The Christmas Story…

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“Let the stable still astonish;

Straw, dirt floor, dull eye;

Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;

Crumbling, crooked walls;

No bed to carry that pain;

And then, the child;

Rag-wrapped, laid to cry;

In a trough,

Who would have chosen this?

Who would have said:

“Yes,

Let the God of all the Heavens and Earth

Be born here in this place?”

Who but the same God

Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms

of our hearts

and says,

‘Yes.’

Let the God of Heaven and Earth be

Born Here…”

~Jan Karon

The Christmas story makes no sense to human beings.

Here is not just

A god,

but THE GOD

Who Created The Universe,

Choosing to be born in a barn.

Yet the filthy,

foul smelling,

contaminated room

He chose to be birthed in

Compares not

To the depraved,

nefarious rooms

In our hearts

That He wishes to occupy.

He wishes to dwell in our hearts,

So that we may also

Experience a birth as well.

A New birth of our heart.

Who IS this GOD who does this?

Who IS this God that chooses us?

He is TOO GREAT to comprehend,

work out,

grasp,

fathom…

Who is THIS GOD

And What is His Name?

Wonderful.

Counselor.

Ever-Lasting God.

Prince of Peace.

I AM.

Jesus.

His Name is Jesus…

 

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Hope

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Hurry, hurry, step right up
See the sideshow in town for only fifty cents

Step right up, hurry, hurry before the show begins, my friends

Stand in line, get your tickets, I hope you will attend
It’ll only cost you fifty cents to see
What life has done to those like you and me

See the man with the broken heart, you’ll see that he is sad,
He hurts so bad (so bad, so bad)

See the girl who has lost the only love she ever had
There’s got to be no sadder show to see
No doubt about it, satisfaction’s guaranteed

So let the sideshow begin
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry

Let the sideshow begin (hurry, hurry)
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry

See the man who’s been cryin’ for a million years,
So many tears (so many tears)

See the girl who’s collected broken hearts for souvenirs

It’s more exciting than a one man band
The saddest little show in all the land

So let the sideshow begin
Hurry, hurry, step right on in
Can’t afford to pass it by
Guaranteed to make you cry…

~Sideshow

by Blue Magic

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,”  ~Jesus

~Luke 4:18

The most rejected man on earth was Jesus..

The most mocked and laughed at person

That ever existed,

Was Jesus.

He came to earth knowing

What He was in for…

Knowing precisely

What He would go thru…

And He did it.

He Joyfully did it.

He went thru the rejection

For you.

He went thru the rejection

For me.

And He did it

HAPPILY!

“…He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross

Because of the joy he knew would be his afterwards;

And now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God.”

~Hebrews 12:2

“Greater love has no man

Than He lay down his life for his friends.”

~John 15:13 

He knew before the beginning of time

That we would need

A Saviour.

A Rescuer.

A Redeemer

From all of our

Mistakes,

Hurts,

And Wounds

That were inflicted on us

From ourselves,

And from others…

So He slipped out of Heaven

Where there was No Pain,

And entered a world

Where pain surrounded Him

And engulfed Him.

He GLADLY exchanged His Paradise

And grasped the demented world

So that if we would so choose,

We could have a Home with Him

In Heaven.

In Paradise.

So let the sideshow begin,

Hurry hurry,

Step right on in….

(God Loves You)

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God’s Calling…

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Are you tired?

Worn out?

Burned out on religion?

Come to me.

Get away with me

And you’ll recover your life.

I’ll show you how to take a real rest.

Walk with me,

And work with me,

Watch how I do it.

~Matthew 11 The Message Bible

So let God work His will in you.

Yell a loud No to the devil

And watch him scamper.

Say a quiet Yes to God

And He’ll be there in no time.

Quit dabbling in sin.

Purify your inner life.

Quit playing the field.

Hit bottom

And cry your eyes out.

The fun and games are over.

Get serious,

Really serious.

Get down on your knees before the Master,

It’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

~James 4 The Message Bible

Casting all your cares,

All your anxieties,

All your worries,

And all your concerns,

All on Him.

For He cares about you

With deepest affection.

And watches over you very carefully.

~1 Peter 5 The Message Bible

Trust God from the bottom of your heart,

Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do,

Everywhere you go.

He’s the One who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

~Proverbs 3 Amplified Bible

 God told them,

“I’ve never quit loving you

And never will.

Expect love,

Love,

And more love!

And so now,

I’ll start over with you,

And build you up again…

 You’ll resume your singing,

Grabbing tambourines

And joining the dance.

