The Nature of the Nativity: Day 15 - Jesus

Quick, come with me; I've got something I want you to see.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 14 - The Manger

It's Day 14...almost done with our journey. I've enjoyed our time together, and I hope you have too. Today we are going to place our manger in the stable and get it ready for Jesus to come tomorrow.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 13 - The Scribes

Well, it's lucky day 13 of our journey through the nativity, and it happens to fall on a Friday! (cue suspenseful music) I'm writing this on Wednesday/Thursday, so it should be safe. Let's jump right in and get back to work on our nativity. Today I want to look at the Scribes. I'm sure some of you are looking at me confused because you don't remember any scribes in the Christmas story. Some of you are having issues with the whiteboard my scribes are using. Just go with it. 

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 3 - The Angels

Welcome to Day 3 of our exploration of the Nativity. I sat down last week and worked out a broad outline for this journey. I wanted to make sure that what I was doing was biblical (always a good thing for a minister to do), but also that it all made sense. What I struggled with the most was the order I should use. I finally settled on moving through the story chronologically except to save Jesus for last. Therefore, the first piece we will put on our "table" will be the angels. I know that most people would put the stable up first, but this is my blog so I get to make all weighty decisions. Do you like my spiffy drawing?

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 2 - The Table

Thanks for coming back! If you're like me, it's easy to get side tracked even though you have the best intentions. If you're just joining us, we are taking a 15 day journey through the nativity searching for spiritual truths. Yesterday we spent some time on why Jesus came and what God was doing with the Baby in the Manger. Today, we begin setting up our nativity scene.

I enjoy the Christmas season. I like the lights, the trees, the smells, and, of course, the eating. However, the preparation is not something I enjoy. Not only do we have to drag our extensive collection of boxes out of the attic, but we have to also put away all the other...stuff to make room. It just so happens, that everywhere Beth wants to put Christmas decorations there are already everyday decorations. Believe it or not, we don't have a bunch of empty end tables and shelves 11 months out of the year. As I said, all of this needs to be put away to make room. There are currently two nativities on display in our home. Both of them are taking the place of something else. In my office, I had to move my Lego Death Star and Lego Millennium Falcon to make room for my new breakable nativity scene that I inherited. 

"That's no moon...it's a space station."

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 1 - Introduction

I inherited a nativity scene from my grandmother this year. No, she didn't pass away; my receiving this nativity was a product of her downsizing for a move coupled with my tendency to steal and hide baby Jesus during family events. I would like to say that this happened strictly when I was child, but in reality I did it quite often as an adult. My favorite episode was when baby Jesus was discovered inside my grandmother's roll halfway through Christmas dinner. So, because of my goofy sense of humor, I now have a breakable nativity scene.   And just a disclaimer, the above picture is not the nativity I inherited. Hopefully I don't inherit every nativity scene I vandalize, since I have a hard time refraining when I walk by one. My mom once found Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Wisemen playing dice for Monopoly money. Mary was making a killing if I recall correctly.

5th Week of Advent 2015

The Judean hillside was dark and dangerous under the new moon. The Shepherd had to be doubly vigilant as he searched the rocky hills. Evening had been drawing to a close, and he was process of putting his flock up for the night when he noticed that one little lamb was missing yet again. He finished corralling his group of fat tailed sheep, gave instructions to his hired workers, and then set off into the inky darkness. Now he was miles away, tired and dirty, but intent on finding that one little lamb. The hired hands thought he was foolish; he had seen as much in their eyes as he had turned to leave. They believed he should just cut his losses. After all, this was almost a weekly occurrence with this lamb. Every few days, the Shepherd had to leave the rest of the flock to hunt this wayward one down, risking life and limb to bring him back into the fold. The hired hands didn’t understand; for them it was just one lamb out of hundreds. Losing it was understandable, an acceptable loss, because it was only a job. It wasn’t merely a job for the Shepherd. These were his Father’s sheep, and his Father cared for them deeply. His Father had entrusted the care of the sheep to him, and no losses were acceptable. The Shepherd loved the sheep and would not leave even one to perish. 

