Saving Bunny

None of us can ever save himself; we are the instruments of one another’s salvation, and only by the hope that we give to others do we lift ourselves out of the darkness into light.                      Dean Koontz

The other day I was driving on the interstate and saw something that broke my heart. In the middle of the busy highway, there was a small stuffed animal. My mind went where yours probably just did. Some child has lost that stuffed animal and will be heartbroken when they realize it. I wished that I had seen it happen, so I could track them down and return the animal to the proper owner, but there was nothing I could do.

I imagined what it would have been like when my children were younger. They would have cried their hearts out for days. I probably would have too.

Imagine you have just gotten off a train. You get your precious little girl in her stroller, and as you do, her favorite stuffed bunny falls out and onto the track. Your first instinct is to get it, but you are warned that another train is coming. You are left with nothing to do but stand by and watch as your daughter’s favorite stuffed bunny is smashed by the oncoming train. What do you do? How do you handle it? How will you explain to the child why you didn’t jump down there and risk your life for her bunny?

We, like the bunny, are a treasured creation to God. He made us, formed us, and loves us dearly. However, somehow, we always manage to find some way to wiggle away from Him, like that small stuffed bunny. When we do, we find that we have no life, no voice, no movement without Him. We are simply helpless on the tracks as the train that will destroy us moves closer and closer.

We need to be rescued. We cannot rescue ourselves, because without our Creator, we have no strength. We lie there in the snare that the enemy has laid for us, and it seems that there is no hope. Psalm 22:1-2 echoes those emotions that we feel when we are up against a battle we cannot win. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”

The good news is that God, who knows all and sees all, cares for us. You see, the illustration I used above really happened. In Boston a mother got off the train with her little girl. Her bunny fell onto the tracks and the mother had no idea what to do. However, one of the MBTA workers saw the bunny and called the oncoming train, which slowed down so the stuffed bunny could be rescued. The mother was quoted as saying to the Transit Authority, “you really didn't have to do what you did today, but you have made a little 3-year-old incredibly happy."

God cares for you. You are His. He will stop everything to get to you. He did not eve consider His own Son, too high a price to pay for your rescue. He loves you dearly. Take rest in knowing that the One who gives you life, the One who loves you more than you can imagine, the One who gave His life for yours, will be your rescue!

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16)

Reflection

I am currently reading a biography of Walt Disney, titled, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, by Neal Gabler.  This biography was published in 2006 and is considered to be the definitive portrait of the man whose name is now synonymous with childhood fantasy, imagination, and creativity. In my opinion, Walter Elias Disney was a genius. His vision for not only animation and movies, but also for his amusement parks was incredible. It was incredible on many levels. First of all it was incredible because nobody had done anything like it before, and secondly, because he made it happen.

That vision was also shared by his wife, Lillian, who in 1987 donated $50 million dollars to a new project to incorporate the arts into the Disney Empire. The money was to fund a new concert hall in Los Angeles, California. This concert hall met with many challenges during its construction, and it was even delayed from 1994 to 1996 due to cost overruns, mismanagement and disagreements over the project's design. Finally, groundbreaking was held in 1999 and the construction was completed in 2003.

After the construction, additional expenses were incurred to correct a flaw resulting from the design's use of polished concave stainless steel surfaces. Residents of the neighboring condominiums suffered significant glare caused by sunlight that was reflected and concentrated like a curved mirror. The concentrated light made some rooms of nearby condominiums unbearably hot, caused the air-conditioning costs of these residents to sky-rocket, and created hot spots on adjacent sidewalks of as much as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Employees of the ticket office reported observing melted plastic traffic cones and spontaneous combustion in trash bins.

After complaints from neighboring buildings and residents the county government stepped in and asked Disney to come up with a solution. Their response was a computer analysis of the building's structure; after the offending surfaces were identified, they were sanded to reduce glare in 2005. As of yet, there have been no further complaints.

Jesus said, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV) So we are to shine our light into the world for all to see, right? So where does that light come from? We have no ability to shine any kind of light into the world, because we cannot generate any light at all. We are only able to reflect the light from The Source of light Jesus Christ.

There are two things we need to see. First, when we reflect God’s light to others it is even more concentrated than when it is just shining alone. Don’t get me wrong here; I am not saying that we are more powerful than God, or that He cannot shine without us. I am saying that when someone just hears about God on television or even in church they might understand God’s love. However, if you show them God’s love and they are able to see how it works out in your own life, then that power is concentrated is even more powerful. God’s love is great, but letting God show His love to others through your life is even greater.

