Jesus and Silver Dollar City

One of my favorite places in the world used to be Silver Dollar City. My family used to live close and we would get the season passes every year. The rides and the entertainment were good for the two little children I was given the privilege to raise. But at Christmas time, my wife and I used to make a trek up there just to see the 100 miles of lights. Silver Dollar City has the typical train ride where you go through the woods and you are "robbed" by a group of bandits armed mostly with bad lines, i.e. while holding a twig in the air, one would shout, "This is a stick up." Get it? Stick up?
But at Christmas, the ride was different. You stopped at the same place where you were "robbed" in the summer. A man came out in his overalls and told the story of Jesus. It was the first time I had ever heard Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of Silent Night. I was stunned by its simplicity. That's the story of Immanuel. In all the complexities of life, God sent His Son to become like us. It's the mystery that's talked about in the Scripture. In amazing simplicity, God gave us the one thing that could and does change our lives. It was announced with heavenly pomp and circumstance only to those who knew nothing regal celebrations. It was revealed to wise men who searched for several years before finding Him. And in some people's lives, it takes a lifetime to find Him while others grow up knowing His excellent greatness. But the message is still the same. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life." Have a great day! JW

Prepare the Way

John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. He was considered the one who would prepare the way for Jesus. He was born first (at least on this earth) and he did what he was intended to do. He called Jesus the Lamb of God. At times he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to say, "Are you the One, or should we look for another?" He also said, "He must become greater, I must become less."
As I think of the story of Jesus' birth, I flash down 2000 years later. John is no longer around. Who will prepare the way for Jesus now? I think that's where we come in. It's now ourresponsibility to prepare the way. It's our job to tell of His greatness It now becomes our task to tell of His coming to this world.
And so the Christmas story continues. Only now, we tell it. Have a great day. JW

Mary and Joseph

One of the questions I've had about the story of the birth of Jesus, why did God pick Mary and Joseph? Everything that I read about them I see total compliance to what God says to them. When the angel comes, they obey, no questions asked. Now I know that you might say, "Well, if I had an angel come to me, I wouldn't have a hard time believing either." Is that so? Then answer me this. Why did the children of Israel who saw the 10 plagues on Egypt, (including the Passover Angel), the Red Sea divide, the cloud by day and the fiery pillar at night, the manna and the quail, the water from the rock and everything else they saw, why didn't they do everything God told them to do?
With Mary and Joseph, you had two people who had soft hearts and were attuned to God's call and they did everything He asked them to do. No wonder God entrusted his One and Only Son to them. Have a great day. JW

The Great Announcement

One of my fond memories is a 4th of July at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. On the 4th, there is a HUGE fireworks display that is phenomenal. After the baseball game, they allow people to go down on the field and watch the fireworks. They even give you 3-D glasses if you want, but you don't need them. The "bombs" burst right over you even so much that some of the debris falls on you. I was covered with little black flecks of firework residue. It looked as if they were exploding right down on me.
When the birth of Jesus was announced to the shepherds, the Bible says an angel appeared and then it says the glory of the Lord shown around them. Can you imagine that. It would make the Rosenblatt display seem like a little firecracker. I what it looked like, but it says they were terrified. Then there was a great heavenly host praising God. What were they doing? How were they praising God? I've heard great choruses sing beautiful music where I had goose bumps. Can you imagine a heavenly host praising God?
But why to shepherds? Seems as if they would have wanted to alert the Jerusalem Press or KJEW television. Why wasn't there a story by the Bethlehem Times? But shepherds? If you read the passage, the shepherds told everyone they saw. So it is with us. Perhaps we don't have the connections. Maybe we can't have the impact that a person of position or power could have. But we can tell everyone we see about the Savior who came to this world so that we might have life to the full.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

