Got milk? The commercial has stuck in our heads for a very long
time. It’s been applied to every other product imaginable. We laugh because it’s
so simple, but the ad agency hit a gold mine with this one, because we remember
it. Did it make me buy more milk? No. So, in that sense, it didn’t work on me.
You either like milk, or you don’t.
Let’s apply it across the board. Got cash? Got energy? Got faith?
Some things are easier to acquire than others. Me? I have no desire for milk.
But cash? Energy? Faith? I want more of all of them!
(from kepcutusu.com)
A friend posed a question on social media this morning to rouse
dialog, asking, “Why does it feel
easier to trust worldly comforts, material wealth, and people more than God?”
I answered quickly; too quickly, perhaps. I suggested that perhaps a part of it
is that we can see the tangible. Trusting God requires new levels
of faith every day, which requires growing and stretching. And let’s face it, a
lot of us don’t want to grow or stretch. That involves getting out of our
comfort zones. Here in America, surrounded by our first world problems, we like
our comfort zones. We’re secure there.
I’d rather be secure in Jesus Christ
than in my comfort zone. But, do my actions match my desires? Or are my desires
simply statements that I identify with because I’m a Christian and “I’m
supposed to” align myself with the Word of God and His will for my life?
A point to ponder for sure.
Are you content – in your comfort zone?
Or are you ready and willing to step up and step out into faith? Faith requires
trusting that God is real, that He loves you and knows what’s best for you and
that you willingly follow where He leads you. Count the cost. Because, it will
cost you. But you’ll gain peace beyond all measure and eternity with our King.
(from pinterest.com)
“Let us hold fast
the profession of our faithwithout wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
– Hebrews 1-:23 (KJV)
“But withoutfaith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6
(KJV)
“Yea, a man may
say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faithwithout thy works,
and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” – James 2:18 (KJV)
“For as the body without the spirit is
dead, so faithwithout works is dead also.” – James 2:26 (KJV)
This is my Christmas story, I've share it before - but, here it is again. However you imagine the hammer used to nail Jesus to the cross, here's the story inspired in me many years ago. I hope you love it as much as I do....and the songs that follow the blog post.
(picture from ispygod.net)
The Hammer
by Helen Williams!
Since Mary and Joseph had been
turned away from all the inns and told they could stay in a barn and that their
child could sleep in the newly made manger when he was born, that’s where they
found themselves the next morning. Their child had been born late in the night,
a boy child. They named him Jesus. He lay quietly on a bed of hay in the
manger. As Mary sat there watching him sleep, she couldn’t help but notice what
a beautiful manger it was. Considering it was built to hold hay for the cows,
she wondered why its maker took such care and put so much delicate work into it.
Her husband, being a carpenter, might know. She called it to his attention and
asked him why he thought the carpenter that built it would have made it so ornate.
‘Well, either he just takes a lot
of pride in his work, no matter what he’s making, or he had nothing much else
to do and decided to put all that detail there to keep himself busy. Or perhaps
God told him that our child – His child, would lay there. Only the carpenter
himself knows. And yes, he did a wonderful job on it. But we’ll probably never
know who made it, dear.’
As he was answering Mary some
straw from the hayloft sifted through the boards and they heard a rustling
coming from above.
‘But then again,’ he whispered,
‘one never knows.’
He tiptoed around to the steps
that led to the hayloft and as quietly as he could, climbed them. When he got
to the top he boldly asked, ‘Who’s up here?’
He waited for an answer. At first
there was silence. But when he saw the straw moving, he asked, ‘Shall I come
see for myself?’
At that, the straw moved a lot
and from it emerged an old man. He tried to stand, but lost his footing and sat
down.
‘Hello, master. It is only I, the
keeper of the animals. I mean you no harm. I sleep here alone. I’ll be on my
way about with my chores now.’
He got up and hobbled to the top
of the steps as Joseph descended. He came down slowly. By the time he reached
the last step, Mary eagerly asked him if he knew who had made the beautiful
manger.
He nodded his head. ‘It was I,
ma’am.’
Mary noticed that even though he
was on the ground now, he didn’t stand up straight. She complimented the
craftsmanship he’d so skillfully used on the manger but had to ask, ‘Why did
you make it so special? A manger is for animals to eat from. You made it look
like a piece of furniture for a king’s house.’
‘Ah yes, ma’am. I did make
furniture for the king’s palace, and he did like it to be perfect. I can still
work as well as I used to, even though I’m all bent over now. So my work
carries on. Though the only job I could get was here. You see ma’am, once
you’ve worked for the king and been let go, no one wants you. I’m a reproach
among men and they don’t even know why. The king didn’t like the way I look. When
I was young and strong looking they liked to have me as the king’s carpenter.
