“Greetings, you who are highly favored!The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered whatkind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid.” Luke 1:28-30

How often does your cell phone ring with the caller ID reading a number that you do not recognize? What goes through your mind when that happens? What do you do? I saw the number and decided that if it was someone I knew, they would leave a message. I heard the tone that verified they had done just that. Opening my voicemail and hitting play…. the message made me ‘greatly troubled!’ “Yea… this is Bob, getting back to you about that investment opportunity I promised you!”

I don’t know THIS Bob, never talked to a Bob about an investment opportunity and had never gotten a promise of a call. It was a momento interrumpo… an interrupted moment. AND an unsolicited one! Looking back, I wondered if this is how Mary felt when the angel slammed HER with a momento interrumpo?

Scripture says that Zechariah and the shepherds shared the same reaction as Mary, when the moment of their life was interrupted by an angel. Shock and fear was their immediate response as well! But things were not as they originally appeared. When a perfect, Holy being invades the space of an imperfect, unholy being, it is normal for the unholy to repel the advance… in FEAR. That the perfect would imply that ‘all is well’ was a shocker!

Fast forward to Christmas 2018. We KNOW the Christmas AND Easter story, and their results. The what’s, where’s, how’s, and why’s have been placed into the bed history. The news is not new. It has been rehearsed and repeated every year of our lives…Ad nauseam! Expectation is no longer the precious commodity this time of year, it is now ‘perseverance!’ Cold, dead, tired, overworked lives are in GREAT need of a momento interrumpo? But HOW can we get one?

The GREAT NEWS is that God still WANTS to amaze, mystify, shock and invade our normal, everyday lives! He has been calling and trying and reach out to give us ‘the investment opportunity He promised’ But too often His momento interrumpo is met with a ‘greatly troubled’ attitude. So how can He reach us if we DON’T want to be reached?

Today we are more blessed than the shepherds were, because we don’t need angels to talk with us. We have the Holy Spirit! ‘His’ visitation is not a ‘here then gone’ kind of thing. He comes to LIVE in our hearts and to CONSTANTLY speak with us about the Greatest gift on Earth… Jesus Christ. But now… there is a hitch.

If I WANT to experience a momento interrumpo, ‘I’ must be the one to WANT ‘The Gift!’ That means that every moment I live, I am to live EXPECTING my unholy moments will be interrupted by THE Holy Son of God. Because He doesn’t just want a moment from me. He wants it ALL! He doesn’t want to be an interruption… He wants to be my whole life’s story!

“..giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:12-14

Years ago, standing in the lighting section of the store, I found myself inside the black hole of ‘figurin!’ Needing a couple 4’ lights for a florescent fixture, it SHOULD have been an easy task. Now, new information was presented to me that was causing deep consternation and confusion. A 2 pack of 4 foot florescent tubes was $6.98. But right beside them were new LED replacement lights that ‘saved money’’ and ‘last’s up to 44 years!’ A 2 pack was $26.98. Even Einstein didn’t have it so hard!

The decision should have been a no-brainer. The price was $20 MORE! How could I possibly justify spending that much? Having been a salesman most of my working life, I calculated, in my head no less, the approximate cost savings over time and divided it by years and months. Having OWNED several LED light bulbs that had been given me years ago by a yuppie minded conservationist, I remembered that they hadn’t REALLY lasted any longer than the REAL ones. I also remembered that the light from them was kind of funky! So I bought the cheaper ‘REAL’ ones instead!

Talking to a young lady yesterday about The Gospel, I was hoping to give her information that might help her see Jesus. After asking some questions, the answers I received informed me that she was not interested in finding anything. She believed that her ‘’spirit-force’ would go SOMEWHERE after death, but she didn’t know where. In truth she admitted she didn’t care to know. In shock, I knew the discussion was closed.

The Bible CLEARLY teaches that ALL humans are born knowing the existence of God (Romans 1:19) and that we are all sinful creatures living in the darkness in need of a Savior (Romans 1:32). POWERFUL information that SHOULD affect a decision. BUT! Increasingly, ‘figurin’ is not really an important character trait these days. The darkness is growing!

