Opus 2025-597: Advent Calendar: Day 25, How Is Your Christmas Attitude?

The song was “O Come All Ye Faithful”.  The artist was a soprano like Kate Smith.  For all I know it may have been Kate Smith.  Not my favorite sound.  I almost hit the skip button but stifled myself.  As I listened the words of the chorus came through to me, “O come let us adore Him.”

How often do our Christmas attitudes overwhelm the miracle of the incarnation?  Some are consumed by greed.  Some become Scrooge.  Some are the Grinch.  For many there is nothing to see except behaviors to criticize.  

We have the ability to control our attitudes and as I listened to this song I was hit by the call to adore Him.  The adoration does not stop at the manger.  That is actually a very small part of it.  When we look at a baby and allow the warm fuzzies to overcome us it is not just because the baby is cute but because we sense all the untouched potential that is waiting to develop.

With the nativity we need to adore the teachings of a life cut short by the cross.  With the nativity we adore the sacrifice of the cross and rejoice in the promise of forgiveness.  Then we look on to the resurrection and the hope demonstrated by the chains of death being broken.  

There is much to adore.  “O come, let us adore Him.”

Merry Christmas

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Opus 2025-594: Advent Calendar: Day 24, The Anticipation

Children may look at today as the last day before Santa Claus.  Okay.  They are children.  They are full of anticipation for the glorious morning tomorrow.  Wouldn’t it be great if adults could feel that way about the return of Christ?

I don’t expect Him to return this week.  One reason is He told His disciples that He would come when least expected and since everyone is excited about red heifers and all the parts of the temple being collected, my conclusion is, “Not now.”  I could be wrong.  I would love to be wrong.  I would also like to lose weight over the Christmas holidays.

What does that have to do with Christmas?  If Jesus had not come He could not be crucified.  If He was not crucified He could not be resurrected.  If He had not been resurrected and assended He could not come again.  All those happened.  The last is coming.

Count on it.  Live like it.

Merry Christmas

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Opus 2025-592: Advent Calendar: Day 23, The Joyful Hope

If your church has the tradition of lighting the Advent candles you know that one of them represents hope.  Different churches observe the hope candle on different weeks.  Hope is one of the great concepts of the coming of the Christ Child.

I do not associate hope with Christmas in isolation.  It calls for hope because this is just the first chapter in the Book of The Word Became Flesh.  The place where hope takes over the narrative is in the empty tomb.  I don’t think that many people associate the full manger with the empty tomb but that is the purpose of the whole process.  The physical resurrection of Jesus is the assurance we have that there is more to eternity than having our sins forgiven.  There is a continued awareness of whom we are and a fellowship with the Incarnate One. 

So Merry Christmas and happy eternity.

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Opus 2025-588: Advent Calendar: Day 22, The Next Step

When asked what my favorite holiday would be I didn’t need to think too long to come up with Christmas.  If you asked me what was the most important I would say Good Friday.  It is easy to forget that the reason God became flesh was so that He could die on the cross.

I have a friend who tries to convince me that Jesus came only for the Jews.  In his theological system it sounds like the cross was just the result of the Jews not responding, an accident.  But keep in mind that John 3:16 uses words like “world” and “whosoever”.

Enjoy the holiday.  Celebrate the incarnation.  In the midst of the joy don’t forget to be thankful that He was willing to come.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-587: Advent Calendar: Day 21, Old Enough to Share

After the birth of Jesus, while they were still in Jerusalem, they took him to the temple to be circumcised.  We already looked at Simeon and his place in the Christmas story, now we come to Anna.  All of this is taking place in the second chapter of Luke before they return home to Nazareth.

Anna was definitely old.  Specifically it tells us she was 84.  It tells us that after seven years of marriage her husband died and she had not left the temple since that time as she served.  She is identified as being a prophetess.  She’s probably someone that we would have a hard time relating to in our freestyle of living.  I can’t comprehend staying within the temple complex for that long period of time.  There are a lot of social conventions involved here that are not mentioned, making it possible for her to do that.

