Different views of Christmas

I ran across these thoughts from TV news commentator Harry Reasoner. I thought you might find them interesting.

The basis for this tremendous annual burst of gift buying and parties and near hysteria is a quiet event that Christians believe actually happened a long time ago. You can say that in all societies there has always been a midwinter festival and that many of the trappings of our Christmas are almost violently pagan. But you come back to the central fact of the day and quietness of Christmas morning—the birth of God on earth.
It leaves you only three ways of accepting Christmas. One is cynically, as a time to make money or endorse the making of it. One is graciously, the appropriate attitude for non-Christians, who wish their fellow citizens all the joys to which their beliefs entitle them. And the third, of course, is reverently. If this is the anniversary of the appearance of the Lord of the universe in the form of a helpless babe, it is a very important day. It’s a startling idea, of course. My guess is that the whole story that a virgin was selected by God to bear His Son as a way of showing His love and concern for man is not an idea that has been popular with theologians.
It’s a somewhat illogical idea, and theologians like logic almost as much as they like God. It’s so revolutionary a thought that it probably could only come from a God that is beyond logic, and beyond theology. It has a magnificent appeal. Almost nobody has seen God, and almost nobody has any real idea of what He is like. And the truth is that among men the idea of seeing God suddenly and standing in a very bright light is not necessarily a completely comforting and appealing idea. But everyone has seen babies, and most people like them. If God wanted to be loved as well as feared he moved correctly here. If He wanted to know His people as well as rule them, He moved correctly here, for a baby growing up learns all about people. If God wanted to be intimately a part of man, He moved correctly, for the experiences of birth and familyhood are our most intimate and precious experiences.
So it comes beyond logic. It is either all falsehood or it is the truest thing in the world. It’s the story of the great innocence of God the baby—God in the form of man—and has such a dramatic shock toward the heart that if it is not true, for Christians, nothing is true.
So, if a Christian is touched only once a year, the touching is still worth it, and maybe on some given Christmas, some final quiet morning, the touch will take.

Christmas spells peace

We live in a world filled with violence and war. It is impossible to get around that fact. Some would say this is a new phenomenon. I guess I would have to disagree. It is pretty obvious that mankind has been involved in armed conflict from the beginning. Yet, this last century has certainly see an increase in the number and voracity of the killings. There is a story about World War I that brings some encouragement.
Amid the horrors of World War I, there occurred a unique truce when for a few hours, enemies behaved like brothers.
Christmas Eve in 1914 was all quiet on France’s Western Front, from the English Channel to the Swiss Alps. Trenches came within 50 miles of Paris. The war was only five months old, and approximately 800,000 men had been wounded or killed. Every soldier wondered whether or not Christmas Day would bring another round of fighting and killing. But something happened: British soldiers raised “Merry Christmas” signs above the trenches, and soon carols were heard from German and British trenches alike.
Christmas dawned with unarmed soldiers leaving their trenches, though officers of both sides tried unsuccessfully to stop their troops from meeting the enemy in the middle of no-man’s land for songs and conversation. Exchanging small gifts, they passed Christmas Day peacefully along miles of the front. At one spot, the British played soccer with the Germans, who won 3-2.
In some places, the spontaneous truce continued the next day as neither side was willing to fire the first shot. Finally, the war resumed when fresh troops arrived, and the high command of both armies ordered that further “informal understanding” with the enemy would be punishable as treason.

What encourages me is that man has the capacity to love our brother is we will work at it.  And truly the peace from the Prince of Peace will one day rule upon this earth.  Maybe as we celebrate His first coming, we can witness His second.