Have a great day. JW

His Star

If you watch the movie The Nativity, they do what most everybody else does concerning the star that comes to rest right over where Jesus was. They can understand the miracle of a virgin birth, they can understand the miracle of nearly everything else. But for some reason the miracle of a star just doesn't cut it. It has to do with the convergence of several planets and those planets light up the night sky, etc., etc., etc.
Why can't it just be accepted that the star was another miracle? It was there to show not only where Christ was, but that this was one of those extremely important events. When you read about it in the Scriptures, the Magi say, "We have seen his star. (emphasis mine). It was His star. I know, I know, they are all His stars. But there was something special about this one. It wasn't the planets coming together. It was the announcement of an the most significant event up to that point in history. Immanel. God with us. God moved into our neighborhood, according to Peterson in The Message. And the world has never been the same since...and neither should our lives. Have a great day. JW

Gifts

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Three gifts. That's how some have determined that there were three wise men. It's the impetus for giving gifts at Christmas. I've been wondering, what did Mary and Joseph do with those gifts? How much did they get for them? Did it help support them for the next several years? Did they give them away?
How often are we the recepients of gifts? Gifts of great value. Perhaps they are not material, but spiritual. Maybe they are tangible. I think the fact we really don't know any more about the gifts is because they really didn't matter in the whole scheme of things. Maybe there were more symbolic than anything. But here were men who were known for their wisdom and they wanted to give of their means to the Messiah, the baby whose star they had seen.
So it is with us. What do we have to give. I love the old hymn that says, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." Even if that's all we bring, it will be accepted by our Lord. Have a great day. JW

Messiah

What was it that worried King Herod so much about a child being born in Bethlehem? It was a king. A new king would be a threat to his reign in Judea. For so long the Jews had looked for a king, a new King David who would free them from the bondage of the Romans. These Romans who taxed them and abused them and generally tried to ruin their way of life.
Now the thought of a Messiah had reached a fever pitch. They were looking for armies, for another man who stood head and shoulders above the rest, another who would make them favored in God's eyes again.
He came. Now with flash, pomp, and circumstance. He came with humility and poverty. They never could quite understand His kingship nor His kingdom. They tried to make Him king by force, but He slipped away. And when we try to make a secular Jesus, He will also slip away. His kingdom was and is not of this world. It is holy. It is spiritual.
Although Jesus may have disappointed many of His time, I pray that He doesn't disappoint us. I hope we are not looking for the wrong kind of Messiah, but One who will be our King, our Lord, our Ruler. I hope we don't try to make Him King by force. Instead, it's my prayer that we invite Him into our hearts. Quietly, calmly, once again without flash. Have a great day. JW

Scandal

After watching the latest movie on Christ's birth, "The Nativity Story," I realized what a scandal it was for Mary to be pregnant with no father seemingly around. She went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. She is engaged to marry Joseph. When she returns, she's pregnant. What happened while she was gone? With whom did she sleep? You can imagine the reaction of her parents, the townspeople, Joseph. Here's this seemingly innocent girl who comes home pregnant. She's not innocent, she's promiscuous. She's not holy, she's sinful. She claims nothing happened. She says the Holy Spirit came upon her. She says that an angel told her she would be pregnant. This is just plain bawdy, scandalous, and wrong.
I remember a few years ago teaching about one of the theories of Mary's pregnancy...that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier. A woman came into my office in tears, saying, I can't believe you said my Lord was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier." "I didn't say that," I responded. She was horrified the words would even come out of my mouth. "Our children don't need to hear that." "Yes, they do," I replied. "I would rather them hear it from us so we can explain what really happened. I want them to hear it from us."
It was pure scandal when our Savior was born. Raised by a poor family. It's a wonder Joseph hung around. But in the end, he believed Mary--and the angel who appeared to him. But it would be hard even in the best of circumstances to believe their stories. And that's the atmosphere our Savior was born in. Scandal. Have a good day. JW

Earth Shattering

I love my neighborhood Starbucks. They know exactly what I want when I go in; they don't even ask, they just make my venti, no water chai. Yesterday, I was talking to the manager and I mentioned that my son and daughter had told me that I should try their peppermint hot chocolate. I said to the manager, but I have to be careful because if I didn't order my "usual," the world would slow down or speed up or something else catastrophic. We both got a good laugh out of that.
I started thinking. Over two thousand years ago something did happen that shook the earth. God moved into the neighborhood. The only people that knew it was happening did everything they could to stop it. It was revealed to some nomadic shepherds and it occurred in one of the poorest places in the world. Immanuel. God with us. It happened and the world accused Him. It ridiculed Him. It eventually killed Him. But He lives...and the world is a different place because of it. During this time of the year, I hope that you will remember how earth shattering this event was and I pray you'll take time to thank God for sending His Son to earth. Have a great day. JW

