Announcing...

And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2 (ESV)

It's Christmas card time again. I was looking for a lost scrap of paper yesterday and found year upon year''s stash of Christmas cards we had received.

Most of the cards seem to center on one of three main themes - Santa Claus and his gang, winter frolics, or cartoon characters. For a while there a few years back, angels were making a comeback, but lately they seem to have faded in popularity a bit. Some years the cards glitter more than others.

But overwhelmingly they are cheerful, wishing people the "best!" For some people, maybe most people (good, normal people) it's not a big deal. You just go buy some cards, perhaps they reflect the birth of Jesus, or maybe you pick some with Snoopy, Frosty, or Scooby Doo on them, write a note of good cheer inside, and mail them.

After reading and rereading the Christmas passages in the Bible this past week, one thing stood out about Christmas. It was anything but cheerful. People all over Israel were having to make their way back to their family home town (Ever been on a trip with whiny kids? Multiply.) Joseph and Mary wound up staying with the animals in a gritty, dirty stable. And the Son of God, love's purest light, found His first resting place in a spittle drizzled feeding trough.

Maybe that's why when I look at how God announces His acts in Scripture, overwhelmingly the number one way that chose to make them known was some variation on this - "Fear Not!"

Wonder why that was?

Some funny things about when God shows up:

He enters with a lot more authority than we are accustomed to.
He's especially adept at changing the status quo.
He's not particularly interested in hearing "we never did it that way before."
He frequently calls the person He visits to boldly go where they've never gone before.

Oh and there's that other thing...

-where He calls that person or persons to go in following Him might result in their poverty, sickness, terror, grief, or even death.

So "Fear Not!"...works for me.

Oh, and one other thing about God's announcements. Since they come from our Father, they always work out for our best. It's that "... good news of a great joy that will be for all the people..." part. And they called Him Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins.

Announcing -The greatest gift, from the greatest giver. Jesus! - So... fear not!

Grace!

David

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Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

It's Like Riding A Bike

The phrase, 'Just like riding a bike,' is one that can apply to almost anything. It's generally used when someone does something well that they haven't done in a long time. You do know that not all of those old sayings are universally true, right? I have a first hand report on this one. It ain't necessarily so.

Recently, two of the great people I serve with at New Hope gave me a brand new bicycle. I had made some noises earlier in the year about getting back into shape, and suggested that I might get a bike and try that instead of running. Well, one Saturday morning, they showed up here with a brand new mountain bike - a Jeep - in desert camo! As one of them told me the other night as I recounted my experiences with it, "be careful what you wish for." I'm so blessed by the people at New Hope.

So anyway, after some adventures around the neighborhood, I decided it was time to get busy. I jumped on it and headed off to church the other day, a distance of maybe a mile or less and almost died.

First, who knew that my legs had completely forgotten that peculiar motion?
Then there's these gear things - they may be wonderful, but I seemed to have the ability to pick whatever gear was the worst at any given moment.

So while I'm positive I'll get better and enjoy it immensely, I am living proof that you cannot count on picking up anything right where you left off. Even riding a bike.Especially riding a bike.

Including celebrating Christmas.

Friends, I've been scratching and clawing in my soul the past few days, eagerly seeking to get back into the "Christmas spirit". Anyone else out there finding it hard to do?

Part of me says it's just that the externals aren't done - no tree, no lights, no outward show of what season it is. But I've celebrated without any of those.

There's another part that sees the hurts among people I love here, and around the world, and replays my own. That part says, "don't be foolish - that sort of feeling is for kids. You're past that now."

No, I'm not.

I do think and pray about the mom whose son has just left home, and the young man who's struggling to rebuild his faith and his marriage. I do remember what the families I care for have been through - heart surgeries, catherizations, sadness, and loss. And yes, I already miss my father's laugh as he shared Christmas with us.

But that's exactly why I NEED Christmas. I need to know beyond a doubt that somewhere, somebody noticed our hurts - and not just somebody - but someone who can DO something about them.

So I've been reading and re-reading the prophecies and the gospels. And I never noticed it before, but as a prelude to Christmas, the historian named Luke wrote this.

So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, 2 using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. 3 Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story's beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught. Luke 1 - The Message

That word translated "reliability " here, carries deeper weight than that. At it's root it means "undoubted truth" or something "kept safe from harm".

Kind of like something you can go back to and know you'll find it just as it should be.

Christmas.

The gift of a God Who could stand by no longer outside while His children were hurting on the inside.

I may have forgotten how to ride a bike, but with God's help, I'll never forget Christmas.

Grace!

David

--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

The Mission: Love God, Love People, Serve All

"This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details.

When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ." Ephesians 3:7 The Message

Someone asked me the other day about when I was called into the ministry. I laughed and told them that I didn't jump into this life, I was pushed. And what I didn't know about the life a pastor leads could fill a book (and will someday).

I'm in way over my head. But this life, this crazy life, is a sheer gift.

I am thankful tonight for all those people God has graced my life with. It's awesome to see God at work in the lives of the people He's placed us with. New Hope is a special place.

But there are so many people who aren't a part of a faith-family like New Hope.

Today I went with Bunny to the dentist. While I was there, I must have talked to the receptionist for 45 minutes - or really, listened. I learned about her childhood growing up here when there were hardly any houses near the beach and sand dunes stretched all the way from Seagrove Beach to Destin. I heard about the school she attended that was 1st through 12th grade until she got to High School. She told me about her family now, of her mother's health problems and her father's wishing she would get back in church. And she told me about her daughter's struggles and the pain that caused her.

All I did to begin the flood of information was ask how her Thanksgiving went, and mention at one point that we had killed some time before we came there looking at the homes near the ocean.

Maybe today she just needed someone to care enough to listen. I told her that I would pray for her daughter and her family. Then the office got busier and she was called away.

Friends, we can do this. Yes, we are unqualified. Certainly there are people better suited. But God has given us everything we need to make a difference for Him. Are you available?

Grace!

David
--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.livejournal.com/
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/