Believers do it religiously. School kids do it unconsciously. Bankers do it commercially. Even atheists do it inadvertently. Some of them do it every day. The President of the United States does it over 100 times each year. The signers of the U.S. Constitution did it in 1787. Historians especially do it. Celebrants in Times Square do it on New Year’s Eve with great enthusiasm. Everyone does it ceremonially once a year. Many have no idea that they are doing it.
They all honor Jesus Christ when speaking, writing or even acknowledging the year. When the calendar is flipped to a new year, it focuses the fact that everyone is doing it; we all are honoring the Lord Jesus Christ, and there’s no escaping it.
Beginning tomorrow, January 1, the technical year will be AD 2009. AD stands for “anno domini”—“in the year of our Lord.” “Our Lord” is Jesus Christ. In fact, a Wikipedia article notes, “More fully, years may also be specified as Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (‘In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ’).” The calendar dating system of the world is synchronized to His lowly birth by the virgin mother in a cow stall in Bethlehem about 2009 years ago.
It is even constitutional, despite what detractors say about no mention of religion in that U.S. founding document. At the bottom of the original, it says, “Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven…. In witness thereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.” Underneath, 39 delegates from twelve states signed the document.
At last count, President George Bush had issued 115 presidential proclamations. Each one lists the date as being “in the year of our Lord….”
There are several calendar systems in use around the world, but only one unifies the globe in its computers, its economy and its correspondence. We call it the Christian calendar, and so it is. In contrast with all other calendars, this Christian calendar has a mid-point. That is, while all others begin with some notable event and stream forward endlessly, our Christian calendar counts descending years to Christ’s birth and ascending years from it: 4 BC, 3 BC, 2 BC, 1 BC, AD 1, AD 2, AD 3, AD 4, etc.
The history of this absorbing phenomenon is a fascinating study. As far as can be determined, “AD” was in widespread use by the 9th century. It was not until the late 15th century that “BC” (“before Christ”) was in widespread usage. So, after many centuries, the influence of Christ was increasing dramatically.
Today, two major calendar types are used—those with a starting point, such as the creation calendar widely used by the Jews, and one with a mid-point, or the Christian calendar. Ultimately, all calendar systems defer to our Christian dating system, which everyone uses on school papers, checks, legal documents and computers, with Christ’s birth date in each one.
Attempts have been made to shift to other calendars, one being the Jewish calendar, which is a creation calendar, but even prestigious publications such as the weekly Jerusalem Post carry both dates, for example, “December 2008 and Kislev 5769”. Incidentally, objectors sometimes do an end run around the obvious by designating years as BCE and CE, meaning “Before the Common Era” and “Common Era.” However, the “Common Era” is the Christian era. The Christian era by any other name is still the Christian era, and 2009 used by anyone still cries out another “year of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Apostle Paul had it right when he wrote, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
We wish all our friends a most wonderful and happy New Year of AD 2009—another year of our Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:4), the beginning and the ending (Revelation 1:8), and our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15).
Dave Virkler
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Oldest American Dies
He was just about to enter his 9th year of the 21st century, but it was not meant to be.
On Saturday, George Francis died at age 112. He had been, until congestive heart failure took his life, the oldest living American. His son, just a spry 81 years of age, stated, "He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries.”
Francis was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. He tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature – never weighing in at more than 100 pounds. He quit school after the sixth grade, later became an amateur boxer, and also worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber. He lived a long life and saw more than most ever will.
Some would say that George Francis died of heart disease. Others would say simply that he breathed his last due to ravages of old age. Either is appropriate, but both are incomplete. George lived a long time by any standards, but his physical death originated from a spiritual demise set into motion long before he drew his first of many breaths.
At the very outset of human history, God gave the first man and woman a clear choice - one that would unfortunately see them choose incorrectly. Their horrendous selection would set mankind on a disastrous road, even though God did His best to lay the dire consequences of a wrong action before them.