Get Rid of the Baggage

I've noticed the older I get, the longer it takes me to get ready to travel. And I won't even bring my wife's packing habits into this! When we say we'll leave at 8:00, it usually means 9:00. Why is that? Because we haven't gotten everything ready to take on our journey.
When I was young, I didn't have a care in the world. Life was to be lived. Laughter came easy. Spontaneous was the catchword. No planning, just do it. Now you might be asking, "What do these two things have in common?"
That's life isn't it. Topsy, turvey, and upside-down. Really when we're young, we should be careful to spend the time "packing" for the journey, but we really haven't a care in the world. When we're older, rather than being wiser, we take more baggage than we really need.
My thought today was that as I get closer to my heavenly home, I should be having less baggage and less "stuff" that keeps me down. I should be more as I was when I was young--laughing more and living life to its fullest. Really it should be the opposite of what we normally do. The Hebrews writer said that we should lay aside everything that weighs us down. Fix our eyes (stare) at Jesus. Paul said that we should forget what's behind and strain toward the future.
As we get older, let's get rid of the baggage. Let's enjoy life more. Let's realize that the sun is only rising and it can only get better. Have a great day. JW

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

It was a great time of rest and relaxation. Nothing to do but eat. Our Thanksgiving Day was full of activity, but still relatively slow. We didn't get to do quite everything we had planned. Meredith wasn't with us since she was with her in-laws. She'll be with us for Christmas in Searcy. But it was good.
It was hard to get back into the swing of things. I woke up this morning with some stomach "issues." After a little rest, I think I'm fine. Something I ate rather than a virus. I don't usually have anything like that, so when it does hit me it wears me out.
Now we race to the end of the year. Although there have been evidences of Christmas, there is nothing hidden now. Radio stations are playing Christmas carols. The decorations are up in the stores. It's getting cold in Nebraska. School will be out in a couple of weeks. People finally do, even for a brief, short minute, treat each other better and reflect on the Prince of Peace.
I hope we continue the journey of thanksgiving. My prayer is that these next few weeks, though hectic, will be filled with quiet moments of reflection...and of course, family. Have a great day. JW

What's On Your Ear?

I walked into my local Starbucks today to get my customary venti no water chai and, as usual, there were a number of people sitting at the table chatting. One table of four men caught my attention. They were visiting with one another and laughing. What was odd (at least to me) was two of the men had their phones on their ears. You know what I'm talking about, those kind that hang on your ear. The thought that went through my mind was, "How sad." Here are other gentlemen who like your company, who are enjoying the few minutes from work, who would like to have a human, relationship, and you have a phone on your ear just in case someone calls. In other words, the call that comes in is more important that you.
What's hanging on your ear? What stops you from having these wonderful conversations with your spouse, your kids, your family? What's more important than those relationships? Can't you just for one moment stop listening to the world and listen to those who really count? Do you hold the newspaper up instead of listening? Is the television blasting? What's hanging on your ear? During this time of Thanksgiving, take it off...please, and listen to those who want to visit with you.

BTW--Went and saw The Nativity last night. The first thing I tried to do was scrutinize everything to see if they were biblically accurate. But if you go, don't do that because you'll miss the really important message of the story. Immanuel. God came and lived in our neighborhood. Go see it. It's a good movie.

