5th Truth of Christmas- Look for the Star

Sometimes, I miss things in plain sight; the bottle of hand lotion, my glass of water, or a book I literally set down ten seconds before. For some reason, my family often misses me sitting out in plain sight! I could be casually sitting in the corner of my bedroom, and someone comes in to do something or other; a few minutes go by, and suddenly, they jump!

"I didn't know you were in here! You scared me!" 

And I was sitting right there.

You can learn a lot about the world just by paying attention. Moss grows thicker on the north side of a tree. Strips of tire on the side of the highway either mean a blow-out, or that a semi came through recently. People sometimes act crazy when they are under stress or uncomfortable.

Those that pay attention to the signs around them seem so much more in tune with life than the ones who are in their own little world. It's hard to miss beauty when you are looking for it, it's hard to skip over people when you are paying attention to their needs

A long time ago, an entire nation was waiting for their Messiah. There had been radio silence on the prophetic frequencies for hundreds of years, and yet, when their Messiah did arrive, the majority didn't even acknowledge Him for who He was.

Why?

Because they hadn't been looking for the signs. The Old Testament is riddled with prophecies about Jesus; signs and clues which were written to lead mankind to their Savior. Every single prophecy regarding Jesus came true, but few were paying attention enough to notice.

And now enter the Magi; three wise men from the Far East. They were not Jewish, but rather foreigners from a distant land. And yet, when the Messiah did arrive, they were there to greet him in his early years of childhood. What pieces of information did they have that Jesus's own people had somehow missed?

The answer is simple: the wise men were looking for the star.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 2:1-2.

These strangers from the far away land knew what was happening better than Judea's own residents. They had seen the star, they knew whose star it was, and they knew they must journey to come and worship the King.

The Magi were paying attention, they looked for signs and clues around them. When they found a sign, in this case the star, they did their homework. And what did their careful attention lead them to?

It led them to Jesus, the Savior of the world.

I want to be like the Magi, attentive to my world and the things that God has in store for me. I don't want to miss the signs around me, but rather, I want to find them and embrace the blessings and purpose laid out for me.

This year, I encourage us all to be looking for the star.

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Missed a few days? Catch up on the Twelve Truths of Christmas, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

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4th Truth of Christmas- Gifts in Disguise

Have you ever tried to wrap a gift that is perfectly shaped to tell the recipient exactly what they are getting? You stare at it a moment, trying to figure out how to disguise the gift. This has become almost an art form at my house, you would not believe the things we have used to disguise presents.

The best part is seeing the look of surprise and delight on someone's face when they open your disguised gift. They think they are getting one thing, but instead, they end up with something entirely different.

Does this sound familiar?

When most Jews in Israel thought of the Messiah, they pictured a strong warrior king who would save them from the grip of Rome. Who in their right mind would have expected the Messiah to come as a fragile newborn? I can almost just see God chuckling to Himself as He took everyone by surprise.

The Greatest Gift that was ever given came in a disguised package.

Can't you just hear the people saying, "But God, what good is a baby going to do? We need a King, a warrior! Why are you sending someone who needs to be fed, changed, and put down for a nap every two hours?"
It would have been hard to comprehend how a baby could solve the problems that the folks of Judea faced in their time.

Have you ever gotten a gift that seemed useless at the time, but then later, after you had used it, it became one of your favorite gifts you ever received?

I can remember being about eight or nine, and I received three books on tape. When I first opened the present, I felt a great sinking of disappointment in my soul. Hooray, some boring looking cassette tapes. But later on, when I started listening to them, I realized what a treasure I had been given. I gained hours upon hours of pleasure from listening to those tapes over and over again. I received much more pleasure from those tapes than I would have from many other items that gave only short term pleasure. That gift also met many needs in my life, ones that I didn't even know I had until I received the provision to meet them.

Gifts in disguise can come two ways. (1) A gift can appear one way, but in truth, it is something else. (2) We can look at a gift through one perspective and not see the value, but when we shift our perspective, the gift suddenly can take on new meaning and purpose.

When travelers passed by Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus, they would never have expected that the answer to their cries for help was wrapped up in swaddling clothes. They might have smiled at the cute little family, but realize they were staring into the face of their Messiah....never!