Genesis 2:15-17 describes the scene. “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." And die they did – both physically and, more importantly, spiritually. Their bodies began a slow decay while their once close relationship with their Creator perished. And ever since, all eventually face the unthinkable results of that fateful choice in the garden. Pain may be eased and days lengthened through technology, but death’s dark day will still arrive, as will a day of reckoning according to Hebrews 9:27.
But spiritual death can be eradicated and permanently – something foretold back in that same garden where the Serpent’s subtle lies duped earth’s first couple. In Genesis 3 God spoke of the future victory over His enemy’s dreadful grip of eternal death over humanity. Verse 15 reads, “And I will put enmity, between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." The literal fulfillment of that great promise would come many centuries later through God’s Son and His sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead. Eternal death would meet its match in a coming Savior, although it would require making the right choice of accepting Christ’s free gift of salvation.
Then the lasting results of rejecting or accepting that great and all-important choice are made clear in 1 John 5:11-13. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
The concept of physical pain and ensuing death is not for any a pleasant thought. But the Christian can count on God’s supernatural sustaining grace throughout the process. And even more amazing is the solid promise of being able to face death with peace and victory, knowing of a future so glorious as to never be really understood until that inconceivable moment arrives. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Many alive now will not live to see their next birthday or be around long enough to see the new year of 2009 come to an end. But there is no reason for any to not live eternally in the presence of God according to Jesus' own words in John 6:58. "This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever ."
Bill Breckenridge
On Saturday, George Francis died at age 112. He had been, until congestive heart failure took his life, the oldest living American. His son, just a spry 81 years of age, stated, "He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries.”
Francis was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. He tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature – never weighing in at more than 100 pounds. He quit school after the sixth grade, later became an amateur boxer, and also worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber. He lived a long life and saw more than most ever will.
Some would say that George Francis died of heart disease. Others would say simply that he breathed his last due to ravages of old age. Either is appropriate, but both are incomplete. George lived a long time by any standards, but his physical death originated from a spiritual demise set into motion long before he drew his first of many breaths.
At the very outset of human history, God gave the first man and woman a clear choice - one that would unfortunately see them choose incorrectly. Their horrendous selection would set mankind on a disastrous road, even though God did His best to lay the dire consequences of a wrong action before them.
Genesis 2:15-17 describes the scene. “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." And die they did – both physically and, more importantly, spiritually. Their bodies began a slow decay while their once close relationship with their Creator perished. And ever since, all eventually face the unthinkable results of that fateful choice in the garden. Pain may be eased and days lengthened through technology, but death’s dark day will still arrive, as will a day of reckoning according to Hebrews 9:27.
But spiritual death can be eradicated and permanently – something foretold back in that same garden where the Serpent’s subtle lies duped earth’s first couple. In Genesis 3 God spoke of the future victory over His enemy’s dreadful grip of eternal death over humanity. Verse 15 reads, “And I will put enmity, between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." The literal fulfillment of that great promise would come many centuries later through God’s Son and His sacrificial death on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead. Eternal death would meet its match in a coming Savior, although it would require making the right choice of accepting Christ’s free gift of salvation.
Then the lasting results of rejecting or accepting that great and all-important choice are made clear in 1 John 5:11-13. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
The concept of physical pain and ensuing death is not for any a pleasant thought. But the Christian can count on God’s supernatural sustaining grace throughout the process. And even more amazing is the solid promise of being able to face death with peace and victory, knowing of a future so glorious as to never be really understood until that inconceivable moment arrives. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
“So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Many alive now will not live to see their next birthday or be around long enough to see the new year of 2009 come to an end. But there is no reason for any to not live eternally in the presence of God according to Jesus' own words in John 6:58. "This is the bread which came down from heaven — not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever ."
Bill Breckenridge
Monday, December 29, 2008
A Shining Light of Compassion
You may have missed it in all the pressing political and economic issues, but in late November, President & Mrs. Bush sent out their last White House Christmas card. A long-standing tradition, every annual holiday card they have mailed for these eight years has featured a special painting of a White House scene in a tasteful blend of art, Christmas greeting and a Scripture text. The 2008 cover featured a stunning painting of the Washington Monument with the smaller Jefferson Memorial in the distance as viewed from the Truman Balcony at the Executive Mansion. Artist T. Allen Lawson produced the 22" x 20" oil on linen masterpiece.
