Zealous

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

I love this verse. When I read it I can hear choirs singing “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And I remember all the ways that Jesus is those things. How he is wonderful in my life; my Counselor, Mighty God. All of it.

As I kept reading, I realized I needed to add another description. Zealous.

The last line of verse 7 reads “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

According to Merriam Webster, zeal implies energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause. Think about that for a minute.

God, your God, loves you with so much passion, so much devotion that he pursues you with zeal. And then take that a step further. The entire Christmas story, everything in the Bible, everything in our lives is about God’s zeal for each one of us. His passion for us, His love for us – It’s all to get us into relationship with him.

God was so zealous for us that he offered up and sacrificed His Son so we would see how great His heart is toward us. There is no love like this. None. He uses everything in your life as a means to speak to you. I love the words ‘unflagging pursuit’. There is no pause. There is no hesitation. Only a consistent, never ending, never waning desire to be in a love relationship with you. He will do whatever it takes. It started at the beginning and will continue until Jesus comes.

That is the best Christmas present ever.

Guarded

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. Psalm 16:5 (NIV)

What do you guard? You know, what do you protect and take care of?

Some of us guard our money. Often we guard our image. I guard time with my kids. When I am near them, I guard my grandchildren. My oldest grandson guards some of his toys so his younger brother won’t play with them. Some of us guard our responsibilities so others don’t take away how we feel fulfilled.

I am really terrible about guarding my time. I frequently have too much to do and not enough time to rest and relax. That causes very busy days and moments when I am not sure how I will accomplish my tasks. Some of those tasks are God given. There are times when things come and I know they are from Him and I need to do them.

All of life’s activities, whether they are self-imposed, other imposed or God imposed can make life feel just pain overwhelming.

There is one thing I have learned to guard that is essential to walking through this life; my time with God. You see, if I spend time doing that each day, if I set aside time to stop, be still and listen, all the rest falls into place. On the days when things are so chaotic that I feel like I am at my wit’s end, I’m trying to stop, pray and ask Him “What should I do next?” I keep doing this throughout the day and as the day wanes to an end, I have gotten done what I need to do.

I guard my time with God more than I guard anything else. This is the compass that sets my course. It is the sanity in the middle of chaos; the calm in the middle of the storm. Without it, I would be lost.

Guarding your God time doesn’t come naturally. It’s a habit learned. I am still learning. Luckily, God is a very patient teacher.

Usable by God

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished. Luke 2:8-10, 16-18 (NLT)

Shepherds. We might think now that being a shepherd was a great job. Wandering out on the hillsides. Sleeping under the stars. David was a Shepherd. Jesus talks about shepherding his sheep. Shepherding doesn’t sound so bad.

But back then, it wasn’t such a great job. Shepherds were seen as dishonest by the community at large. They were not allowed in courts as witnesses. They were considered unclean. No one was allowed to help them. They were outcasts. The lowest of the low.

Yet, God chose them. He chose them to first announce the arrival of Jesus. It was to them he shared his Good News and revealed his glory. Can you imagine seeing all of those angels praising God? WOW!

I love that the Shepherds took this information, checked it out for themselves and then ran around telling everyone they could find about what they had experienced. They were the first preachers. The first to spread the Good News.

God picked the most unlikely people to be involved in His story. He is still doing that today. We each experience Jesus every single day in our lives. (You do. You just might be missing it because you are looking for it.) We should be like the Shepherds and take those experiences, share them with the people around us and in doing that, share Jesus.

You see, we have no excuse. By choosing the Shepherds God made it clear that all are qualified. Everyone is usable by Him for His purpose. You don’t need an education. You don’t need to be accepted by society. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about you. What matters is that God sees you. He will use you. You just have to be like a Shepherd. Willing.

Real Life In The Neighborhood

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. John 1:14 (MSG)

Each year my daughter and I have a tradition. We get together and bake Christmas cookies! We’ve been doing this for years and it is a cherished part of our holidays. We’ve invited friends to celebrate in this time with us and it’s been a lot of fun. A few years ago, she gave birth to my first grandson. What joy he has brought! And then came the second grandson and more joy! Except for during cookie baking time.....

This year, trying to juggle two grandchildren plus the “adopted” grandchildren of friends, well, let’s just say, the focus was not necessarily on the cookie baking. Mostly, they were wrangling kids while I was baking. I did get to take a moment here and there to mix cookies with the oldest (even though his attention span was short.) And I did get to hold babies in between - joy! My daughter and her friend apologized because I was doing all the baking. But you know what? No apology was needed.

You see, we make all these cookies each year and I bring them home. I don’t give many away (except to family) because I don’t think I am that great at baking. They sit in my house and eventually, I throw some away. So why do it? Because I get to spend time with them. We were still talking and sharing and caring.

The holiday season shouldn’t be about the tasks we have to do. It should be about being with each other. It should be about what happens in life together as we take care of life’s stuff. I know that as the kids keep coming and growing in our circle, baking will look different each year. And some years (like this year) we won’t get much baking done.

But we will share, laugh, love and hug on each other and the kids. We will connect once more to say “I love you.” Jesus did that. He came, he shared life and he connected with us to remind us how much we are loved.

