Jesus

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What God Wants for Christmas

What do you want for Christmas? As small children sitting on Santa’s lap, we quickly learned to rattle off a long list of our desires—mostly things we’ve seen in ads on TV. Now that we’re older, we still have our lists, posted online at the request of family members trying to assemble a Christmas shopping list.

As the primary gift shopper in our household, I was scanning these lists when the thought occurred to me… what does Jesus want for Christmas? After all, it’s his birthday!

I was reminded of a passage I read recently—found in both Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33—where Jesus tells Peter “Get behind me, Satan! … You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” I wondered, what are the concerns of God? What could He, the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills (not to mention the rest of creation) possibly lack? Or, if you’re not the practical gift type, what could we give Him to make Him happier?

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Anticipating Jesus

Do you celebrate Advent? Growing up outside the church, I looked forward to Christmas because of the cookies we’d make, the decorating we’d do, and, most of all, the pile of presents I expected to receive Christmas morning. Christmas was great, but it had nothing to do with a baby born in Bethlehem.

Once I became a Christian, Christmas took on new meaning, but I still didn’t really understand Advent. After all, the word isn’t even in the Bible. We attended a Presbyterian church for a while, and they lit candles and said some prayers those four Sundays leading up to Christmas, but I didn’t know how to “own” Advent for myself. (One thing I did know: it probably didn’t require a Smurf Advent Calendar!)

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Just Follow These Principles…

  • “Biblical Health Principles”
  • “Five Biblical Principles to Deal With Stress”
  • “Survive Today’s Economic Challenges: In Recession-Proof Living, Bill Wiese shares these biblical principles along with true stories of his experiences to demonstrate how anyone can achieve success by living according to God’s economic system. He shows you how to live a life that guarantees success—God’s way. Even if every effort and method you’ve tried has failed, living by God’s standard won’t.”

We’ve all seen these sorts of ads. Christian websites, magazines, and church bulletins are full of offers to apply God’s principles to whatever ails us. And this is a good idea, right? Secular advice is only as good as the person offering it, but advice based on God’s principles—how can we lose?

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I’m 10% Confused

Although I wasn’t raised in the church, one of the very first lessons I heard as a new Christian was about tithing. It was a given: God expects us to give 10% of our income directly back to Him. This rule was so pervasive in the culture of the church I attended that no one saw any need to support it with Scripture.

Since that time I’ve fellowshipped with a wide assortment of congregations. I’ve learned that there is more than one approach to this issue of giving. While most believers agree that we are to give 10%, how we give and where we give are subject to interpretation.

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Dirty Toilets

I was talking to my friend as she cleaned off the top of her dryer. As a large, flat surface in the room connecting her house to her garage, her dryer was a convenient dumping spot for all sorts of debris, a backwater where flotsam washes up and is left stranded by the ebbing tide.

At our house, our dryer just collects dust were-rabbits, but we have The Shelf that serves the same function. It’s also just inside the garage door. Currently it provides a temporary home for a semi-disposable plastic container a friend send home leftovers in, some cans of organic cat food our resident Cleopatra spurned, two dust masks, a nightlight, a monkeypod candy dish, an old wristwatch with the hands proclaiming 1:45, a green milk jug lid, and one tube of Crystal Lite “On the Go” lemonade. I’d sort through the pile but it’s easier to let it sit.

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Life Is Still Fatal

I usually post something original, witty, engaging, and perhaps insightful on my blog. However, I happen to be in Washington visiting our granddaughter and her parents, and I have my priorities.

Therefore, instead of taking the (considerable) time to write something new, I’m re-posting one of my favorite articles. It originally appeared April 6, 2010. Perhaps you haven’t seen it. I hope you find it witty, engaging, and insightful, if not quite as original as it was the first time around.

Then I’m going to go hold a baby. Blogs can wait. Babies can’t.

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A Revelation

Do you love the book of Revelation—or do you avoid it whenever possible? We seem to have a love/hate relationship with John’s writings, and it’s easy to see why. He’s confusing. The book is full of scary events. It’s controversial; many of us have strong opinions about what it all means, and we often don’t agree.

I admit, I wouldn’t read Revelation except that God tells us to. It’s the only book in the Bible you get a bribe reward for reading—“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Rev. 1:3)

Most of the time, I don’t give the book of Revelation much thought. However, in just the last week it’s come up four times in various conversations and articles. Plus, the Holy Spirit seems to be prompting me in this direction. I just finished reading through the Gospels, and was trying to decide what to read next. I guess this is it.

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Making Converts?

Most Christians would agree that it is supremely important to win converts. We were rescued from hell, and it is imperative that we share what God has done for us so that others can be rescued too.

Likewise, most Christians would agree that evangelism is one of, if not the, hardest job they’ve ever faced. Just the thought of it causes our pulse to rise and our stomachs to churn.

I’ve struggled with the issue of evangelism for every one of the 39 years I’ve been a believer. Maybe I remember too well how disrespected I felt for all those years before I met Christ, when Christians tried all sorts of ways to convert me. I was misled, insulted, ridiculed, yelled at, argued with… and none of those things moved me one step closer to faith. In fact, they probably delayed my decision for several years.

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Why (Not) Me?

Will Isaac be another Katrina? As the storm approaches the Gulf Coast, memories of the devastation of exactly seven years ago resurface in everyone’s mind. Isaac is in the headlines at the moment, but this has been a summer of disasters.

When I last checked, 70 wildfires were burning west of the Mississippi. Seventy! With the Waldo Canyon fire just a few miles from our house, I’m well aware of how destructive a wildfire can be.

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Looking for His Voice

Have you ever prayed to know God’s will?

Pete and I are at a crossroads, faced with a decision that will have a major impact on our lives for at least the next few years. As you might expect, we’re asking God to tell us which way we should go. Is this an opportunity—or a distraction? Do we run toward it or run away?

Sound familiar?

I expect that most Christians have prayed to know God’s will. After all, it’s clear in Scripture that God wants us to ask, and then obey what He tells us. David had a long string of successful battles, but He always inquired of the Lord when facing a new situation. Sometimes God gave him an expected strategy, while other times He had a surprise in mind. But no matter how skilled a warrior he became, David always took time to ask.

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