~Jeremiah 31:3 The Message Bible

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The Piano Man…

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It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There’s an old man sitting next to me
Making love to his tonic and gin

He says, “Son can you play me a memory
I’m not really sure how it goes
But it’s sad and it’s sweet
And I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

Sing us a song you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feeling alright

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he’s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there’s someplace that he’d rather be

He says, “Bill, I believe this is killing me.”
As a smile ran away from his face
“Well, I’m sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place.”

Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he’s talking with Davy, who’s still in the Navy
And probably will be for life

And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes they’re sharing a drink they call “Loneliness”
But it’s better than drinking alone

Sing us a song you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feeling alright

It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
‘Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see
To forget about life for a while

And the piano it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, “Man, what are you doing here?”

Sing us a song you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feeling alright

~Piano Man by Billy Joel 

I love the honesty in the lyrics of Piano Man by Billy Joel.

As the Piano Man plays his songs

the average Joe opens up and starts sharing.

The stories are full of regret,

heartbreak

and loneliness.

The average Joe is you,

The average Joe is me,

The average Joe is my next door neighbor.

The grocery store is full of average Joes

and so is the cemetary.

The Piano Man is also an average Joe,

and he can relate to the stories

and life experiences

that are quietly told.

As the regular crowd shuffles in,

they give the Piano Man

a nod and a smile,

for they know him

and feel safe telling him their story.

I want to be a Piano Man to my neighbors,

and to anyone I run across.

But I can only be a Piano Man

if I am at first a friend.

So I pray and ask God to send me

the lonely,

the broken-hearted,

the ones that simply  need

a listening ear

and the touch of God

upon their hearts…

“Sing us a song you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we’re all in the mood for a melody (Touch of God)
And you’ve got us feeling alright…”

“Here am I God, send me”

~Isaiah 6:8

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God-Of-Angel-Armies

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God has many names.

Many  names.

He is Jehovah Nissi,

My Victory.

Jehovah Rapha,

My Healer.

Jehovah Shalom,

My Peace.

Jesus called Him Father.

But lately,

We have needed

The God-of-Angel-Armies.

So that is the Name I cry out to.

We’ve needed a

Warrior God,

A Rush-To-Our-Defense-God,

 An I-Will-FIGHT-For-You-God.

And that is the name I call upon.

Whenever I cry out,

‘Oh God-Of-Angel-Armies come to our rescue!’

He Does.

I INSTANTLY feel His Presence.

Instantly.

We’ve felt such a need for a Redeemer,

For an All-Conquering,

All-Powerful,

Fearsome Warrior,

So I cry out and He is near…

I feel Him by my side…

Yes, the Holy Spirit dwells within me

and comforts me,

But He is also the one that quickens me

with the Name of God that we need for the moment.

And recently He has told me

God-Of-Angel-Armies…

Think of that name.

Lord-of-Hosts,

God-Of-Angel-Armies….

Angel ARMIES…

Mighty to Save…

All-Powerful!

CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH!!!

Who is like Him?

NO ONE!!! 

Not one single person or thing.

He is Great,

And Greatly To Be Praised.

That is the God I’ve been talking with lately.

That is the God I’ve been walking with lately.

That is the God Who has been showing me

situations, people and things around me

to pray about and to pray for.

He is the same God my mother used to pray to

and her mother used to pray to

and her mother’s mother,

and on and on.

With that legacy behind me

how can I not call out to

The Name Above All Names,

Who comes to our rescue?

God-Of-Angel Armies

is right by my side.

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Far be it from me to not believe…

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Far be it from me to not believe,

Even when my eyes can’t see;

And this mountain that’s in front of me,

Will be cast into the midst of the sea.

~So let go my soul, and Trust in Him,

The waves and wind still know His Name…

~It Is Well by Bethel Music

 

This past week I put out my nativity set

And it was as if I was looking at it for the first time.

The words to the above song were playing

And my eyes drifted to Baby Jesus inside the nativity scene.

As I was looking at the figurine of the Baby Jesus the song played,

“Far be it from me to not believe,

even though my eyes can’t see…

So let go my soul and Trust in Him,

the waves and wind still know His Name…”

Why?, I wondered,

Was it so hard for me to believe at times.

Why?  I pondered,

Did doubt and discouragement hang over me like a dark cloud at times?

~God showed me why.

It is because my foundation was mixed.

My foundation was shaky.

My trust was in half me and half Him.

I trusted that He made the stars and the universe and me.

I trusted my life and my next heartbeat to Him.

But He still needed my help for everything else.

He needed me to be good enough,

He needed me to act right,

He needed me to shape up.

~In other words I was not trusting in Him Alone to save me

I was trusting in His Work on the cross + My works in doing good = God accepting me.

No wonder depression would creep in.

Inside myself I knew I wasn’t good enough to keep me from falling.

