worshiping the One who's birth we celebrate. Whatever part God has ordained for you to play, I encourage you this Christmas: Don't hesitate. Dive in. Be willing to lose yourself in that thing God has called you to. There you'll find your fulfillment. You'll find your peace, and joy and strength. There you'll find all of Him waiting for you.

Just Wondering ...

I'm just sitting here wondering ...

If a synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown, too?

TAGGED!

My daughter, Sheila, tagged me via her blog to play one of her silly little reindeer games called, "Holiday Hoopla." I'm supposed to list "12 random things about myself that have to do with Christmas." So here goes:

1. I love Christmas cookies.
2. I want nothing more for Christmas than my family all gathered together loving each other and laughing out loud.
3. This is my first Christmas as a grandpa and I'm totally excited about it.
4. I love Christmas cookies.
5. Christmas decorations make me happy. I love the tree, the lights, wrapping paper, snowmen ... all of it!
6. I really love Christmas cookies.
7. It really is more blessed to give than to receive.
8. My girls used to call me "Mr. Christmas" because of all the lights and decorations I put up outside when they were little.
9. Did I mention that I really love Christmas cookies?
10. I look forward to those quiet moments with just the light from the Christmas tree ... time to ponder the wonder of it all and to reflect on God's goodness.
11. This year I'll be preaching an unusual message at the prison for Christmas from 2 Kings 11:1-3. In 2 Kings 11, wicked Athalia assumed the throne in Judah. She was not a descendent of David and she tried to kill all of David's line. But Jehosheba, King Ahaziah's sister, hid baby Joash in the Temple for six years, thus preserving the Davidic line and God's Messianic Promise. The message: God always brings His plan to pass.
12. I really love all kinds of Christmas cookies and could live on them from December 1st through Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to all!

Playing 'D'

My friend Aaron and his wife had their third baby recently; their third baby boy. I asked Aaron this weekend how they were adjusting to having three little ones. He answered, "It's been like changing defenses in basketball. We've gone from being able to play man-to-man to having to play zone defense. And now there's always someone open."

I've been laughing about that all weekend.

Can't Wait 'Til Christmas!

The Busiest Week of the Year

It's Wednesday of the busiest week of the year for the ministry at Charlotte Correctional Center. Special programs are scheduled for tonight and tomorrow night. Preparation is ongoing for one our biggest events annually, the Angel Tree Christmas Party to be held Saturday during the inmates' weekly visitation with their families. This will be the eleventh year we've held this event. We will feed nearly four hundred people and provide Christmas gifts for about one hundred twenty children. For many of them, this will be the only Christmas they get as their families struggle during their daddy's incarceration.
All of this means I am running in every direction at once, wearing many hats, and trying to keep it all organized and headed in the same direction. But I really don't mind. Not if we accomplish our purpose this week. Actually, it's a two-fold purpose:

• We want to lift up Jesus for all to see. He really is the reason we do all that we do here. This week is about pointing the inmates and their families to the Savior, plain and simple. No game-playing or pretense. It's all about Him.
• We want daddies to begin to think and act like daddies. Take responsibility. Realize that their children desperately need them to be clean and sober and at home to provide for them and to love them instead of being locked-up.

If a plate of food and a few gifts can help to accomplish that, well then all of the running around, and buying, and organizing, and just plain hard work will be worth it, won't it?

If you think of it, pray for us this week.

A Brutally Honest God

Typically when we read the Christmas story through Matthew's eyes, we begin with these words:
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: ..."

But that's verse 18 in Matthew 1. There are seventeen verse that most of us tend to skip to get to the birth. They are verses filled with "so-and-so begat so-and-so" and so on and so forth. Many of the names are difficult to pronounce. It's the geneology of Christ.

In these verse you'll find the names of some of the real stalwards of the Scriptures. Men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Boaz, and Jesse. But there are other names, too. Names that most wouldn't want associated with their own. Here are a few:

• "Judah begat Perez and Zerah by Tamar" - Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law. You see, old Judah was a pretty despicable fellow who slept with what he thought was a prostitute while on a business trip. It turned out to be his daughter-in-law who had conspired to deceive him because he had lied to her.
• "Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab" - You remember Rahab, don't you? She wasn't even an Israelite; she was a descendent of the people of Canaan. And she was a prostitute.
• "David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urriah" - Ouch! The biggest mistake in David's life. A scandalous affair in the king's house. Adultery. Murder. And here it is, a glaring reminder of David's treachery.

What's my point? Simply this: The story of Jesus Christ is our story. The family tree is filled with less than reputable folks who'd lived life in the fast lane. Not the kind you'd expect to find at a church social. Yet God included them in the story of His Son. They weren't banished to the obscurity of the Old Testament with the hope that they'd be overlooked or forgotten. They're there in the Savior's story for all to see.

And they look like us.

A Great Savior

"Is it any wonder that to this day this Galilean is too much for our small hearts."
~ H.G. Wells, Outline of History

The Christmas Tree

Yesterday Sharon and I bought our Christmas tree.