4th Week of Advent 2015

Joseph stared transfixed into the flames of the small fire. As he sat exhausted from the day’s events, he let his mind wander back to the day his life changed. He and his friends had been working on the house, his and Mary's house, when he got the news. Eliam bar Agee had come running through the little village of Nazareth to tell Joseph that Mary would soon be here. He had nodded solemnly to the lad, not wanting his face to betray his excitement; he couldn’t let his friends know how deeply he loved Mary or he would have to ever endure their heckling. The men working with him loved their wives, but the women they loved came after their trade or their children. The only thing Joseph loved more than Mary was Yahweh Himself. Yes he wanted sons, and yes he wanted to be a successful carpenter, but none of that compared to Mary. He watched Eliam dart off as young boys do, but continued to work steadily. He glanced around nonchalantly and saw three pairs of eyes watching him, dancing with laughter. He tried to feign disinterest, but then they started laughing outright; everyone knew how much Joseph loved Mary. Grinning sheepishly, Joseph gave up on the ruse. He stowed his tools and began to make his way toward the house of Mary’s father that he might see his beloved. He arrived as Mary’s parents were hurrying her into the house. He only caught a quick glimpse of her, but it was enough. Joseph had just enough time to see what everyone else had seen; his promised one was with child. 

3rd Week of Advent 2015

 She could hear the whispers as she carried the water jar through town, maybe not the exact words but definitely the whispers. Everywhere she looked, people quickly averted their gaze. If it wasn't so heart wrenching and lonely, Mary probably would have found their antics humorous. It had only been a few days since she had returned from Elizabeth’s, but the news that she was pregnant spread like wildfire like all gossip does in a small village. When she had left for her cousin’s home, Mary had only been a few weeks pregnant, a secret easy to keep. But now she was almost halfway through the pregnancy and her situation was blatantly obvious. Life the past few months had been wonderful. Elizabeth and Zechariah knew the truth and celebrated the coming Messiah with her, as she in turn celebrated with them and the birth of their son, John. Everyone there just saw a pregnant relative of Elizabeth's and assumed nothing sinister. It was a shock to come home after the months of peace. Her parents said they believed her, but the looks her parents shared around her spoke volumes on there own. And then there was Joseph. She had seen only his back as he avoided her these past few days. She had told Joseph about the angel’s visit before she left, but it seemed that he hadn’t believed her. Maybe he had thought that she was addled from long hours in the hot sun. Maybe he thought she was putting too much weight on an odd dream. Regardless, it was obvious that he now thought the worst, that she had been unfaithful and trying to cover it up.

2nd Week of Advent 2015

With a sigh, Yehoshua shifted his position. It looked like a comfortable position wasn't going to be possible tonight. If you moved one rock, the Judean hillside would grow two more in its place. Tonight was his night to be on the exhausting second watch, and he was only halfway through it. No one liked second watch. First watch and third watch weren't too bad because at least you got your sleep in one large cluster.  On second watch, you only got a few hours of sleep before you were prodded awake with a staff in the ribs, forced to stay awake for four hours listening to the contented snores of those fortunate enough not to be on second watch. Once you finished the shift, you had to try to get what little sleep was left before the sheep started waking up. With a grunt of exasperation, he dug under his leg, pulled out the offending stone, and hurled it down the hillside in angry satisfaction. Oh well, it may not be the most coveted of jobs, but at least shepherding put food on the table which was more than some people had.

1st week of Advent 2015

The doors swung shut with a loud thud, and the world went from light to dark. Standing just inside the threshold of the temple, Zechariah could hear the prayers of the worshipers gathered outside the walls. As a priest, he had served many times at the temple as his family worked their allotted time, but he had never won the right to serve before the Lord in the Holy Place. Some priests waited their entire life and were never chosen. After years of cycling on and off, his name had finally been drawn; it was his turn to offer the incense to the Lord. He overcame his awe and walked reverently through the dimly lit Holy Place, watching motes of dust meander through the shafts of light. With piousness, he measured out the correct portions of oils and spices, spreading them out over the glowing coals that had come from the altar of burnt sacrifice in the courtyard. 