A Christmas Story

One of the most beautiful of all Christmas stories was told by the American poet, Edwin Markham, about a cobbler, a godly man who made shoes in the old days. One night the cobbler dreamed that the next day Jesus was coming to visit him. The dream seemed so real that he got up very early the next morning and hurried to the woods, where he gathered green boughs to decorate his shop for the arrival of so great a Guest.
He waited all morning, but to his disappointment, his shop remained quiet, except for an old man who limped up to the door asking to come in for a few minutes of warmth. While the man was resting, the cobbler noticed that the old fellow’s shoes were worn through. Touched, the cobbler took a new pair from his shelves and saw to it that the stranger was wearing them as he went on his way.
Throughout the afternoon the cobbler waited, but his only visitor was an elderly woman. He had seen her struggling under a heavy load of firewood, and he invited her, too, into his shop to rest. Then he discovered that for two days she had had nothing to eat; he saw to it that she had a nourishing meal before she went on her way.
As night began to fall, the cobbler heard a child crying outside his door. The child was lost and afraid. The cobbler went out, soothed the youngster’s tears and, with the little hand in his, took the child home.
When he returned, the cobbler was sad. He was convinced that while he had been away he had missed the visit of his Lord. Now he lived through the moments as he had imagined them: the knock, the latch lifted, the radiant face, the offered cup. He would have kissed the hands where the nails had been, washed the feet where the spikes had entered. Then the Lord would have sat and talked to him.
In his anguish, the cobbler cried out, “Why is it, Lord, that Your feet delay. Have you forgotten that this was the day?” Then, soft in the silence a voice he heard:
Lift up your heart for I kept My word.
Three times I came to your friendly door;
Three times My shadow was on your floor.
I was the man with the bruised feet.
I was the woman you gave food to eat,
I was the child on the homeless street.”

The Meaning of Christmas

Delphia Cline Freeman wrote an amazing poem about the meaning of Christmas. I thought you might enjoy it.

 

When the hustle and bustle is over

And the last of the gifts has been wrapped,

And the cookies and cakes are all ready

For the big Christmas plans you have mapped;

When the children are quiet and dreaming

Of the presents Saint Nick will bestow,

And the fire on the hearth burns less brightly,

And the clock has struck twelve long ago;

You relax by the embers and ponder

On this happiest evening of all…

On the meaning of Christmas to mankind

By Christ’s birth in the low cattle stall.

In the giving of gifts upon Christmas,

People pattern the Father above

Who, in giving His Son, gave His best gift…

So the meaning of Christmas is love.

Christmas Poem

As we come into this joyous season, I thought it would help us get into the mood by reading one of my favorite Christmas poems by G.K. Chesterton. I believe if we take the time to prepare our hearts for this holiday and keep our focus on God’s wonderful gift that we will be able to find that we are not as hung up on the material things that are trying to be the focus for each of us.

Enjoy!

A Christmas Carol poem by G.K.Chesterton

 

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

 

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)

 

The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down

Thanksgiving Proclaimed

Many important historical figures have weighed in on the need for thanksgiving. I have placed below the first nation Thanksgiving Proclamation by George Washington.

First National Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me

“to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!”

Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.

George Washington, 1779.

 

Forgive Me When I Whine

I recently ran across this article from an unknown source.  Hope it helps to remind us to be thankful.

Today upon a bus, I saw a lovely maid with golden hair; I envied her — she seemed so gay, and how, I wished I were so fair; When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle; she had one foot and wore a crutch, but as she passed, a smile. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two feet — the world is mine.

And when I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who served me had such charm; he seemed to radiate good cheer, his manner was so kind and warm; I said, “It’s nice to deal with you, such courtesy I seldom find”; he turned and said, “Oh, thank you sir.” And then I saw that he was blind. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes, the world is mine.

Then, when walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue; he stood and watched the others play, it seemed he knew not what to do; I stopped a moment, then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?” He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears, the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I’d go; with eyes to see the sunsets glow, with ears to hear what I would know. I am blessed indeed. The world is mine; oh, God, forgive me when I whine.