Going to get the tree as a family used to be an annual production worthy of Oscar consideration. We'd bundle up the girls and head out to find the perfect Frazier Fur to adorn our season of celebration. Of course, with five people there were typically five differing opinions. I like a big tree. I mean B-I-G! Sharon usually went for the Charlie Brown variety. You remember? The spindly little tree that no one else wanted. Then there were the three girls all intent on finding the ideal centerpiece for our Christmas. And all having different ideas of just what we should look for in our tree.
For a number of years we went to cut our own tree. That meant trying to keep everyone together and focused as we trudged over acres and acres of trees of a variety of shapes and sizes. Once the perfect tree was located there was always the obligatory picture of the family standing around it as I prepared to cut it down. We'd smooth over any hurt feeling ("Why didn't we get that tree? Why does she always get to choose?") with hot chocolate while I tied our prize to the top of the car for the trip home. It was at least a half-day affair filled with a mix of enough comedy and drama to fill our whole year.

All of that is gone now. Fifteen minutes in Lowe's Garden Center and we were stuffing the tree in the back of the car.
I miss those old days.

Monumental Cluelessness

Here's a real case of "We're Clueless" for you.

All I Want Is A Cookie

As has become traditional in our celebration of Christmas, Sharon has been busy baking all sorts of delightful Christmas goodies. They're incredible ... I think. As is also traditional, her baked goods are given as gifts. For years the recipients have looked forward to receiving a plate of her sweet concoctions. This year is no exception.

But it seems it is also an annual tradition to give away cookies to friends, neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones, all while I am denied even a sampling. Not a single crumb for me. Not until Sharon deems it the appropriate time. And that's usually not until a few days before Christmas. Not until everyone else has already partaken. This is one of the few real frustrations I have to deal with at this glorious time of year.

All I want is a cookie ... or three.

Listening to Christmas Music

I've got Christmas music playing in my office and I just heard the song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" sung by the group Barenaked Ladies.

I just got a mental picture and it struck me as really wierd.

Happy Christmas

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"
~ Charles Dickens

Following in His Father's Footsteps

An inmate came to my office last night to introduce himself to me. He said, "Chaplain, my dad told me to be sure and meet you. He said you would help me while I'm here and I should get to know you." Wondering if this young man was being real or just "running game" to try to get something from me, (chaplains deal with such manipulative games daily,) I asked, "Who's your dad?"
As soon as he told me who his dad was it struck me: I should have known. He looks exactly like his dad. He's taller, but has the same facial features. Same smile. He even sounds like him. This young man's dad was an inmate here for nearly three years and was released from prison earlier this year. I know his dad well. I baptized his dad and watched the Lord transform his life.
As we chatted, I asked how his dad was doing. His response was encouraging. He said, "My dad ain't the same man anymore. He's changed so much. It's amazing." That blessed me. Then it was count time; time for him to go.

After he left to go back to the block, I sat in the quiet and thought about him, and his dad, and the insanity of the whole thing. A father's life wasted in and out of prison. A son following in his footsteps. It was a bit depressing as I thought about the futility of such lives.
Then I remembered that smile that I'd seen so often over the past few years as we studied the Scriptures and prayed and worshiped together. Surely if He's done it in the life of the father, He'll do it in the life of the son, too.
The work goes on.

The Urgency of the Advent Season

What an incredible time of year we've entered into. Advent. A time of waiting. An air of expectancy. You can sense the wonderment and excitement almost everywhere you go. I love this time of year as I look forward to celebrating this Messiah who came in a most unexpected way. I'm still amazed at the way God chose to send His Redeemer into the world to save us from our sins. A baby boy born to poor people in an obscure middle eastern village and revealed to lowly shepherds.

But I have a challenge at this time of year as well. One of the most difficult things I'm called upon to do as a prison chaplain is to somehow engage the inmate population at this time of year. Imagine being locked-up for Christmas. Away from family and loved ones. Stuck in the mundane prison routine that never changes. Not even to honor the Savior.
I feel an urgency in my soul at this time of year. I want my preaching to ignite that expectancy and excitement in someone's life. I want the message of Messiah - the One who came to save the least, the lowest, and the lost - to become more real for those I minister to than it's ever been before. Much like the people of Israel, we've stumbled around in the dark our whole lives. We've stubbed out toes and run into walls. We've made wrong turns and fallen down more times that most of us care to admit.
I think the very best thing you can give to someone stuck in darkness is Light.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
~ Isaiah 9:2

Enough Already

A news story last evening was asking Santa Claus to slim down. It seems there is concern that Santa's weight may encourage obesity. Then this morning a story asking that Santa say "HaHaHa" instead of "HoHoHo". And say it in a nicer way so as not to scare little children.

Hey people! Get a grip! Tis the season to check your political correctness at the door. Leave the Santa Man alone.