Photo by Cathy Wang

There is a Christmas song I really like titled, “Mary Did You Know?” written by Mark Lowry.  The song ask Mary did you know your baby would… and it goes on to list a lot of the great things that Jesus did while here on earth.

Mary birthed “Hope”.  But did she truly realize the magnitude of the one she was giving birth to?  Does any parent ever know who their child will grow up to be?  My question for Mary would be, “When did you know?  At what point?  After which miracle, did you believe your son was the One the angel of the Lord first told you he would be?  Mary, when did you believe that your son was indeed God’s Son?”  Everyone will be asked the same question.  “When did you believe?”  I hope it’s not when you are standing before Him being judged for that will be too late.

Another thought: Not to minimize the importance of Mary, but she too was a sinner who needed the gift of salvation that the son she bore came to give.

Birth “Hope”.  Give people the greatest gift that was ever given to you.  Deliver the hope we have in Jesus Christ with everyone you can this season and every day, so like Mary, they will know.

Merry Christmas to all of you.  May you know God, a little better every day.

There are many stages to life.  I once heard a great sermon by pastor Mike Breaux titled, “From Walker to Walker”.  He showed how we go from a baby walker to a walker used by the elderly, and all the stages in between.

My ex-wife and I were at a company party at a skating rink.  I wanted my son to enjoy the evening as well.  They wouldn’t let me carry him around while I skated, but they let me push him around in his walker.  One problem: the plastic wheels got hot from the speed and melted.  It’s hard to use a walker with one side of each wheel flat.  Although by using it after that evening we always knew where he was in the house; right where we had left him.

Two train buddies, Judy and Jan, are retiring this month.  I’m happy for them, but a little envious, for now they get to do what they want to do, and not what they have to do to survive.  This should be a good stage in life.

Then there are the stages of cancer.  I have another friend going through that right now.  She smiles, and says she is doing okay, but I wonder when she looks at herself in the mirror is she really okay?  I struggle with finding the right words to say to her.  I can tell her I am praying for her, but how do I show her I really care?

As we walk through the stages of life, which is like a vapor that passes before our eyes (James 4:14) it is important to make the most of each one.  The only way to do that is to trust God as you are in that particular stage and to be content in it.  No matter how you are walking through life know this; if you are a child of God you are not alone.  You may be single, married, have lots of friends, or just one, but there is indeed one who is always walking with you.  His name is Jesus.  Whatever stage you are in He may walk beside you, in front of you leading the way, or He may be carrying you, but He is indeed there with you.

Have you ever wondered what life would have been like if you had never been born?  Okay Mark, “Did you watch “It’s A Wonderful Life” again this year?”  Yes, I did.  I do every year.  It’s a … well a tradition, but back to my question.  Have you?

I think it would be a travesty for anyone who is a disciple of Jesus Christ to have not been born.  You see when we do our best to be like Jesus we too are light that shines in a very dark world.  Perhaps the majority of us don’t save lives, or give our entire savings to those in need, but the little things we do would go undone, because you would not be here to do them.

The staying a little longer to help out, the written note showing your gratitude, the holding of a door while sharing a warm smile.  If you weren’t here who would do those things, and all of the other things that you do?

I know whether spoken or not the things you do for others in the love of Christ are noticed and appreciated.  And for some, the things you do make a difference.  You, yes you may be the brightest part of one’s day.  Without you in their life there possibly would only be darkness.  Please never underestimate the impact you have on people.  The same people that matter to God.  Who knows?  He may have orchestrated your life intersecting theirs so they feel Him and His love for them that day.

When you are in the family of God you have the unbelievable privilege of being a part of the greatest thing God does on earth…touching lives and building God’s kingdom for eternity.  So you see, when you are a child of God you really do have a wonderful life.

You read in Genesis the true story of Noah.  In Noah’s day the people were out of control.  The people did whatever seemed right to them in their own eyes.  God had had enough.  He was going to judge the ones who didn’t believe in Him and accept His means of salvation.

God told Noah rain was coming.  A lot of rain.  Enough to cover the entire earth and its tallest mountains even though it had never rained before.  God gave Noah a means of escaping the judgement.  Build a boat.  Noah believed, and while he was building this boat he told others what God had said, and no doubt everyone heard the message.

