Help, Who Needs A Savior?

Our precious grandson, Owen visited recently and I have so many memories stored in my heart.  I remember the days we made crafts, made pie crusts and Christmas cookies.  I remember his little feet pattering throughout my house.  I remember his little questions.  I especially remember words he spoke...love you, PapaRay, Kaki...and one more, help.  As he would try to unlock or unwrap or open something, after the struggle he would say...help, help.  And we would jump in to help.  How could we resist such preciousness!

This simple word reminded me of my childlike needs and my cries for help. "Mama, help me iron, Mama, can you sew on this button?, Mama, help me cook, Mama, help me get to school, Mama, help me understand my new baby, Mama, just help me."

Children have no reluctance in asking for help.  In their lives, they have come to understand that they need a helper, a hero...someone to come along beside them to lend a hand, lend a direction, offer a way.  They need a savior.

Do we grow out of this need?  Do you still need a helper or a Savior?  Have you ever wondered why people in the Bible were so intent on looking for a Savior?  In story after story, we find people wondering about a Savior and actively looking for a Savior.  Am I still seeking a Savior?  Do I still cry, help!  Or have I figured it all out?

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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  Luke 2:8-11

What is a Savior?  What does a Savior provide?  Webster offers this definition: one that saves from danger or destruction; one who brings salvation. The synonyms are: deliverer, redeemer, rescuer.  If people were looking for a Savior 2000 years ago then surely, we must be looking as well.  I mean, the state of our world is dying for a deliverer, isn't it?  Is that too global a thought?

Ok, then let's put ourselves in this shepherd's role above.  Here was a guy simply doing his job, waiting for his shift to end.  He was probably worried about all matter of things: providing for his family, finances at tax season, maybe he had some health issue...I mean, he was a real guy.  Just like me and you.  Real people who need some help!  We need help because life is real and hard.

Let's make Christmas real for us today.  Let's apply Christmas to our real lives. What are the cares and concerns in your mind and heart?  What do you think about as you're trying to find sleep?  As you lie in bed and your thoughts bombard you?  What can the Savior help you with today?  Your future, your worry, your family problems, your own lost-ness, your need to fit in, to perform well, to please your family...to succeed.

Our own need for help, is the same today as 2000 years ago.  But I'm afraid we've stopped looking for a Savior.  I'm afraid I hide my need to say, help.  It's so difficult to be that honest with myself and certainly with another human.

That's the beauty of children like Owen who so honestly and willingly ask for help.  The elderly ask for help too.  Five years ago, this Christmas Eve, my mama died.  I remember her last years of life.  They were filled with, "help me".  Help me dress, help me stand up, help this pain stop, help me understand my new world.

My mama's end of life taught me to look up.  Look up like the shepherd did.  Look up when things are hard and don't make sense and when you're in pain.  Look for the angel to appear.  Look to the heavens, the Savior has been born.  He was born 2000 years ago and he's born today.

Help...Savior Jesus!

The Static of December

True confession...my list of to-dos has become the boss of my days.  Nary a present is under my Christmas tree!  In fact, we just put up our Christmas tree this week and currently it stands barren!  My house is a wreck and people are coming.  I have so much on my mind I can hardly keep my mind on track.  My brain is like an old radio station that can't quite tune in...full of static and faint sounds of music.  I'm joyful in this season but there is just too much brain buzz going on.  To sit in silence and try to have a reflective thought is ridiculously hard.  I cannot hear anything but the static we call the holidays.  Can I please put on headphones to block it all out?  I really do want to focus on the real meaning of Christmas.  I want to hear the Good News of a Savior's birth.  I want to realize the significance of His birth in my life today.  I want to hear the Savior's voice.  I so want to tune my ears to the true sounds of Christmas.  Is this a new problem?  Or have generations encountered the static?  Did Mary and Joseph have trouble focusing on the birth of their son, the Son of God?

What was that night like in Bethlehem?  Were Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the townspeople hustling and bustling about?  Were they worried about paying taxes, family commitments, and to-do items?  What was Bethlehem like 2000 years ago?

I imagine that Bethlehem was dark in a way we've long forgotten.  Dark with no electricity, no lamps, no street lights.  And sound, there were no city sounds only natural sounds.  The low moo of a cow, the rustling and snorting of horses nearby, perhaps voices in the night.  It was quiet and dark as only a small rural town experiences.  Quiet.

Can we find the quiet of Christmas in these days leading up to the birth of Christ?  Is this birth important enough to us that we'll make an effort to tune out the static and find the quiet?  As I sit in my house right now it is quiet.  I hear the distant bark of a dog, the ding of my phone and the mummer of appliances.  But nothing else.  All is quiet as I strain to hear and wait.  I'm conscious of my breathing and the beating of my heart...And so much more.  In this quiet, I'm aware of His presence. I'm aware of His role in my consistently beating heart.  In this quiet, I...am...quiet and I ...am...aware of the birth of a Savior for me and you.