Secondly, we can only reflect light if we are exposed to light. If we walk in the darkness, then we are unable to neither see nor direct others. We are literally the blind leading the blind. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-8)

My prayer for all of you is that you will be a reflection of God’s love. As you polish and perfect you walk with Him, your reflection will be brighter and more powerful. How wonderful would it be if we all reflected God’s light so much that we were able to just melt the walls and barriers in our lives like the Disney Concert Hall melted those traffic cones? May God bless you and make your reflection of His light to shine brightly.

Arise; shine; for your light has come! and the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.

(Isaiah 60:1-2 NKJV)

Phobia

Lucy: Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are, then you have hypengyophobia...How about cats? If you're afraid of cats, you have ailurophasia...Are you afraid of staircases? If you are, then you have climacaphobia. Maybe you have thalassophobia. This is fear of the ocean, or gephyrobia, which is the fear of crossing bridges. Or maybe you have pantophobia. Do you think you have pantophobia? 

Charlie Brown: What's pantophobia? 

Lucy: The fear of everything. 

Charlie Brown: THAT'S IT! 

(From A Charlie Brown Christmas. Charles M Schultz. 1965)

All of us are afraid of something. Fear is a natural response that was wired into us to warn us of danger so we could avoid it. However, as Lucy describes for us above, there are a lot of irrational fears. For most of us, fearing staircases is not a problem. On the other hand, I think there are a lot of people who suffer from hypengyophobia!

I read about one this week that struck me as very odd. Pogonophobia is the fear of beards.  I'm sure there must be someone out there who is afraid of beards, or there would not be a name for this phobia. However, I have never met anyone who suffers from this particular ailment. I wonder if those folks are more afraid of full beards than they are, say, a goatee, mustache,  or a simple "soul patch?"

I imagine life would be difficult with such a phobia. There are many people out there with facial hair. A person with this fear would certainly not be able to go to Walmart! I guess they would be terrified of Santa or ZZTop!

Anyway, to most of us, this, and many other fears, are irrational. However, to those who suffer from them, the fear is real and debilitating. Many times, the fear keeps them from enjoying a great deal of pleasures in life.

God, our creator, never meant for us to live under the weight of fear. While fear in the face of danger makes our adrenaline surge and gives us the instinct to run or fight, fears like the ones listed above are not a part of God's plan for us. Many times in scripture people are told to not fear, but to move ahead with what God has called them to do.

The Bible teaches us to have no fear when it comes to the things of this world. David wrote, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for thou art with me." (Psalm 23:4) We also find David's encouraging words in Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?" The apostle John reassures us that God's love takes away fear, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)

Whatever fears you may have, rational or not, talk to God about them. He doesn't want you to live a life of fear and dread. Jesus came that we might have a life filled with joy and hope. Give your fears to Him and rest in the one who is our refuge and strength!

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

(1 Timothy 1:7)

Dirty Windows

I see my reflection in the window. This window clean inside, dirty on the out.

 (Rock, Hetfield, Ulrich. 2003)

Last week I had my truck washed. Notice that I said I "had" it washed. That means I paid someone to wash it for me. I didn't do the work myself. Why? Because it was too dirty for me to even try. I would've had to wash it more than once to get it clean, and I don't have the patience to do it.

The reason I finally had it washed was not because it looked dirty on the outside. Oddly enough, the white of my truck doesn't show dirt too much. I could have gotten away with not washing it for a while longer. The reason I gave in and had it washed was the windows.

Disclaimer: Not my truck. Mine was not that dirty!!

Most of the time, I could see fine through the windshield. However, when I was driving toward the sun, the glare, through the dirt, was blinding. I couldn’t see much at all. The same was true when driving at night. The oncoming headlights or streetlights reflected off the dirty window and made it tough to see.

I realized the danger in not being able to navigate properly and paid a guy to wash the truck inside and out. Now I can see clearly, and it is much nicer to ride in it. I even let my wife ride with me the other day, without having to clear a spot for her to sit in the passenger seat!

As I was driving the other morning, the sun was shining brightly and I could see quite well. I was praying and thanking God for a beautiful sunrise, when I realized I would not have been able to see it like that a week before. I thought about how our Christian walk is similar.

Most of the time, we don't notice that our view of God is becoming clouded. It is a gradual thing that happens over time. We skip church a few times. We forget to read our Bibles. We may even go for weeks without talking to God.