I was trying to balance on a man made balance beam and I kept falling.

I could never laugh and dance and jump on my balance beam foundation

Cause I just might fall and crash and burn.

No.

I had to be sober minded at all times,

never relax,

never let down my guard,

for if I did I was a goner.

What kind of representative of Christ was I being

If I am walking around nervous and half smiling,

Fearful of trying to measure up so God will be happy with me?

I have FINALLY come to the conclusion

That no matter what I do or do not do,

my salvation is secure. 

It is NOT about me.

Bottom Line.

~”So let go my soul and Trust in Him,

the waves and wind still know His Name.”

~Today I’m gonna laugh

and dance

and Believe

that It Is Well with my soul.

Not because of anything I’ve done,

but TOTALLY because of what He Has Done.

(Smile)

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God of Gentleness…

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Then he went on alone into the wilderness,

traveling all day.

He sat down under a solitary broom tree

and prayed that he might die.

“I have had enough, Lord,” he said.

“Take my life,

for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”

Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.

But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him,

“Get up and eat!” 

 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones

and a jar of water!

So he ate and drank

and lay down again.

Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said,

“Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”

 So he got up and ate and drank,

and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights

to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.

 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.

But the Lord said to him,

“What are you doing here, Elijah?”

 “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him.

And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by,

and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain.

It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose,

but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake,

but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 

 And after the earthquake there was a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire.

And after the fire there was the sound of

a gentle whisper.

  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak

and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19

Why in the world would God,

who created the earth,

and the fire,

and the wind

represent Himself with a Whisper?

Because he saw Elijah’s depression

and wanted to treat him gently,

with kindness…

In Isaiah 53:3 scripture says that,

Jesus was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering,

and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised,

and we held him in low esteem.

Next time you are feeling down and in despair,

and life feels so overwhelming

that you simply want to die…

Talk to the One who

Understands all your pains and your sufferings,

and He will listen….

He Will Listen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Priceless…

‘Try to stop Your Love, and You would wage a war

Try to take the very thing, You gave Your life for,

And You would come running, tear down every wall,

All the while shouting,

“My love you’re worth it all!”

No sin, no shame, no past, no pain

Can separate me from Your love,

No height, no depth, no fear, no death

Can separate me from Your love’

~Unstoppable Love

Kim Walker Smith

 Do you remember the scene in the ‘Last of the Mohicans’

Where Hawkeye is running to get Cora

And the drums are beating frantically in the background,

As he runs to rescue his love?

That is how God is towards you.

Do you know God Loves you?

Do you know God Enjoys you?

That God Listens to you?

And Hears you?

God Himself Sings over you?

Did you know that God Thinks about you all the time?

(All the time…)

‘His thoughts about you are more numerous than the sand on the seashore….’

(Psalm 139:18)

But No.

You probably didn’t know that.

And if you heard it before,

You just thought it was a kindly lie,

A pat on the back to make you feel better.

You’ve probably been told that even though you are a Christian,

God still holds your sins against you.

That He is counting up your wrong doings

One-by-one

As He holds His great Calculator-In-The-Sky,

That is adding up all your transgressions…

All your mistakes…

Listen. 

Let me tell you the Truth.

There is No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

God will Never speak condemnation to you.

He will only speak His Promises.

He doesn’t call you out.

He calls you up.

He calls you up to His Amazing Plans for you,

And He laughs while He is calling.

He laughs because His Great Plans for you

Are wrapped inside His Great Love for you….

His Great Love for you.

You.

You are Absolutely Priceless,

And how do I know?

Because the Price Jesus paid for you,

Is Greater than the universe itself..

“Try to stop Your Love,

and You would wage a war,

Try to take the very thing,

You gave Your life for,

And You would come running,

tear down every wall,

All the while shouting,

“My love you’re worth it all!”

 

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Pretending…

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance:

But by sorrow of the heart

The spirit is broken.

~Proverbs 15:13

Have you ever seen someone pretend?

 Some people are good at pretending and some people aren’t.

 I’ve never been good at pretending.

Thats why I could never play poker…

 My face gives it away each time.

When I was a child I could pretend.

 As a child I lived in fantasy land and that was OK.

But, I guess my question is,

‘Have you ever seen a grown-up pretend?’

 Have you ever seen someone try to Fake it until you Make it?

 (I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one work…)

The Proverbs up above says,

‘A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance…

But by sorrow of the heart,

The spirit is broken…’

 Here’s two more questions:

What brings sorrow to the heart?

 Why is the heart sorrowful?

Have you ever had someone demand you dance when you didn’t want to?

‘Dance Damnit!

 Perform!

Do It!’

