Hugs from Jesus

'Twas the day after Christmas, and one poor little blogger

was tired of presents, talking, eggnog or

wrappings and trappings and new things galore

when all she had wanted was to know her Lord more.

Merry Christmas, readers! M. here apologizing for the terrible poetry above, composed by yours truly. I was hoping it would combat the writer's block and help me to collect my thoughts a little better.

I've been thinking a LOT lately. I'm off school, so now I actually have time to think about what I want, when I want! I've been thinking about school next semester, scholarship options, job options, taxes and applications, living on campus, and all of that fun college stuff in my near future! I've also been thinking about Christmas (obviously) but I didn't really know how to explain what I felt.

This week, I was considering what I'd post about for Christmas time. This is the idea that kept forming in my mind: "Presents have been unwrapped, delicious food eaten, relatives welcomed, thank-yous yelled, babies completely spoiled with gifts, laughter and excited chatter heard through the house, new items tried out, gift cards and money spent, and at the end of it all I ponder these things in my heart... that Jesus is, and always will be. And He wants to know me."

Lately I've felt a pull on my heart like never before. I feel like Jesus wants to hug me! To literally embrace me and remind me that I am His, and I can never be taken away from Him. Yes, He loves me; He gives me hope and peace and joy, but at the end of the day, He just gives Himself. Completely, with no strings attached, He is there for me. 

The super busy lifestyle I live makes me forget that. I forget how treasured I am and that there is a higher calling than just meandering through life, when life is actually a marathon. I need to be striving for the ultimate prize, like Paul talks about. I don't think I'm doing that for two reasons: a) I stink at sports, and b) most of the time, I don't mind settling for less than the best. The first one's just a joke (though I am bad at sports) but I truly struggle to remember that I'm not running the race for me, and it's worth every effort that I can give. That Jesus that I was taking about, the one who gives all of Himself to be my Father and my friend, He is the one I should run for. And the best part? He's the prize, too! (I hate this race metaphor sometimes, but I think it works alright.)

Through the presents, food, relatives, and rushing... Jesus is. He waits with arms open, for us to run to Him for an embrace...  yet we open another gift and say "Thank you." We eat more food and chat with more people and go to more parties, and still Jesus waits. Christmas ends, we go back to our lives, yet He's still there. Sometimes I imagine Him saying to the angels, "I can't wait to talk to M. today!" We miss a quiet time, then two, then months have gone by without us noticing. He's still there. He'll always welcome us.

Do you ever feel guilty after not spending time with God? Do you go back to Him hanging your head and apologizing? Or do you avoid Him because you're afraid of the lecture? Or do you grow callous and just run through the motions without emotionally investing? I've done all of these (A LOT). Guess what? He's still waiting! He still is overjoyed to spend time with us. 

Do you ever feel like God just tolerates you? Why?

Take a look at these verses. This time, read them out loud. I know that you're tempted to gloss over the Bible verse section. I do it all the time. READ. EVERY. WORD. OF. THEM. OUT. LOUD. (Colors added for emphasis.)

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

1 Peter 5:6-7 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you."

For this next set of verses, I've rewritten them (Go ahead, Bible thumpers; wag your fingers!) based on the 1 John 4:8 claim that God is love. I've also taken it out of stereotypical Bible verse format so that maybe you can see it in a new light.

God is patient.

God is kind.

God does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud.

He does not dishonor others, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, God keeps no record of wrongs.

God does no delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

God ALWAYS protects, ALWAYS trusts, ALWAYS hopes, ALWAYS perseveres.

God never fails.

The greatest of these is Jesus.

(Verses used: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13.)

Let me ask you again: Why do you feel like God just tolerates you? News flash: He doesn't!!! Stop believing the lie that you've been fed by your church, your friends maybe, and your own conscience. This lie you're hearing says that God thinks you're not worth His time if He's not worth yours. 

You are ALWAYS worth it to God. That's what Christmas is all about!! It's reminding ourselves that Jesus knew that it was worth it to give ALL of Himself to become a baby, to live, to die, and to rise again, because it meant that He could give us a great gift - a hug! And more than that, He could know us, and we could know Him.

Through this season and through next year, I want to follow the path God has for me. I want to trust in His love, because it's the love that truly never fails. I want to remember that God rejoices in me, when I obey Him and when I stumble. I want to be satisfied with Jesus, and with Jesus alone. 

Merry Christmas, everyone. -M. :D

Inner Dialogue and (Sort of) Christmas-ish Thoughts

Here's the inner dialogue that's been going on in my head the past month or so:

"M, you need to post something. It's the holiday season and you have so many topics to choose from."

"M, you should post something. You've got free time today and it's been a while."

"M, you have to post something today or your readers will think you've died."

And then there's the other side of my brain:

"No.
(That side of me makes such a good argument.)

Anyway, I'm back (sort of) to talk a little about Christmas. Because, you know, it's like (looks at calendar) A WEEK AWAY?!?! Oops. I probably should start my Christmas shopping, don't ya think? (sheepish grin)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In church on Sunday, we talked about Christmas, not just the first Christmas, but the second one! You see, for every time the first Christmas is mentioned in the New Testament, the second Christmas (literally, Christ-coming) is mentioned eight. That's a pretty significant ratio. I love thinking about what Christ's coming will be like, and there's a pretty detailed description in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18:

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encouragie one another with these words."

Unfortunately, I want to know EXACTLY what's gonna happen. Will we all disappear randomly? Will we have to wait to see Jesus? Are the people we know who've died already in heaven, or are they waiting somewhere? WHY DON'T WE GET MORE INFORMATION??? (Ahem. Sorry 'bout that.)

