Christmas Time

When we think of Christmas we usually think of snow, presents, family and food. All of those things, while wonderful, would not be part of Christmas if it were not for God the Son. Christmas presents are suppose to remind us of the greatest gift - eternal life given by a loving God to those who believe in His only Son. As you open your gifts this Christmas morning, may each gift remind you of the greatest gift ever given.

I leave you with the truth of Christmas.

Luke 2:1-14

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Merry Christmas to all!

Richard Weaver

The words of Richard Weaver, in his book, Ideas Have Consequences, are as important today as they were when he penned them in 1948. Weaver writes,

"It is the appalling problem, when one comes to actual cases, of getting men to distinguish between better and worse. Are people today provided with a sufficiently rationale scale of values to attach these predicates with intelligence? There is ground for declaring that modern man has become a moral idiot."

Weaver writes that when no one desires to examine their own lives or accept rebuke for their own actions what is lost is any idea of a superiority of an ideal. I would say that his prediction is amazingly accurate. In today's world, everyone "should" own a home, have a good job, go to college and the list goes on and on. Just thirty years ago, these things were "wants," reserved for the best and the brightest who worked hard and stayed clear of trouble. Today, they are re-classified as needs, given to everyone regardless of their circumstances. How will we ever distinguish better from worse when we can not distinguish needs from wants? It is the first question of many more to come.

Balance

Life is a balancing act. Every thing we do can be perceived as one thing or the other. Even the good things we do can be perceived in a negative way. It is all about balance. I use the word "balance" here instead of whole or complete because we are part of a stack that requires balance, much like the rocks in the picture. I could use complete or whole if I were "it" in the world, but the reality is that we all have to live in unison with others on this unique celestial ball floating through space.

Each day we walk through our lives interacting with others as we make decisions according to a set of presuppositions. We decide to do something out of our character, and then, are disappointed at the results and revert back to who we were. Others do what is out of character for us and get great results... why?

I think it has to do with balance, remember the spirit with which I use the word. Our lives are balanced by the consistency of our actions. When we act outside of our normal actions, it throws us out of balance to others. Out of balance people get poor reactions from others all the time. For example, are you comfortable with that person who is always pretending he/she is something they are not? Why? These people are never consistent. They are always trying to be what the situation demands. They are never consistent in who they are; they are out of balance. Because they are out of balance, they make us feel out of balance, and we do not like that.

Balanced people make us comfortable because we can count on them to be who they have always been. They are consistent, and consistent people put us at ease. That is why most people do not like change. Change is not the same and can not be counted on to be the same. We don't know what is next when we change, and we have to anticipate. Most of us do not like this for many reasons, but one of the most important is that it puts us out of balance too.

Balance is the key to life, and yet more proof for a Holy God. In the picture above, the rocks are stacked in a balanced way so that they will not fall. Someone put those rocks there. They did not form that pile on their own. We are the same way. Someone had to, first, put us in balance, or there would be no such thing as out of balance. In my opinion, if life were random then random would feel comfortable and natural; it does not. What feels natural to everyone I have met is a balanced life. Chaos is not welcome in our home. and, yet, it is there. We spend our days organizing and cleaning in order to rid ourselves of chaos. Why? Chaos is anti-us. It is the antithesis of who we are. Chaos is the epitome of all things out of balance.

There is only one way to balance life and that way has nothing to do with you. It has to do with Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Some will snicker, others will laugh and even others with teem with anger at the mere mention of his name, but for what? These same people believe in the power of ... crystals or evolution or something even more bizarre. Balance is the key as the Lord Jesus adds that oar to your boat. He gives you purpose and crutches, if you need them.

Long ago on a dark night in February, the Truth was shared with me, and that Truth was the reality of Jesus Christ. He came into my life and added things I desperately needed... morality, purpose and... balance. How are you doing these days with the balancing act of life?

One of the best...

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