Something Happened Here
Christians are divided in their views of Christmas. Some want to give up on it and hand it over to the stores. Others want to salvage it and use it to say something important about the birth of Jesus to a weary secular world. I, for one, would like to take my place with the second group.
The Greatest Treasure
What is the world's greatest treasure? Some people might say it's all the gold stored in Fort Knox. Others might suggest it's the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Still others would think of the fabulous wealth once displayed in the czarist palaces of Russia. The answer that I hope would come to your mind is the Bible, God's Word.
The Shepherds
The angel bypassed Jerusalem, the religious center of Israel. He didn't go to Herodium, Herod's villa near Bethlehem. He appeared instead to a band of shepherds tending their flocks (Luke 2:8-9).
Seeds And Fruit
I read a fable about a man who was browsing in a store when he made the shocking discovery that God was behind a sales counter. So the man walked over and asked, "What are You selling?" God replied, "What does your heart desire?" The man said, "I want happiness, peace of mind, and freedom from fear . . . for me and the whole world." God smiled and said, "I don't sell fruit here. Only seeds."
Home At Last
An elderly missionary couple who had served God for 50 years in a remote African village returned to the United States for a well-earned retirement. When they arrived, however, no one was there to greet them because of some confusion at the mission office. They had no one to help them with their suitcases and trunks, and no one to move them into their home. The old gentleman complained to his wife, "We've come home after all these years and there's no one who cares."
A Straight Wall
When I was a young boy, the kids in my neighborhood built a clubhouse. We were able to get the floor level, but we were having trouble making the sideboards fit because we didn't use a plumb line. The finished product looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Spectator Risks
Even the weakest among us can participate in sports, but only the strongest can survive as spectators. According to a heart specialist, when you become a spectator rather than a participant, the wrong things go up and the wrong things come down. Body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, and triglycerides go up. Vital capacity, oxygen consumption, flexibility, stamina, and strength go down.
Sand In Your Shoes
Imagine the obstacles a person would have to overcome to walk from New York City to San Francisco. A man who had accomplished this feat was asked about his biggest hurdle. He said that the toughest part of his trip wasn't walking up the mountains or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. "The thing that came the closest to defeating me," he admitted, "was the sand in my shoes."
Praiseworthy
The Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and Symphonic Choir were presenting their annual Christmas concert. Near the conclusion, they were joined by the 4,000 members of the audience in singing, "Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King." I got chills when we sang the words, "And heaven and nature sing."