When we do this, nothing drastic happens. There are no bolts of lightning to shake us and remind us to do those things. Therefore, we simply move on and forget to do them again. Sometimes, it is only when we realize we are far away from Him, and possibly in danger, that we call on Christ. By then, our "windows" are filthy and we cannot clean them ourselves.

The good news is that unlike me having to pay someone to clean my truck, the price has already been paid. Jesus paid the fee for us with His life. He gave His life so that we could be clean. He knew that we would always fail in cleaning our own lives up, so He did it for us.

If your life is a mess and you can't see what's in front of you, turn it over to Jesus. He is an expert at cleaning things and making them like new. Just as I am enjoying driving my clean truck, and am a lot less embarrassed to allow people to see the inside, you will feel brand new. Let Him clean you inside and out!

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Christmas Joy!

Merry Christmas!  Out upon merry Christmas!  What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you?  If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.  He should!  (Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

Most of us do not understand Scrooge’s lack of merriment during Christmas. For us, Christmas is a warm, cheerful time in which we gather with family and friends, give and receive gifts, eat too much and sing festive songs. However, it wasn’t always that way.

The early celebrations of Christmas were rather somber. There were no festivities. There was only church, and that consisted of a typical mass. In fact, the name of the holiday is simply “Christ’s mass.” There were no Christmas carols to sing. The only songs that spoke of the birth of Jesus were drab. They were only written in Latin, which was not the common language. Therefore, only the priests could sing them.

All of that changed forever, in the early 1200’s. Francis of Assisi, was concerned that the common people were missing out on the joy of celebrating the birth of Christ, because they only observed it by going to formal worship services. He wanted the people to be able to celebrate themselves.

Around 1223, Francis recruited a few people and gathered some animals together for a new project. He dressed them in Biblical costumes and staged the first nativity scene in a nearby cave. He then invited the townspeople to come to the cave to view the depiction of the Savior’s birth.

About that same time, Francis also wrote a song for the common people to sing at Christmas. Instead of the formal melodies they heard at church, he set it to the tune of a popular song of the day. He called the song a “carol,” which is taken from the French word for “dancing in a circle.” The word was borrowed from the pagan ritual of dancing in a circle during the Winter Solstice.

St. Francis wanted people to be joyful and festive when they celebrate the Lord’s birth. We have Him to thank for making our Christmas a “merry” time. However, let’s not make the mistake of moving too far in the other direction. It would be as much of a mistake to get so caught up in “making merry” that we forget what we are celebrating.

Jesus came into this world as a baby. He left as our Savior. He was born, died and rose from the dead, that we might have life. That is why we celebrate. That is why we remember the night of His birth through our nativity scenes. That is why we sing, “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and other carols.

This is important to remember, so when the decorations come down; when the Christmas songs are no longer playing on the radio; when all of the gifts have been opened; we will still have the joy of Christ in our hearts all year long. 

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach”…“It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I haven't missed it.” (Ebenezer Scrooge)

I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

(Luke 2:10-14)

Nothing is Little to God!

We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell,

O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel!

Phil

Phil was a young minister who was serving a church in Philadelphia. He was well liked by his church for his wonderful sermons and kind, moral spirit. He was an imposing figure who, at six feet four inches tall, commanded respect.

After serving the church in Philadelphia for several years, he took a lengthy vacation to Europe and the Holy Land. While he was in Palestine during the week of Christmas, he wrote the following, “After an early dinner, we took our horses and rode to Bethlehem. It was only about two hours when we came to the town, situated on an eastern ridge of a range of hills, surrounded by its terraced gardens. It is a good-looking town, better built than any other we have seen in Palestine. Before dark, we rode out of town to the field, where they say the shepherds saw the star. Somewhere in those fields we rode through, the shepherds must have been. As we passed, the shepherds were still 'keeping watch over their flocks.’”

Can you imagine the thrill of being in that field during Christmas? It thrilled Phil. The images of being in that field at nighttime, during Christmas, made a huge impression on him. He never forgot the images and emotions of that night as he looked from the darkness of the field to the lights of the city of Bethlehem.

Redner

Several years later, Phil wrote a poem that he intended to be sung for the children in his Sunday School during Christmas. One Friday, he gave the poem to Lewis Redner, his minister of music, and asked him to set it to music by the following Sunday. Lewis tried all day Friday and Saturday, but nothing felt right. Lewis was stuck, and they were to practice the song the next day. He went to bed, still unsure of the tune. Lewis wrote of that night, “I was roused from sleep late in the night hearing an angel-strain whispering in my ear, and seizing a piece of music paper I jotted down the treble of the tune as we now have it, and on Sunday morning before going to church I filled in the harmony.”

