Beck the Halls

By Lynn Rebuck –

I like Christmas music, but starting in early November it’s omnipresent: it’s in every store, in every elevator, and on every station, including talk radio (I fully expected Glenn to release a “Beck the Halls” Christmas CD).

As I searched the mall for an omnipresent (that’s the one gift that I could purchase in bulk for everyone) recently, I heard blaring from the speaker systems of three different stores an unintended medley of clashing carols:  “Silent Rudolph the Red-Nosed Manger.”  It was more than my fried-by-“Feliz Navidad” brain could handle.

I sought sanctuary in a nearby synagogue to escape the cacophony of carols. I hummed “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” to soothe and center myself.  I don’t mind the holiday music, but it is so pervasive that it is affecting my every thought and intruding into all of my family’s conversations.

The other night I could have sworn that my daughter approached me and told me of her plans to go out with her adolescent friends by saying the phrase “We three teens of orient are….”  Maybe I’m just hearing things.

“Do you hear what I hear?” inquired one of my children the night before Christmas.

“Is it the little drummer boy?” I asked.

“No,” he said.

“You know,” I said, “I heard the bells on Christmas Day.”

“That’s nice, Mom.”

“Their old familiar carols play,” I continued, making conversation.

“Mom, you’d better lay off the eggnog.”

“Can I have a friend over?” my son continued, standing next to a kid I hadn’t noticed before.

“What child is this?”

“Chris.”

“Which one is he? The Drummer’s little boy?”

“Funny, Mom.  He’s the Taylor’s kid.”

“Joy to the world,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Is that a yes?”

“What’s that smell?” interrupted another child.

“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” I mumbled.  “Or it could be dinner.”

“Mom, can I go on a date with Paul?” asked my eldest.

“The little drummer boy?”

“He’s a percussionist in a rock band, Mom. And so what if he’s short, I just won’t wear heels.”

“When will you be back?”

“I’ll be home for Christmas,” she said.

I nodded and reached for more nog.

As she walked out the door, she called over her shoulder “You can count on me.”

“Did the box from Amazon arrive?” asked my son.

“Yes, it came upon a midnight clear.”

“I didn’t know UPS delivered that late.”

“’Tis the season, you know.”

You know, the three wise men were the first midnight madness shoppers, and they didn’t have any criss-crossing carols to contend with.

I am now in a 12 Steps of Christmas Recovery Program. Fa-la-la-la-la, la- la-la-Joy!

© 2011 Lynn Rebuck

Molded by the Potter

By Heather Arbuckle –

Living in north Texas, winter is rainy and cold. Not Iowa cold where the wind chill takes your breath away. Here, it is more of a damp cold that makes you want to hide under a blanket. On those dreary wet days, the kids have no choice but to entertain themselves inside. One of their favorite rainy day distractions used to be Play-Doh. Even now, my girls like to play bakery and mash the colorful clay into pretend cakes and cookies for imaginary customers. For hours, they sit together at the kitchen table, molding and shaping their Play-Doh into creations from their own imagination. And if their design isn’t the masterpiece they envisioned, they simply pound it down and start again.

The Bible tells us we are like clay. In Job, scripture says, “I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay.” (Job 22:6) We are constantly being molded either into the likeness of Christ or into the image of the world. One leads to peace, the other to peril. One leads to joy, the other despair. One leads to restoration, the other to ruin. When we choose to spend time with God, we allow Him to shape us into the creation he imagined before our conception. Scripture explains “yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

Not long ago, I spoke with a woman who had forgotten that she is “the worko f a potter’s hands”. (Lamentations 4:2) Bitter from disappointment, the woman explained that her life had not turned out the way she had planned. Through the years, she had grown distrustful of the LORD. Rather than clinging to God and allowing Him to mold her life into something meaningful and beautiful, she instead chose to embrace the false securities of the world. In her discouragement, this young woman’s heart had grown cold towards God.

