“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”’ Psalm 122:1

“Where do you want this to go?” asked one. “Where does this hang?” asked another. Then my heart went into shock as I heard someone say, pointing to me, “ask HIM, he’s in charge!” The occasion was our annual “Hanging of the Greens,” where the church gathers together for pizza and the decorating of the sanctuary for Christmas. I had picked up the tree and the pizza… but neither act qualified me to be ‘in charge!’

Decorating for Christmas can be either fun, or a drudgery… depending on the circumstances. If it is all up to 1 person, it is no fun and a chore. If it is a time to get together with the people you love who ALSO love God, it becomes a holy event where all are united in one larger purpose. In this case, the one ‘I’ counted on being ‘IN CHARGE’ was the Holy Spirit. I just provided the bait…PIZZA!

As I made my rounds talking to individuals, the sounds were ‘heart smiling’ ones. Kids were running around being kids. An older believer held one end of a strand of lights with a younger believer. I heard communication between them as they worked together to form a plan… and then execute it. ALL of us worked separately…together. With one common purpose. I knew Jesus was smiling.

After all was said and done, I DID do a ‘take charge’ thing, asking everyone to come and sit together in the glow of the Christmas lights. There, I reminded them of the story of Christmas and gave them a charge I am now giving to you. A Holy Calling for which YOU have a very important role! Yes…. YOU!

All the blessings given to us from God… Life, Peace, Joy, the eternal promise of Heaven, etc, are FREE GIFTS. We don’t DO anything to earn them. We could not, even if He required them. He came as a baby in gentleness and love, and offered Himself to us FREE. It is up to each individual to either receive the gift, or walk away from His Grace. But when we DO receive Him, He does have 1 simple request. And that is what I wanted to remind this special, pizza breathed group of decorators.

“Tell my story.” Says God. If He had asked for all my time and money and a pledge for 100% future dedication, I MAY have considered signing the contract. But He didn’t ask that. All He asks of me, and you, is to tell His story. The story of Christmas…. Of Easter… of salvation! And don’t we all love stories?

God was pleased through the foolishness of what was (spoken) to save those who believe (1 Corinthians 1:21). Sadly, too often our reaction to His request is like He just asked us for a leg! But whats He WANTS… is our lips. But is starts at the heart!

Do you love Him? Really? If so, may I ask you, this Christmas, to listen to these words from HIS heart… “Tell my story.”

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2

It is the day after Thanksgiving. The commercial world calls it ‘Black Friday’ for commercial reasons, because retailers stand to make a hefty profit from Christmas shoppers! I remember walking through Walmart over a month ago… and saw CHRISTMAS TREES! It seems every year the time to start advertising holiday shopping comes earlier and earlier. Which is not really a new concept at all… Since God did it first!

About 700BC, that is before God came to earth as ‘baby Jesus,’ the land of Israel experienced Black Friday every day! Because of their disobedience, they were sent prophets warning them of the coming judgment for disobedience. Though warned for centuries, they did not listen. And the Assyrian army was preparing to roll in from the north… but NOT bearing gifts! It was a dark time indeed. But even when the world CHOSE darkness over light, God extended a promise as old as creation itself.

This morning, as I opened up my first devotional after Thanksgiving, I saw this verse. I smiled because, to me, if ANY day should be the start for Christmas preparation, the day after giving Thanks would be MY pick. It was as if God was saying… GO! NOW! And so I am.

If we look past the lights of societal progress, we have to agree that there isn’t much. The horizon looks darker still. But if we STOP, LOOK and LISTEN to God’s Word… we CAN see His Light!

From the fall of man, when God promised a ‘seed’ would come to save, the Horizon has ALWAYS held a shimmering light. Like the sun breaking through the dawn of a new day… the SON shines His light on ALL who care to look and see. Over 2700 years ago Isaiah predicted it. The coming of The Light… The SON of God. He can be the Light of your life no matter WHAT the color of the day may be… if you look to Him. SO Rejoice!!!!!   Because Christ IS coming!

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34

A thought woke me up in the middle of the night last night and I’d like to share it. All this talk about ‘Giving’ this Thanksgiving made me stop and think. I have not heard anyone say ANYTHING about ‘TAKING.’ So I think I will. Because after the thought hit me, and I think it was from God…I am going to resolve to be a TAKER today. And here is my plan!