Now I’m not the smartest guy on the planet, but with my ‘real vs LED’ brain powers, I can see a ‘DEAL’ from 100 miles away! I was in darkness headed for eternal death when the Father sent His Son to pay, and seal the deal for, my transfer into His Kingdom of Light! He offered it to me… FREE! I made the decision and took Him up on it over 50 years ago. I have found it to be my the REAL deal of a lifetime. Forgiveness and redemption are mine… NOW! Like Paul, I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!

Last week I was GIVEN an unwrapped pair of 4’ LED bulbs that had been sitting on someone’s shelf for years. The number ‘44 years’ was highlighted… and I realized WHY. Heck, if you don’t USE ‘em, they MIGHT just last forever! I pray YOU might be set free from bad ‘figurin’ and stinkin’ thinkin!’ Your REAL eternal destiny depends upon sound reasoning! The clock on your life is ticking!

“faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

I had just put the finishing touch on the new floor in my wife’s sewing room. It was her Christmas present this year and I was glad it was finally done! Now I could rest easy and recover from the physical exertion it took to complete. I was in the bedroom when she walked in and told me how much she appreciated me. THEN she said, “can you imagine how THIS room will look when IT is done?” What happened next was epic!

After a look of wide-eyed shock, I started to laugh. “You’re crazy,” I said, “I haven’t even recovered yet and you’re pressing to do THIS room already?” And HERE is where it got good! “Oh no,” she said… “I know how hard you worked. Besides, this bed is SO BIG and SOOOO HEAVY how would you even MOVE it?” “Well,” I replied, “I could………….” and halfway through my sentence I realized I was dealing with either Huck Finn’s distant relative or the devil herself!”

There are moment in relationships that instantly become engraved as part of a shared story. While it might be retold over and over in a crowded setting, the only 2 parties that can REALLY appreciate it are the ones who actually lived it. She admitted today that she wasn’t even being sneaky or scheming, as those words just sort of flew out of her mouth with no thought at all! Which makes my situation even MORE tragic.

I am married to a PRESUMPTUOUS, scheming and demanding partner who has me wrapped around her little finger! It’s like she really, deep down believes that her wish should be my command! And before I can get mad, God reminds me that ‘He’ has the same mindset!

1 Corinthians 13:13 says, now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Contemplating this, I can actually interchange them with today’s verse and have it read, “LOVE, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead!” It is a lesson of God’s expectant behavior from me toward Him. A royal decree presuming that, as His child, a prince, I am expected to ACT and BE like one!

My wife is going to have to be satisfied with the picture she has in her head of our completed bedroom. But deep inside, ‘she’ knows.. and ‘I’ know, that the image is as good as had! Because her wish IS my command… sort of! God has His own plans for me as well! But they are ALWAYS for good. He has ways to get me to bite the hook and get me where He wants. But I am not protesting too much. You see, I share His life… just like I share the house with my wife. And that’s a good thing!

“I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.” Psalm 119:176

After taking everything OUT of the room to install the flooring, it was time to put it all back IN. Having taken the bi-fold doors OFF, it was time to put them back ON their hinges. A seemingly simple task, since the hinges had never moved. Setting the pin and picking UP on the door, I set it DOWN into place on the lower hinge. SIMPLE! Until I tried closing them. I HATE bi-fold doors!

There are rules and methods to installing bi-fold doors. I used to know them because 40 years ago, as a carpenter, I did it for a living. But that was 40 years ago. But even then, there is just something mystical about this kind of door. It seems to have a mind of it’s own and refuses to obey any standard laws or rules. And I might as well say it… bi-fold doors are just like ME!

I got UP, went OUT to the garage, got tools and shims, went back IN the room and got DOWN on the floor to work on the hinges. UP, DOWN, IN, OUT, door ON… door OFF! After a while, it finally closed… KIND of! Turning to my wife I said… “GOOD ENOUGH!” But it wasn’t PERFECT! When she asked me why not… I hollered, “cuz I just don’t CARE!” And in this simile on life, I think you understand EXACTLY what I mean. Being built to obey, love and serve God… I sometimes come off my hinges, hang crooked and do not function perfectly. But THANK GOD… ‘HE’ is the carpenter of my life!

