Doomsday

 

 

Somewhere in time, the week before last, the date was December 21^st, 2012.  The Mayan calendar ended on this day (shock, shudder, shrink), but the world didn’t.  Oh my goodness, what went wrong?  There were a group of people on a mountain top waiting to be rescued by aliens when the end of the world happened.  I wonder if they’re still there.

Are you old enough to remember Y2K?  This was January 1^st 2000.  This was supposed to shut down all computers because of the 00 year date.  I was working for a computer company and I still had to be at work on January 2^nd  because the computers were still working.

What about solar storms?  Particularly active storms are expected in 2013 and 2014. Will this knock out the electrical grid? Doom, gloom, agony and despair, how will we survive? 

In World War 1, many people thought it was the apocalyptic war. The world had never seen anything like it.  They were wrong of course.  Around twenty years after the end of the war, another broke out. This war was worse than the first. 

I do believe the world will end someday.  The Bible says the world will face hard times, but then God is coming to reign and rule for one thousand years.  At the end of this, God has a new heaven and a new earth.  This is not cataclysmic, this is wondrous.

When is this happening, when will Christ return, when will the world we live in change?

I don’t know.

In Luke, chapter 21 verses 10 – 28, Jesus tells us about the world before his return.  There will be wars, famine, and persecution. Earthquakes, hurricanes and other strange weather patterns.  Jerusalem will be surrounded by enemies and distress will fill the land, but the very last verse is my favorite.

                “When these things begin to take place, stand and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The next time you hear that the world is ending, or that Jesus is coming back on a certain day, I can pretty much guarantee that will not be the day.  Don’t worry about what the future holds, just look up, for our redemption is drawing near.

 

Peter Furler - Matter of Faith (Official Music Video) from peter-furler on GodTube.

O Holy Night

 

 

Somewhere in time, approximately twelve hundred and twelve years ago, a child was born in a manger.  This child revolutionized the world.

It’s funny to me that this Holiday used to be something so special, wars stopped so both sides could observe Christmas.  I heard in world war one, Silent Night was sung by both sides on Christmas Eve.  It was a special time, a holy time, a time to remember that love came to earth.  God stepped down from His throne in heaven, to humble himself and be born as a baby. In the most humble of circumstances, in the most humble of places, the creator took on the form of the created in order to show His infinite love for us.

Nativity scenes started because many people were illiterate and couldn’t read the Bible.  Others could read their own language, but the Bible was written in Latin.  How were they to know this special story unless it was told to them?  Living Nativities, involving people and animals, were used to bring the story to life for hundreds of years.  Making the events of that Holy time come alive for the people who watched the Nativity performed, is a tradition we still practice.

Since most people can read and they do have a Bible in their language, we have symbols of the Nativity story that we use to commemorate this Holy night.  I have a small ceramic one.  On my lawn, I have a canvas display of the mother and child.   

So what is the Christmas Story?  I will summarize the story, taken from the books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible.

Mary was a young woman who was pledged to be married to a man named Joseph.  An angel appeared and told her she had found favor with God and had been chosen to give birth to the Messiah.  The Holy Spirit came upon her and she conceived a child.  Joseph was a little upset.  He had pledged to marry what he believed was a virtuous woman, but here she was pregnant and he knew the child was not his.  As he wrestled with what to do, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him to not be afraid, but to take Mary has his wife.  He was to call the baby Jesus.

At this same time, Caesar Augustus, a leader in the Roman government, decided that everyone needed to be counted and taxed.  To do this, Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem.  Joseph was of the lineage and house of David, so Bethlehem was his ancestral home.  Once there, the child was born, but since there was no room any place else, the child was born in a manger in a stable. 

To celebrate God’s arrival on earth, a heavenly angel appeared to shepherds guarding their sheep by night.

Luke 2:10-14 (NKJV) “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!””

As we celebrate, the most holy of holidays, let’s give glory to God on the highest.  Merry Chirstmas!

 

David Phelps - O Holy Night [Live] from emimusic on GodTube.

The Gift of the Magi

 

 

Somewhere in time, in 1908, an author named O Henry wrote a short story called “The Gift of the Magi.”  I love this story.  I have seen this plot line redone a few times, and the story is always fun to read or see performed.  I thought since gifts are such an important part of the Christmas celebration, I would add my adaptation of this story to my blog to celebrate gifts.