I encourage you to try this with me...give yourself 10 minutes today just to be still.  Maybe you need headphones.  Maybe you need a legal pad beside to write down all the thoughts that swirl through your mind; write down those to-dos but stay in the quiet place.  Your mind will eventually stop whirling.  And in the wait...His voice, His love will arrive.  I promise.

This time may be the best gift you could give yourself.  Do you hear what I hear?

Read the words below from two dear friends of mine.  They will tell you their own stories of waiting and hearing.

My name is Qian.  As a new believer, my Christian life is younger than two years, officially. However, I believe that God has been taking care of me for many years. Even before I clearly saw him, God had kept showing me his love through the breathtaking stars, the magnificent mountains and ocean, the warm smile and helping hands of families, friends, and strangers, and the beauty of science. I had felt the love for many years, and eventually, I found the source of the love.
When I was in Shanghai, Christmas meant Santa Claus and shopping, and I rarely related Christmas with Jesus Christ. A fundamental change happened in the winter of 2017. A friend took me to see a "Christmas Comes Alive" show. In that chilly and silver starry night, I saw the coming of Jesus Christ into this world. The scene of the born of Jesus in the barn was stunning, and it felt peaceful and hopeful --- it felt like a starting point of Human being’s hope and redemption.

------- 

 My name is Mia Zhang, I came from Wuhan, China. When I was in high school, for some reason I started searching for the god that I wanted to believe in. I read a lot about Buddhism, Christian and other religions. I bought my first Bible in a book store in China when I was 16. I believed that there is a god, higher power that is above all human power, a god who has answers to all the ultimate questions I’ve been ask myself like “who am I?” “Why I’m here?” “Where will I be after death?” .... But by then I was not sure who that god is. Then I came to the States five years ago and met a group of wonderful Christian people, from what they say and what they do, I learned more and more about Jesus. From there my spiritual journey begun, I kept going to church and Bible studies and finally was convinced that Jesus is my Savior. I became a Christ follower and got baptized two years ago, on my 30th birthday, with my baby daughter in my womb.

Jesus was born for a reason. He is The God, but unlike every other god (claimed in other religions), he was born not to be served, but to serve instead. How humble this God was to come to this world as a human baby, as fragile as every one of us was. How deeply must God love us to sacrifice his only son to be the ransom, as a mother I can only imagine... 

Before I came to the US and learned more about the truth of Christmas, I thought Christmas was nothing other than lights, Santa, gifts, eating and shopping, all about fulfill our desires and enjoy the happiness. Now I know it’s way much more than that, it’s not even only about us and our families, but about this whole world. History was cut in half ever since. BC became AD. Therefore, to some extent, the whole world today using this Gregorian calendar is in acknowledge of the truth of Jesus the Messiah had come, despite nations, races, religious beliefs. So, this Christmas I pray that we don’t get ourselves stuck in Christmas decorating and plans, but have our eyes on the enormous picture, to celebrate the birth of the Messiah in the name of all human beings and live in His Joy and Glory.
 

Waiting...and Choosing

Are we there yet?  How many more days until Christmas, Mama?  When can I open a present?  How much longer?  Waiting...is...hard...for those waiting...and for those who hear the questions!  We're living in the season of waiting today.  We know a big event is coming, we're preparing, we're excited and we're hoping for celebration and unlimited joy.

But even as we wait for tomorrow and the joy of Christmas, we know that today life is hard. It's hard to find all the money we need, patience we need, cooking skills required, time we need.  It's also hard because real life continues.  The demands of work, the death of a loved one, the child in the hospital, the child in addiction, the disappointment of being looked-over for promotion, the illness of a spouse, the loss of a job.  Real life doesn't stop happening just because we're waiting on Christmas.  In fact, this particular month may be harder than others.  Many, many people struggle in the waiting for a miracle.  As so it was for Mary and Joseph.  Can you even imagine?  They were waiting for something that was unbelievable!

Mary's story: "God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God." Luke 1

Joseph's story: "Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit....When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife."  Matthew 1:1-25

This is a holy story with God's fingerprints all over it.  But let's remember that Mary and Joseph were human.  I don't think it is a stretch to say that this news, given to them from an angel, HAD TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO HEAR AND LIVE.  Imagine going to your parents and sharing this news with them.  Imagine the face of your parents and their great shock, disbelief, confusion, and disturbed hearts.  Imagine your friends, your other family members...oh, the talk and the whispers that had to surround Mary and Joseph.  I feel sure there was giggling, bad jokes, assumptions, and references to their character. It takes nine months for a baby to grow; that's a lot of time to live in a situation with ridicule, no proof of angels, and waiting and trusting.