ALL believers in Christ, stray. I KNOW what is right and wrong. I TRY to perform perfectly. But the fact is, perfection is EXHAUSTING! Sometimes I get to the point where I JUST DON’T CARE! And then HE comes to me! He is IN me and I am IN Him. Because of that fact, we can never be separated (Romans 8:1). That means that we are inseparable from one another. So when I can’t… He can. And He does!

I live to serve Him and know His ways. And while NO sin or failure will be assigned to me in Heaven because of His sacrifice for me, I live in a fleshy body that often refuses to hang perfectly. Often, I have to remind myself that HE is the carpenter and HE knows what He is doing. It is enough to simply ‘hang’ with Him and let Him do the work of adjustment. It is a LOT easier if I simply cooperate!

I serve a seeking Savior… He knows EXACTLY where ‘I’ am AND what ‘He’ is doing! HE CARES! And THAT, my friends, is ‘Good Enough!’

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him;… For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.” Lamentations 3:25,33

Whether it was a post-Thanksgiving or a pre-Christmas gathering could not be proved. All I knew was that all of my favorite people in the whole world were there… my family. Grandkids were running around playing and my grown-up kids were laughing and talking. It was a sight to behold. Even though I wasn’t laughing much.

I think I know why anyone over 55 is considered a senior. I balked at it and threw the AARP mailing in the trash that birthday. But after the last 10 days, it is apparent… I am a senior! Over-exerting myself in a house project recently, my back and legs are in agony. Though I try to put on a happy face, I am throwing in the towel with the admittance to myself that I am old, tired and sore! I need rest and the application of some wisdom.

Being a curmudgeon, there are some learned lessons that I hold on to and will defend to the death. There is a major belief out there in this world that God causes bad things to happen us. That stupid line of thinking had led me down some really dark paths over the years. That is until experience taught me otherwise. Jesus Christ did not save me to beat me down. And I will get in your face if you insist my Heavenly Father is a sadist! I have my life to prove it!

Growing up is a painful experience. Colds, flu, infection, bruises, sorrow, loss, injustice, heartache and heartbreak are just a few of life’s blows. I have LEARNED that they do NOT come from God. But from just plain living on this fallen Earth. And none of us are immune. But I speak for myself when I remind me of this home remedy.

When going threw a tough spots, it helps to remind myself that Rest, Time and Trust are my best friends. There is nothing wrong with stopping for a REST… even though it means I have to say ‘no’ to some important things and to some important people. I have to give myself the TIME necessary for restoration… and I need to TRUST that God knows all about my condition and is with me every step of the way… REGARDLESS of the outcome.

I owe my family an apology if I seemed cranky or irritable this weekend. But they know me well, love me, and forgive my occasional ‘senior moments.’ Because that is what families do… whether family by blood or spirit! “I” have to learn to be kind to myself and allow rest, time and trust to work their healing touch.

Omne trinum perfectum is Latin for ‘every perfect thing is threefold.’ And just like my Triune God, these three, rest, time and trust, are a perfect remedy for difficulty. What are YOU curmudgeonly about?

“You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13

Every year, our town has a large Christmas Parade. When my kids were growing up, they belonged to differing organizations, and therefore marched in the annual event. This year my granddaughter was part of it, so the family headed downtown… along with thousands of other people. I saw a lot of people I knew. “Hi K.C.,” they would say. “How are you?” But NO one called me ‘Billy!’

It wasn’t for a couple days that I caught that thought, but since it was different and out of the blue, I had to consider it from God. Turning the idea around in my head, It was like He was saying, “think about it!” So I did.

As earth ramps up to 8 billion people on this spinning, blue ball, I discovered that almost a billion more folks squeezed in over the last 8 years! Earth’s population has more than doubled, just in my lifetime alone! And yet… no one has EVER called me Billy! Most every human is born with 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth. And yet, with so few categories, there are no 2 exact matches on the earth. Even among identical twins! That means YOU and I are UNIQUE!

How do YOU look? I have been told I look ‘LIKE’ someone else… a couple times like Kevin Bacon! That you disagree simply proves the point. I don’t have his fame or money, the look is WAY off and NO one has EVER called me Kevin! Because that is NOT who I am! So just what was is God was trying to teach me? I think I got it!