Forsaken Son

Easter is nearly here. On Sunday morning, my family will wake up, get dressed, and join with countless others around the world to celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead. We will sing praises to God that are filled with barely containable joy. We will listen, with enraptured hearts, to a sermon proclaiming the wonders God has done for us through Christ Jesus. But now, in this week leading up to Easter, we remember the awful things that lead up to our Easter joy. As we read the events found in the Gospels, we come face to face with pain, suffering, grief, and unimaginable love.

Juggling Honey

...a "quick " grocery trip...

My wife frequently takes me grocery shopping with her. Now, I love hanging out with my wife, but grocery shopping ranks pretty low on my list of things I want to do. Still, I get to spend time with my wife so I go and try to find ways to amuse myself (as everyone on my social media pages can attest to). The holidays are usually more fun because there is always an embarrassing hat I can wear around the store, or a holiday themed item I can make fun of. I am often amazed at some of the products that companies think people want to buy. I can almost hear them desperately working in some stuffy, windowless room during a week long planning session that has yielded no results.
                "Everybody loves Little Female Explorer Cookies, right?"
                "They sure do!"
                "And people love flavored milk, right?"
                "I like where this is going!"
                "Let's make Mint Cookie flavored milk!"
                "That's an awesome idea!"
And then room erupts into spastic high-fives and weird group hugs. This is how I amuse myself at that big chain store that I won't name for trademark reasons.

Garbage Can Lids and Snarling Wolves

My town recently went to the big, plastic, flip-top garbage cans for the garbage truck with the mechanized arm. This is great for a number of reasons. The cans are larger and sturdier than the ones you can buy at the store. This one will hold a weeks worth of trash plus whatever junk I pull out of the garage. The hinged lid means I don't have to go searching for the lid after every thunderstorm. The truck comes down the road instead of the back alley, so now I don't have to traipse across the back yard in the torrential downpour to take the trash out. Most importantly it frees up the old metal trash cans and allows them to be used in a more vital roll...shields. If you've got a stick and a garbage can lid, you're all set for a fun afternoon. Growing up we had the big, stupid, plastic ones but my grandparents had two metal ones with lids. The best thing was, my grandfather had a cinder block pit where he burned trash so the cans were usually empty and the lids were fair game! Boy did my brother and I stink at blocking with those shields.

Garbage can lids are not very effective shields. For a shield to be effective it has to fit the situation. A small round shield works great for hand to hand combat between two lone fighters, but wouldn't do so good deflecting a flight of arrows. By the same token a larger, knee to shoulder shield works great against arrows but could hinder a fighter in a gladiator bout. Certain shields were designed for certain things and to use them successfully you have to use them the way they were intended to be used. To use them any other way, or to use a garbage can lid instead, can lead to dire consequences. Grab your Bible and turn to John chapter 10.

Following the Blind Man Through the Gate

What are you scared of? I'm not talking about the normal laundry list of little things; I'm asking about the things that greatly unnerve you. What makes your heart race and your stomach turn over? This may sound weird, but the open sea scares me more than just a little. I'm not talking about being on a boat and sipping lemonade on the deck. I'm talking about IN the open water. There's no bottom in sight, much less touch. Your vision underwater is measured in feet instead of miles. You're at the mercy of whatever comes along...and you can't even see it coming. We went to a 3D movie a few weeks back and the camera zoomed in on a ship out in the ocean. Because of the angle and the 3D effect, it felt like you were swimming in the ocean toward the ship. I didn't like it. At all. Not one bit. What's funny is, I would love to get in a shark cage and watch a Great White shark go nuts except for the vast nothingness. I don't think I could handle it streaking out of the darkness going 40 miles an hour. Give me a half of a mile to watch it come and I think I would be all right…as all right as you could be with a cage keeping a shark away.