My heart broke when I took in the hopelessness of her words. She was so sure she was right about the LORD, although my eyes of faith could see clearly what she could not. She insisted her past circumstances offered her all the “proof” she was seeking. In her present state, she is blind to all that God has done for her. She only sees her pain. Consequently, there was little I could say to change her mind. Instead, I chose to hear her out. Then I took her before the Lord in prayer. I am not close to this woman, and I have no idea where her heart stands today, but I know the LORD isn’t finished with her. In time, He shall shape this beautiful woman’s life as it best seems to Him. (Jeremiah 18:4)

As a mother of faith, her story is one that I keep close to my heart. Truly, it is a reminder of how important it is for me to mold the hearts of my children for God. I long for them to be clay in the potter’s hands all of their days. For, in His hands, the hands which gave them life, their future is secure, no matter how their circumstances appear. Troubles are momentary. However, God is eternal. Regardless of the political or financial climate of today or the deteriorating condition of the world, my children will know His peace if they rest in the hands of the potter.

We are told that in this life, trouble would surely find us. After all, we are born with a sinful nature into a fallen world. All of creation is groaning in peril. Trouble is a certainty will all must face. Still, God is with us in our troubles and He is working everything for good. (Romans 8:28) If we are wise, we will be mindful that even in our troubles, God is molding and shaping us into the image of Christ. For the LORD declares, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (Jeremiah 18:6).

A Christmas Story

By Judy Davis –

Christmas, what a wonderful time of the year!   I’ll never forget the memories of our grandchildren celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  Each Christmas Eve I baked a cake and lit a candle as we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. After we finished singing, I would read the Christmas Story.

As I read the Christmas story once again, I was captivated by the simple words that there was no room in the inn.  On the morning our Lord was born, there was no room for Him.  In many lives today, there is still no room for Him.

Billy Graham stated in his message Christmas: God with Us, “that many cynics will blame God for the troubles of the world.  We should blame ourselves.  We have a spiritual disease, and that disease is called sin.  Until sin is conquered, the world will not be a better place in which to live.”

Christmas is more than tinsel and lights.  It is more than gifts under the tree.  Christmas is a time to experience the touch of Christ, to have our needs met and help meet the needs of others.

When our younger grandchildren Connor and Noah visit us during the holiday season, we always have a joyful time of celebration.

I’ll never forget the Christmas Connor started to open a present when he saw my little olive-wood manger scene I had purchased in Bethlehem.   He slowly picked up Baby Jesus, then the manger, a donkey, and a camel, holding them in his tiny hand.  He laid down his new gifts that were still wrapped and started playing with Baby Jesus.

It was not long when he ran to me and said, “Nana, where is Baby Jesus? I can’t find baby Jesus…” and we both got down on our hands and knees looking for him under the rug, the sofa, the table.  Finally Connor saw the little replica of Baby Jesus.  “I found him, I found him,” squeaked Connor.  It was at that moment I thought of the verse, “Suffer not the little children to come unto me….”

As we prepare our homes for this festive holiday let us also prepare our heart.   Make room for Christ in Christmas.

When the holidays seem hectic with all the shopping, gift-wrapping, decorating, baking, addressing Christmas cards, and cleaning house, take time to plan. Start early with a list.  If you do, you can get ahead and be ready to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year.

With all the bad news surrounding us, when the festive holiday seems too stressful and you start feeling down, look up.  Celebrate! The joy of Christmas begins in the manger as the story of Christ’s birth unfolds.

Believe in the Savior, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”  (John 3:16).

Right or Left at Oak Street?

By Jane Thornton

“Mrs. Thornton, we’re so sorry, but we can’t find Matthew.” The voice of my eleven-year-old son’s principal echoed through the earpiece.

The world slowed.

“What do you mean?”

“His teacher let him go to the restroom at eleven this morning.”

My gaze flew to the wall—two o’clock.

“The class went to lunch, and she thought he had returned and gone with them, so she didn’t notice he was missing until the end of the meal. We’ve searched the entire campus and can’t find him.”

I wanted to scream, And you’re just now calling me? But somewhere in the depths of my foggy brain, I knew this was a tough call to make, and screaming wouldn’t find Matthew.

“The police are on their way. You can meet them here at the office.”