The 2008 presidential card includes Matthew 5:16 from the King James Version: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." This may seem a strange selection since dismal approval ratings for President Bush reflect the notion that he did little right during his tenure in office. However, a recent story in The Washington Times may improve the President’s image.
The paper reports that the President personally wrote to each of the more than 4,000 families who lost a loved one in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, he met with more than 500 of those families and with more than 950 wounded veterans. The President never advertised these acts of compassion, but, as he made his final presidential visit, media reporters discovered it and made it newsworthy.
Commenting on the discovery, Bush said that he considers himself as "comforter in chief" who tries to help "as best I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish." He also declared, "I lean on the Almighty and Laura…." Mrs. Bush has often accompanied her husband on these many visits.
How can we reconcile the intended privacy of these acts of comfort with the text in the card that carries Christ’s command for public testimony? A subsequent verse in Matthew says, "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…" (Matt. 6:3). Or, put a clearer way, "Don’t advertise your good works."
The Bush’s Christmas verse speaks of letting your light shine. Light is a quality or attitude, not necessarily an activity. And Matt. 6:4 reveals the relationship between private attitude and public reward: "…that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."
The Bush’s shining light of compassion does not show up in the approval polls, but somehow The Washington Times has been used by God to reward them openly.
Thank you, President & Mrs. Bush, for sharing such a special verse in the sunset of your residence in the White House. And thanks, Washington Times, for covering a positive story and bringing these moving evidences of their compassion to our attention.
Dave Virkler
If you enjoy this blog, send us an e-mail message at info@wordandtheworld.org
The 2008 presidential card includes Matthew 5:16 from the King James Version: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." This may seem a strange selection since dismal approval ratings for President Bush reflect the notion that he did little right during his tenure in office. However, a recent story in The Washington Times may improve the President’s image.
The paper reports that the President personally wrote to each of the more than 4,000 families who lost a loved one in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, he met with more than 500 of those families and with more than 950 wounded veterans. The President never advertised these acts of compassion, but, as he made his final presidential visit, media reporters discovered it and made it newsworthy.
Commenting on the discovery, Bush said that he considers himself as "comforter in chief" who tries to help "as best I humanly can a loved one who is in anguish." He also declared, "I lean on the Almighty and Laura…." Mrs. Bush has often accompanied her husband on these many visits.
How can we reconcile the intended privacy of these acts of comfort with the text in the card that carries Christ’s command for public testimony? A subsequent verse in Matthew says, "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…" (Matt. 6:3). Or, put a clearer way, "Don’t advertise your good works."
The Bush’s Christmas verse speaks of letting your light shine. Light is a quality or attitude, not necessarily an activity. And Matt. 6:4 reveals the relationship between private attitude and public reward: "…that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."
The Bush’s shining light of compassion does not show up in the approval polls, but somehow The Washington Times has been used by God to reward them openly.
Thank you, President & Mrs. Bush, for sharing such a special verse in the sunset of your residence in the White House. And thanks, Washington Times, for covering a positive story and bringing these moving evidences of their compassion to our attention.
Dave Virkler
If you enjoy this blog, send us an e-mail message at info@wordandtheworld.org
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Cost of Christmas
Shoppers across the U.S. said they were planning to spend an average of $431 for gifts this holiday season, down from $859 last year according to the 23rd annual Survey on Holiday Spending from the American Research Group, Inc. The overall average of planned spending is down almost 50% from 2007, and it is the lowest level of planned spending recorded by the American Research Group since 1991.
However, the cost of the items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a comical benchmark for analysts, reportedly was up to about $ 86,900, soaring from years before.