Have a great Thanksgiving! See you Monday! JW

...And Be Thankful

A friend of mine told me of being on an airplane when they used to serve meals. He said the gentleman next to him stopped and prayed before consuming the food placed before him. My friend commented that he appreciated seeing this gentleman praying before eating. To which his fellow passenger replied, "I may not be much, but I'm thankful."
I've remembered that story for years. I may not be the world's greatest speaker, or the best father, or the best husband or the best....you name it. But I can be thankful. At this time of year, it's amazing to me that we, for the most part, do slow down for just a day and most of us count our blessings. Oh, how I wish we would get into the habit of doing the same every day. For that is the basis of our service to God. Not out of fear or dread that He may force us to do something we don't want to do. But out of gratitude for what He has done and continues to do every day.
So this Thanksgiving Day, I pray that we will begin our New Year's resolutions early but vowing to be more thankful...beginning today. Have a great day, and have a great Thanksgiving. JW

Where's the Scripture?

Those who preach or speak know what a gut-wrenching experience it is. I've heard it said of Rick Atchley, preacher at the Richland Hills Church in Fort Worth, TX, that "if I have such a gift of preaching, why does it take 40 hours to unwrap it?" Others will say, "Do you ever get nervous before you speak?" My answer to that is, "If I don't, then it will be a pretty boring sermon." Anyway, after speaking, I'm emotionally and physically exhausted.
Yesterday, I delivered a lesson on the new organizational structure of the congregation where I preach. We're instituting a new structure with new deacons. It's something we've been working on for a long time. I've been here for about 3 1/2 years and it seems we've worked on it in some form ever since I got here.
So the elders asked me to make a presentation on this new way of doing things. Afterwards, someone came up to me and said, "Where were the Scriptures?" Now I know of at least three I quoted, Matthew 7:24, Acts 6, and I Corinthians 3:11. We talked of deacons. We talked of Acts 2 and our church family and having everything in common. And someone has the audacity to say, "Where were the Scriptures?" What I want to say is, "They are in my life. They are in my preparation. They are in the years of study that I've done. They are inherent in everything I say. They are in the middle of all I do. They are there between every line. And just because I don't quote book, chapter, and verse, it doesn't mean they're not in there." That's what I wanted to say. Instead, I just said, "Well, this was an unusual week."
Now you might be concerned that the person who said that might be reading this blog. No they won't. People like that tend to strike and then disappear. So I'll just keep preaching. I'll just keep speaking my mind. And most of all, I'll just keep trying to please the only One who I need to please. Have a great day. JW

Letters from Dad, II

I just returned from Dallas for training with "Letters from Dad." What a great program! I recommend this program for anyone. Should you need information, let me know. I don't get any money for this although I'm certified to teach the class. It's a wonderful to get a blessing to your family.
For those of you who are familiar with the program, I saw the tacklebox. For those who aren't, I would encourage you to visit their website at www.lettersfromdad.com. I'll tell you more about it, I'm sure, in the coming days. For now, I'm just trying to catch up. Have a great day. JW

Contrasts III (I think)

I love contrasts. I have a number of posts on my blog concerning such contrasts of life. I think Jesus was a man of contrasts. He talked of light and darkness. Isaiah talked about "Woe unto them who call good and good evil, who place darkness for light and light for darkness. Who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter."

As I was doing my morning walk/prayer, I was listening to my iPod. Mark Schultz (see yesterday's blog) has a great new song on his new album called "Wallking Her Home." It's the story of a man who basically describes the life with his girlfriend who eventually becomes his wife as a walk. Every stage of their lives together, he is walking her home. And when it comes to die, he's right there with her, walking her home. It's a real tear-jerker and a song that means so much. Right after that song came a song by the Doobie Brothers. (My musical tastes are extremely eclectic!) The song? "What a Fool Believes. It talks of a guy who sees a girl he used to like and he describes what their relationship used to be, but she can't see it. She smiles at his "nostalgic tale" never coming close to what really happend. Hence....what a fool believes.

I couldn't help but think of godly, God honoring relationships. They are pure, they are honest, they are truthful, they are pure, they are sweet, and they are fulfilling, and they are life long, no, eternal. The second song describes an empty, hollow, and non-existent relationship. One that only existed in the mind of one. Now, which one would you prefer?