And then later, when Jesus did reveal Himself, the people couldn't wrap their brains around the fact that He was not there to save them from Rome, but rather, from sin? No! This could not be, sin was not their problem, Rome was!

Right?

Wrong. Rome was the short-term problem, while sin was the long-term issue. A few in that time had actually done their homework, and were open and ready to receive Jesus when He came to them, even if his appearance took them by surprise. They were prepared to receive the gift. Others didn't learn of their need until they met Jesus, and then, suddenly, it made sense.

Suppose Jesus had actually come in the package people expected. What if He had come wrapped the way everyone expected? If Jesus had come like a King, would He have gotten through to anyone? Would they have even realized their true need for redemption from sin?

Jesus came in a strange and unexpected way. He forced people to rethink their perspectives and priorities. He forced them to also think about the real issues in their hearts, rather than just the temporary issues in their lives. He rescued people in a way they didn't even know they needed rescuing.

Sometimes I have something given to me in life that I don't understand. For instance, this house my family lives in is a mess. It's ugly, cramped, breaking down, and on and on and on. This house doesn't seem like much of a gift. And yet, this house enabled our family to go through a transition that opened up our lives for so much blessing and growth financially. We moved because of a new job opportunity for my dad which has only grown over time.

When I ask God to help me be more patient, I get put in a lot of situations that make my hair curl. And I go to Him whining saying, "This is not what I asked for; this is not what You were supposed to send."
But then, my perspective changes, I am forced to be uncomfortable and to think about things differently. And then....I learn patience.

There are gifts waiting in disguise all around us,  both during this Christmas season, and for the rest of the year. If you think something in your life is one way, look at it again. You might have missed something.

God is all-knowing and unbelievably creative. He knows our needs better than we know them. He has this all figured out. This Christmas, I want to look for gifts in disguise.

Because the disguised gifts, are often the best gifts of all.

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Want to read the other Truths of Christmas? Catch up with 1, 2, and 3.

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3rd Truth of Christmas- Light of the World

Christmas lights are one of the best aspects of this season. In a matter of days, our world transforms from winter darkness, to being lit by thousands of tiny pinpoints of light.

Christmas lights turn the ordinary into the enchanting. When I look at Christmas lights, I am filled with a sense of wonder and longing. I feel that I have been give a glimpse of my future home in heaven. I am drawn towards Christmas lights like a bee to sweet nectar.

Light.

God uses light to identify Himself. Darkness always represents evil. We are called to be lights in this dark world, "a city on a hill" .

Christmastime is the celebration of when the Light of the World came down to shine among us and light up the darkness of our empty hearts.

Jesus the Messiah was the first Christmas Light.

Christmas lights are very dependent upon each other. If one goes out, they all go out. Jesus is shining brightly, He never goes out. And because of Him, we the Church can all shine brightly. Our light will never die, because our light comes from Him.

This season, I choose to be a Christmas light, sparkling in the darkness.

Will you sparkle too?
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Just joining me? Catch up now with Twelve Truths of Christmas, Day 1- Joy, and Day 2- Peace.

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2nd Truth of Christmas- Peace on Earth

Hundreds killed at a time in terrorist attacks. Girls kidnapped from their own school by radicals who see women as lesser than men. Bombs that can silence millions of beating hearts in a split second.

Countries divided, households divided, people divided, anger, pain, heartache....

...where is the peace?

Peace.

It's what so many people seek. For thousands of years, humans have looked in many different directions to try to find peace.

Attempts have been made to create utopia- perfection on earth. Most have failed miserably and ended only after even more suffering and death, all in the name of "peace".

This is the season where "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" is proclaimed more loudly than ever. But one look at the news, and it is tempting to feel like we are as far from that concept as we have ever been.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet, wrote a famous poem which asked this very question. It was Christmas Day in 1864, the Civil War still raging across America. Longfellow's own son had been wounded in battle. For years, American sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers were wounding and killing each other, their countrymen. If you were ever to feel that peace was no more, I believe that seeing your own people fight against each other would do the trick.

Longfellow puts into words the cry of millions of people.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound

The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn

The households born

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

 But, how shall the Right prevail? From where do we find the peace on earth?