To cut back on Christmas spending, proposed ideas include wrapping gifts in newspaper, giving IOU gifts (a note promising to do something nice for someone), handmade cards, custom baked goods or customized calendars highlighting important dates. Some suggested cost-cutting measures also included using LED lights, which use less electricity, and turning off displays during all daylight hours. Hand-made tree ornaments are also a possibility, even using family photos hung on the tree or perhaps draping old-fashioned inexpensive garlands of popcorn. Christmas tree economies were also suggested such as buying only live trees, which can be planted later, or purchasing artificial trees that could be reused for many years.
Whatever the expense of Christmas, many shoppers will be paying off Christmas debts for a long time. Many of these incurred debts have little or nothing to do with the real concept of the first Christmas, which was kneeling and giving gifts to the newborn King Jesus. I wonder how many extra gifts are given to churches, mission organizations or missionaries as a reflection of the eastern wise men who knelt and presented their gold, frankincense and myrrh?
The first Christmas participants all paid dearly, if not in actual money, then in other sacrificial ways. Consider a few of these …
Zecharias and Elizabeth – Zecharias, whose son, John the Baptist, would later publicly announce Christ as Messiah, was struck dumb and deaf for his temporary unbelief (Luke 1:20) that his wife would bear a child. Both he and Elizabeth had to bid farewell to their boy early so he could be alone with God in the desert (Luke 1:80). John himself was beheaded by adulterous Herod for his denunciation of Herod’s sins (Mark 6:14–29).
Mary and Joseph – Mary faced searing criticism as a possible fornicator being pregnant by an unidentified father before she and Joseph lived together as husband and wife (Luke 1:34). Mary traveled twice to southern Israel, first to see Elizabeth and then to Bethlehem in the final stages of pregnancy (Luke 1:39; 2:1-4). The journeys were a total of possibly 210 miles. Simeon’s cryptic forecast of Mary’s broken heart must have cost her peace and calm (Luke 2:34).
Joseph was concerned over an unfaithful fiancée (Matt. 1:19). He gave up sex with his new wife until Christ was born (Matt. 1:25).
Both traveled to Bethlehem some 70 miles from home with the baby's birth imminent. As homeless travelers, they sought a suitable birthplace but bedded down in a cow stall. Later, the young family had to flee at night from Bethlehem, where they had established a home, to Egypt (a trip of about 50 plus miles) until Herod died (Matt. 2:14, 15). Then they had to divert to avoid their Bethlehem home to travel far north back to Nazareth where a quizzical welcome no doubt awaited them.
Demonic and angelic tension must have been felt by the holy family. Revelation 12:4 says that Satan stood before the woman to devour the child at birth. Rough math indicates that there are at least 150 million supernatural created spirit beings if we add at least 100 million unfallen angels (Rev. 5:11) and 50 million who fell with Satan (Rev. 12:4). Satan’s minions were likely marshaled against the multitude of heavenly hosts revealed to the shepherds of Luke 2.
The Shepherds – They were first terrified, and then they sacrificed to travel from their flocks to an obscure stable. I imagine lots of puzzled stares met them when they inquired about an obscure newborn lying in a common feeding trough.
The Wise Men – They paid the price of a two-year trek across hostile areas to worship Christ and offer their valuable gifts (Matt. 1:1–12).
Jesus Christ – Christ Himself experienced the greatest cost. The great Creator (John 1:3, Col. 1:16) voluntarily laid aside the full preferences of His glory to become a human and die for us (Phil. 2:5-8). Christ’s homesickness for heaven is seen in John 17:5. He knew He would not return home before being savagely scarred by our sins. God, the Father, also paid dearly to yield His only begotten Son. As someone once said regarding his human son, “I could give myself, but I could not give my son!”
Christmas was so very costly. Salvation is free, but it is never cheap. The supreme price matches the superb gift in Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
John 3:16 & 17 eternally stand as the awesome Christmas benchmark of divine cost and sovereign bestowal: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Each person who paid so dearly is uniquely honored around the world, especially at Christmas. Christian sacrifice should always be counted as an investment, not a loss. When Peter asked about any gain there might be since he and the other disciples had left all to follow Christ, the Lord said that the eternal return would be one hundred fold, which is 10,000% and much more in eternity (Mark 10:30).