It seems that she came, saw the baby, realized who this was, and then went and told everybody about it.  Christmas should be a time where we have multiple opportunities to witness about who Jesus is.  There are natural conversations that will come up.  You could generate curiosity simply by responding with “Merry Christmas” to someone who says “Happy holidays”.  You could comment on a Christmas Carol that is playing over the loudspeakers.  Surely someone will come up with the idea that the Christmas tree is a pagan symbol.  The opportunities are everywhere.

So celebrate, worship and witness.  It’ll be another 11 months before you get a chance to do this again.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-585: Advent Calendar: Day 20, Promises, Promises

Have you ever felt like you had a promise from God and He seemed to be taking His sweet time about the results?

Consider Simeon.  He was a man whom God promised to see the Christ before he died.  We assume that Simeon was getting on in years although it does not specifically say so.  What we do know is a bit about the kind of person he was,

(Luk 2:25 KJV)  And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

Notice all those qualifications.  He was not the neighborhood drunk who claimed to have seen an angel who promised he would win the lottery.  You might take that into consideration when you think God is promising something.  No, I am not saying you are the neighborhood drunk.  It was hyperbole to get across a point.

There is one other requirement that we might miss.

(Luk 2:27 KJV)  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

Notice that he seems to have developed a habit of obeying the Holy Spirit.

All of these things are within our reach.  Make this Advent a time of preparation.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-583: Advent Calendar: Day 19, Beware of Editing Scholars

Herod called for back-up, the priests and scribes.  This would be like the president going to the Harvard School of Theology, if there is still such a thing, for spiritual advice.  I chose Harvard on purpose because any spiritual advice you get from Harvard would be one of those situations where you listen and then do the opposite.

These scholars were experts in their field.  They were good enough to know that they needed to edit their presentation.  Compare what they told Herod with the OT quote they were referencing.

Matthew 2:6 (KJV) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Micah 5:2 (KJV) But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Look at the last portion and notice the difference.  They left out the part that indicated this “Prince” or “ruler” would have eternal connections.

Would it have made any difference to Herod?  Probably not.  Herod was not interested in what God might have to say.  How like us so often.  Have you noticed that we already know more than we are obeying?  What would one more verse do?

We are getting close to Christmas.  Take advantage of what is right in front of you.  Do what you know to do.  Make this a red letter Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-581: Advent Calendar: Day 18, The Gold Ring

I recently preached on a Christmas theme and one of my points had to do with Herod.  He was a bit of a bit player in some ways but the parents who had children slaughtered might disagree with that.

The Herod of the nativity is Herod the Great.  He is not the one who cut off John’s head or the one who held court with Paul.  They were all the same family but this one is the original, Herod the Great.  None of them were model citizens but this might be the worst.

He came so close to actually meeting the Messiah.  Would it have made any difference if he had?  Most likely only in a negative way.

How many of us have experiences where we are so close to getting the gold ring but end up disappointed?  How many people would ride the merry-go-round and not even know there was a gold ring to grab for?  How many of you have no idea what I am talking about?

I guess the point is that we need to take all the situations presented to us that might help us grow spiritually and make use of them.  This is true of social growth and emotional maturity also.  We have so many potential bullet points at this time of year.  Don’t be like Herod.  Pay attention to what God is offering.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-580: Advent Calendar: Day 17, All Star Questions

Do you have a star on the top of your Christmas tree?  I imagine you know why it has that spot.  

The star is one of the mysteries we find in the Bible.  If astrology is just superstition, how did the wise men know to follow it to Israel?  Is there any evidence in astronomy that would explain it scientifially?  Why doesn’t it happen today?

When you think about it there are a lot of anomalies that appear in scripture.  How did Cain and Able know to offer sacrifices?  How about Noah?  Where did Balaam find a donkey that could speak?  How did Balaam, outside the people of God, know to pass on the word of God?  How did the witch raise the spirit of Samuel?

The answers will be given in the graduate level studies.

How many questions do you have?  God will answer some, usually through your reading and remembering what is found in the Bible.  Sometimes a sermon or book will get your mind running down paths that it would not have traveled on its own.  Others we will just keep wondering about.