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Christmas is the celebration of when the Prince of Peace came down to our violent and heart-wrenching world, and brought peace.

Peace; it does not come from us. It does not come from the things that we do. Peace can only come from Jesus. And He did not stay up in heaven where He was far away and unreachable. The Prince of Peace came down to where we are.

Where is the peace on earth? It is right here--in my heart--in the heart of every Christian on planet Earth. The Prince of Peace came down to be among us, and he still dwells here in the hearts of his people. And with the peace that dwells in our hearts, we may go out and bring "goodwill toward men".

Peace to you all this Christmas season.

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Just joining us? Catch up with the 1st Truth of Christmas!

Read the full story of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

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1st Truth of Christmas- Joy is MINE

I always loved the word "JOY".

I can remember being just a little tyke, in Sunday school. Each week, the teachers would write up a Bible verse in colorful Sharpies, and then post it on the wall in our classroom.

The very first verse we ever posted was about having a joyful heart. I don't remember the exact location, but it was somewhere in Psalms or Proverbs; however, I can remember that the verse was written in red marker with a squiggly line of orange around the border. And in the top right corner, was a great big red heart. I adored that verse, I looked at it every Sunday, feasting my eyes on the giant red heart which screamed "JOY" to me.

When our teachers told us that at the end of the teaching course, each kid could pick out one of the verses to take home, I knew instantly which one would be mine. I watched that Bible verse like a hawk, making sure none of the other kids seemed too interested in claiming it for their own.

Finally, the Sunday came when the verses were being taken off of the wall and distributed. For those kids who didn't have a favorite picked out, random verses were given. But I had made my choice weeks before, and I didn't waste any time, "I want THAT one!" I pointed very firmly at my joy verse. The teachers casually handed it to me, completely unaware of the amount of time and thought I had put into claiming my prize.

I looked down at the precious verse, the big, beautiful, red heart staring up at me from the paper.

Joy was mine!

I have been on the lookout for joy my whole life, searching for the sunshine, the beauty, the laughter.

The deepest joy I have ever felt was the day that I accepted Jesus. I was five years old. Mama told me about Jesus, and about heaven. I can remember how it physically felt, like a fountain, bubbling up from my very soul. I felt light and airy, I was jumping on the couch for joy, SO MUCH JOY!

Even at that age, I could feel the difference. Ever since that day, I have never experienced joy as deep as that. Sometimes, very rarely, I get a hint, a taste, and my appetite increases. I crave joy like I would a delectable dessert.

I know I am not alone in this. Every single human being on planet earth desires to feel joy. We want to laugh, jump, dance, and to cry for joy!

But we live in a fallen world, surrounded by sorrow, suffering, and darkness. Where are we supposed to find the joy?

I have cried out to God many times, "Where is the joy? How do I find it? I feel so dark, I feel like I'm drowning!"

Often, joy feels like a creature that has almost gone extinct.

But has it? Or are we just looking in the wrong place? Or, do I have a wrong expectation of what joy is?

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was just a teenager living in a pretty scary time. Foreigners held her land captive, she was to be married to a man whom she might have only recently met, and, oh yeah, she was pregnant before her wedding night, with the Son of God.

Tack on a journey of over a hundred miles on the back of a bony donkey, all ending in birthing the Son of God surrounded by animals and manure. Can you imagine the fear and the darkness that had to be surrounding her? All of the thoughts and torments swirling around in her head, "What if I fall off of this donkey and my baby gets hurt? What if the Romans stop us on our journey, and Joseph dies protecting me? What if I can't handle being the mother to God's only son? What if God chose the wrong woman?"

It would have been hard to find anything to feel joy about. Even the place she had to birth her baby in is like every pregnant woman's worst nightmare.

She had to choose joy in that moment, despite her fears, despite her uncertainties about the future, Mary had to have chosen joy. In that precious time, cuddling her Savior, Jesus, in her arms, surrounded by hay, sheep, shepherds, and manure; Mary had to choose joy.

To choose joy, is to continually choose to keep your eyes on Jesus.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come...

Joy, joy is often a choice. It is not based upon circumstances, upon good weather, or upon a perfection.