1908

One dollar and eighty-seven cents was all she had.  Della counted it three times refusing to believe that was all she could save by scrimping and bargaining with the butcher and the grocer.  Tomorrow was Christmas, what was she going to do?

Despair began to take hold.  She paced and worried and then paced some more.  Della sank onto her shabby little couch and almost gave into tears. She looked around her home.  A furnished flat at $8 per week, it wasn’t exactly a show piece, but it was home.  Her husband’s income had recently been reduced by a third, so it was harder to make ends meet, but still she tried.

Della stood and walked over to the window.  She looked out at the grey, snow filled sky, and saw a gray cat, walking along a grey fence, in a grey backyard.  Tomorrow would be Christmas and she only had one dollar and eighty-seven cents to buy a present for her beloved Jim.

She stared at her reflections the a small mirror she used to check her appearance before departing her flat.  Suddenly her eyes lit up, she reached around and removed the combs and let her hair fall its full length. Della's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her.  She examined it and quickly put it back up again.  She had an idea.  What she planned to do ripped at her heart and she faltered, holding back tears that threaten to break forth.

With her resolve firmly in place, she put on her brown jacket and her old brown hat, a determined sparkle shown from her eyes.  With a swirl of skirts, she went out the door and down the stairs to the street.

Walking along, she stopped at a sign, which read “Hair Goods of All Kinds.”  One flight up the stairs, Della gathered her courage and entered the establishment.  The proprietress was a large foreboding looking woman, but Della would not be deterred.

“Will you buy my hair?” asked Della.

“I buy hair” the woman said, “take off your hat and let me take a look at it.”

With the hat off and the combs removed, down rippled the long brown curls.

“Twenty dollars” she muttered with a flick of her wrist, as if it didn’t matter at all.

“Please, cut it quickly then.”

With the money firmly placed in her small bag, Della left to search all the stores for the perfect Christmas gift for her Jim.  She finally found it, a sterling silver chain for his watch.  With a mere eight-seven cents remaining, she went home to prepare the most special meal she could.

Jim had two things he took exceptional pride in. The first was his gold watch, handed down from grandfather, to father, to him.  The second was his wife and her beauty, especially the beauty of her hair. He knew that Solomon in all his glory did not have anything as luxurious as his wife’s gleaming hair. Jim weighed his choices in trying to find the perfect give for his wife, he finally decided, he knew what he needed to do.

Jim was never late.  Della had spent time curling her short hair to make it as lovely as she could.  As his time of homecoming approached, she put all the finishing touches on herself and made sure the table was set just perfect. She placed his watch chain in her pocket as she prayed, “Please God, make him think I’m still pretty.”

Jim stopped inside the door and froze at the sight of his wife. His eyes fixed upon Della wore an expression she could not read and it worried her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with a peculiar expression on his face.

"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. It’s just hair, it will grow.  I had to do something.  I wanted you to have a very special present this year.”  
 
Jim drew a package out of his pocket and handed it to Della. 

“Jim,” Della uttered with a catch in her throat, “tell me you love me still.”

“Della” he said lovingly, “there is nothing on earth that would make me love my girl any less.  If you open the package, you will find some of the reason for my surprise.”

Her fingers struggled to open the package.  When she did the most beautiful pair of tortoise shell combs with jeweled edges shined from the package. She struggled with her emotions as the beauty of the gift waged war with the knowledge she no longer had hair enough to wear them. 

Smiling up at her husband with silent adore at his thoughtful gift, she said.  “My hair grows fast, so I’ll be using these in no time.”

Astonished, Della exclaimed, “I haven’t given you your present yet.”  She reached in her pocket and pulled out the delicate silver chain.  The shine of the metal reflected in the light. “Give me your watch and I’ll attach it for you.”

Instead of obeying, Jim claimed his wife in a warm embrace and chucked.  “Let’s keep our presents for another year.  I sold my watch to purchase your combs.”

Matthew 2:1,11 (NKJV) “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   

 

Oh Christmas tree

 

 

Somewhere in time, today, I read a funny statement about Christmas.  I have a desk calendar with humorous thoughts and sayings from Barbara Johnson.  Today’s saying was: I’m going to celebrate a traditional American Christmas – the tree from Canada, the ornaments from Hong Kong, the lights from Japan, and the idea from Bethlehem.   

The Christmas tree is not mentioned in the Bible, so it was not part of the original Christmas.  I don’t think there were any fur or pine trees in Bethlehem where our Lord was born.  I did some research on Christmas trees and there were various ideas on its origins.  I will give you the ones I like the best. 