Hymnwriter Esther Kerr Rusthoi put it so well:
It will be worth it all
When we see Jesus,
Life’s trails will seem so small
When we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face,
All sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race,
Till we see Christ.
Dave Virkler
If you are enjoying these blogs, we would appreciate hearing from you. E-mail us at info@wordandtheworld.org.
However, the cost of the items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a comical benchmark for analysts, reportedly was up to about $ 86,900, soaring from years before.
To cut back on Christmas spending, proposed ideas include wrapping gifts in newspaper, giving IOU gifts (a note promising to do something nice for someone), handmade cards, custom baked goods or customized calendars highlighting important dates. Some suggested cost-cutting measures also included using LED lights, which use less electricity, and turning off displays during all daylight hours. Hand-made tree ornaments are also a possibility, even using family photos hung on the tree or perhaps draping old-fashioned inexpensive garlands of popcorn. Christmas tree economies were also suggested such as buying only live trees, which can be planted later, or purchasing artificial trees that could be reused for many years.
Whatever the expense of Christmas, many shoppers will be paying off Christmas debts for a long time. Many of these incurred debts have little or nothing to do with the real concept of the first Christmas, which was kneeling and giving gifts to the newborn King Jesus. I wonder how many extra gifts are given to churches, mission organizations or missionaries as a reflection of the eastern wise men who knelt and presented their gold, frankincense and myrrh?
The first Christmas participants all paid dearly, if not in actual money, then in other sacrificial ways. Consider a few of these …
Zecharias and Elizabeth – Zecharias, whose son, John the Baptist, would later publicly announce Christ as Messiah, was struck dumb and deaf for his temporary unbelief (Luke 1:20) that his wife would bear a child. Both he and Elizabeth had to bid farewell to their boy early so he could be alone with God in the desert (Luke 1:80). John himself was beheaded by adulterous Herod for his denunciation of Herod’s sins (Mark 6:14–29).
Mary and Joseph – Mary faced searing criticism as a possible fornicator being pregnant by an unidentified father before she and Joseph lived together as husband and wife (Luke 1:34). Mary traveled twice to southern Israel, first to see Elizabeth and then to Bethlehem in the final stages of pregnancy (Luke 1:39; 2:1-4). The journeys were a total of possibly 210 miles. Simeon’s cryptic forecast of Mary’s broken heart must have cost her peace and calm (Luke 2:34).
Joseph was concerned over an unfaithful fiancée (Matt. 1:19). He gave up sex with his new wife until Christ was born (Matt. 1:25).
Both traveled to Bethlehem some 70 miles from home with the baby's birth imminent. As homeless travelers, they sought a suitable birthplace but bedded down in a cow stall. Later, the young family had to flee at night from Bethlehem, where they had established a home, to Egypt (a trip of about 50 plus miles) until Herod died (Matt. 2:14, 15). Then they had to divert to avoid their Bethlehem home to travel far north back to Nazareth where a quizzical welcome no doubt awaited them.
Demonic and angelic tension must have been felt by the holy family. Revelation 12:4 says that Satan stood before the woman to devour the child at birth. Rough math indicates that there are at least 150 million supernatural created spirit beings if we add at least 100 million unfallen angels (Rev. 5:11) and 50 million who fell with Satan (Rev. 12:4). Satan’s minions were likely marshaled against the multitude of heavenly hosts revealed to the shepherds of Luke 2.
The Shepherds – They were first terrified, and then they sacrificed to travel from their flocks to an obscure stable. I imagine lots of puzzled stares met them when they inquired about an obscure newborn lying in a common feeding trough.
The Wise Men – They paid the price of a two-year trek across hostile areas to worship Christ and offer their valuable gifts (Matt. 1:1–12).
