Christmas

12 Gifts of Christmas / 8th Gift – Blueprints of Grace

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

As we near Christmas we need to remember that same grace that chose Bethlehem’s manger for God’s new born Son of God to lay in, has also chosen whatever struggles we face today. No matter what difficulty we are up against, today’s verse reminds us to abandon our own smarts, or strength. It reminds me of when I was about eight years old going with my step-father to visit his architectural firm. There, everywhere I looked large tables were filled with blueprints. My step-dad put me up on a chair so I could see and flipped through some of his plans. To my eight year old mind those pages looked more like a tangle of arrows and lines than anything useful. But He just smiled and slowly showed me how those arrows and lines would one day become beautiful new buildings. Today standing at the edge of old age I sometimes feel like that little boy again. I Look back and recall the unstoppable tears at the death of my parents, my terrifying visits to the emergency room for back pain and my wife’s battle with cancer. In the heat of those moments they just seemed like aimless and terrifying attacks. Though I know that in God’s design He has been working from a blueprint for good, I still need His grace to calm my heart and help me trust His plan.

Photo by Lex Photography on Pexels.com

The blueprints on God’s workbench are covered with the lines and plans of His grace. We may not see it but we are each a part of His design. One day together we will be completed in the beautiful home He has designed for us all. He often chooses that our struggles today, will become a comfort that we can give to someone else tomorrow. If we humbly ask in prayer, “Father what is this confusing jumble of lines and arrows written on your blueprint of grace for me?” He will delight in explaining just enough of His plan to gently lead us down our path today.

12 Gifts of Christmas / 7th Gift – Rest

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29

Our plane had finished climbing to 30,000 feet and the pilot quietly announced that we were now free to move about the cabin, but my eyes were still tightly closed in prayer. No – I wasn’t just being religious – I was really terrified of flying! But on a six hour flight it is hard to pretend that you are sleeping for very long. When eventually, I opened my eyes, I noticed a young Chinese man seated across from me, gazing out his window in delight. We struck up a conversation and I learned that he was coming from Hong Kong to the United States and that this was his first time on a plane. The difference between His joy of watching the clouds and the scenery lay in stark contrast to my dark fears. Though I truly believed that if I died I would be with Jesus, I was still gripped by anxiety and my neighbor’s obvious joy made me feel ashamed.

He was enjoying the kind of rest that in our hurry towards Christmas, we all need to remember. Maybe we miss God’s purpose of rest because we feel that with any sort of inactivity we might be missing out. But God is at the controls of our lives and has given us complete freedom to move about the cabin and find rest as we delight in seeing where God is taking us on our journey.

We would be a lot more at ease if we remembered that Jesus patiently lingered nine unhurried months in the waiting room of Mary’s womb. Shepherds learned the Good News of great joy as they rested with their flocks. Even after Jesus was born, He rested in the place the Father had put Him while He was growing up in the tiny village of Nazareth.

In fact, Jesus had brothers and sisters with whom He had to share a straw mattress on the floor and eat the same simple family meals that Mary cooked. Never once does the Bible record a complaint, or reveal an attitude of impatience with him. Jesus simply waited for the day when His Father’s work would begin and He rested in the place where he was. Maybe it was there in Nazareth where He was taught to give thanks for bread and fish. While taking care of his chores He learned to wash feet for visitors, celebrate weddings and handle wood and nails. Then He patiently and painfully endured the cross for us, all the while resting in the thought that the end of hIS journey would be perfect. then before the resurrection Jesus rested three long days in the tomb. That same Jesus who could take a nap in a boat in a storm now invites us to also come, put our trust in Him and celebrate rest for our souls forever!

12 Gifts of Christmas / 5th Gift Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. Matthew 12:20

A few years ago when we lived in the city of Scranton, a house in our neighborhood was condemned and slated for demolition. Ironically, the problems had nothing to do with the owner’s neglect, but with the home’s unfortunate luck to be near a large storm sewer project. During all the digging, smashing and scraping going on out in the street, the building’s foundation had cracked. The city quickly paid the owner for the damages and he moved out. Then shortly afterward, large equipment was brought and in just two days the house was completely demolished and all its rubble carted away.

Is there anyone in your world like this small unfortunate home? Maybe their lives have gotten a little too close to other people’s important building projects. The heavy equipment, the digging and smashing going on that is happening while others are reaching their goals has weakened their footings.  Problems beyond their control have wiped away in a few short hours an entire lifetime of family dinners, memories of children playing and hopes for the future.

The world specializes in wrecking hopes and dreams, but Jesus said that He would never break bruised hearts or put out flickering candles of hope. If during this Christmas season the wrecking ball of life comes to tear down our neighbor’s home, we have an opportunity to point them to the gift of hope we have found who was born in a manger. He still shines a light in darkness that no situation person or problem will ever be able to put out!