Clear Vision musings

This is a topic I think about a lot. A thought came to my mind while in the shower today, where that usually happens, since that is usually the only time my mind is not engaged in other thinking, and is free to ponder random thoughts.

Is this the difference between being culturely literate and culturely relevant?

I think I’ll have to do more pondering.

SDG,
Lisa

It’s 4 days ‘fore Christmas and here at our house,
everyone’s bustling, thank God there’s no mouse.

No stockings, but garland is hanging so bright,
And outdoors the house is all trimmed with the lights.
Nativities cover each table and shelf,
No santa clause here, not one tiny elf.

The presents are piled so high on the bed,
The children are cranky, they must all need fed.
Then tackle those dozens of presents to wrap,
Then rock with the baby to give him a nap.

Mail grandmother’s gift that must travel so far.
Make gifts for the neighbors, something in a jar.
Let’s sew up some ponchos and not take a rest,
Then lounge pants for boys, and chaps and a vest.

Let’s have our friends over and exchange our toys.
That will bring smiles to both girls and boys.
And caroling we’ll go after dinner together,
We couldn’t have asked for much better weather.

Now haircuts to get and pictures to take,
the one in our card looks like a mistake.

Clean up the house, here you take the broom.
Sister is coming, clean out the guest room.
Please wash the sheets. Then vacuum the floor.
Can you get the phone, while I get the door?

The program is over, the children did great.
They each had a part and none came in late.
Joseph, who’s otherwise usually called Jed.
Played with the star, and poked Jesus in bed.

We’ll all go to church, communion to take,
Oh that reminds me, the bread I must bake.
We’ll take a nativity to sister’s grave.
And come home for cookies that our dear friends gave.

We’ll all go to grandpa’s, that is most of us.
Have dinner and presents, and relax - we must.
Then wake in the morning and open gifts here,
Mark actually has Christmas off for this year!

Then over to in-laws, more holiday cheer,
Then back home to crash before the New Year.

‘Though busy we are, it’s all for one cause,
To spread our God’s love, not play santa clause.

We love each one dearly, want to show everyone,
That God came to earth in the form of His Son.
To pay for our sins and bring to us new birth,
To make us like Him. We must honor His worth.

That babe in a manger, is King over all,
Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and then Paul.
He’s risen victorious, conquered death and the grave,
He made you and me, and is worthy of praise.

May all of your focus in this busy time,
Be upon the Lord Jesus, our God that’s Divine.
May all celebrations, so busy yet fun,
Bring glory to God, and bless God every one.

© Lisa Hodgen 2007 All Rights Reserved

For Me and My House ~ At Jesus’ feet,
Lisa @ Me and My House ~ Discipleship for Life!
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Many Christians have a "problem" with other Christians celebrating Hanukkah. "God never tells us to, so we don’t have to, (or shouldn’t,") is their reasoning. Many somehow see it as "legalistic", though I’m not sure how they ever get that out of it. I don’t know one true Christian who thinks they are saved or more loved by God because they celebrate Hanukkah or any other holiday or DO anything else for that matter. I do know some "pretenders" who think such because they go to church on Christmas.

Yet those that have a disdain for Hanukkah celebrate a holiday that not only was not given by God for us to celebrate, neither was it celebrated by anyone in the Bible (other than the time it happened.)

True, Hanukkah was not a God ordained Feast, but Jesus celebrated it, AND it is full of symbolism pointing to fulfillment in Him! See this post for why I LOVE Hanukkah!

I don’t think it is wrong to celebrate Jesus’ birth. MANY prophecies are fulfilled in it. And it is a MOST joyful thing to celebrate our God becoming Man that He might redeem us. BUT God did not direct us to celebrate His birth, (let alone make the biggest commercial day of the year out of it,) none of Jesus’ followers celebrated it (except at the time of His incarnation), and we know it wasn’t in the middle of December! If we’re going to celebrate it, at least we should do it at the right time of the year. It is simply Christ-Mass, a mixture of pagan winter solstice with Christ.

I actually heard a "Christian" radio announcer say that we need to find ways to keep Jesus the center of Christmas (good idea) and that her mom had found a way to do that all year. "Don’t take down the tree." WHAT????!!!!! You keep Jesus the center by focusing on a tree all year???!!! How about you focus on Jesus by getting away from all the man-centered trappings that have nothing to do with the incarnation of GOD?! But no we create post facto symbolism so we feel good about what we are doing.

How do I deal with Christmas? I see it as a time of outreach. It is a time when people who don’t have much to do with Jesus all the rest of the year show their "Christian" warm fuzzies. It is a time they are more open to talk about Jesus, which can open doors for us to share the Truth.

It is also a time when many Christians celebrate Jesus’ incarnation, truly worshipping Him (though with a bunch of worldly trappings usually). Although I think the whole idea is silly, I don’t fault them for wanting to celebrate Him. I think God has given us a better idea, but I’ll save that for another day/month.

I don’t have a problem with giving gifts or decorations or festive parties and meals. I have a problem with thinking this is "celebrating Jesus," that we need a "tree" to celebrate Jesus’ birth, or lights, or gifts or whatever. Have a celebration! Go all out. Do it as to Him! But don’t try to say all these things are about or for Him or His "birth". Do I think Christ should be left out of Christmas? Absolutely not!! I think Christ-Mass should be left out of Christ! And that He should be the center of everything everyday!