The boat was finished.  Two of every kind of animal was on board.  It started to rain, and Noah with his family entered the boat, their salvation from judgement.  When the people saw it was actually raining THEN they believed, and THEN they wanted saving, but it was too late.  So I wonder, how long did some of them float?  How many days did they last while hanging on to anything that would keep their head above water?  Then how far did they sink before their lungs filled up with water, and their life was over?

The Bible says in the last days it will be worse than in the days of Noah.  God has provided a boat, meaning a way to escape judgement.  And one doesn’t have to look around very far to see that people are living however they want to.  The boat, who is Jesus Christ, hasn’t left yet, but some are already drowning.  How long are you going to be able to keep your head above water?  What devices in life are you clinging onto thinking they will save you?  Are you sinking?

You don’t have to.  God has made a way of escape through His son Jesus whose death forgives you of everything wrong you have ever done if you believe and accept.  Accept this salvation before it is too late.  The first judgement was with water.  The second will be with fire, and I assure you God has just about had enough of the way people are living today.  He is only waiting for the last person to have an opportunity to hear the message.  Please don’t wait too late BEFORE you believe, for only God knows how long.

I saw a page the other day from the book “Where’s Waldo?”  Sad to say I couldn’t find him.  I thought, this is crazy.  I bet a 6 year old could find him faster than I can.  And I even know what he looks like!  Then the thought hit me, is that one of the reasons why people can’t find God?  They don’t know what He looks like?

If God bumped into you on the street would you know it was Him?  The truth is, God has known you before you were ever born.  “Psa 139:13  Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb.” He knew all about you then, and still knows all about you now.  He also hears your heart, knows what you’re going through, and more than that, He cares.  God spends your whole life hoping, and helping you find Him, accept Him, and get to know Him.  He even heard you the other day when you said, “I wish my heart would stop breaking.”  “I wish the pain would go away.”, or “God why?” and, “God do you not see what I am going through here?”

He does see.  He does care.  He wants the pain to stop as much as you do.  Like a parent who has to stand by and helplessly watch their child hurt.  God hurts when His children hurt, but He is not helpless.  He can guide, comfort, heal, and give you peace.  If you really want to find God then go to a church that teaches about Him.  Read His words, the “Bible”.  And best of all, just talk to Him.  Talk to him like you would your best friend.  After all He should be.  That is how you find God.

I had a friend once who said to me she was so tired of “bumping into God!”  I asked her what she meant by that statement.  She explained that lately every time she gets away from one disciple of Christ she meets another one.  I responded by saying, “Wow!  God really does love you, for He is pursuing you like crazy.”  The thing is, God loves everyone and pursues everyone no matter where they go, or what they do to get away from Him.  Stop running.  Stop making God pursue you.  Accept Him, His unbelievable love, His goodness, His kindness, and just enjoy being in the presence of perfection.  I assure you God is easier to find than Waldo.

I go once a month to a writer’s meeting.  There we critique each other’s latest projects, and generally remind each other we aren’t totally nuts for wanting to be a writer.  Writing can be very lonely at times and extremely grueling at other times, but a true writer must write.  Lately our president, of this writer’s group, has been starting our meetings with a “writing” prompt.  This last one was the title of this week’s blog which came from a Toyota ad in a magazine.  Below is my response to the prompt:

Find who I have not yet become?  Where would I start?  Which path do I take?  Is there a “MapQuest” website for this?  Will my GPS help me?  It always thinks I already know my destination.  “Siri”.  I’ll ask “Siri”.  She has all the answers, or her new cousin “Cortana”.  I’m sure one of those ladies would love to tell me where to go.  Oh, wait.  Stop. By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. (Ps. 119:105 MSG)  God, you know who I need to become in you.  Show me the way.  I’ll just start here where I am and trust I’ll stop from time to time to hone in on your voice calling me toward the finish line where you already are.  Help me God to finish well.

A Priest, a Rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar.

The Rabbi suggest, “Hey let’s get one of the patrons to ask us a really hard question about God and get them to agree to buy each of us a beer if one of us can answer it.”

“Good idea”, the other two said.

So they make an announcement and ask if anybody would like to ask them a really hard question about God, and if they could stump all three then they would receive a free beer.  Several raised their hands, and so they randomly picked a guy.  The guy thought for a minute and then asked his question.  The three men of the cloth were all stumped.  So they buy the guy a drink and agreed this had to be a fluke.  We combined have been in the ministry for a long time.  So they tried it again, and then again.  After several attempts they left the bar embarrassed and broke!

