Tears in the Middle of Silent Night

This year is different for me from any other Christmas because I cannot hear Silent Night without crying. I never had this happen any Christmas before. I believe it is because I have a renewed appreciation for what actually happened on that night so long ago.

The sheer enormity of what the Son of God submitted Himself to in becoming human, God in the flesh, is startling! I have read that the birthing process is very harrowing for an infant. The long and torturous journey from the relative comfort of the womb and through the birth canal is uncomfortable, painful and dangerous for the child. And Jesus submitted to being clothed in helpless flesh, dependent on His mother for nourishment; his earthly father for provision and protection.

Just what kind of world did the Savior encounter after He was born? Here was a very young mother with no woman to help her, a husband with no experience in delivering babies and surroundings less than sterile. Straw, animal dung and the smell of earth mixed with the damp night air. We are told He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed to sleep in an animal feeding trough or manger. Such humble beginnings for the King of glory!

He entered a world where sin reigned supreme and human effort to change conditions had failed miserably. He came to a planet in trouble, not because of global warming, but because of the coldness of people’s hearts toward His Father. Jesus came out of obedience to His Heavenly Father’s plan. It was Jesus’ commitment to be in submission to the Father’s will from start to finish that lead Him from the cradle to the cross.

Love like that; obedience of that magnitude is not something one can consider without responding. So, that is why I cry when I hear Silent Night now. Love so wonderful, so unearned overpowers me. I pray you will join me in thanking God for His eternal plan set into motion from the beginning to make us His own through Jesus Christ, His only Son.    Doma

Life Unraveling

What happens when everything in life begins to quickly unravel like a favorite old sweater caught on a nail? All you were certain of and trusting in is suddenly in jeopardy. For some Americans, this is happening right now. Their jobs are being eliminated, their investments have decreased in value, their bills are unpaid and stress is affecting their health. Marriages flounder and the future looks bleak. Depression, fear and anxiety haunt many, many people.

If you happen to know someone who is struggling and you are one of the people who is not, then you have a sacred obligation. You are being blessed to be a blessing. Your "good fortune" is not just a coincidence and not just for you. Your brothers and sisters need you. They not only need a friend to listen and to pray for them, but may need more from you. Your heart must be tender before God, for He may ask you to share your blessings with others.

To share only material blessings is not enough, however. For long-term recovery, strugglers need faith. They need soul support. Jesus said, "Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest." It is in introducing battered, hurting people to the Savior that you are giving eternal blessing to those tired, troubled ones. Reluctance to share the blessings of faith in Christ has eternal consequences. Isn't the Savior's "Well done, good and faithful servant" more important to you than what some critical person may say about your witnessing to others?

Help people put life's puzzle together again with Jesus as the missing piece. His love is the one certainty we can rely on forever. Take Him at His word! DB

This Choice Is Yours

Expectations, minus reality, equal disappointment. This is a simple equation, but its truth cuts deeply into the heart of older people. We raised our children to be independent just as, hopefully, they raised theirs. Many of us find we are members of the first of four generations. We are often left in the dust of life and sometimes seen in the rear view mirror by our offspring. But, this is the way life is! People live it and move on. That is what we want for them.

      Now, we have to choose the level of involvement we have in the lives of our precious families. If we choose to sit and wait for them to meet our needs and pay us the attention we crave, we are asking for trouble! We must be the great grandparents and step up bringing love and wisdom and being there when they need us. We are privileged to have a fantastic life perspective that sees the bigger picture, but we must restrain ourselves from being critical of our loved ones who have to make their own mistakes and deal with this foreign culture we now inhabit.

     My point is – don’t back off, choose to make the move to call, write, or visit. Embrace their technology; don’t fear it. Communicate love every chance you get. That is your job as a senior member of society. Feeling sorry for yourself and choosing isolation must NOT be an option. You will answer to the Almighty for such selfishness. Enjoy the holidays and each day, but don’t impose high expectations on those you love. Remember too, there are so many others out there like you. Friends are the family we choose for ourselves. Thank God for them! DB 12/15/13

The Long Awaited One

By Doma ©12/04/13

As you hear the strains of “Come Thou Long-expected Savior”, you caress your swollen abdomen. You recall another girl of long ago blooming large with child. You cannot imagine that donkey ride over barren, rocky ground, her husband plodding by her side and her patiently asking, “Are we almost there yet?”

No mother or midwife attending her that night, nor family surrounding her in her own familiar home. No woman coaching her as to how to proceed. There is only the drafty stable with a feeding trough to lay her precious child in. Only her husband’s willing and gentle hands wiping the sweat from her damp brow.

Thank Yahweh for the time spent with Elizabeth! Following her dear cousin’s directions, the girl brought swaddling clothes for the child. Elizabeth’s words still resound in her mind as she recalls the way her cousin’s own babe leaped in the womb when she entered the room. She again feels the thrill of the memory of seeing the angel and the awe of all that is happening even now.