But as I’ve aged, time has not been so kind to me. The longer I live, the more
bent over I stay. When the king dismissed me no one would even look at me. I
felt as though he’d spit on me. All I managed to bring with me was that big ol’
hammer there.’
(picture from pinterest.com)
He pointed it out. ‘So now, you
must know that God’s hand is upon me for me to make such a craft using such a
big hammer. The other tools I use, I’ve made myself. They too are meager, but
that big hammer was once in the king’s carpenter shop. I guess it’s rather
special to me. I worked there a long time.’
As he rambled on, he came nearer
to the baby and was straining his neck to see him. Joseph sat down behind Mary,
putting his hand on her shoulder. They both smiled at the man. Mary asked,
‘Would you like to see our baby? Come closer. He seems to have awakened by your
voice, but he’ll not cry.’
‘Why, his eyes are opened and
he’s just a newborn. I’ve never seen the likes of him,’ he chuckled. ‘It looks
as though he’s looking right up at me, almost as if he knows me. Cute little
boy. What did you name him?’
Joseph spoke up, ‘His name is
Jesus. Come closer. Would you like to hold him?’
‘Oh, you can’t trust my back. I
don’t think I should.’ But there was a look of yearning in his eyes.
‘God’s hand is upon you,
remember? You said so yourself. Pick him up and hold him close,’ Mary said.
The old man came closer and bent
over to pick him up, praying he’d be able to hold the boy Jesus. As he stood
up, he kept straightening himself to a standing position. At first he didn’t
even realize he stood up straight, as he did in his youth. He smiled at the
child and talked to him ever so quietly. He looked at Mary and said, ‘If I
didn’t know better, I’d think he was trying to tell me that he knows me. Just
the wishing of an old man…’ His voice trailed off.
Suddenly realizing he was
standing tall, he exclaimed, ‘Why, little Jesus, if you could see me now! I’m
standing again! It’s a miracle!’
He held the baby close to himself
and began to dance around the room. Joseph smiled at Mary and she said, ‘It’s
not the first one to happen in this barn.’
After returning the baby to the
manger, the man said, ‘I’m blessed by the hand of God, indeed. I can’t repay God
for the miracle He’s done in my life, but I do want you to take my hammer with
you when you go. I want you to teach this young child to be a good carpenter.
As he grows, show him how to bring life to something as simple as a piece of
wood. And tell him about me when he’s older. And tell him about the manger.
And, I wish I could tell him myself. If you were going to be around for a
while, I’d make him something to take with him, from me. But I’m sure you’ll be
moving on shortly here. So take the hammer, please. The hammer reminded me of
when I worked for the king. But my walk will remind everyone that I walk for
the king, now.
His eyes gleamed with joy and
delight.
Joseph accepted the hammer from
the old man and promised that it would be Jesus’ to use as he grew, knowing
that he’d have to be quite a little man to swing that hammer. It was a big one,
indeed.
When Jesus was big enough to
swing the hammer, the first thing he made was a manger for his donkey to eat
from. He took time and care and lovingly made it after the pattern his mother had
described so many times. When he’d completed his work, he called his mother to
see it. He led her by the hand into the workshop where he and his father worked
so diligently. She was proud of his work and her eyes filled with tears.
Jesus said, ‘Mother, if my donkey
can come into the house, we can keep it there! It does look beautiful enough
for a king’s house, doesn’t it?’
‘It sure does, my son. But the
donkey stays outside. We’ll keep the manger forever. It will remind us how our
heavenly Father wants us humbled before Him, so He can lift us up with His
blessings. The manger you laid in was truly a blessing, to me, as well as to
the old man. I wanted you to have the best, but God wanted you to be born in a
barn. But in the midst of that barn, He let us know that He was there with us.
Oh my Jesus, I love you.’ She hugged him tight.
As Jesus grew older, he grew in
the wisdom of God and in love. He always showed his love, never esteeming
himself more highly than others. He knew that it was better to give than to
receive and he knew that he would give the ultimate display of love at the
appointed time. He knew that when you lend, expect not to receive back what
you’ve lent. And he always gave his best, which is why when a city boy came out
to where Jesus lived, looking for the biggest and heaviest hammer he could
find, Jesus gave him his.
The boy told him, ‘My father is
the biggest man in the city and he has a big job to do. I told him that I would
find just the right hammer for the job and I’ll keep looking until I do.’
Jesus stopped him and said, ‘Why
did you promise to find this special hammer for your father?’
‘Wouldn’t you?’ the boy replied.
‘Besides,’ he added with a whisper, ‘if I do bring home the perfect hammer, he
won’t send my mother and me away.’
(picture from icollector.com)
Jesus told him, ‘Well, you’ll
need a little help to carry my hammer. It’s very big; just right for that big
job. I’ll help you carry it.’