Just like my Bible verse, we must keep our eyes on the joy of Jesus and the Father, not allow anyone or anything to take it from us, and then, claim it loudly!

This Christmas, Joy is MINE!

Twelve Truths of Christmas

I'll admit, a fraction of me feels like just putting my head down and shuffling through Christmas this year.

In my own mind, I'm shouting "Blasphemy!" to myself. I'm usually all about Christmas, by July 7th I'm ready to start putting up the tree.

I'm all about hope, which is what Christmas means to me.

I'm all about sparkly lights.

I'm all about presents.

I'm all about the music, the people, the food, the meaning, the stories, the memories, and on, and on, and on.

I should feel thrilled, even more than usual this year, because this is my first Christmas as a graduated "adult". Yes, to all of those nineteen to twenty-five year old's out there, you know exactly why I put the word adult in quotation marks. At this point, I am assuming that once you reach the heightened age of twenty-six this whole adult thing will begin to make some sense.

I should feel all of that, the joy, the sparkles, the warmth....

....but I don't.

Life has been hard for me and my family for the last couple of years. We have been in a really difficult living situation that just keeps getting more cramped and hard to live in. God has really done a lot of painful work in our hearts over the last few years, digging up things and forcing us to work on them.

The last few years have been really great when it comes to growth, and I wouldn't trade this season for anything. I have matured so much.

But I'm tired, I want to move on, to the next place, literally, I want to get to a different house. Maybe I sound like a whiner, but certain things like AC, a furnace, less mold, and other things seem fairly reasonable to me.

So what does this have to do with Christmas? This: life just feels too messy and hard to fit Christmas into.

I know, that sounds nuts, doesn't it? But it's how I feel. Trying to fit Christmas in around all of the messy chaos of my life sounds so hard. And I know for a fact, I am not the only one who feels this.

Across America, across the world, there are millions of people who live busy, chaotic, and messy lives. And millions of those people celebrate Christmas.

Should we all just put our head down and shuffle through the holidays when we don't feel put together enough to celebrate? Should we just forget about the joy this season, and feel sad about the things that don't feel right? Not that Christmas will ever look like it does on Hallmark Channel, but, I have had more orderly Christmases before.

It's tempting, it may be really lame, but in a sense, it does sound easier to close up rather than trying to engage this celebration.

That is how I feel...

...but that is how I refuse to live.

I REFUSE to allow my Christmas to be taken from me by the troubles of this world and my own heart. I refuse to let joy slip away and be replaced by gray clouds. I refuse to let this season pass in a blur.

This Christmas, I choose to eagerly grab onto truth, life, and joy. This Christmas is precious, and beautiful, and just what I need right at this moment in my life.

I want to share this choice with you, and so, I have decided to write about Twelve Truths of Christmas that I am going to focus on this year. Starting on Sunday the 13th, I will be sharing a single truth each day, something precious that I am focusing on this Christmas season.

Join me. Don't let this precious season pass you by. I know life feels hard, maybe you are depressed, maybe your circumstances are less than ideal. But this is our Christmas, this is our Savior, and this season about our hope and joy!

Merry Christmas! See you all on Sunday for Day 1- Joy.

Fantastic Black Friday Book Sale

The meaning of Thanksgiving is here! Buying large quantities of items for small prices! Even better if you can do it online, which saves you having to get out of bed where you are sleeping off your meal.

Just kidding, I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday full of family, fun, and ginormous amounts of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Sales may not be the meaning of Thanksgiving, but they are definitely something to be thankful for. I am so pleased to be able to share this fantastic Black Friday book sale with you all. It is a good day for book lovers everywhere.

From Nov 27 (that’s today!) through Nov 30th, more than 70 independent Christian books are on sale. You can find free shipping, $0.99 ebooks, package deals, and more! Think 70 books is overwhelming? Narrow it down and find the perfect books for you or someone on your Christmas list by using this quiz to customize your book reading list.> What awesome reads of 2015 are you grateful for? What books are you looking forward to reading in 2016?

A note on the Ebooks Only page. All books are listed as “Sold Out.” This only refers to paperback copies of these titles. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good for her work organizing this sale, Gloria Repp for completing the time consuming job of uploading book info to the sale website, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.