Rejoice that the wise men followed the star.  Expect God to provide you with stars when you need them.  Be willing to listen and follow.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-577: Advent Calendar: Day 16, Delayed Gratification

One of the questions Herod had for the wise men was when the star first appeared.  We do not have a record of their answer but from the age of the babies murdered we assume it was two  years earlier.  This meant a two year journey.

Most of the guesses I have heard place the wise men in Persia.  Persia was not a two year journey from Israel.  Common sense would say that they came from even farther away.  I am suggesting China.  It is possible that one started from China and picked up kindred spirits along the way.  This is another one of those questions we don’t have answers for which means we don’t need to know the answer.

What could be incouraging for us today is that they were able to find the Christ child with very little real information.  They had their knowledge of the stars and a willingness to follow where God leads.  That might be a good Christmas gift for us to model this year.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-576: Advent Calendar: Day 15, Leave the Light On

There is actually no mention of an inn keeper in the Christmas story.  It does tell us there was no room in the inn so we conclude that there must have been an inkeeper.  Did he offer them the manger because he was kind hearted or because he wanted a little extra money?  So many questions, so few answers.  We can rest assured that we don’t need the answers.

What questions did the inn keeper ask?  Did he ask for ID?  Did you make a copy?  Did he ask to see their marriage certificate?  Did he do much more than take their money and point at the stable?  It is understandable that he didn’t get into the details of their situation.  He assumed they were there for the census.

How many people today are in that doorway?  They see the celebration.  They hear the music.  They decorate and go to parties but they never ask the important questions.  There isn’t much we can do about the clerk in the 7/11 but we can ask ourselves to pay more attention.  Metaphorically have you dismissed the Christ Child as just another event going by?  Have you stopped to think about the implications that the Christ Child brings to your world?

Jesus came.  Let that be a testimony and not just a day on the calendar.

Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-574: Advent Calendar: Day 14, The Bit Players

And then we have the sheep.  It’s interesting which animals are not mentioned and which are.  We have all these Christmas cards with the Wisemen riding camels.  On another shelf are the cards showing Mary riding a donkey.  Then we have the Christmas carols talking about the animals in the stable around the manger.  Those are all traditions.  The only animals mentioned are the sheep that are being watched by the shepherds.

There is no indication that the sheep got excited by the angels.  I’m wondering if they ever even looked up.  Were the angels only visible to the shepherds?  It is possible.  Remember on the road to Damascus only Paul saw the bright light.  I would think that if the sheep had seen them, they would have gotten panicked and stampeded, or whatever sheep do.  There is no mention of any such event.

How like us.  There are miracles going on all around us and so often we just keep going about business as usual.  There are times when we should be shouting “glory” and instead all we can say is, “Pass the potatoes.”  There are times when the glories of God are declared from the pulpit or lectern and we should be running the aisles, but instead we are gripping because he’s using the KJV.

Recently, we had a lesson taken from the 23rd Psalm. In looking at the Psalm, I noticed that sheep are never mentioned.  It talks about the Shepherd.  It talks about the writer.  Sheep do not make an appearance, but they are inferred.  It brought to mind another verse that does talk about the sheep,

Psalm 100:3 (KJV) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

In the stable, there were only three people to start with.  When the wisemen got there, there were just a few of them.  The shepherds probably represented a little bit larger group.  The biggest group, of course where the sheep out in the field.  That’s us folks.  During this time when we should be celebrating the incarnation and God becoming man, we spend much of our time as sheep in the field.

Take a few moments to stop and look up.  You can do it figuratively or literally, but the point is during this time of year grab the opportunity to rejoice in the God of our salvation, and that He was willing to come and make the sacrificeso that we could know eternal life.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-573: Advent Calendar: Day 13, Notification

Have you ever wondered what angels do with their time?  No?  I tend to get off on angels because I am aware of my guardian angels working overtime.  When I think of all the times I have come within a hair’s breath of disaster I grow thankful.  

At Christmas we think of them fulfilling their main assignment, delivering messages.