Jesus Christ – Christ Himself experienced the greatest cost. The great Creator (John 1:3, Col. 1:16) voluntarily laid aside the full preferences of His glory to become a human and die for us (Phil. 2:5-8). Christ’s homesickness for heaven is seen in John 17:5. He knew He would not return home before being savagely scarred by our sins. God, the Father, also paid dearly to yield His only begotten Son. As someone once said regarding his human son, “I could give myself, but I could not give my son!”
Christmas was so very costly. Salvation is free, but it is never cheap. The supreme price matches the superb gift in Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
John 3:16 & 17 eternally stand as the awesome Christmas benchmark of divine cost and sovereign bestowal: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Each person who paid so dearly is uniquely honored around the world, especially at Christmas. Christian sacrifice should always be counted as an investment, not a loss. When Peter asked about any gain there might be since he and the other disciples had left all to follow Christ, the Lord said that the eternal return would be one hundred fold, which is 10,000% and much more in eternity (Mark 10:30).
Hymnwriter Esther Kerr Rusthoi put it so well:
It will be worth it all
When we see Jesus,
Life’s trails will seem so small
When we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face,
All sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race,
Till we see Christ.
Dave Virkler
If you are enjoying these blogs, we would appreciate hearing from you. E-mail us at info@wordandtheworld.org.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Taking Time to Reflect
Yesterday morning was the last Sunday before Christmas in this year of 2008. Despite threatening weather, we went ahead with out annual Christmas program that same night. And the Lord blessed the effort with a good attendance and hopefully blessed those who braved the elements to attend.
But during the morning message we were told a story about a Christmas spectacular from years ago. The church was apparently a majestic scene with over 10,000 lights and additional decorations as well. It was a sight to behold!
When the celebration was over, all made their ways home. But upon arriving home, it dawned on the pastor that he had left a gift at the church and had to return. Upon entering the building he noticed light coming from what should have been a now darkened auditorium. Upon entering the large room he noticed the youth pastor of the church just sitting near the front all alone and starring at the amazing scene. The senior pastor walked quietly down the aisle, touched his associate's shoulder, and asked, “Phil, what are you still doing here?” The answer was unexpected. “I’m just soaking it all in for a few more minutes.”
As the celebration of the Incarnation comes, it so easy to get bogged down in all of the nice external stuff that is incorporated into the season. But for the Christian, the only one who can really fathom the reality of eternal God becoming human flesh and dwelling with us, there should be time set aside in private to just ‘soak it all in’.
There should be a many moments of reflecting on the ultimate Gift – the one that cost Christ everything in sacrifice and that requires us to only trust Him fully and be thankful eternally!
Don’t let the celebration of God’s greatest Gift to man come and go without giving Him thanks by ‘soaking it all in’.
Have a blessed Christmas!
Bill Breckenridge
But during the morning message we were told a story about a Christmas spectacular from years ago. The church was apparently a majestic scene with over 10,000 lights and additional decorations as well. It was a sight to behold!
When the celebration was over, all made their ways home. But upon arriving home, it dawned on the pastor that he had left a gift at the church and had to return. Upon entering the building he noticed light coming from what should have been a now darkened auditorium. Upon entering the large room he noticed the youth pastor of the church just sitting near the front all alone and starring at the amazing scene. The senior pastor walked quietly down the aisle, touched his associate's shoulder, and asked, “Phil, what are you still doing here?” The answer was unexpected. “I’m just soaking it all in for a few more minutes.”
As the celebration of the Incarnation comes, it so easy to get bogged down in all of the nice external stuff that is incorporated into the season. But for the Christian, the only one who can really fathom the reality of eternal God becoming human flesh and dwelling with us, there should be time set aside in private to just ‘soak it all in’.
There should be a many moments of reflecting on the ultimate Gift – the one that cost Christ everything in sacrifice and that requires us to only trust Him fully and be thankful eternally!
Don’t let the celebration of God’s greatest Gift to man come and go without giving Him thanks by ‘soaking it all in’.
Have a blessed Christmas!
Bill Breckenridge
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
