Happy Birthday to Jesus

 

At just the right time, God, the father, sent his son to become our Immanuel–God with us. Born in the lowly stable among the animals to live a selfless life until the appointed time of his mission when he went to the cross. In complete faithfulness to his father and out of love and obedience, he fulfilled his father’s will.

Born to die. He came not to judge but to save. Everyone who believes will be saved says Roman 10:13.

Happy Birthday to our Lord, who became prophet, priest, and King of Kings. Thank you for condescending to mankind…for being our example…for enduring the humiliation, and for the hope for mankind that you provided through your ultimate sacrifice.

Maranatha, Jesus!

 

…As white as snow.

How unfathomable to comprehend the path that Jesus took to reconcile us to the Father.

What a marvelous mystery that God would condescend to earth, but to come here in the form of a human and live among us? Is not his glory too superior?  He left paradise for this?

The ways of God are certainly not our ways, and the more we dwell in his word and contemplate his birth, the more we can appreciate the sacrifice of the suffering servant, who came to fulfill his father’s wishes—to save the lost and dying.

In the first winter storm this coming season when the hills and dales glisten in a blanket of whiteness, may we understand that because of Jesus’s blood, a believer’s sins are even whiter than the brilliance of the snowfall.

The hijacking of nationalism

There was once a thing called nationalism.  As defined by Webster’s, the word connotes allegiance, loyalty, and love for one’s country.  Its synonym, patriotism, is in the same category. However, things have shifted in the nomenclature of etymology as we are now to assume that the latter is acceptable and the former, a pejorative.

As the two political parties of Democrat and Republican have been at odds since forever, now the masks and gloves are off. Political business is booming to the point where having love for one’s country and wanting it to succeed economically, socially, and otherwise is up for grabs. It’s no longer cool to want the nation, as it was founded, to remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Constitution. As with other countries and their constitutions, it’s an ever sliding rule to accommodate the whims of the people. With ours, the doctrine itself sets the precedent. And it’s worked so well that other countries; i.e., Ukraine, see the good in it and have made inroads to adopting similar principles.

Now Nationalism, rather than  allegiance to one’s country and  tied to patriotism, is something akin to Hitler’s “national socialism”; i.e., Nazism  and that a nationalist believes non-Americans are inferior, which is a quite foolish belief.  While nationalism is often associated with socialism, not all nationalists are Nazis. And now nationalism is on par with another term, “White Nationalism,” which is nothing more than a ginned up liberal’s talking point. When the president speaks of MAGA, it’s assumed by some that he means to turn the country back to a white-dominated nation, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Our current president has done more for the minority communities in this country than any president in recent memory. And many of the economically challenged are seeing the duplicitous nature of liberal administrations that have let them down year after year, and now they are awakening to the truth.

America is the most welcoming nation on the planet. All ethnicities are welcome here. And the current administration is on point to vet incoming migrants so that they may come into the nation legally—not illegally or by any means possible.  Where they are not welcome is when they wish to supplant the American Constitution with another form of rule, or to come in with the idea that they will not assimilate and just use the country to earn money and take jobs that would otherwise go to American citizens.

Being an American Nationalist is not about tribalism, or a particular sect of people, or supremacy, or where one comes from. What ties us together is not ethnicity; it is the rule of law under the Constitution. It is our paramount allegiance and our secular identity. All men, that is, all people, are created equal.

Rejoice, rejoice… again, I say, rejoice!

The commands declared by Apostle Paul regarding a believer’s conduct seem daunting at first glance. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of Christ Jesus concerning you.”  1Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Yes, it’s a high bar. That is, if we do these things in our own strength, but we are able to rejoice always and remain content in all things by knowing we have God’s grace and His strength to draw upon. It won’t be a “hey, let’s party!” attitude when trials come but, rather, something deeper—a quiet praise that transcends our present circumstances.

We can pray without ceasing in that we present our lives and our focus toward God, repeatedly and consistently bringing our hearts before him. We’re not asked to don robes or spend time on our knees all day. It’s the position of our heart that God embraces.

In everything, we give thanks when we fully trust that God is fully in charge and knows what he’s doing. From our earthly perspective, we may not see the pieces fitting together but from heaven, the picture is all too clear.

Rejoice, pray, and give thanks—always and in everything. It is our spiritual service toward a gracious and loving God.

Hide and Seek

Nothing escapes God’s notice. We can appear to be good Christians outwardly, but it’s true, only God knows the heart.

King David was such a man that even though he was a “man after God’s own heart,” he had a problem with lust; so much so, that he had a man killed over it. Rather than readily admit his sin publicly, he kept it hidden until the tangled mess of sin unraveled, and he paid a high price for it.

All was not lost for David. Soon afterward, he repented. He revealed to God what he’d kept hidden from the world.

Why did David wish to become so vulnerable?  It appeared he wanted God to root out the sin deep within him and for the Lord to make him clean. He knew how much the Lord loved him, even while a sinner, and trusted that God would purify his heart to make him holy and to restore the lost fellowship from his sin.

Inside the depths of our souls lies stuff only God can restore —the hidden person that needs spiritual cleansing and renewal. May we, with David, share this mindset continually as we contemplate our ways before the Lord.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:33-34