I think I will take the ‘time’ to really read God’s Word, and not just give thanks to Him, but to take the time to really listen to what He has to say to me. Not just ‘eat & run.’

I think today I am going to make the ‘effort’ to show some folks how much I love them. That means I have to take time to really concentrate on how best to do that, as I ponder them and how much they mean to me. Then DO IT!

I think today I will ‘take a look’ at all my stuff. You know… ‘take stock’ of my resources and see how much ‘JUNK’ I have in my life. Then take the time to reallocate or scrap it. I KNOW I’ve got ‘stuff’ holding me back from being effective in my life. And maybe it’s time!

I think I will take ‘a break’ today and not be so busy. I am learning that ‘giving’ is best done when I take the time needed to adequately rest my body soul and spirit. I can’t give if MY tank is empty. After all, refueling is a command of my God.

And now I want to ‘take the opportunity’ to tell YOU how much I love and appreciate YOU for being a part of my life. Living and breathing on this Earth sometimes comes with implications. As we cross paths in the Name of Jesus, I can sometimes take special people like YOU for granted. And that is one ‘take’ I want to ‘take away’ today.

So THANK YOU for being YOU. And for, if nothing else, taking the time to read this far. Maybe taking the time to do that will help YOU to do some Thankstaking yourself. Which would probably be a good thing! Because I now realize that my Lord really DID take the time to tell me to do some ‘taking’ today.

Big Blessings to ya’ll…. In Him

K.C.

“Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at the table.” John 12:2

He is to be envied. It was fine to be Martha and serve, but better to be Lazarus and enjoy. There are times for each purpose, and each is fitting in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus, to hear His words, to mark His acts and receive His smiles was such a favor as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our happy privilege to feast with our Beloved in His banqueting hall, we would not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them.

He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house would have been dreadfully ungrateful. We too were once dead, yes, and like Lazarus bound in the grave of sin. Jesus raised us, and by His life we live. Can we be content to live at a distance from Him? Do we fail to remember Him at His table, where He deigns to feast with His brethren?

This is cruel! It behooves us to repent and do as He has bidden us, for His least wish should be law to us. To have lived without constant fellowship with Jesus, who loved him so dearly, would have been disgraceful to Lazarus. Is it then excusable in us whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting love? To have been cold to Him who wept over his lifeless corpse would have shown a lack of feeling in Lazarus. What does it say of us over whom the Savior has not only wept but bled? Come, brethren, who read this portion; let us return to our heavenly Bridegroom and ask for His Spirit, that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with Him and never miss the opportunity to sit at the table with Him.

“And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22

My wife came home from work yesterday in a sour mood. Which isn’t usual, but is usually not a problem. As a couple we tend to be opposites together in mood. When I am down, she picks me up, and vice versa. The only problem was, my mood was dour as well. When she started whining, I said… ‘here’s a quarter… find..!’ NO… I didn’t say that. But she knew. “Wanna go on a bike ride?” she asked.

We have a tandem bicycle. WIFE finds exercise stimulating… I find it work. But not wanting to remain in this mutually depressing mood, I agreed. So we saddled up and headed out on a long ride. “Hey.. did you see that?” I asked. “No,” she replied. “Wanna go back,” I asked? “NO!,” was her response. Peddle, peddle, peddle (OBVIOUSLY, we weren’t there yet!). As she huffed, she asked, “doesn’t this bike wear you out? It does me!” “NO… it just makes me sweat!” ‘Still not there,’ I thought. As we approached our inclined driveway, she punctuated the moment… “This is me NOT peddling!” But I already knew that!

In the verse today the word ‘YOU’ is plural. Had Paul been born in south Tarshish he’d a said “Ya’ll!” The verse written by ‘himself’ talks about all believers in Christ, and that we are ‘ALL’ under construction ‘together,’ becoming the dwelling in which He now lives by His Spirit! Some days are Awesome. Others are simply uphill, where peddling just doesn’t get us there. But days like that are PERFECT times for God to remind me that HE is the one doing all the steering and MOST of the peddling!