Mary and Joseph were real people with real struggles and real pain.  But the story shows us how people in pain and confusion make a very real choice.  The choice to believe.  The choice to trust.  A choice to believe in a God that loves and loves only.  Mary and Joseph both made very real and extremely difficult choices.   My difficulties and disappointments, are simplistic compared with the journey of Mary and Joseph, but they are still my burdens and my pain.  And maybe my pain and your pain won't end even as Christmas Day arrives.  They may still weigh on our hearts this season, this day, this week.  My mind may struggle to believe, to understand, to sort out all that life has given and taken.

But while we wait in the midst of our lives...we can also make the choice today to trust, to believe, to keep seeking, to keep doing the next right thing, even in the uncertainty.  Isn't that what faith is?  Believing without seeing?  God never promised Mary, Joseph or you and me that life would be easy to understand, pain free, or anguish free but He did say this....I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take your burdens onto my shoulders, I hear your cry, I know you by name and you are mine.*

While we wait...trust, hope, pray, seek, ask, live, love, laugh, cry, breathe...breathe...breathe.

*Acts 16:31
Micah 6:4
Matthew 11:28
Exodus 3:7
Psalm 139
Isaiah 43:1

The Grinch and Me

 A few weeks ago, our 2.5 year-old grandson, Owen was visiting us for Thanksgiving.  We had many activities that week but one of my favorites was the night we went to the River Walk in Tuscaloosa and walked among the decorated Christmas trees (or actually he rode his Strider)!   There were dozens of decorated trees....construction company trees complete with hard hats, realtor trees with little houses all over, an 'Incredibles' tree, and even the Grinch made an appearance.  Dozens of people had the same idea that night and as we weaved in and out of the slow-moving crowed of folks, it felt good to be engaged in Christmas with our community.  It was a sort-of throwback Christmas experience.  People were only on their iPhones to take pictures, people bought lattes and hot chocolate from a coffee truck nearby, music filled the air.  No snowflakes appeared but still it felt downright cozy and thrilling...for a little boy and his grandma.

When we got home, Owen immediately ran to 'his' Christmas tree in our home.  Now his tree is a table top, 3 foot tall tree.  He had decorated it with little mini ornaments as one of our projects.  He had Santa on it, elves, Mrs. Santa, reindeer and most especially his beloved Spiderman!  I noticed his kept leaning forward into his tree...hmmm, I wondered, what is he doing and saying.  His language skills are fantastic but I couldn't quite get his word or his mannerism.  My son approached and explained,  "he's saying, 'like the Grinch,'".  Ohhhhhhhh, yes the Grinch tree at the River Walk. Now I understood.  He's emulating what he's seen....totally makes sense and oh, so cute!!.  The Grinch...as he is poking he head inside the Christmas tree!!  A cute, fun Christmas-time story.

Many hours later, I found my bed and in the moments of silence before I found sleep, I thought back over our day and our evening at the River Walk.  I found myself smiling to myself as I recalled my precious grandson and his mimicking of the Grinch.  Fun, blessed day...now sleep please....ok, sleep...please come oh, dear, I needed sleep.  But alas not so fast.

The Grinch filled my head.  Owen kept asking, as only a two-year-old can,  'but where is his head, Kaki?"  Where is it?  Why is his head in the tree?

Indeed, why is his head in the tree?  Good question, I hear inside of myself.  I pondered the question that night as sleep finally arrived.  But I've continued to ponder the visual and my own head.  My head is usually stuck right in the middle of my Christmas tree, my Christmas plans, my Christmas expectations, my Christmas present-buying.  What would it be like if this Christmas I looked outside of my Christmas tree.  What if I looked outside of my traditions and my own family...and saw some other people.

Isn't Christmas for everyone?  Have I made this MY OWN Christmas?  It's truly not even mine.  So how can I steal it just for me and mine?  Who can I see outside my Christmas tree?  If this is such a great celebration, who else needs to know about it?

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” 

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  John 21:15

Advent 2018

The Christmas season is upon us which means that Advent 2018 will begin on Sunday, December 2.  What is Advent?  Advent is the "period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world."

Just as we begin to prepare our homes and families for Christmas Day, the Advent journey is designed to do the very same for our hearts and minds.  Advent is an opportunity for us to put aside the craziness the holidays bring and focus on the true meaning of these December days.

A new Advent devotional will post every Sunday and perhaps some surprise days as well.  Enjoy but also ponder these writings.  Let the thoughts permeate your heart and allow this sacred Birth to change you, grow you and bless you.  Kathy

Why in the world was Jesus born?

For many years, I've had the privilege to work with visiting scholars from other countries.  When these students visit our country, we try to give them a taste of our culture and traditions.  This certainly included Christmas festivities, decorations and gifting.  I've been asked many, many questions about our traditions, here is a sampling:
"Ms. Kathy, why do people hang round circles of tree branches on their walls and doors?"
"Why do most people bring trees into their home?  What does this mean?"
"I have a question, Ms. Kathy.  How does Santa Claus fit into Jesus being born"?