My dad had a parting statement he liked to use when talking with most people… and family in particular. “You are Special,” he would say. And he meant it! He got it from this verse in the Bible and threw it around like free candy. Why? Because most people don’t typically see themselves that way and therefore, need a reminder. If you have a bad image of yourself, God begs to differ!

You are you and I am me… and each one of us were created SPECIFICALLY and eSPECIALly for Him. NO one is like anyone else on this planet. YOU cannot be replaced, erased or displaced by any other human being. You are uniquely special because THAT is how God created you. To get a grasp of that concept is not braggadocios. It is life fulfilling. He made me to be inhabited for Himself. I am fearfully and wonderfully made! And so are YOU!

Why am I here? What is my purpose? What does God want from me? These questions can ONLY be answered when asked of the one who made us. Only HE knows the answers. So why not run to Him, hop in His lap and spend a little bit of time asking! He knows you better than ANYONE…and I can promise… He will NEVER call you Billy! Unless that is your name!

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”” John 11:44

I have just bought, and received, possibly the last 2 pair of bluejeans I will own on this earth! I have tried other brands, and while I hate what the company stands for, I love Levis. They just fit and last. I have a pair that is over 20 years old! Doing the math, I don’t really expect to live here past 83. I don’t really WANT to either! So you might say I’m dressed for work!

My oldest son is fancy! He likes nice clothes and can afford to buy them. I get HIS ‘hand-me-downs.’ He buys those preshrunk, prewashed, pre-worn out jeans for as much as $150 a pair! Me? I’m like my dad. I clearly remember him telling me about the time he got a pair of bluejeans as a kid. “They were stiff…I didn’t wash em for a month…when I put em on, I felt like a king!” A child of the depression era, he didn’t have much. A new pair of jeans was all it took to feel like royalty!

Growing up, I’d occasionally get a pair of jeans for Christmas. And I did and felt the very same thing. Those stiff Levis, unwashed jeans just kind of ‘broke in’ around me. Over time, the knees would get thread bare and the ‘bell-bottoms’ of the ‘boot cut’ got frayed. When they were ripped too far in the knees, I’d take a pair of scissors and make ‘cut-offs.’ Over time the shorts frayed into stringy edges. Cutoffs were considered COOL… AND RARE…because you couldn’t BUY ‘em that way! You wore ‘em down!

Last night was kind of nostalgic for me. While putting on my new jeans to go teach Bible Study my eyes fell upon an old snap, pearl buttoned, cowboy shirt that used to belong to my dad. Instinctively, I reached for it. At the bottom of my closet lay a pair of ‘fancy’ cowboy boots my son had given to me. I reached down and pulled them on. Standing there in front of the special crowd of desiring learners at Church… in my new jeans, my dad’s shirt and my son’s boots, my 2 daughters sat there listening to what came out of my mouth. MOST of which I learned from my own father! You might say I was in ‘tall cotton,’ because, to me… THIS is the meaning of life!

When Jesus walked up to confront the tomb of his friend, Lazarus wasn’t feeling anything! In a spectacular display of His Lordship, Jesus used the moment to carefully point out that HE ALONE is ‘The Messiah’ and one true God. After the build up and a tear, He simply did what He STILL does. He brought Life! His final words AFTER the event are just as spectacular! “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

I remember a time in my life, when as a young lad, Jesus, the Master of the Universe, said those very same words at the tomb of MY heart! I received a new pair of duds that day. Today, I am reminded that they are NOT fancy robes… but WORK clothes. Stiff, tough, long lasting WORK clothes! And if you know Jesus… you know what I am talking about. So today, I am going to work… cuz when I’m filling THESE Jeans, I feel like ROYALTY!

Maybe it isn’t so outrageous that they are called Levis!

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 KJV

I can’t see! Literally! When it comes to reading or working with my hands, I only see blur. Age has taken its toll and left me dependent upon eyeglasses to do even the simplest things. Running back and forth while working on a project, each time I needed to read something, I’d put my hand to my hair… for nothin’! You see… that is where I USUALLY put my glasses when I am not using them… but USUALLY they are not there. So before I can ‘git-r-dun,’ I have to seek glasses so I can see!