(Luk 2:10 KJV)  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

You can also find an angel delivering announcements to Zechariah and Mary.  For Joseph it was a dream.  We don’t know for sure how God communicated with the wise men.  Keep in mind that the word “angel” is a title not a name.  It literally means messenger.  In this case there are no individual names.

So we have the angel and later the heavenly host delivering celestial e-mails to the shephereds.  We think of the Holy Spirit speaking to us or breathing life in the scripture.  It is possible that the angels might also have something to say to us this season.  Perhaps they will join the choir and make a Christmas program extra powerul.

Keep listening.  You don’t want to miss the celebration.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-571: Advent Calendar: Day 12, Time to Move?

Let me spiritualize the experience of the shepherds. Spiritualizing is where you take passage of scripture and look for things which are probably not really intended, but provide some insights into life. Consider,

Luke 2:8 (KJV) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

I want to focus on the word “abiding that is used in the KJV. When I read this, or at least stop to think about it, my mind went to the statements of Jesus about abiding in him and the promise that he would abide with us if we did. The word and it’s essence simply means to live inside or to locate at a place. It has the connotation of focusing on that place and making that place central to who you are.

The shepherds or where they were supposed to be, watching the sheep. You can only do that out in the fields. I guess in modern times you might set up some cameras and watch it on a monitor, but the idea is you need to be there to help them when they run into problems. You need to guard them. That requires abiding in the fields. That is well and good.

But what happens when the symbolic angels appear and tell you it’s time to move on, at least temporarily. What happens when God speaks to us in the spot where we are serving or comfortable and says, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone? The shepherds could’ve stayed where they were in discussed the awesome display that God had given them. They could’ve just ignored it I guess. In order to make that impossible God sent a whole host of Angels. God made all of them, see it. God made it almost impossible to ignore.

So they went.

be alert to see if God is calling you to get up and move. As I said before that could be a permanent change or just a temporary move. It could be just an adjustment. The thing is, we are to be obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Merry Christmas and joyful obedience.

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Opus 2025-668: Advent Calendar: Day11, Walk It Off

One of the recurring pictures that appears at Christmas is Joseph leading a donkey with Mary riding on it.  That is one of the traditions of Christmas that has no foundation in scripture.  It it possible?  Yes.  Is it certain?  No.  The odds are that Mary had to walk to Bethlehem.  If she started from Nazarath that was about a 75 mile walk.  That would be a major hike for most of us today.  Back then, not so much.  People were used to walking everywhere but keep in mind that “everywhere” for most people was within a few miles of home.

We have a lot of traditions at Christmas.  For the most part they are harmless diversions as long as we don’t get consumed with them.  A donkey for Mary doesn’t have any theological significance.  Many of our traditions are supplements that make the celebration part of the holiday more special.  

Make sure that you take the time to concentrate on the miracle of the incarnation.  That is an essential.  

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Opus 2025-665: Advent Calendar: Day 10, Second Fiddle

For some reason, Mary seems to be the focus of attention when it comes to the birth of Jesus.  One of the reasons might be that she was His mother.  Another might be the miracle of the Virgin birth.  But there was someone else there, someone else involved.  That was Joseph.

It might do for most of us to identify more with Joseph than any other character involved in the Christmas story.  He has a kind of a bit part, but he is vital.  His character and his willingness to listen to God made him essential and allowing Mary to have the baby Jesus.

Matthew 1:20 (KJV) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Of course God chose him just as He chose Mary.  I wonder if in reality He didn’t prepare him for this.  When you go through the genealogies, you find that both Joseph and Mary trace their ancestry back to David.  There had to be some preparation in order to have these two come together at the right time.  God had to be sure that both Mary and Joseph would have the right character to be faithful to their calling.

I personally think it would be more fun to be one of the angels broadcasting the news from the skies.  I might like the prestige of being one of the wise men.  I don’t think I’d want to be a shepherd.  What God needs is more Joseph’s.  He needs more of us willingto serve faithfully, to step up when needed, and rest in the shadows when someone else is the main character.

May you find your place of service this year.

Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-564: Advent Calendar: Day 9, Stir Well

As Mary moves toward the time when Jesus is going to be born and Elizabeth is looking at the arrival of John, the two women get together.  As they are approaching each other, something happens that is rather unusual in one sense and normal in another.

Luke 1:41 (NASB95) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

The middle phrase of this verse doesn’t portray anything unusual.  Babies kick, squirm, punch and other assorted movements while they’re still in the womb.  I can remember before mine were born, putting in my hands on the distended belly of my wife and feeling the movement, and if I was really lucky, even getting my hand knocked away.  There’s nothing unusual in that.

What was unusual was that this led to Elizabeth being aware that she was being filled with the Holy Spirit.  She must have shared this with Mary and when Luke was interviewing Mary later on, she must have related it to him.  This is unusual.  Pregnancy doesn’t usually end up in this kind of thing.

By coincidence this morning I was reading in Psalms and came across this verse,

Psalm 39:3 (NASB95) My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned; Then I spoke with my tongue:

We need to be aware that God is quite capable of stirring up our inner emotions and our thoughts.  He’s capable of focusing us or refocusing.  One of the reasons that we remember special days is that so we can gather our thoughts, contemplate, and perhaps decide to do things a little bit different in the future.

Mary and Elizabeth were stirred as they got together.  During this holiday season use the times when we gather with friends and family to allow God to make something jump within us, perhaps you can have a renewal of the Holy Spirit in your life this time of year.

Merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-561: Advent Calendar: Day 8, Well Stricken

Put yourself in Elizabeth’s shoes.  She is well beyond the age of child bearing.  She has been denied the joy, and the pain.  An angel appears to her husband and says now is the time.  I like his response.

(Luk 1:18 KJV)  And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

How many years does it take to become “well stricken”?  We are not told because we don’t need to know.  Accept the fact that it was a miracle.  Elizabeth was at the age where women should not have babies.  Remember that Sarah was the same way.  

Do you feel that you are “well striken”?  Do you feel like you are beyond the age of being useful, at least in your eyes or the eyes of those around you?  Keep in mind that God may not be looking at you with the same eyes.  I am at an age where I don’t do any long range planning.  The caution I keep reminding myself of is that I still need to be flexible enough for the Lord to use me in his plans.  He runs on a different time line that I do.

Rejoice and have a merry Christmas.

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Opus 2025-559: Advent Calendar: Day 7, Bad New/Good News

What do we know about Mary?  When it comes down to it, not much.  From Luke’s Gospel we know that she was a virgin and engaged to be married.  We know she was a descendant of David and lived in Nazareth.  That is about it.

Then we come to the speculation.  Was she young?  It would make sense but it does not say so.  I have a book on my shelf that I am slowly working through called The Lost Books of the Bible.   The title would go well as YouTube Clickbait.  They are not lost and they are not part of the Bible.  They were well known and rejected for good reasons.  One of them deals with Mary’s life before she appears in the gospels.  It is probably where the Catholics get some of their ideas about the perpetual virginity of Mary.

Mary deserves our respect.  She is an excellent example of being willing to be obedient.  She does not deserve our veneration.

Speculate all you want.  Let your imagination blossom.  Don’t lose contact with reality.

Merry Christmas.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-557: Advent Calendar: Day 6, Gabriel

Most people know that an angel appeared to Mary and announced she would have a baby.  Many of those people know that his name was Gabriel.  A few less know that he appeared to Zacharias to announce the birth of John.  People into prophecy might know that he also appeared to Daniel.  That sums up his appearances.

His name means “man of God” or “warrior of God”.  His title, “angel” means messenger.  

One bit of good news that might occur to you when you read this part of the Christmas story is that God communicates with His people.  You may not get an angel but you have immediate access to the word and can always seek the leading of the Spirit.  Often when we don’t know what God wants us to do it is because we are too busy on Facebook to pay attention to what He has to say.

Have you noticed how often the first words out of an angels mouth are, “Do not be afraid”?  Be glad that you don’t need to come face to face with a being that can stand in the presence of Almighty God.

Merry Christmas.

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