God's ways and His paths are always right, fulfilling, and wonderful. I chose God. Have a great day. JW

Mark Schultz

I went and saw Mark Schultz in concert last night. What a phenomenal show! Of the things that impressed me, we sang an acappella version of "It is Well with My Soul." He also told a story about "Letters from War." He said the Army had asked to use that song in a video that was sent to our troops. Then he said the Pentagon called and asked him to come for a concert. He told them he wasn't sure they knew what they were getting; that he was a Christian artist. He said the music wafted down the halls and a general came down and said, "I've been praying for 25 years for something like this to come to the Pentagon." Praise God!
By the way, the election is over. The people have spoken. Pray for our country. Just remember, another election is coming in two years. In the meantime, show people Jesus. Have a great day. And listen to Mark Schutz music! JW

What Kind of Campaign Would Jesus Run?

I started writing a post yesterday, but it just didn't flow. Those of you who write know exactly what I'm talking about. So I just erased it and saved it for another day. Today is a slightly different story. Thanks to some timing and events, I'm ready to write.
I voted this morning. Finally, all of the politicians can quit running their commercials on television, they can take their signs down, and they can stop demagoging. (Is that a word? And if it is, did I even come close to spelling it right?) Here's a question. What kind of campaign would Jesus have run? Now I already hear the harummphs about how Jesus wouldn't have been involved in such tomfoolery and you're probably right. But I think I know. He would have kept His mouth shut. When asked who He was before Herod, He never spoke. If you look at Jesus, He rarely told anyone who He was. And when He did, He either told them not to tell anyone or they were not in a position to put it in the Jerusalem Post. He told the woman at the well in John 4. The group of fighting, jealous, egotistical, self-serving apostles, He told. But when He had the opportunity to make it big (some tried to force Him to be King), He hid.
As I listen to the politicians of our day tell us what they are going to do, more often than not, how bad their opponent is, I sense they are looking for power. Power to bring change. Personal power. Power over people. But as the Michael W. Smith song says, (and this is one of those "coincidences." I heard this song right after I voted.) "Above all powers, above all kings, above all nature and all created things." That's my Jesus. It doesn't matter who gets the power here on earth, the real power is represented in our Lord. Have a great day! JW

God's Pursuit of Me

Yesterday, I finished reading through my Bible for the year. I read through The Message because I wanted a fresh take on Scripture because I tend to get to parts I'm familiar with and just skip across them. There were times when I thought, "Does it really say that?!!?" I'd go to another version and sure enough, it did say that. There were other times when it didn't. But it was a new read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. People often ask me which is the best translation of the Bible to read. I really want to say, "The original language." But that would be smart-aleck and glib. So what I say is, "The one that you'll read." Which is almost as smart-aleck and glib, but it's true.
I've also been teaching a class this year called, "How to Read and Study the Bible." It has brought new insights into my life also. There is a tremendous freedom that I have found this year in reading the Scriptures. I hope it continues to resonate in my life as I continue to read about God's pursuit of us. That's the theme of the entire Bible...God's constant pursuit to have a relationship with us. Someone might say, "It's taken you the entire year of reading through the Bible to come up with that?" The answer to that is "No!" It's taken a lifetime of hardships and beatings (not literal, but spiritual) and mistakes, and I still haven't gotten there yet. But I'm learning. I hope you are, too. Have a great day. JW

A Small Reminder

Last night we hosted what we called "Trunk or Treat" in our parking lot. Twenty cars were parked with trunks open and we gave out candy and other treats to the kids of our community. It was fun to see the smiling faces, the shy kids who under normal circumstances would be yelling and otherwise making noise at home, and the costumes they were wearing. But, alas, all good things come to an end. I went to the hospital immediately following to visit a little girl who didn't get to go out trick or treating last night. (I took her a bag of candy. Of course, her parents have to oversee the disbursement. Ha!)
This morning, after all the candy was given out, the parking lot cleaned up, I walked up to the building and reached into my pocket only to find a small can of Play-Doh that we were giving out last night. I smiled as I was reminded of those precious faces, smiling as they received their little treats. I heard their "thank-you's" once again as I held the can in my hand.
I was reminded of the words of Jesus. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." What we did last night, in my opinion, would have been exactly what Jesus would have done had He been here. In fact, He was here. Have a great day. JW