Needless to say, I've had to relearn why we do indeed place wreaths on our doors and decorate Christmas trees!!  Do you know the heritage of those traditions?  And the Santa/Jesus question...imagine a foreigner's confusion as they see both in our advertising and festivals.  Can you explain the commonality or the linkage?

I think these questions are good and really healthy for us.  Why indeed do we 'do' these things? How have I personally combined Santa and Jesus into my family celebration?  But the real question for us today...why in the world was Jesus born?

So, from Chinese Bible study come a few answers:

•Jesus HAD to be born…How else could we meet God face-to-face?
God’s great plan for mankind included the necessity of a savior, a redeemer of mankind.

•To save us from ourselves and a certain end...death.

•To show us God,,,God’s character, His love, His temperament, His goodness

•To come meet you and me…

•To show how much He loves you and me...I mean for goodness sakes, He left heaven for us!!

•To walk on the earth like we do, living a REAL life full of joy, anger, pain, friendship, just life!

•To show us how to reach God….that invisible Force that I sense when I look at a sunrise or see a beach or see the miracle of a newborn baby, or see sparkly eyes when I meet a friend I love.  Jesus is the ONE who is between me and this God force.

•Jesus was born...to teach me that God’s spirit can live in me…

That is why Jesus was born…to show us God.  And Jesus himself explains this to us in John.

“My prayer is not for them alone [the disciples]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.    John 17:20-23

Jesus' words...I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.  Jesus is born to give us His glory.  What a gift this Christmas!  Do we dare unwrap it and make it our own?  Do you dare live in His JOY and Glory today?  Isn't that what His very words say we receive when we believe?

So, how do you answer?  Why was Jesus born?  What do you celebrate this Christmas Eve?

Shepherds Go

First Responders are an amazing group of people. They are those who run toward the danger instead of away from the danger.  They are the ones risking their lives to save or help total strangers.  They are the ones problem-solving as they run into unknown situations.  They are the ones willing to go in and survey the situation, to help start the rescue.  This group is highly trained certainly but most of all, they are first, willing.

And so were the shepherds.  Think about this group of individuals, this occupation.  Luke 2 states that they were, "living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night".  This had to be a most difficult existence as they were away from family, uncomfortable, lonely and each night was oh, so dark.  We all know danger comes at night as does fear.

Then, one night after years and years of predictable darkness, there came a bright light in the sky like never before seen.  They must have been absolutely terrified.  One angel shining in God's glory who also spoke words that they understood.  Then many, many angels with many voices also praising God.  And then...darkness.  Silence.

These men had to be in shock, stunned, amazed, and scared to death.  They were just humans like you and me, going to work and certainly not anticipating this type of night after so many others of darkness and void.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, 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!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste...Luke 2:9-16a

Think of how dark it must have become after the light from the angels dissipated.  The darkness had to feel ten-times darker after experiencing such a light.  But unlike me, who would have run to the nearest house and hidden or run to my family where I knew I would be safe, these men ran (with haste) to Bethlehem.  What drove them to go?  They literally walked-off their jobs.  Were they too astounded NOT to go?  It takes willingness and courage to go into a situation where you don't know the outcome.  It takes an ability to recognize our lack of knowledge and our need to know.  It's a 'first responder' type of mentality.

One day, a few years back, we were in a dark, dark place when our young son, Nick, became willing and filled with courage to go toward a new beginning.  He made the choice to seek recovery.  As we drove to Nashville, Nick was on the phone with several different men.  Men of integrity who had tried to intervene and help him.  He held nothing back and told his story of brokenness and over and over his tears would flow.  His spirit was broken but he was willing to find healing.  Nick was admitted and with a quick goodbye, the door closed and he was gone.  We would not see him or speak to him for a while.  Phone privileges and visitation would come in time.  We could write letters, as could he, which to my knowledge he had never done in his life.  We stood there alone with each other and were completely numb.  I’m certain we were in shock.  I absolutely have no memory of our four-hour drive home.  The dark, dark night can freeze us in place but first responders, shepherds, and our brave children often lead us to willingness, to courage, to seek.

We know from the Luke story, that the shepherds were willing to go.  They arrived and they saw Him.  They were willing to hear and learn and believe.  Then, they returned to their normal world and they told people what had happened to them and "what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them".  What a story!  What a real-life challenge!

Run with haste, run and see with your own eyes.  Let's choose to go.  Let's choose to run even though we may be afraid.  Let's choose to see how God will meet us and then turn us around to go tell others.  Isn't that the story of Christmas and the shepherds?

One night, one angel appeared, one message, one decision, one risk to go, one sighting, one telling, one amazed, one belief.  One.  One.  One.