Friday, January 9, 2015

Why Celebrate Christmas?
 
 
A bright star appears and a small baby cries...
A young Mother smiles, a Father sighs.
A growing boy becomes a man
Committed to His Father's plan.
 
A dreaded cross on a hill called, "The Skull"
Defines my salvation like nothing else ever will.
Because, this old rugged cross stands in the place
Where love and sin meet face to face.
 
As a grieving Mother kneels and cries,
Relentless pain .... closes her young son's eyes.
Friends and loved ones walk away
To them, it has been a most hopeless day!
 
Then, the Son of God lays His grave clothes aside ….
(While hell's cryptic gates shake, moving aside)
And demands the keys to sin and death ….
(As a humbled darkness, holds it's breath.)
 
In the presence of Unspeakable Authority and Heaven's Grace
Hell's darkest knight turns his face.
A once cursed tomb becomes alive
As our Risen Savior steps outside.
 
So tell me, what is the Christmas story and how far does it go?
Does it end with the Wise men over 2000 years ago?
Does it include the cross and the empty grave?
Did Christ come to reign, did He come to save?
 
The Word became flesh, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.
He is my Savior and He is my King
To me.... He is my Everything.
 
 
This pretty well sums it up with me. God's gift to us was SACRIFICE, from the very beginning. Though the celebration of Baby Jesus has brought joy to many hearts here on earth .... it broke the heart of both Father and Son to carry this out. God the Father and His Son (are/were) very close (read John, chapter one) and this separation was painful and agonizing for both. OBEDIENCE, RESPECT and COMMITTMENT though, were the gifts which Jesus gave to His Father (and us) as He walked out "The Plan" from start to finish.
 
Sacrifice, obedience to God, respect and commitment ..... it all came in such a very plain package that first holy night .... who would have known it's value? Only a few but their lives were never the same! This year, may we understand that the gifts that really matter cannot be bought .... or wrapped. They come at a much greater cost and we are not so happy to give them. But they will stand the test of time and bring real joy to those we love.
Blessings to you all. You are so kind to take the time to read my rambling thoughts.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

I am finished with New Year's Resolutions.

A New Year's REVOLUTION is what I need!

Webster's dictionary gives us an interesting comment under the term rebellion.  It

     says,  history shows, rebellions are likely to fail, while revolutions succeed. We 

    can rebel against anything we want  but if that is as far as it goes, if it goes

     no farther than a rebellion, our efforts will most likely fail, or fizzle

    out.  Why is this?  To rebel is common.  We find a cause we 

     do not like and take a stand against it.....  But how

 long and how hard we stand depends on

  how deep and how wide 

  our convictions 

are.  We may

just give up
 if our cause
 seems too
  
 demanding. 
Here in is the
  
  problem with a 
      mere rebellion.
  It just doesn't 

 go far enough!
To revolve means 
 to make a complete

 turn around. This requires
   movement and change.  It is a means
         to an end but not an end in itself.  Here's to a
      Successful New Years  REVOLUTION for us all,  in the

   year 2015, and may our hearts be turned to our Creator, God.