The night is fair and bright with stars. A warm breeze carries the scent of animals, sweet hay and straw. As the pain increases in intensity, the time of birth is arriving. A hush falls on the scene and the fullness of time has come.

The long awaited One has come. God’s heavens resound with rejoicing and shepherds timidly approach with the news of angels’ words. You return from your reverie still pregnant with promise, but soon you feel the awe of that amazing night for yourself.

Real Love

How do you love me, let me count the ways:

You love me the length of the long torturous walk up Golgotha’s hill.

You love me from the height of the Roman cross, blood streaming down into your eyes.

Loving me so much you face abandonment by your Father,

You love me with the agony and struggle of your last breath.

I must count the blackness of the tomb, as you loved me by facing death and burial.

You love me by destroying my death, forgiving my sin and rising to give me new life.

You love me into eternity.

Endlessly you love me; passionately you love me,

As no human can love me, that is how you love me.

I am in awe of such love; it demands a response.

Accept it, believe and revel in His love.

Rejoice and give thanks for His gift,

Or hold Him at a distance with your feigned unworthiness,

Dismissing all His love as for someone else - rejecting the greatest love ever offered.

The choice is yours.       Doma

Your Own Reality Show

If all anyone takes in is television, social media, video games, continuous chatting, well, the chances are reality is a thing of the past. Experiencing life through other people's lenses does not make for our own personal reality. Everything presented to us has an agenda or purpose. You must let yourself learn to process life as it comes your way without help from everyone else. 

Reality for you begins without input from outside sources. When you awake in the morning, do you get on your phone, i-pad or computer immediately, fearful you may have missed something? What would happen if you chose not to turn on any electronic media all day, for just one day? You might get acquainted with your personal reality. There is no threat in silence. There is no disaster if you miss a bit of news, gossip or whatever. 

Why do some people know all about celebrities' lives but know little about the members of their own family? Why do some parents not know who their kid's friends are? Why don't some folks have any opinions of their own? Could it be because they are not living in the real world? It has been stolen bit by bit by the attention paid to trivial, unimportant nonsense.

And it shows - that our society is losing its grip on reality. By the way, there really are no "reality shows", and we all know that. I believe it is time to create our own reality show by reducing the amount of time we all dedicate to media. I also think such a shift would greatly help us who inhabit the real world. We can engage in face to face communication. It is not as easily misunderstood as i-messages, chats, FB comments and texts. Imagine talking to a real person about real issues! Let's try it. Take a one week media fast, I dare you!    Doma

The Highest Virtue - Love

We can love people without approving of their behavior or life style! There is nothing intolerant about such love. In fact, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves. Why the pressure to approve and accept behavior or lifestyles that are directly opposed to our own? Why the demand for such acceptance? One has to ask what underlying need prompts this desire for approval.

Loving our neighbor does not mean accepting and excusing any and all behaviors or lifestyles. Because we love, we hold true to our own moral standards. To compromise would render us merely tolerant and not loving at all. To tolerate someone or something means to acknowledge reluctantly or to endure. Does that sound loving to you?

Tolerance is not the highest virtue, love is. Merely being tolerant means one is willing to endure anything and everything and has no set values or moral standards of right and wrong. Every opinion is correct and truth does not exist, except that which one wishes to accept. I like the quote from G. K. Chesterton, “The tolerant man is one who has no convictions at all.”

Only recently has tolerance had a positive connotation. Now it is being promoted as a fine and noble thing, but it is not. Without strong moral convictions and beliefs many people in today’s culture, including our youth, are confused and left to fend for themselves. When they search inwardly, they find little encouragement or affirmation. If they seek and find so- called self fulfillment they may become exactly that – filled with self - having a very narrow and stilted view of life and an open, undiscerning mind. Only loving our neighbor can really be considered helpful and positive. Mere tolerance offers nothing to our fellow man in the end.      Doma

Man - God's Wind-up Toy?

Contemplating the amazing love of God is a never ending exercise. Wake up in the morning? You lived through the night. You slept and hopefully were refreshed. Faced with a day filled with challenges or an ordinary, unremarkable day, God is as near as your breath. He promised never to leave you or forsake you.

By the way, your breath itself is miraculous. The mechanics of the human respiratory system happen without our giving it a thought. The circulatory system, with its miles and miles of vessels carrying blood throughout the body is also amazing. Our bodies testify to the truth of the words in Psalm 139 about our being “wonderfully and fearfully made.” We can take care of our health, but we do not make our own bodies totally function by thinking about it.