That is what Christmas is all about and those moments are what brings joy to our hearts. So today, while you are doing your ‘list’, do it with someone. Love on someone and so what if things don’t look like they used to or like they should. Honestly, when you lean into the loving part, the end result is even sweeter!

Reflections

1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

It was the Christmas season and I decided to go to a mall to do some shopping. I was in the car with my two kids. We pulled into the parking garage to find a place to park. I live in a pretty congested area so the mall parking garage was packed. I drove around looking, for what seemed like a very long time, for a parking space.

Just in front of me, someone started to pull out. Their reverse lights went on so I slowed and waited. They pulled out and I pulled in. Just as I pulled in, I hear a horn behind me and I look in my rear view mirror to see if there was a problem and there bold as the noonday sun I see a woman flipping me off. If you are not familiar with that term, she was doing a gesture with her hand that showed me her extreme displeasure.

I was surprised by this. She was behind me in the garage so why would she be so upset that I took the space. But more importantly, as I looked in my rear view mirror I recognized her. She went to my church! I sat in my car in complete disbelief. And to be honest, I purposefully didn’t turn around because I was embarrassed for her.

That image of someone from my church sharing hand gestures with me and the angry look on her face has stayed with me all these years and it has been a long time.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am sure in my past I have shared hand gestures with someone. I am sure I’ve been rude and angry at times. And I am sure others have an image of me that is not pretty. But here is why I am writing this post.

Our number one job is to reflect Jesus in everything we do. If the image of this woman is so imprinted on my mind so many years later, that should be a lesson to me regarding the impact of my behaviors on others. I do not want people to watch my behavior and assume anything negative about Jesus. That would be heart breaking. I want them to see him in me.

As we get into the hustle and bustle of the season, as we run here and run there trying to get “the list” done, let’s remember why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus. Only Jesus. And hopefully because we are in a relationship with him, we will behave more like him, even in crowded parking garages.

A Minute In It - This Changes Everything

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:4-7 (NIV)

Why do you think Jesus came as a baby?
What would be the impact if he had come as a grown man instead?
How would you see him differently?
What does his life, born as a baby, signify to you?
How does this change your relationship with him?

Denied!

69 Meanwhile, Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant girl came over and said to him, “You were one of those with Jesus the Galilean.”

70 But Peter denied it in front of everyone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

71 Later, out by the gate, another servant girl noticed him and said to those standing around, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 Again Peter denied it, this time with an oath. “I don’t even know the man,” he said.

73 A little later some of the other bystanders came over to Peter and said, “You must be one of them; we can tell by your Galilean accent.”

74 Peter swore, “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.

75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly. Matthew 26:69-75 (NLT)

We often read this story, okay, at least I often read this story and think “How could he do that? How could he deny he knew Jesus in front of all of those people? Didn’t he have a relationship with him? Didn’t Peter remember all the experiences they had together - all that Jesus did for him and others?”

And then, I have to pause and realize I also have done this. When I have a decision to make and I choose the thing that does not demonstrate that I know Jesus. Or when I know I am being prompted to call someone, to reach out or to serve in a specific way and I choose instead to sit on my couch and watch TV. Maybe, it is when I snap at someone or say something that is not reflective of the Lord I know in my heart.

During all of those times, I am denying that I know Jesus. I am sure there are many moments during the day when I am shouting “Denied!” by my behavior or thoughts. And people see. They take note because after all, I call myself a disciple.

I am no different than Peter. In my world full of people watching, I make mistakes too. The only difference is someone isn’t writing it down and publishing it for all the world to see. Another thing that is the same in my life, in our lives, as in Peter’s, Jesus still forgives. He still says “Do you love me? Then come, feed my sheep. Take care of my kids. You have a job to do.” Praise God for that!

Who Should We Talk About?

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:7 (NLT)

I don’t know about you but lately, I’ve been waking up a lot in the middle of the night. I don’t normally do this but in the last few weeks it seems to be a thing. For a while, I was praying and asking God to help me go back to sleep. And ask each moment went by, I got more and more frustrated.

Mostly, I woke up the next day tired and annoyed.

But then I started thinking “OK, if I am going to be awake, what do you want to talk about?” This turned into “Who do you want to talk about?” I would wake up, lay there for a minute and ask God who he wanted to talk about and names would pop into my head. I spent these moments (sometimes longer) praying for someone.

Honestly, I find this totally amazing. The names that pop into my head are random. Sometimes they are people I know and am in relationship with. Sometimes, I know what to pray about. Sometimes, they are people I haven’t seen in many years and I have no clue. But I pray anyway.

I’ve also had people tell me that God has placed me on their heart. I absolutely love this. I love that God is prompting me to pray for people and prompting people to pray for me. I love that God wants to talk to us about each other so we can wield the strongest weapon we have at our disposal. Prayer.

Do you want to know what else I find amazing in all this? After I pray for them, I go back to sleep, perfectly at peace.

God is alive and well, taking care of his kids. If you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, ask God who he wants to talk about? And then do it! It’s probably the only time you should engage in talking about people!