There are times in a person's life that you are so confused that (as Ken would say) you don't know if you've found a rope or lost a cow.  I am in one of those times.  My two daughters want me to move to the Edmond area to be close to them, but I've lived in Pryor all my life--except for the Marine Corps years.   My church, my friends, my plumber(!!!) etc. all come when I need them.

The thing I know for sure--at such times as this--is that I want the will of God in my life.  But what is his will???   I need to do something to make it easier for my family to deal with me and my two dogs when I have problems with my arm.  Timing.  Is now the time to move??  I am like every other aging parent out there.  I don't like change.  I don't like change.  I don't like change.

Psalms 143: 10 "Teach me to do your will; for you are my God:  your spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."

I adhere  do the doctrine of "If you are confused or unsure, wait."  

God is never confused or unsure.  We just have to depend on Him.  Or we will end up like Christian in the book "Pilgrim's Progress" and fall into the Slough of Despond.

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1 John 5:11-13 "  These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God...."

John, the "beloved disciple" is writing to you and me.  He is writing to every believer.  All of the faithful in God.  He wants to say something that will encourage us--and all people down through the ages.  He continues:

"...that you may know that you have eternal life..."  He was speaking as an expert!!  He wanted us to know.  He uses the word "Know" over and over in this short letter.  Even those who were disciples and followers of Jesus had days when they wondered if it was true--would they have eternal life?

Some of the Jewish leaders taught that there was no life after death.  This was a big obstacle for people to rethink.  The idea of eternal life was exhilarating.  It is exhilarating to us as well.  It is our hope.  Of course you want to be sure where you are going to spend that eternal life.

Then, speaking to those of us who believe, John continues the sentence.  "...and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."

The three parts of the verse are.  1.  He is writing to Christians.   2.  He wants us to know that we have life eternal.  3.  He wants us to believe.

But if you are writing to believers, why would you want to encourage them to believe?  The entire verse seems circular.  But John recognizes that the entire idea of God coming to earth to die for our sins to give us eternal life with Him is almost too good to be true.  He wants to strengthen our faith.

Mark 9:24  "...Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

It is unbelievable that God would die for us.  Just because He loves us.  The step from unbelief to belief is faith that God will do what he said he would do.  Give us eternal life.  Thank God.

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I'm afraid to get on the scales.  In addition to all the Christmas cookies, Becky cooked a Prime Rib Roast on Christmas Eve with Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings.  That was bad enough, but she makes pies from scratch--real crust.  And she made four of them.  Mince, lemon and two pecans.  I ate pie for breakfast for four days.  When I wasn't eating banana bread.   I'll think about the scales tomorrow.  I can't face it yet.

I had gone to Edmond because my arm is infected again.  Nobody seems to know why it keeps doing this every three months.  It's discouraging.  Six times in eighteen months.

The difference between discouragement and disappointment is that with disappointment, there is the hope that you can get a "do over" and things will turn out differently.  But discouragement is a type of "end of your rope" feeling.  You really don't know what to do.

The only thing that I can think of that is good about all that is that it gives all of us an opportunity to comfort other people who are discouraged.  We've been there and we do understand.

I bet God gets disappointed (and discouraged as well) with the world.  Some of the people on earth get a "do over" because of God's mercy.  It really makes you want to avoid doing the same wrong thing twice.  You may not get another "Mercy".  But with some people--those who consistently do wrong--he is totally discouraged.  They do the same wrong things over and over and have no intention of coming under His authority.  And He sees their hearts.  He knows their intentions.

When you love someone, you don't want to hurt them.  If you love God, you don't want to hurt him or embarrass him.  You want to please Him.  I don't understand those who profess to be His children and intentionally cause Him pain.  Our hours on earth are but a drop in the ocean of eternity.

Jesus said, Luke 9:23 "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."  Luke was a physician and like a good doctor, he gave us the perfect and exact prescription for being a Christian.  The other Gospel writers left the word "daily" out.  We need a dose of denying ourselves and "Coming After (second)" every day.

Sheepherders were at the very bottom of the economic and social scale in the Jews community.  They were dirty, and they couldn't keep the laws of ritualistic washing required to be accepted in society.  They were probably declared unclean.  Much like lepers.  And yet, those were the very people that God chose to be first at the manger.  One more example of how those that we might reject, God chooses.  The gospel is for the whole world.

Luke 2:8-9 "There were shepherds... abiding in the field…and lo, the angel of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid."  The angel told them where to find the baby and then the multitude of angels praised God and went away into heaven.  That would be enough to scare me to death.  Luke 2:15 "…the shepherds said to each other, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing…" Knowing human nature, there must have been a crowd following these fellows by the time they found the manger, because Luke 2:17 tells us that the shepherds began telling everyone what had happened to them.  Mary and Joseph probably told the shepherds their stories as well.  All of them had seen angels.