How would your Rabbi, Priest or Minister do?  Yes this was a joke, but not a funny one.  It’s actually sad, because these men are supposed to know God and His word.  If the one you listen to week after week was not sharing with you God’s word accurately, would you know?

Each of us has a responsibility to know God’s word for ourselves.  When we hear scripture we should recognize it.  If we are attending a place of worship and we hear anything other than the true word of God we should run!  Read God’s word for yourself.  Memorize it, learn it.  It will serve you well in more ways than you know.

Life.  It can come at you pretty fast sometimes.  Two weeks ago was one of those weeks.  A week where I saw life in its fullest.  The pictures associated with this blog are all from my week.  I have lived in the Chicago area for 21 years now and had never been inside the “United Center” until last week, and I wound up there twice for two completely different reasons.

The first event I went to was to celebrate my church’s 40^th year anniversary.  I know, not that long compared to most churches, but considering how this church got started with a small group of teenagers who didn’t know a thing about how a church should be ran.  What started out in a movie theater with about 100 people has grown to one building running 20,000 a weekend with five other campuses totaling around 27,000.  We just say, “Only God!”

The second event at the “United Center” was for a Chicago Blackhawks game.  They won.  Two very different events.  One cheering for men, the other cheering for God for all of the lives he has touched and saved through this little group of people who dared to listen to God’s whisper.

The rest of the week was life.  Highs and lows.  A co-worker finds out his 4yr. old grandson has cancer.  A person sitting on the ground begging for money.  Another friend finds a good job.  Trees beautiful with colorful leaves.  Warm days, cool nights. People together talking, eating, working, laughing, crying.

I have one friend who never has anything happen to him.  You ask him how his week went, and he will only say, “It was okay.”  I was talking to a co-worker about this and she suggest he goes through life with his eyes closed.  God gives us life.  He will help you through the lows, and bless you from time to time with some highs, but you have to see it.  Your eyes have to be open.  This is living, this is life.

[ˈpāSHəns]
NOUN
1. the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset:

I had to look up the definition of “patience”, because it became very clear to me yesterday I have so little of it I may not even know what it is.  Now in all fairness, the level of patience I might have tends to be affected by how tired I am.  I also noticed yesterday my freedom to express my lack of patience has a lot to do with where I am, and whom I am with.

Yesterday I hurt a very dear friend of mine.  Afterwards I felt like the biggest jerk on earth asking myself, “What’s wrong with me?”  I didn’t come up with an answer at the time.  Another thing seems to be no matter what you do to make up for your words, and or actions it doesn’t go very far in making the other person feel better.

Last night while sitting in God’s house I became overwhelmed with the amount of “patience” God truly has for me.  I certainly don’t deserve it.  I was humbled.  Then it hit me how God pulls off this kind of patience.  It is with insurmountable amounts of love for me.  So how do I get more patience for others?  I develop more love.  More love for people in general, for strangers, for family, for friends, and definitely for my dear friend.

NOTE:  I was going to write a different blog this week, but I ran out of time in developing it.  Please be patient as I will try my best to have it ready for next week.  Thanks!  I love you too.

I have often sat and wondered how the conversation went between God and his son Jesus when it came to mankind.  I imagine it might have gone something like this:

“Father, you sure you want to make man?”
“Yes son.  I am sure.  Some of them will choose to accept me, love me, worship me, and do their best to live for me even though they have never seen me.  I desire such a people.”
“But you know all of them will disobey your commandments.  Some will hate you, even curse your name, and never accept you.”
“I know.  When they do you know what we will then have to do don’t you?”
“Yes Father.  They will need a perfect sacrifice to die for them.  Otherwise they will never be able to be in your presence for you are Holy.”
“And you know who that sacrifice will have to be?”
“Yes.  Me.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Yes Father.  I would rather not, but there is no other way.”
“Son, I and the Holy Spirit will be there with you all along the way to help you, empower you, and to keep you.”
“Father, go make man.”

Can you imagine?  God knew, and God knows.  It is hard for me to believe that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit did this for me and for you.  In a conversation with my mother this past week she said it so perfectly.  She said, “You’ve got to care to do it.”  Wise words that apply to so much of our lives and also to the God that made us in his own image.  He cares.  That is why He did it.