Living Unfiltered for God

While reading one of the Advent devotionals through the YouVersion Bible app this morning, I came across this commentary… Luke 2 says that when the angels told the shepherds the Good News about Jesus’ birth, they “hurried off” to find Him. Instead of waiting around and letting doubt creep in, they responded immediately. This took great faith! Certainly, they wanted to meet Jesus, but they also had earthly concerns. What would they do with their flock? Should they tell their families first? Were they dressed appropriately? Were simple shepherds really worthy of meeting the King of Kings? They didn’t let any of the questions we might have asked in the same situation keep them from quickly responding to God. I immediately thought, what a great example of living unfiltered for God! It is this kind of behavior that I have been trying to practice myself and encourage in this space for a while now. How amazing was it that these shepherds heeded the call, no questions asked? It makes ...

In recent years, there has been a lot of controversy about whether we should say, “Merry Christmas” or, “Happy Holidays” this time of year. Unfortunately, like so many things these days, it has become a divisive, political issue. Let me say from the outset, I’m solidly in the “Merry Christmas” camp. That said, I recognize that, at least from a purely religious standpoint, it does not apply to everyone. I have Jewish friends for whom, “Happy Hanukkah” would be more appropriate. But, also non-believing friends who, while they may not be followers of Jesus, still celebrate Christmas in its secular form (if that can really be a thing.) And of course, many others that fall across the spectrum. I’d like to offer here, though, a different way to think about all of this. Will you give me a few more minutes? Sitting in church this morning, as our Pastor was talking about Jesus being the fulfillment of certain Old Testament prophecies, I was struck with the following thought, “ Don’t just s...

Here we are, eight days away from Christmas. The last full weekend before the holiday. There will no doubt be much shopping done in the next couple of days. Lots of other holiday activities, as well. Even in our household, my wife and I will be off in different directions this morning, participating in some of those activities. My prayer this morning though, is that with all of the hustle and bustle, we remember why we're celebrating. I'm probably thinking along these lines because I've found that I've lost sight of it myself, at times, over the last couple of weeks. One quick example... Our family has a cookie decorating party every year. Over the years it has grown to become our big Christmas get-together before the holiday itself. Family and friends gather, we share a meal and then get to the serious (yes, to some it is!) business of decorating Christmas cookies. The party was last Saturday. On Sunday afternoon I went into the Grocery store and I had this strang...

Over the last few weeks, our church has been doing a sermon series called "Wonder". It has been especially impactful to me, during this season of Advent, to "re-remember", if you will, all of those things that bring me wonder. Those things that just make me stop and say, "Wow, would you look at that?" Sometimes it's something I see, other times it's a situation, still others it's a memory that is brought to mind. I wanted to use this space today to record just a few of these wonder-filled moments for me over the last few weeks. I would love it if you would share some of yours in the comments, as well. Where have I found wonder lately?... ... I've found it in nature. The picture below was taken of the sunset on my way home from work the other day. It still doesn't quite capture the vividness of the colors. I saw and "wondered" at how God just shows off sometimes with His beauty in nature. When you look closely, it's alm...

I have had several conversations with people lately about how it seems to be harder than usual for them to get into the "Christmas Spirit" this year. We've speculated about why that might be - but my focus here is not going to be on those thoughts and ideas. What I'd like to do is spend some time looking at how we might go about making it easier for those around us to find that Christmas Spirit - and maybe even hold on to it year-round. One of my favorite prayer/poems is the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.  O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive,...

Christmas is just about upon us! In fact , as I post this,  if you happen to be reading this in New Zealand it's already Christmas morning! As this will be my final Advent post, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about something that will probably be a big part of your Christmas Day... giving and receiving. It's important to have our hearts in the right place when it comes to giving. As Paul tells us,  " Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. " ( 2 Cor 9:7 ) This verse is often used in churches when it comes time for offerings and pledges. At Christmas, though, I think it is appropriate to remind ourselves of this as we exchange presents. I remember as a child, we would take turns opening gifts. We would each open one present at a time. It was hard to stay focused when one of my sisters was opening something. I was more concerned with what my next gift ...

I remember when I was a child, the wait for Christmas seemed interminable. Especially after Thanksgiving came and went, that month or so until December 25th contained the longest weeks of the year! Now, as I've gotten older, the time goes much more quickly (as does all time!) and I want things to slow down, to be able to relish and enjoy the season for as long as possible. I think there's something instructive in the waiting, though. I think God wants to use that time to do a work in us.  Yesterday we discussed Mary, and how her obedience led to the blessing and privilege of giving birth to the Savior of the world. She waited nine months for that. Sometimes we don't have to wait that long, but other times the wait is much longer. For those of us who struggle with patience,  this isn't always an easy task. One of my favorite verses, especially regarding the idea of waiting is, " Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. " ( Psalm ...