To be honest, it's really the unexpected surprise that terrifies me. I'm pretty sure that most of this is because of my severe near sightedness. I always joke that if they change the "E" at the top of the chart, I'd never know. Not being able to see can be a scary thing. For me, it's about power. Some of you ladies just rolled your eyes, but it's true. Not that I have to be more powerful than anyone else, I don't want anyone to have power over me! I want to be in control, and to lose my vision is to lose some of that control. Just like the murky water, I want to be able to see what is around me. I know these two topics seem completely unrelated, but it will all come together. We're still looking at the "I Am's" of Jesus but first I want to look at the story of a blind man. (pun intended)

This Little Light of Mine

Have you ever been wrong and didn't realize it? Have you ever been wrong and completely aware of it? Sometimes we find ourselves where we aren't supposed to be, other times we head across the line knowingly. Regardless of how you arrived there, when your wrong doing is made known...what is your reaction? My kids have a cycle that they go through without fail. First up is "Huh?" If I pretend like I don't know what your talking about, it will fool you. This is very close to the toddler that hides by closing his eyes. Next up is, "Not Me!" When they are "made aware" of the wrong doing that took place, they looked shocked at the notion of anyone doing something so heinous and deny any involvement. Most of the time this is followed closely by, "It was HIM!" Looking shocked and innocent didn't work, so now we need to misdirect the attention onto someone else. My youngest has actually blamed his brother for using the bathroom in his Pull-Up! After this comes the back track. Once they discover that the scrutiny hasn't shifted, they go back to "Not Me!", but this time it is accompanied by nervous twitches. They won't look at me, they can't stand still, or they can't stop moving their hands. They know they are running out of options and they are starting to get worried. Finally we get to the last evasion in the series, "Silence." Deep down they know they are caught, but they can't own up to it. All it takes is one more push though, because they've reached the end of the road and they know it. They stand at the brink and look over the edge into the fog shrouded crevasse. They have no idea what is coming next and it is terrifying. Deep down they know they did wrong and they know they deserve punishment.

Since my three little ones are all preschoolers, their punishment is very shallow except in the most extreme cases. 99% of the time it is a little pop on the hand accompanied by the usual parental guilt/love. But that's only if they willingly confess at some point along this route. If they persevere all the way to the final step of silence, then the punishment gets more "severe" and I try to explain that to them. "You're getting your hand popped for throwing the metal trivet across the room for the hundredth time. You're not getting any dessert because you lied to me." (My grandmother HATES the word lie. "Call it telling a story!" Nope...they lied!) Now the waterworks start. "But I don't want my hand popped!" "I'm sorry, but you know that we don't throw the metal trivet across the room." But soon, they get over the physical punishment. It didn't really hurt, it just stung a little. I also try to deflect them after a few minutes so they don't cry through supper. But when the food is eaten, and it's time for dessert...and they don't get any...the fireworks are epic! They'll look over at their siblings eating a piece of cake or a cookie and will come unhinged. It's almost like those old cartoons where the tears actually fly out of the eye. I calmly remind them, "I gave you a chance to tell me the truth and you didn't do it. Since you lied to me, you don't get dessert. I'm sorry." Then they just sit and wallow in their loss. Here's my point, we adults aren't much different when it comes to our own choices. We know something is wrong, but that's not enough to keep us from doing it. The Bible alludes to this numerous times as our "flesh". As we are, we cannot keep from doing wrong. It takes something more than us. Today we'll be looking at Jesus' next "I Am" statement, and  the events that lead up to it.

Giraffe Begins With "J" and God is a Crutch

My four year old daughter is a very adamant little girl. We were driving to get something to eat a few weeks ago and I was using the time to help them practice sounding out words and matching letters. I'll ask the three of them, "What starts with M?" My three year-old son has no interest beyond whatever truck or construction vehicle he can see out his window to the point that we are constantly interrupted with, "Dere's another ba-hoe, Dad!" My four year old son enjoys the "game" but he's not near as quick as his know-it-all twin sister. She immediately starts hollering out words. "M-M-M-Mouse!! Daddy, mouse starts with M." And I am quite sure I've caught a haughty look or two being shot at her brother. She's so bad, I'll tell her to not answer and I can hear her doing it under her breath!