 Our pastor said that the shepherds did three things right.  The first was that they sought God.  They said, "Let's go…and see this thing…with haste."  Jer. 29:13 says that if you seek him you will find him.  They found him, and were awe struck as they told Mary and Joseph what had happened and why they were there.  Mary and Joseph had just been through a horrible ordeal.  A long trip, no place to stay, Child birth and the filth of a stable.  The shepherd's story lifted Mary and Joseph's hearts.

The second thing was that they immediately told the story to others.  Luke 2:18 "And all that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds."

The third thing was that they worshiped Him and praised God.  Vs 20, "The shepherds …glorified and praised God for all the things that they had seen and heard…"  If we do those three things: Seek, Tell, and Worship, then we have received the message of Christmas in our hearts.

In the first Epistle of John, John uses the word "write" or "written" fourteen times.  He is telling the people that he (John) is putting his words on paper for a reason.  He says "…these things I write to you that your joy may be full." John 1:4   (Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!)

He wanted them to hear from a first hand witness--who knew, touched and listened to Jesus--the wondrous gospel story.  He continues in vs. 5 "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare (write) unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all."

Recently in church we sang the Christmas chorus, "I Have Seen the Light…shining in the darkness…bursting through the shadows…delivering the the dawn.   I have seen the Light…whose holy name is Jesus…His kingdom is forever…He reigns on heaven's throne.

The melody to those words is beautiful.  If you haven't ever heard it, well, Google it!!!

He truly is the light of the world.  In the Old Testament, Isaiah prophesied the coming light in Is. 9:2 "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined."  Good news for everyone.

And we are to reflect that light.  Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world…" and in Acts 13:47 "I have set you to be a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth."

Light breaks through darkness so that the eyes can see.  The world is stumbling around in the dark, trying to find meaning and direction.  They need light.

Turn the switch on for somebody.  You don't have to win the whole world.  One person will do.   Tell them what Jesus has done in your life.  You don't even need to know scripture to do that.  Shed light.

Santa Claus
Frosty the Snowman
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The Christmas Elf
The Grinch, etc. etc.

What happened to Jesus?  What happened to the Nativity?

I went to the "Castle" in Muskogee the other night. There were over one-hundred huge blow up Santas, Micky Mouse with reindeer, ducks, snowmen, and on and on.  There were two or three barns, but no Jesus.  No Nativity.  Santa was leaning out of the barn.  Ho, ho, ho.  I couldn't help but wonder why you would have a barn with no Baby in the Manger.

Did we give up the battle?  Have we lost the war on Christmas?  What is the problem with the Christ in Christmas.  It seems like the whole world is afraid of being politically incorrect or offending somebody.  It might hurt sales.   Offend them.  Christmas is ours.  It is the reason we have a time of giving.  It is the reason for the whole shebang.

I try to spend my dollars at stores that honor Christmas.

Happy Holliday?  No thank you.

Read the Christmas story when you give your family their presents this year.  Three or four minutes to explain the reason for Christmas.  They sure won't get it in the media.  Matthew 1:18-2:23                                                                                                                                  

I think that I have hit all the high points in Hebrews.  You know that reading my blog is no substitute for reading Hebrews yourself.  I encourage you to do that.  My favorite Bible to read--just for the joy of reading--is the Living Bible.  It isn't a translation.  It is a transliteration.  It puts everything into words of today.  How we would say it if we were writing it.

I no longer put up a tree.  I have three little trees that I set on the buffet and on the entry table. When it was just Ken and me, I quit decorating.  I try to go to one of my children's houses every year.

I was thinking of Christmas times in the past, and one of them stood out in my mind.  It was the year that Chatty Cathy was all the rage.  She had a pull string that activated her voice.  Finding one was hard.  Everyone sold out.  Finding three was harder.  My mom and dad had come to Virginia for Christmas that year with my four year old sister.  (She was a very unexpected bundle of joy.  I was 21 when she was born.)  My two girls were four, and five.  (Becky and Lisa--my sister--were born seven days apart.) After days and days of looking, we finally found three Chatty Cathys.

Becky--who always wants to know what will happen if she tries something--pulled out the string and cut it off.  Chatty Cathy only got to chat for a couple of minutes.  That was the shortest-lived Christmas present anyone in our family ever got.  All that effort to find a Chatty Cathy for her!!  All that was left was a good story.

We look for those special gifts because the wise men brought precious gifts to Jesus.   I love the phrase that was coined a few years ago, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  When you bought something, some of the stores put your purchase in a bag that had that printed on the outside.

I always say, "Merry Christmas" at the checkout stands.  It may be the only time they hear it anymore.  If they say "Merry Christmas" back to me,  I say, "Jesus is the reason for the season."  I usually get a smile.  Join me.