Every once in a while I see a Bible verse that gives me a glimpse, or hint, of what our future in Heaven will be like. Ephesians 2:4-7 is one that jumped out today. It is too long to write out here, but if you want, you can peddle to it and maybe get a glimpse yourself. The point is that this life is a construction project. GOD is building something VERY special and ‘WE’ are His bricks.

Sometimes in life we Believers can get down and realize that ‘we aren’t there yet.’ Reading this chapter in Ephesians today, I recognize that MAGNIFICENCE is on the way because GOD guarantees it! And my NOT peddling sometimes, is OK. In fact, sometimes that is EXACTLY what He expects from me!

“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your Word.” Psalm 119:37

Standing outside the restaurant with my family, I was focused on my youngest grandson. He has no learned fears yet, and sees a big parking lot as a place to run. NOT a good idea… for obvious reasons. As I focused on him, my peripheral vision saw movement to my extreme right. Then I heard the ‘thunk!’ An elderly lady had fallen in the parking lot and hit her head. All 9 of us ran to her aid.

As we sought to comfort her, I looked to see what might have possibly happened. And there it was! While she was watching where she was going, she wasn’t watching where she was going! A big tree root had grown under the pavement and slightly lifted it. Focusing ahead, she did not see the un-level ground below. Such is the dilemma of peripheral vision. It sees motion… but does not focus on details.

In the picture above, it is easy to see the difference between vision and peripheral vision. If you stare at it, it looks stationary. If you look off to the side, it appears to be moving! Conclusion? Your brain CAN be tricked! Another obvious conclusion? Satan knows it!

This verse above seems to be a little tricky as well. David is talking about God’s Word and asks God to turn his eyes from worthless things. While I love the prayer, I’m not sure how much GOD does the turning. From my perspective, His Word WARNS me, and it is up to ME to learn and choose to avoid ‘worthless.’ Like a little kid sees a parking lot, I can be drawn to many things that are not good for me. As they get pointed out, by teaching or actual experience, I have to learn to walk smart!

God has a whole LOT of teaching aids at His disposal. The Bible, family, friends, the Holy Spirit, angels and double vision are just some of the ways He teaches me. But sometimes EXPERIENCE is the hardest teacher. Ask a kid what he wants to BE when he grows up, he will usually give you an answer. Ask if he is on the clear PATH to reach that goal, and you likely get a different answer!

The Bible is full of stories that prove seeing is not necessarily believing. Where we WANT to go and where we ARE, are often opposite destinations. Not wanting to be tricked, I have to clearly focus on where I am and where I am headed. I thank God that He has provided me with a LOT of warnings before, AND help after, if and when I stumble. But I can trust that He will get me safely home.

“Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.” Psalm 96:2

In 30 minutes I hop into the car and drive 4 hours to officiate a wedding. The groom will be in the car with me… and so will my wife. I am not nervous or hugely anticipatory. I am joyful and calm. I am not the one GETTING married… I AM married. And that is all I need.

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and while everyone looks to a feast, time off and family, I wonder how often we drop the I, ME and MY to focus on HIM? Psalm 96 is dedicated to that very idea. As ALL of creation sings and praises their Creator in their own way… from rocks, trees, skies and seas, the ONLY one that REALLY matters to our Wonderful Savior, is the song of man’s heart!

Created things have a connection to the creator. But man is the one who holds the distinct position of the potential to be MARRIED to Him …in relationship… FOREVER. Fallen trees will not arise. Melted rock will never reform. But man will never die. And we shall either Praise Him or curse Him. It is our choice.

So praise and sing, and all the other things this Psalm says to do, in preparation for a week of Thanksgiving. Oh… and please pray for Mike and Kim. After all, marriage is the greatest symbol of our Divine Union on Earth. He wants us to be THAT CLOSE!

Praise the Lord!

“Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His Holy name.” Psalm 97:11-12

Getting a haircut is a big deal. At least for me. Having bopped around to different people, I haven’t found a steady person I can rely on. I’m not that picky, but I know my wife will make a comment. SHE is the one I want to please. So when I told my son-in-law I was looking for a barber he said, “go to ________ and ask for _________. And use my name!” So I did!