In the 7^th century, a monk name Boniface traveled to Germany to spread the gospel of Christ.  The people he encountered worshiped the Oak tree.  Boniface then used the Fur tree to explain the God of the Bible.  The tree was tall a wide, like the love of God that embraces each of us.  On each branch is a Cross as the branch sprout on each side, showing the sacrifice of Jesus.

Martin Luther brought the tree inside and decorated it with candles. 

I also heard that when you cut a tree down and set it back up, it is a symbol of the death and resurrection of Christ.  The fact that the tree is an evergreen is the symbol of eternal life. 

I’m a little crazy about the Christmas tree.  My craziness started at a young age.  When we would decorate the tree as a family, I would help and when then younger siblings went to bed, I would fix the tree.  There has to be symmetry and order even when none of the ornaments match.  My husband knew this about me, but he really didn’t understand until last year.  Last year, he put an ornament on our tree that wasn’t colored coordinated with the rest of the tree and had no matching counterparts.  I nearly fell apart trying to work it into the overall design pattern.

Even though the tree isn’t part of the original Christmas, I love the tree and it’s a fun addition to the holiday, but the holiday is not about a tree.  Christmas is about Jesus, who became God among us.  I think if Jesus were to stand with us here today, he would probably enjoy our traditions, but he would want to make sure we didn’t forget those who are less fortunate.

I John 3:17-18 “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little Children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

This Christmas, have fun, but also reach out.  God’s love is meant to be shared in whatever way we can.  Christmas is a special time of year to remember that. 

Below is just for fun, like a Christmas tree.

Daren Streblow's Christmas song from crownentertainment on GodTube.

Angels

 

 

Somewhere in time, this week, I have been decorating for Christmas.  A few years ago, I was at a craft fair and I bought a hand crafted angel.  The angel is gold and stands about a foot tall.  It’s one of my favorite decorations. Since then, whenever I see a pretty or unusual angel, I purchase it for display at Christmas.  I have porcelain, wood, glass and precious moment’s musical angels.  When it comes to the Christmas story, angels had a big role.

I always start my Christmas story with Elizabeth and Zachariah.  Prophecy foretold of a forerunner, someone to tell people the messiah was coming.  The forerunner was John the Baptist and his birth was proclaimed by an angel to Zachariah (Luke 1:11-25).  Even in their old age, they had a son, just as the angel foretold.

The next angelic visitation happened in the town of Nazareth.  There an angel appears to a young virgin named Mary, who was engaged to be married. He tells her she will bear God’s son. (Luke 1:26-35)

The third angel visits Joseph.  Joseph was engaged, but when his betrothed comes up pregnant and he knows he’s not the father, he has to decide what to do.  In his time, stoning a person for such on offense was possible, but he really didn’t want to be cruel. He beseeched God for wisdom.  (Matthew 1:18-25)  This time the angel appeared in the dream and told Joseph the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  He gave Joseph confirmation to marry and raise the child and even what to name him. 

The angels weren’t done.  On the night Jesus was born, there were shepherds watching their sheep by night when an angel appeared to give the shepherds the good news. This angel was joined by a multitude of heavenly hosts, all declaring “Glory to God on the Highest”.  (Luke 2:8-16)

God had one more angel to send. When Herod sought to kill the Messiah, by killing all young Jewish boys, the angel again appears to Joseph in a dream.  This time warning him to flee and take the child and his mother to Egypt until the threat against his life has passed. (Matthew 2:13-15)

In reading all the angel encounters of the Christmas story, I noticed one common thread, the angels always tell the startled humans, do not fear, or be not afraid.  This led me to believe that angels can be imposing figures.  When they come to delivery their messages, they don’t resemble cute little cherubs we see in pictures.  I don’t actually think there is a picture that can capture the power of an angelic being.

Angels don’t always appear in their imposing heavenly form, sometimes they sneak up on us.  Sometimes, when you are desperately in need of help and it comes from an unexpected source, it could be angelic intervention. Sometimes God whispers in our hearts that we need to be an angel for someone else by reaching out, giving and caring.

Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV) “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

The definition of angel is the attendant of God.  We may not be angels, but we can act like them.  This Christmas keeps your eyes and heart open for someone you can be an angel for.

Mandisa - Somebody's Angel (Official Christmas Music Video) from mandisa on GodTube.