Dd16 said today, "People always say, ‘It’s not about getting, it’s about giving.’ and ‘We give gifts because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus.’ That is so wrong. It IS about getting! It’s about God giving and us getting. It’s NOT about wise men giving gifts to Jesus. It’s about God giving Jesus!"

"Out of the mouths of babes" Matt. 21:16

Celebrate Christ! Keep Jesus the center and all-in-all of all your celebrations! Celebrate the fact that God GAVE! The rest can all be left off and it will still be "Christmas".

Is Jesus sweet to you? Do you awake musing on the sweetness of Jesus? Do you grab His Word thirsty for it’s life giving water to quench your dry soul?

Or do you crawl out of bed thinking of all the things you need to do today? Or the exciting plans you have for the day? And as almost an afterthought, "Oh yeah, I better read a bit in my Bible."

Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also.

Lord, by your grace, give us hearts that revel in your sweetness and souls that long for your Living Water.

SDG,
Lisa

Did you ever think about how there aren’t many missionaries noted from France in modern times?

I’m putting together our studies for this fall. We are focusing on the time period of the 1800’s with the overarching them of "Go Ye into All the World". We are seeing how America continued to grow westward, taking the gospel with them, as well as sending missionaries to other lands. The British Isles were sending missionaries. But I’m really not coming across any missionaries sent from France in the post Revolutionary period.

Hmmm.

SDG,
Lisa

keep my commandments. John 14:15

Hereby we do know that we love him, if we keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievious. 1 John 5:3

The commands of God are important in the life of the Child of God. The desire to keep his commands shows us that we love Him. They are not a burden to us, but a delight.

Keeping the commands of God will never add any merit for us in any way. If we have broken one jot of His commands, and we all have - much more than that, we are guilty and are deserving of His wrath. There is nothing we can ever do to gain favor with God.

Only the blood of Christ, applied in our lives can pay the debt owed for our sin. It is only through Christ’s righteousness that we stand before God as righteous. All our good works are but filthy rags.

Yet, as Paul says, since we’ve been saved by grace shall we continue in sin? Certainly not! Because we have been forgiven much, we love much. And if we love we keep His commands. By this we know that we love him.

SDG,
Lisa

You cannot see God’s glory when your eyes are seeking your own.

SDG,
Lisa

Is faith spelled R-I-S-K? Is it a jump into the dark? Not biblical faith! Rather faith is seeing the Light, and following it. Faith is Clear Vision, seeing beyond the limitations of your fallen human sight, to the Light of God’s Word. "Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word." Faith is hearing the truth of Scripture and the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart, "That is true," and you completely believing and obeying Him.

Doubt is trusting your own eyes that have been darkened, rather than the sight of the One who sees all. Presumption is believing any foolish thing out there, that you thought you heard somewhere, jumping into the dark. Faith is believing and obeying His Word.

"I once was blind, but now I see" - yet still have SO much for my eyes to be opened to —
Praise God for eternity for my eyes to be opened to His Truth.

SDG,
Lisa

What does Paul mean when he says in verse 20, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us?” Is this a blank check for anything we want? What is the context?

In this chapter Paul is praying, kneeling in prayer, in humility before God asking for certain things for the Ephesian church. Can we claim this prayer for ourselves? Yes, I think so. It is a prayer that expresses God’s will for all His own.

These things Paul prays for are: that you be strengthened in your inner being by His Spirit, that Christ would dwell in your hearts by faith, that you be rooted and grounded in love, that you know the love of Christ, that you be filled with all fulness of God.

May we desire that God do exceeding abundantly above in our lives in all these things asked.

SDG,
Lisa

Greetings from Me and My House,

At the close of 2006 I feel I should post something profound, but I have nothing profound to say. It’s been a year of much activity, change and growth - much of it internal. Yet, we continue to find that God is God and He does not change. He brings us back around to where He always was/is. He tells us something, we go on for years on that; then He tells us the same thing, and we have deeper understanding and we go on again - ever growing.

My dh and I have been going through all the commands that Jesus gave while He was on earth, memorizing and meditating on them, and applying them. It is amazing how simple they are. Yet man cannot keep them apart from Jesus’ own work in our lives.

So I close with profound words, not my own, but God’s - 2 of my favorite and most quoted Scriptures in my teaching: “Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole of man.” This is how man becomes whole.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The only way we grow here on this earth is to deny ourselves, laying down our own lives, all self-will and pride - presenting our bodies a living sacrifice; and to renew our minds to think God’s thoughts after Him - knowing His will, by emersing ourselves into studying and meditating on His Word.

OK, one more, for this is how He has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” His Word was given that we might in it see His will and His ways for Abundant Life that is only recieved through the transforming grace of Jesus Christ, as we apply His Word in our own lives.

I pray that your 2006 was spent in greater growth in God’s will and ways in your life. That you have spent your year wisely, in renewing your mind by God’s Word, that you are loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself to a greater degree than you were in 2005.

SDG,
Lisa