I found the place, and I asked for _______. Of 5 chairs he was the only one available. “How lucky,” I thought. “This could be the start of something good!” We struck up a conversation and I said, “Yeah… I’m here because Todd is my son-in-law and he said I should ask for you by name!” His response was? “WHO?” “Todd,” I said. “Who again?” he asked. I began to wonder if I was in the wrong place as I said… “TODD!” He finally said, “OHHHHHHH, you mean CHAPPY!” I thought, “what have I gotten myself into?”

So there I was, draped in a barber chair, trusting a man I do not know (with sharp scissors no less) who is smiling because he apparently knows MY son in law HE calls ‘CHAPPY?’ Resisting the urge to flee I just said settled in and the hair started to fly. I thanked God that hair grows back, but was unsure my wife would give a thumbs up. I HAD to trust that “Chappy’s Barber” knew what he was doing. Because Insulting him meant insulting Chappy! AND because he had my back to the mirror and had only asked me only 1 single question, “How short?” Knowing ‘chappy,’ that question was funny in several ways!

I have often said that getting into Heaven is like getting a good government job. It isn’t what you DO, it’s who you KNOW! And I know Jesus! It is interesting that HE has a lot of nicknames as well. In the verse above, two of His names are mentioned… Lord and Holy! The really cool part is that the same verse gives ME a couple nicknames as well! Righteous and upright! If you know me, that is funny… in several ways!

People who say they don’t believe in God obviously don’t KNOW God. Claiming He is unjust, cruel and absent prove they have no relationship with Him. I KNOW Him… He NEVER gets out of my hair, is ALWAYS on my mind and has NEVER failed me! Even when I THOUGHT He had!

I liked Chappy’s barber. Lots of folks commented to the affirmative. Which is interesting because I didn’t have a say about how my hair got cut! He just cut it the way he saw it! Jesus does the same thing to my life all the time and over the years, He has earned my trust!

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11

Visiting folks at their work in the industrial part of town, I parked ‘off road’ and headed in to say hello. On the side of the road I noticed an old nickel laying there, so I stopped and picked it up. Upon inspection it turned out to be a plug from an electrical box and not worth a penny. Coming out, I went the opposite way to get into my truck, and as I rounded the front and looked down, I was facing a beggertick plant. And yes… I KNEW what I was facing!

I’d like to say I was smart enough to go around the truck to avoid the weeds. I KNEW that walking through them came with the certainty of picking up hitchhikers – those annoying, stabby, little plant stickers that so easily latch on to socks and shoelaces. I actually paused to think about it (yea me)! Then I ‘pranced’ right through them! Do you now have a mental picture of me ‘prancing?’ I paid the price for prancing as, all morning long, I picked those things out of my socks!

The point is this. I didn’t KNOW that the nickel wasn’t a nickle. I only wasted 3 seconds of my life choosing to pick up something the was worthless. But I KNEW what that plant would do to me if I stepped in it. I actually FIGURED that it would only take a few seconds to pick them off! BUT… it would save me time in backtracking. I figured wrong!

My wife loves butterflies, and she once actually wanted to BUY and INSTALL this plant in our yard. She read somewhere that butterflies LOVE the flowers of this prickly plant! When she proposed the idea, I did a quick figure and said… “NO!” NO WAY was I going to live WITH that irritating bush. I could not calculate the time I would waste picking prickers as the plant grew bigger in my own yard! Even if it brought a MILLION Butterflies. It wasn’t worth the price!

Why do we KNOW what is bad for us, and yet proceed? Notice I said ‘WE.’ You see, it helps to include YOU into my sick, unreasonable mind, because then I don’t really FEEL as bad if I was dumb all by myself! See how that works? But the bottom line is, I AM responsible for my OWN decisions. And blaming YOU for previously stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar, AFTER I have been caught, just somehow makes my bad choice seem not SO bad! But that logic doesn’t work either!

One more time I think I will let the butterflies have the briers. I’m committed to learn from my ‘prancing’ and avoid prickly plants. BUT… I’m 63! Somehow I have a feeling that I’m PROBABLY going to prance again! Yes… I am that dumb!!! Thank GOD I have a Savior! Now, will you please erase the prancing image from your mind? Because God did! Thank you!