They walked together for almost a
mile. Pointing, the boy announced, ‘There’s my father. We live over there. He
will be please. Would you like to meet him? Come on.’
The boy ran ahead of Jesus,
calling to his father. Looking up, he saw them coming.
‘I’ve found the biggest and best
hammer for you, Father!’
His father looked at Jesus and
furrowed his brow. ‘Do I know you? You look so familiar. Your look says you
know me.’
‘No,’ Jesus replied, ‘you don’t
know me yet.’
He handed him the hammer and
shook his other hand. After Jesus turned to walk away, the man looked at his
hand, the one that held onto Jesus’, running his fingers over the palm as if he
were feeling for something.
‘He was a big man, wasn’t he,
Father? He sure had a big hammer, and he gave it to us, Father!’
Years later on a hill called
Golgotha, Jesus saw that hammer again, and it was being used for a big job
alright. After the soldier swung the last blow of the hammer, he looked at the
man he was nailing to the cross. His eyes filled with horror as he recognized
his face. He fell to his knees but quickly got back up before anyone would
realize that his heart was being pierced. It seemed like forever as he looked
into Jesus’ eyes, everything he’d ever done came up in his mind. He felt so
helpless and he somehow knew why.
(picture from pinterest.com)
Jesus said to him, so quietly
that no one else heard, ‘Now, you know me. And yes, I’ve always known you, and
I love you.’
It was no coincidence that his
marriage was mended from the day he received that.
It was no coincidence that his
son was standing there beside him, also in a Roman soldier’s uniform.
He dropped the hammer and walked
away from the cross, looking back only once. In his heart he grieved. But he
knew that God knew of his grief when Jesus cried aloud from the cross in the
air, ‘Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.’
He followed after the disciples –
forgiven and alive for the first time in his life.
Have you yet to hold that hammer
in your hand?
The house the King desires to
live in is your heart. What have you let Him build there – with His hammer?
How
does an evil teach us to pray? Sunday morning Pastor Mark mentioned that while
on his recent trip to Africa, a prominent African Christian leader told him
that Idi Amin taught their people how to pray. Um, what? Well, no, he didn’t
gather them together in an auditorium and share with them the wealth of power
in prayer, or how to petition the Father of Life, or about the freedom found in
praising God. No, he didn’t instruct them on the finer points of prayer at all.
But,
he did force them into a corner, challenging their belief in God and the power and
effectiveness of their prayers. And they responded, together and
overwhelmingly. The tides are turning in their nation. We hear great reports
from Africa regularly.
I
looked for photos of the devastation under his regime. I couldn’t bring myself
to share them here….
Is
this what it will take for America to hit our knees? The rich outpouring of
blessings from God has given us an entitlement mentality and has turned a great
many of us from an attitude of gratitude to a gospel that simply promises
financial prosperity and all the material wealth we seek after. The heart of
the matter is fading in America. We don’t routinely hear of the miracles
happening here on our soil that seem to be reported in abundance in the parts
of the world where they don’t have “the privileges Americans enjoy….”
My depiction of an American bunny..... (picture from sustainableman.org)
Not
that any of us wants to choose between a huge bank account and submitting our
will to the Living God of the universe; surely we can have both. Can’t we?
Well, can we?
I
saw an article on the internet mocking American Christians in the south, living
in some of the poorest counties in our nation. Yes, with toothless smiles, they
praised God. Those who don’t share our faith in God laughed at them, saying, “You
thank God – for what??”
Do
I want to live in a shack or scrounge for my daily bread in a trash can? No. I
admit it, I live quite comfortably and I like it. I’m not at all saying there’s
anything wrong with abundance. Jesus
said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.” – John 10:10 (NKJV)
(picture from joyfulbusiness.org)
But,
does the man at the top of the mountain of Wall Street have peace with God?
I’m
not saying he doesn’t, but which is more important to you? Wealth or peace? I’ve
heard Rockefeller died in misery, despite his millions; what did they gain him?
Material possessions he couldn’t take with him; possessions that perhaps
brought him temporary pleasure?
I
have a friend who shares her definition of a Christian as one who would answer
the door when Jesus knocks and drop what she’s doing to go with Him; leaving
behind everything and everyone. Ouch! Not my babies! Not my lover! Not my
things!
Jesus
doesn’t generally ask us to leave everyone and/or everything behind, but if He
did put that challenge to you, could you run into His arms and trust Him to
take care of everything and everyone else?
Gathering
possessions is clearly what not what life is all about. Most of us consider
Mother Theresa to have been a very holy and righteous woman. Of course, she
never claimed to be righteous in and of herself, but through Christ. Yet, her
material possessions were few.
(picture from loscuatroojos.com)
Am
I judging the rich televangelists out there? No. I’ll leave the judging to God.