Unfortunately, this complaint I have is actually a pretty consistent problem of mine. I always want to know exactly what's gonna happen in life. What am I getting for Christmas? Where am I going to school next year? What career am I going to have? You know, simple stuff like that.  It shouldn't be that hard for God to just let me in on all of His plans for my life, right? When it actually comes down to it, this problem is me not only wanting to know what God's plans are, but wanting to be in control of these plans that God has. I don't want someone else to run my life!

As I've said before, this is a problem of mine... so I need to change, obviously. God knows what's best for me, whether I like it or not, and in the end, it kind of comes down to trusting that God is not a mean Father but a loving one. It's the same thing as a parent keeping their child away from the hot stove, even though the kid might scream and beg to touch it. The parent knows what's best for their son or daughter, so they will keep them from harmful things like that, and the child will develop a respect for their parents by their trustworthiness.

So what does all of this have to do with Christmas? Absolutely nothing. (Just kidding!) :D

I think what it has to do with Christmas is that Jesus came to earth so that we would know the Father. He came so that we would know the Father's love. And He demonstrated ultimate trust in God's will by being willing to do so much through His life, so that we could know that it pays to trust in the Father too. Jesus was a living picture of trust through His whole story:

He trusted God to give Him the right earthly parents. He trusted God to make Him into a baby and be dependent on people for His care. He trusted God through His childhood, not being able to show His deity to the world yet. He trusted God's timing even when His mother said He should act (John 2:4). He trusted God as He performed miracles, healed many sick, and gained a following during His three years of ministry. He trusted God when He knew He was going to die. He trusted in darkness and in fear. He didn't waver as He was beaten and mocked and crucified.

Which do you think was harder for Jesus: Leaving heaven for Christmas or fulfilling what He actually came to do?

That's what my problem has to do with Christmas. It didn't matter which was harder for Jesus because He trusted God enough and was willing to do BOTH of them! That's the Savior we celebrate, one who is trustworthy AND willing to trust. He's worthy of my worship and my trust in every situation, from an awkward Christmas party to a serious sickness in the family.

So, do you trust Him?

That's what I've been thinking about this season, I guess. Take it or leave it. :) I pray you all have a Merry Christmas, and I'll hopefully be back to post something before the New Year!!
-M

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."(Proverbs 21:30, NIV)

Christmas, Magi, and Charlie Brown

   Hey people!;) it's E here!

   

   Well Christmas Day has come and gone, but Christmas isn't over yet (we still have two more days!). I'm talking about the Twelve Days of Christmas (no not the song).

   

   The Twelve Days of Christmas is the festive Christian season, beginning on Christmas Day (December 25) and continuing on to January 5. It celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This period is also known as Christmastide.

   The Twelve Days of Christmas are immediately followed by the Feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the coming of the Wise Men (Magi) and their bringing of gifts to the child Jesus. In some traditions the Feast of the Epiphany and The Twelfth Night overlap.

   

   Currently The Twelve Days and Nights are celebrated in varying ways around the world. Some give gifts only on Christmas Day, some only on the Twelfth Night, and some each of The Twelve Days. In many Latin American countries, the Feast of the Epiphany is accorded a great celebration. 

    

   In the Gospel of Mathew 2:1 & 11 it says 'now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,....and when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.' These are only two of the verses that tell of when the Wise Men came. It's quite interesting when I think about their meaning. 

   

   For the longest time, I never even new what Myrrh was or Frankincense. For those of you who don't know, Myrrh is a fragrant gum resin obtained from certain trees and used in the Near East in perfumery, medicines, and incense. Frankincense is much the same; an aromatic gum resin obtained from an African tree and burned as incense. Also called Olibanum. And I always thought that they were some kind of gem or precious stone! Just goes to show how much I know..;) 

   Another thing that's quite interesting is this: the Bible never specifies how many Wise Men there were! It has normally been portrayed as there being three. This is probably because there where only three gifts given. But there could have been four Wise Men or two or even ten! It does say Wise Men so there was obviously more that one. For me there are so many things in the Bible, even in all the well known history in the Bible, that is still to learn and understand.

    This is getting to be a really long post! So I will wrap it up with this: my favorite version of Christ's birth happens to be the 'King James Version,' which is also the version that Charles Schultz used in 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'. After Charlie Brown asks if anyone knows the true meaning of Christmas. Linus says 'sure Charlie Brown' he steps forward, cues the lights and quotes:

   

   'And there where in those days shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

   

 ~E

   

It's Been a While... and On the Christmas Season

Well, I'm back. I've been away for too long! I have to remind myself to put blogging on my priority list... If I can find my priority list... :)

Anyway, Merry Christmas! The season seems to have gone by way too fast! I'm not absolutely obsessed with Christmas, because it's over-comercialized and too busy and, over all, too "loud" in a sense, though not literally. 

I do, however, love Christmas because of the doors it can open. What other time of the year do you hear songs about Jesus on secular radio?? When is a better time to go caroling and share a little of Christ's joy with others? (I did that several weeks ago with friends and had a blast!) 

And what better person to be focusing on during this season than the reason FOR the season? 

I love Christmas because it's just a reminder of how we should honor God EVERY day, minus the shopping and parties and rushed days. We celebrate his birth, but only because he came, as a child, to eventually die. It was his life's purpose was to die for me. For you. He came to save the world, but in a very different method than many thought he would. 

New Year is great, too! It's always fun to party until midnight, but it's also a chance to reflect on how you've changed in the past year. I have learned a LOT this year! I've grown much closer to God by starting a daily quiet time and pursuing time with Him. I've grown closer to some friends and away from some. I've made a lot of mistakes, but I've learned from them! One of my favorite things to do is to remember "God stories." These are stories of different things in my life that didn't seem to connect or make much sense when they were happening, but God used for His glory!

Talk to you later! Stay tuned for a new type of blogging I will be putting in soon (hopefully tonight if I finish!)

-M.