So we start with A and work our way through. C always gives us problems, but Sesame Street has taught them that C makes two different sounds, so its not too big of a hiccup. D is easy, but they occasionally confuse the long E and the short I sounds. F goes off without a hitch, and I expected G to be easy too. Boy, was I wrong! "What starts with G?" I was expecting a quick answer from the honor student behind me, but she was quiet...as was her brother. I looked in the mirror and I could see her staring out the window frantically searching for a "G" word. Like any good parent, I offer suggestions, "What about g-g-goat? Or g-g-goose?" "Yes Daddy, those start with G!" What's funny was, the tone she used was pure, "Good job, Daddy!" So then I made my mistake, "What about giraffe?" This little girl cut her eyes at me in the mirror and used the teenage "your stupid" tone, "J-J-Jiraffe starts with J, Daddy!" I calmly instruct her that giraffe does indeed start with the letter G. This was like poking a hornet's nest. She fought me on this for at least five minutes before I convinced her that G can make two sounds just like C can. She was so sure of what she knew that she couldn't get passed it to the truth. We've taken a few weeks and studied how God describes himself, now I want to move to the seven "I AM" phrases Jesus uses to describe who He is and what His mission is.  

1x1x1=1

Have you ever tried to explain something to a preschooler? With four kids, I have tons of stories of them trying to understand something that is way beyond their little minds. Some of the time they are hysterical, other times their questions have a ring of simple truth, but sometimes they can't hope to understand. Right now they are going through one of these times. My oldest son is 8 years old and right now he and my wife are in Bethesda, MD going through the beginning stages of a bone marrow transplant. They left June 1 and are hoping to be back around the first part of October if everything goes well. My other three children are 4, 4, and 3. They look at their dad and say, "I miss momma..." or "I miss my brother...".Because of the distance and because of the risk to their brother, they won't get to see them for at least three months and that's only if he is doing well enough for them to visit. As a father I understand all of this. I can see that this is necessary and that good will come out of it, but they can't. I've tried my best to explain to them that their mom and brother will be back, but that it will be a long time. The hardest time for them, and for me, is when I have to leave them some place. Whether it's daycare, babysitter, or grandparents, they don't want me to leave. My four year old son is the strong type. He gives me a hug and then walk resigned into the daycare. He'll stand at each window and wave to me as I walk to the van. He doesn't cry, but he doesn't smile either, he simply  accepts that I will be back. His four year old sister gives me a hug and is gone though I can tell by her eyes that she doesn't like this any better than her brothers; she seems to adapt the fastest to all this. My little one is not as big as his siblings. "But I miss you dad", is all he'll say as he clings to my neck , or leg, or hides behind me. So we hug and talk and give lots of kisses. I try to remind all of them that I will be back, it's just for a little while. I remind them of the things they do understand to help them accept the things they can't. Yes, I'm tearing up as I write this, but emotion is not why I began with this. There are some things about God that we cannot understand, we just have to accept them. One of those things is the idea of the Trinity.

Tracking Hurricanes

Growing up in South Louisiana, you learn things you don't necessarily learn everywhere else. Some of it is practical experience, like what size alligator you can hit with your car and it not do damage. How fast a water moccasin can swim in flood waters. What is a  nutria exactly?(Google it; so nasty!) One of the things you learn in school is how to track hurricanes on a tracking map. Now, I was lucky that I've never experienced a major hurricane, but like you, I have seen the devastation that a hurricane can do. In the last few months, the US has seen out breaks of tornadoes that have done massive damage to people and property.  When viewing the aftermath of one of these storms, I would dare say it is impossible to not be awed at the power of wind.

The last few weeks we've been exploring God's character. We've looked at the attributes that make Him who He is, but we won't have a complete picture of who God is until we look at His capabilities.

There is a way that seems right...

I'm sorry, but if there is truth there is also falsehood. Many people in our world would certainly disagree with me. Society, especially that found in the U.S., chooses to believe that each person can decide for themselves what is right and wrong as long as it does not encroach on choices made by anyone else. Some even believe this to be a modern development, a crowning achievement of our forward thinking society. This is not the case. Mankind has found ways to justify its actions throughout history. Interestingly, when you step back a few hundred years all the justifications look a lot like, "I did it because I wanted to." In this blog, I desire to show you the Truth of God that is found in Jesus Christ.