My own heart is the one I need to contend with. I’m not responsible for what
you or anyone else does with their heart.
But
think about this: if devastation (such as what Idi Amin brought to his people)
visited your life and all you were left with is your faith in God, would you be
able to embrace it with your whole heart? Or would you then turn your back on
God? Some say that faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’ve got to hang on to.
Personally, I don’t ever want to be in that position. But, like Job, if I lost
everything I can see with my eyes, I’d want to hang on to all that I have in my
heart.
What
we can see with our eyes is sooooo temporary.
(picture from sallyandsam.blogspot.com)
“As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are
formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they
flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and
its place remembers it no more.” – Psalm 103:13-16 (NIV)
Yet,
so many of us feel the need to accumulate “things” and consider them signs of
success.
To
quote an old Kansas song, “All we are is dust in the wind……” (Well, I guess
dust does collect….)
(picture from sunsetevansville.com Lissy Elle)
Psalm 8:4 asks, “What is man that You
are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (NKJV)
God’s
love for you is eternal; forever and ever and ever – and unconditional. Nothing
you could ever think or do can cause Him to stop loving you. What kind of a
love is that??
When
He comes to your door – run to Him! Don’t wait for persecution to learn to
pray. It may come. And sooner than we think.
Loving
someone doesn’t mean allowing them to do everything they want to do, or to do
everything their way. Right and wrong, good and bad are all still reality. The
line isn’t wiped out because you love someone.
If
I love someone who becomes abusive, I cannot allow them to hurt me. To walk
away from them doesn’t imply I’ve stopped loving them, only that I won’t be
tormented by them. Lines need to be drawn.
Because
I love my toddler I’m not going to let him play with the sharp knives in the
kitchen. Because I love him, I’ll keep them out of his reach until he can
understand the dangers they pose. Whether he completely comprehends why he can’t
play with the knives or not, lines need to be drawn, rules need to be accepted.
Though,
as parents, we create rules about what our children can and cannot do, there
will always be those strong-willed children who go around us to prove to
themselves that there’s really no danger; that mom and dad don’t know what they’re
talking about. Many of those children will get hurt, some seriously. Fortunately,
some of the little smart-alecks will investigate the knives when backs are
turned, and walk away unscathed. But, too many will find out the hard way, that
the rule was in place for their own protection.
(picture from wallpaperhere.com)
As
my child grows, I’ll warn him of other dangers, but I’ll do so because
I love him, not to deny him pleasure or the answers to curious questions. I’ll
want him to discover the answers to as many curious questions as his little
heart comes up with, and yes, there may come a day where it involves danger to
uncover the answers.
I
love a little man who knows no fear. He’ll run right up to the edge of a cliff
while we’re hiking and insist that he won’t go over. I have to admit, the boy
can stop on a dime, but the day may come when the souls of his shoes meet with
sand that sends him sailing over the edge. Do I warn him or attempt to stop him
from running at full speed right up to the very edge simply to deny him the
thrill? No, of course not; but because I love him and want him to live to be a
hundred and accomplish great things with his life.
Again,
pondering perception, as I’ve done so many times before, why do we think rules
are meant to deprive us? Why do we think that being warned of consequences
implies that the outcome of ‘breaking the rule’ is a punishment? If I tell my
young man that sliding off the edge of a cliff could mean his death, I’m not
saying I’ll punish him with death if he flies out past the end of the ledge. I’m
saying that death might be the natural consequence.
When
God tells us that without Him we cannot live, He’s not punishing us for trying
to live without Him, He’s merely showing us the consequence of excluding Him
from our existence. Believing in Jesus Christ results in eternal life, whereas,
denying Him results in eternal damnation. Just as cutting off your head will
lead to your death, death is not the punishment for cutting off your head,
merely the result.
Ponder
this, why do we so easily feel threatened with punishment, by warnings of consequences?
“…eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV)
Then I have to ask myself why it is that I’ve been blessed, or fortunate enough to discover God’s truth, when so many in the world have never even heard the Name Jesus. Clearly God dictated that I be born in the year 1959, in Middle America and into a home that feared God. As I grew up, I questioned most everything, including God. But that’s okay, that’s how I learn, by investigating. I chose what I believed and from what I was taught and what I didn’t believe. I questioned and investigated further to discover why I made my choices the way I did. What I choose to believe is found in the Bible, what I chose to throw out were traditions, which in and of themselves may or may not have been good traditions, but were not found in God’s Word.
Predestination, is there anything to it? Yes, it’s referred to in the Bible. Honestly, I don’t know how it all fits in to the grand picture of life and eternity, though. I believe God knows the end from the beginning; He’s already seen it all. Does He know it because He’s seen it? Or has He ‘seen’ it because He wrote the script? I’m not really sure which way to argue that. I do believe that God is not confined by time like we are. And yet....