Denial stupefied my mind. Stunned fear jumbled my thoughts. Matt had run away before (to the park down the street); surely he was voluntarily missing. A school employee had seen a kid walking down the road during her lunch hour. Thirty-five years of training in manners managed to squelch my desire to screech at her, Why in the world didn’t you stop him?!

Matt had been headed east. Our house was five miles northwest. He had a friend who lived seven miles east. We made frantic phone calls. No one had seen him. The police cruised the roads in both directions—no sign of him. They sent my husband home to wait in case he called or showed up. I stayed at the school office.

Time dragged. The police asked questions; I can’t remember what they were. I made phone calls. I prayed. I grasped at every straw-like possibility that would bring my son safely home.

And God blessed us beyond belief.

At five, Wes received a call. Matt had made it four miles to the freeway where he walked down the middle of the construction area and got in the car with a construction worker. Thankfully the man took Matt to Whataburger where they called us.

Matt had gotten fed up with school and decided to come home. Roads look different on foot and alone than when riding with Mom. Every time he came to a familiar street name, he chose the wrong way to turn. He never realized he was lost.

I assume since God is omniscient, He doesn’t have the fear of the unknown that we have as parents. But He is our Father, and I have to believe that he does suffer the agony of the known. He sees us making those wrong turns and knows the consequences we will have to suffer. He knows how lost we get even if we don’t.

He also knows our final destination. But then again, so do we, and still I agonize over the path my children may take to get there. Does God suffer when we don’t listen to His guidance? “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21 NIV).

Comment Prompt:  What incidents have reminded you that God feels our emotions with us?

Christmas Prophecies

By Dianne E. Butts –

Most people know that the birth of Christ fulfilled many prophecies. But have you read the Christmas story with that in mind? Here’s a look at the story of the birth of Jesus in Matthew and Luke and some of the prophecies that were fulfilled along with their original prophecy that was given. You may be able to find even more.

Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 1:27, 32-33:  According to Isaiah 9:­6-7 and 11:1, the Messiah would be a descendant of King David.  This is why genealogies are so important to the Jews and why there are so many recorded in the Bible; they are tracing the bloodline from Abraham to David to Messiah.  Also Matthew 1:20 calls Joseph the “son of David” showing even Jesus’ adopted (earthly) Dad was of the line of Abraham and David. That’s why Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem: because he was in the bloodline of David so he had to go to the “City of David” to register for the census.

Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38: Speak of the virgin birth, as well as His name would be “God with us” was foretold in Isaiah 7:14.

Matthew 2:1-2a: That God would send a righteous King was foretold in Jeremiah 23:5.

Matthew 2: 2b: The Magi saw the star. The star was foretold in Numbers 24:17. Not only was the star predicted, but Scripture said it would come out of Jacob-Israel, both names are the same man, the grandson of Abraham.

Matthew 2:6 and Luke 2:1-7: The ruler who would be the shepherd of God’s people was to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah 5:2.

Matthew 2:11: The Magi worshipped Him, according to Isaiah 60:3.

Matthew 2: 11: The gifts given to Jesus were prophetic in themselves: gold is a gift fitting for a king, frankincense was used in sacrifices and Jesus came to be our sin sacrifice, and myrrh was used as an embalming agent in burials predicting this babe was born to die. The richness of these extravagant gifts may have financed and supported Jesus and His family while they hid out in Egypt and later traveled to Nazareth.

Matthew 2:13-15: The family fled to Egypt, then God called Him out of Egypt as Hosea 11:1 foretold. (just as the Jewish nation was called out of Egypt as a prophetic forerunner of God’s Messiah).

Matthew 2:16-18: The murder of these children was foretold in Jeremiah 31:15.

About four hundred years elapsed between the Old Testament and the New, so all of these prophecies were given at least that long before they were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus the Christ.

But not all the prophecies had centuries between the prediction and the fulfillment.

Luke 2:8-14: Angels came to the shepherds and announced the birth of “Christ the Lord” and told them a sign to them would be that the baby would be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (v. 12).  But the shepherds had to go that night to see if it was true! And they did. According to verses 18-20 they went, and they found everything was “just as they had been told” (v. 20).

What other prophecies can you find fulfilled in the birth of Christ?

 

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