The fact that our bodies do have autonomic systems which we do not have to control bears witness to the attention to detail our God has in creating us. No one makes the heart beat or the blood flow. No one controls the kidneys as they signal the marrow to make just the right amount of blood. These things and so many more proclaim a Creator is still at work sustaining His creation in us. Man is not a wind-up toy, abandoned by God. . 

Why would He abandon His crowning achievement? He has not! It is we who turn our backs on Him in favor of beliefs of our own choosing. Immersed in a society that shouts out diverse beliefs as being equally valid, the truth of a living, loving God who created man and longs for relationship with him gets drowned out.

But God has the last the word. His Word to us is written in the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s love, delivered to this world as an infant, clothed in humanity and all that entails, still speaks truth through the scriptures. Time-bound and fully human, yet without sin, Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, walked the earth with a body like ours, and with emotions like ours. He was and is a living message of love. The Presence of His Holy Spirit now indwells, strengthens and helps us every day. He will continue the work He has begun in us until He sees it to completion. “He who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24) Be grateful for His love and let Him do a work in your life.           Doma

The Effects of a Bad Hair Day

I recently read a poll that states that 43% of the respondents believe a bad hair day adversely affects their self-esteem. I can believe that for sure! I bet I spent close to 43% of my free time during my high school years in the restroom trying to make my hair behave. I remember the time my mom gave me a home permanent, that event nearly ruined my psyche for life.

So, we can agree that how we perceive ourselves, down to the hairs on our head, can make us act crazy. A part in the wrong place or a stray lock can ruin one’s whole day. Fortunately, considering our physical appearance is not the real source of esteeming ourselves. The scriptures tell us to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It also says to have an honest estimation of yourself. We are instructed to esteem others as better than ourselves; they are to be doing the same for us. This arrangement is the ideal.

If we fall for the propaganda put out by the advertising industry, anyone’s self esteem is at risk. A change of hair color, brighter, whiter teeth, a flat abdomen, and even pleasant, minty breath are all supposed to deliver the promise of acceptance and even popularity. Drink the right beer and drive the finest car, and you are practically guaranteed a flock of friends.

Beyond the looks, the possessions and accomplishments, real self-esteem is a gift from God. He gives it to us by declaring our priceless worth. The price Christ paid on Calvary’s cross is the estimate of your worth, not someone’s opinion or your appearance or any of your stuff!

Get real! The Son of God came to earth as a human being and experienced life just as we do, yet without sinning. Since a perfect person, God’s own Son was not accepted, what makes you think a good hair day is going to do anything for you? Beware if your popularity and acceptance are tied closely to your looks, your finances and talents. All of these things change. Apart from the LORD God; His love and justice, the one constant in our world is change. Time takes a toll and people are notoriously fickle.

The conclusion I draw from thinking about fragile human self-esteem based on the current cultural definition is that no one can obtain it. Godly self-love, having a true knowledge of ourselves in relation to God frees us to esteem others as better than ourselves. Putting them first, seeing the best in them clears their view of you. They, in turn, hold you in esteem because they see Christ in you. So, do not worry about your hair, your clothes, what you will eat . . . Doesn’t that sound familiar? Your Heavenly Father knows precisely what you need. He has redeemed you and He esteems you.    Doma

Not Enough Faith

Scripture tells us that "God is the author and finisher (or perfector) of our faith," (Hebrews 12:2). I believe that since God is the One who writes our faith upon our hearts and fine tunes it during our lives; then finishes it - well then, it must be just the right amount of faith. Wouldn't you think so?

More important than how much faith we have is the One in whom we place our faith! Who holds our trust as sacred? Who will not betray us or let us down? Who is worthy of resting in, leaning on and abandoning our very selves to? It is none other than God Almighty.

I was reading in Matthew about the demon possessed boy, the one the disciples could not deliver from the evil one's grip. Jesus told His followers they were unsuccessful in delivering and healing the boy because they did not have enough faith. Was it because their hearts were full of doubt and there was not enough room for the faith God wanted to supply to them?

What about you and me? Are we so certain we can accomplish what needs to be done ourselves that faith is not needed? Do we believe we need and can have the tremendous faith that can"move mountains"? Are we satisfied to keep a small area of our hearts open to the faith God wants to pour into us to accomplish His purposes?

Make room in your mind, heart and life for the mountain-moving faith God wants to give to you. It is His faith. He is its author and He is its designer. Allow the work of faith to be on-going in you. He will see it to completion. Imagine what can happen when you pray for only what God can do and wait upon Him expectantly. Check out your prayer life to see if you are just making a to do list for God. Make a life changing, daring request with another person's best in mind and see what happens.

The prayer of a righteous person gets results only because the person has faith in God's ability to answer. Feeble expectations will yield puny results. Put your prayers where your faith is! Believe what God says as you read His word. Offer the Living, Loving God a life of amazing, fruitful faith.      Doma