Thanksgiving History

Our Country has a history of thanksgiving to God. From the Pilgrims through today, we have felt a need to express our gratitude to God for His blessings and His protection. To highlight this, I am posting the Thanksgiving Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. Take the time to read and then reflect on your own heart.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

Abraham Lincoln

Thanks for all

We are still a couple of weeks from our Thanksgiving Day Holiday.  But I think we should begin even now to begin to think about the things we should be thankful for.  Besides symbolizing a time when many of us gather to feast on turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie—what does the word truly mean? This holiday that has become one of the most important days in America was founded by a group of struggling Pilgrims during the fall of 1621. In their book, The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall and David Manuel’s tell how the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock endured extreme hardship to pioneer a new land. Three long months at sea aboard The Mayflower and a brutal winter left them ragged, malnourished, and susceptible to disease. During the first third of the year, nearly half of the pioneers had perished under the harsh strain of establishing a colony in this new world.

Each day was a life-or-death battle to overcome hunger, disease, and exposure. The only shelter they had from the harsh New England weather was the mud daubed houses they were able to put together. Their attempts at agriculture had proved virtually fruitless. Every meal was meticulously portioned out. As the death toll continued to rise, they were constantly reminded of their precarious situation. At one point only 5 men were well enough to care for the sick.

Yet, inspite of the horrors of their condition, the Pilgrims thanked The Lord every day, petitioning Him for help and direction. God’s answer was a Pateuxet Indian,Squanto, who befriended them and taught the Pilgrims how to hunt game, trap beavers, and plant corn indigenous to the area.

When the harvest yielded more than the Pilgrims could eat, Governor William Bradford declared a day of public thanksgiving. He invited the chief to join in their tribute of Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims were excited to celebrate with their honored guest but were completely shocked when he arrived with 90 other Indians.  The initial anxiety about feeding this size group was soon dismissed by the number of deer and wild turkeys brought by the Indians.  

The Pilgrims humble response to their affliction is evidenced by their many writing which express deeply thankful hearts. We can learn countless lessons about sincere thankfulness from their example.   God commands us to live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving. “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thes.5:16-18). As we enter into our day of proclaiming thanks, we should endeavor to respond in thanksgiving for how God has led us through hardships and overtook us with many blessings this year.

Get Rich Quickly

Our culture has produced a people who are driven to get rich quickly. We are willing to forfeit the future in order to have our burst in the sun now. Millions of people play lotteries around the country or gamble in the countless number of casinos to hit the big one. Whatever happened to making money the old fashioned way, “earn it.”

In 1989 John Bennett established the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy. Purported to be a non-profit foundation, he offered donors the opportunity to double their money within six to nine months. In 1994 he allowed nonprofit organizations to participate. This too-good-to-be-true offer brought waves of money from various institutions as well as philanthropists to support what turned out to be a pyramid scheme. In September 1997, Bennett was sentenced to prison for defrauding charities and others of $354 million.

The list of abuses in this area would be astounding. Everyone it seems wants to get something for nothing. Well like the old say, “if it is too good to be true, it probably is.”

The Scripture talks about a man, Abraham, who also had the opportunity to gain more wealth quickly. The king of Sodom, Bera, offered Abraham all the “wealth” of the city in exchange for the people. Abraham considered the source and declined. He knew that the wealth of the city was obtained in ways that would not honor God. So, the opportunity to become even more wealthy was not worth the price of being indebted to the king of Sodom. Sodom was so wicked that it would shortly be destroyed by fire and brimstone. Abraham instead wanted to continue to depend upon God to provide for his needs; he didn’t need Sodom’s money.

The desire to get rich can bring many pains and heartaches. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10). This appetite for more and more can drive you into associations with people who can cause you irreparable spiritual harm.

You may find yourself attracted to the allure of quick riches. You may even find yourself in relationships, that are damaging your spiritual life and your testimony. My advice to you is get out quickly. It may mean taking a financial loss, but when you make your relationship with the Lord your most important priority, He will take care of all your other needs (Matt. 6:33).

God’s wealth is obtained His way in His time.

Genesis 14:22-23 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.”