Do you remember the scene from Back to the Future III

Where the bad guy with the gun demands Marty McFly ‘dance!’

And he starts shooting at him so Marty dances…

Marty dances.

His face was full of fear,

But his feet were moving.

 If you want to see if someone is Truly Happy,

Look into their eyes.

The eyes are the window of the soul.

 A face can be smiling,

But the eyes never lie.

The eyes reflect the heart,

The heart reflects the soul,

And the soul yearns...

The soul yearns.

Here’s another question:

‘Have you ever seen someone whose eyes were so full of light

That you felt like a moth drawn to a flame

And you wanted to draw closer to them?’

That person is rare.

Extremely rare.

Maybe Once-Upon-A-Time you could find someone like that,

Back in the days when people had a heart to seek after God,

And weren’t distracted,

By flashing brilliant lights that make false promises,

Fake fulfillments…

Luring Lies.

But nowadays everyone walks around with a sad smile,

A question mark inside their eyes,

 A question mark inside their heart,

A question mark inside their soul...

Their face is laughing,

While their soul is crying…

They slip on the smiling mask,

While their eyes reflect,

The Sorrow of Their Heart.  

The Eyes can only reflect what is in the heart,

And the heart can only reflect what is in the soul,

And the longing of the soul can only be filled

With the Love of God,

And until that day comes…

People will wear The Mask

Pretending to be Ok…

Pretending to dance.

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Freedom

Someone I know was constantly suffering from headaches.

I would pray for the headaches to go but still the headache remained.

 One day, as I was talking with them, they began rubbing their head again and I asked them if they had another headache,

They said yes.

 Wanting to know why they kept getting headaches, I quietly prayed,

And God revealed the reason.

 My dear friend was getting headaches because they were battling within themselves.  This particular headache was the war within their mind.

 It wasn’t a war of good vs. evil,

It was a war of freedom vs. prison.

 Listen.

 ~When you give your heart to Christ, there instantly becomes a Great Transfer.

 There is a penalty to be paid for disobedience

And Christ willing took the penalty of our disobedience and sin on the cross and exchanged our scandalous crimes for His Beautiful Purity.~

 Ok.

That’s fact,

But do we reaaaally believe it?

 Do we?

 No.

We don’t.

Most of us don’t believe it.

 Most of us know deep within our hearts that we are sinners.

 Most of us know that our sin is ugly and putrid and stinks.

 And most of us walk around with a ball and chain of shame attached to our ankles.

 We know we need Christ,

And we say we accept His forgiveness,

But do we?

Do we really?

 Listen.

 Doubt of God was first introduced back in the Garden of Eden,

When the serpent whispered to Eve,

“Did God Really say that…?”

 We continue the lie by whispering in our hearts,

“Did Jesus Really forgive all my sins…?”

Allllll of them?

 ~This is the battle my friend was battling in their mind.

 They truly loved the Lord,

Yet accepting that God truly loved them,

Sins and all,

Was the war that waged within their head.

 Oh the battle inside their head,

 Oh the headaches that followed…

But truthfully, are we any different from my dear friend?

 Honestly, in all of our finite minds it truly doesn’t make sense.

” Surely,”

(We whisper within our minds and hearts,)

“We must do something to atone for the sin we committed an hour ago.

 Certainly, the forgiveness of Christ couldn’t have covered that one.…”

 “No”,

(We say to ourselves,)

“This one is too big,

This one stretched God’s Grace too far,

So, I must atone for this one myself.”

 “Stand back everyone!”

 (We think),

“I am out of the graces of God,

And now I must take the blows,

I must take the woundings,

I must take the penance for my own sin…”

Even though the prison door is swung wide open,

We refuse to believe it.

 Freedom is for people like Billy Graham,

Freedom is for the good guy….

Not for a sinner like me…

~As I shared what I felt God was showing me with my friend,

I took their hand and turned their palm upside down and opened their fingers.

 I told my friend to let go.

 Let go of trying to work your own penance,

Hands down,

Fingers outstretched.

Release the tension in your mind and head

And Truly Believe that God has paid the price.

 You do not have to war within your mind about your standing with God.

 He has you.

 He had you before you sinned,

He had you while you were sinning,

And He has you now.

 Take a deep breath

And rest in the fact that

Because of Him

You are free.

 You have Freedom.

 It is God’s Kindness that leads us to repentance.

 It is His Unimaginable Love

That loosens the cords

Of tight shame

Around our heads and hearts.

Trust Christ’s work on the cross

For your past,

For today,

And for your future.

 Sit back and relax in His Love,

His Amazing, Amazing Love

And your headache will melt away….

Freedom.

 Beautiful, Beautiful Freedom.

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