Because of the hasty nature of the composition, neither man thought the song would ever be played after that Sunday. They were very wrong. That was 143 Christmases ago, and the two men’s composition, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” is still sung today. Phil, who is better known as Phillips Brooks, went on to become one of the most famous preachers in the nation in his day. In fact, there is a statue of him outside Trinity Church in the Back Bay area of Boston.

So many times, we think that our contribution to the world is small. We think that very few, if any, will ever be affected by our efforts to share Christ. However, we must remember that something small in our hands, becomes incredibly powerful in God’s.

Jesus didn’t appear on earth riding in a royal caravan with an entourage. He came in a very small, seemingly helpless package. He also didn’t send messengers to announce His arrival in the great city of Jerusalem, which was the hub of politics and religion in those years. His arrival was only noted to a few humble shepherds in a field, who were simply doing their jobs. Even the city of His birth was small compared to where one would expect a king to be born.

If God can use a baby, a small town, a stable, and some shepherds to accomplish His plan of salvation, then He can use whatever you have. If you give Him your all, He will use it to do wonderful and powerful things for His Kingdom, even if you never know it’s happening.

Our job is to simply be available and obey, not to guess what God can or cannot use. Phillips Brooks and Lewis Redner had no idea how God would use their song to bring future generations back to Bethlehem where the Savior was born one holy night, many years ago. We, also, never know how God can use us, until we let Him.

O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth, The everlasting Light.
The hopes and fears of all the years, Are met in thee tonight

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2)

 

Thanksgiving

We are headed full-steam into the holiday season, whether we are ready for it or not! Usually, I am bothered by the encroachment of Christmas upon the observance of Thanksgiving, but this year, I’m a little calmer about it. I am not only open to hearing Christmas music, seeing the Christmas decorations in the stores, and Christmas commercials on television, I am embracing it!

However, before I start singing Silent Night, too soon, let’s be sure to enjoy Thanksgiving and what it means. If you asked a group of people what the day means to them, they might give you responses like, “It’s about thanking God for all we have.” Or “It’s about family and friends.” Or, “It’s all about the food!”

While most of us are aware of the fact that the day is set aside to give thanks for all that God has blessed us with, for many, the food is the highlight! I remember the first Thanksgiving that my wife and I shared in our first house. We had lived in an apartment for a couple of years, before purchasing a home that would accommodate a Thanksgiving celebration.

That year, she wanted to cook all of the food, and host Thanksgiving. We knew it would be a little crammed, but we were sure we could pull it off. As she prepared the meal, I remember her calling her mother several times to ask how to make this or that. My wife cooked the food, but with a little instruction from her mother.

I recently read a funny story that reminded me of that Thanksgiving. In the tale, a couple who was celebrating their first Thanksgiving together had planned on having ham. The young wife sent her husband to the store to pick one up. Upon his return, she asked why he didn’t have the butcher cut the ends off the ham. He asked why he should have. She told him that her mother always did it that way.

The young man assumed this was some family secret for cooking ham, so he cut the ends off for her. It happened that the wife’s mother was visiting for Thanksgiving. The young man couldn’t help himself, so he asked his mother-in-law why she cut the ends off of her ham. She replied that she didn’t know, but that her mother always did it.

The young man was on a mission at this point. He called his wife’s grandmother, and asked her why she cut the ends off her ham. She said, “Oh, I always cut the ends off my ham, because my roaster was too small back then to cook a ham in one piece.”

We like to follow traditions. Traditions make us comfortable and secure. However, there are many “traditions” that we follow and have no idea why. I was visiting a church some time back that had an old tin can underneath the altar. When I asked what that was for, no one knew, but quickly told me not to move it, because it had “always been there.”

Christ never called us to follow “religion” blindly. He urges us to know why we believe what we believe. When we are asked why we believe in Christ, we cannot reply, “Because I always have,” or “That’s what I was taught.” Jesus wants to be so much more to us than just a “belief” or a bit of knowledge. He desires a relationship with us.

In fact, He so desires a relationship with us, that He laid His life down to provide a way to make us worthy of that relationship. Then, He chooses to bless us with all of the goodness that we have in our lives. Because He lives, we live.

This Thanksgiving, observe the “traditions’ and enjoy the time with friends and family. Do not, however, forget to give thanks to the One who loves you. Give Him more than just a short prayer over your feast. Give Him your life and friendship. Get to know Him and stop going through the motions of following blindly.

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. (Psalm 100)