The Dollar Tree is a favorite store because they sell reading glasses for… $1. I buy them in two’s! Most times they are scattered all over the house, so finding one of a dozen pairs should NOT be difficult! Yet I weep at the irony! To complicate matters, each time I found a pair and put them on, I scratched my head. Again… literally! Because this pair has a broken ear piece that digs into my skull. The worst part is, every time I FIND a pair… it’s THIS pair. In a fit of angst… I called out to God… “WHY can’t I seem to lose THESE broken things?” I think I heard Him reply… “Good question!”

I HATE looking for stuff. The older I get the more I lose. I STILL have a ‘BOLO’ out on a set of keys! Pencils, drinking cup, book, sunglasses, wallet; add these to the list as well and I spend a LOT o time SEEKING instead of DOING! Which, I think, is the reason I may have heard God answer me. Because after, “Good question!” I’m pretty sure I heard Him remind me… “seeking is is what ‘I’ do!”

Inanimate objects have no voice. I think it would be awesome to be able to holler… “where are you keys?” and have them holler back… ‘on top of the table where you left me!’ Even if they added ‘dummy’ to the end of the reply, at least I’d a saved the frustration! But lost things don’t holler! Lost and broken things would holler even less.

I didn’t remember getting lost because it happened before I was born. Sin owned me from my first cry and takes up a LOT of my time. I get angry, frustrated and dumber as I seek to do MY own will, only finding that it scratches my life with more pain. But I rejoice that my Savior is ALWAYS seeking me… especially when I am lost and in pain. I rejoice even more that His OTHER job is SAVING me. Even from myself!

If He’s looking for me to save me… I think I’ll holler out by seeking HIM and praying more. His Book says it helps ME to be found… even quicker!

“Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer.” Isaiah 53:10 (Berean version)

The cuckoo clock made an eerie noise as I stood in the empty room…paintbrush in hand. What used to be my daughter’s bedroom had been converted into my wife’s sewing room years ago. Having lived here for 29 years, I know I have painted it at least 3-4 times. Now… after 2 carpets, she hinted she would like a wood floor too. So here I stand!

I don’t know if I thought it funny or ironic, but as I moved a drapery hanger, it revealed the color of 2 paintings ago…which was an almost exact match the to color now on the end of my brush! The KEY word being ‘almost.’ My wife likes… no LOVES… color and change! Except when it comes to men! Which MAY be the reason I am standing here, yet one more time, preparing to do another makeover!

Please do not think for one moment that I am complaining about my wife or the task. Oh no! I was standing there sweating, sore and tired… NOT because I love, or want, to do all that work. I do it because I love and want to do something nice for my wife. Today, I learned a new word for what that is… as it applies to Jesus. It’s called Kenosis!

Kenosis, in Christian theology, is the ‘self-emptying’ of Jesus own will, becoming entirely receptive to God’s divine will. Today’s Bible verse graphically explains what His Father’s ‘will’ really was! Can I say that MY experience of ‘will’ exchange, and Jesus experience, are about as far apart as heaven and hell? LITERALLY!

Someone made the comment to my wife yesterday, saying that they weren’t sure they would like to try our church. “You people really put a lot of emphasis on Jesus!’ I smiled when she told me. Because when it comes to sin, God is like an old fuddy-duddy! We humans who are drowning in the stuff, tend to paint over sin’s true evil to make it look better than it really is. But God cannot tolerate even a tiny spec of it. The price for my sin’s eradication was the horrific suffering and death of God’s Son Jesus Christ. They BOTH WILLINGLY PAID IT!

Jesus willingly poured out His own life, for His Father, for me. He didn’t want to do it (if it is possible let this cups pass from me). But pleasing His father was more important than pleasing Himself. And He asks His followers to do the same thing… “Love one another as I have loved you!” Got it!

Yup… painting a room and laying a floor is gonna be a piece of cake! And just in time for Christmas too! HEYYYY! I might as well take advantage of the timing… right? What is YOUR kenosis?