Christmas

A Special Christmas

A Special Christmas

I remember as a child the days leading up to Christmas, the anticipation, the wonder, and the joy of it all. I remember the families coming together, the food that was shared, and Oh, the presents!

 

I remember one Christmas in particular, that stands out above all the rest.

 

A family had moved into our rural neighborhood, and I quickly became friends with all of the kids. It was a great summer, and we loved to “hang out” at the new family’s home.

 

As Christmas drew near, I noticed a lack of decorations and a tangible sense of uneasiness surrounding this new family that I had grown to love. I wondered what was wrong.

 

One day, I overheard the father say to his wife, “I don’t know how we can get any gifts this year” as I peaked around the corner, I could see tears in his eyes! The father was confined to a wheelchair, and the mother had yet to find a good job.

 

I realized that this family would not have any Christmas at all, and that was why everyone seemed so sad. I remember going home that day with a very heavy heart, and now my Christmas was going to be sad too.

 

I talked to my dad about this and asked him what we could do. My dad suggested that maybe we could look around and find some good things to give this family for Christmas.

 

So, we began to search through our home, all of us got involved. We found lots of good things, some were even new! Dad called the other families in our neighborhood, and pretty soon, everyone was in on it.

 

The whole neighborhood got involved

 

I will never forget the night before Christmas, when we took a pick-up truck that was overflowing with wrapped gifts, covered with bows, and drove up to my friend’s house.

 

We knocked on the door, and when it opened we created a line from the truck to the door and started passing gifts into the house.

 

The father came wheeling out on the porch in his wheelchair, tears streaming down his face; we were all crying…tears of joy and hope.

 

What a Christmas! I will never forget it!

 

What are you doing this year for Christmas? Is there a family who needs some love in your neighborhood? Why not create a memory this year for Christmas?

 

Do some brainstorming, and see if you can’t start something. Perhaps you can make a difference in someone’s life this year.

 

Remember . . . Jesus is the reason for the Season!

Posted by onthesolidrock in Thankfulness, Trust, 0 comments
Three Christmas Trees

Three Christmas Trees

Christmas was always a very big deal at the Pifer house. As I recall, it was my mother, who set the tone for this holiday. Pulling off an amazing Thanksgiving Dinner was just a “warm-up” for mom!

 

The week after Thanksgiving, it seemed as though she kicked into high gear. Mom would start baking every conceivable goody you could imagine; all kinds of fudge, mouthwatering peanut brittle, cookies by the basket full. She made gingerbread cookies and even gingerbread houses!

 

She would make these things she called “gobs;” she took two small fluffy chocolate cakes and put the most delectable cream sandwiched inside . . . these were just too good!

 

Not only would she be baking up a storm, she would begin decorating; to say mom was into Christmas would be an understatement.

 

Mom always wanted the perfect Christmas tree

 

There was a point of contention that came up almost every year and that was the dreaded “Christmas Tree.” You see, mom always desired to have a nice, as we called it, store-bought Christmas tree. You know; the kind they sell every year; the ones perfectly shaped and easy to decorate.

 

Mom got this desire for the perfect tree, from her own mother; we called her, Nana. While I never spent a Christmas with Nana, mom would show us pictures of her Christmas trees . . . they were stunning, just stunning.

 

Mom always wanted to get a tree worthy of decorating, and it was rare that she got one like that. You see, my dad had a hard time throwing down good money for something that would only be used for a few weeks and then burned out in the backyard.

 

Dad would say something like; “I’ll be dad-burned if I’ll spend good money on a Christmas tree when we are surrounded by the forest. I’ll go out and cut one down; which he often did!

 

Some of the trees he would come home with were atrocious!
Well, one particular Christmas, mom was determined to get a store-bought tree.

 

I think my dad was anticipating her request and thought he would hurry up and go out in the woods and get her a tree before she had a chance to ask him for a store bought one.

 

The tree dad brought home, was one of the ugliest trees we ever saw! It was too short and had huge gaps in the branches! No matter how you turned the tree, it looked awful! Mom told dad, “Moe, you get that tree out of the living room and go down to Sterling Run and get me a real Christmas tree!”

 

Dad goes for a store-bought Christmas tree.

 

Dad, knowing he had been had; grumbled and said, “Oh all right.” So dad took the tree outside and jumped in his truck and roared off to Sterling Run; about 3 miles away to pick up a store-bought tree!

 

He went down and picked out a beautiful Scotch pine, tossed it into the bed of the pickup truck, threw a rope around in and hurried home. What he did not know, was that after about a quarter mile, the wind caught the tree and it fell out of the back of the truck.

 

The rope, which was tied to the truck, had a large knot on the other end, and it just so happened that the knot was stuck between two branches near the base of the Christmas tree. So dad blistered home about sixty miles an hour with the tree dragging 10 feet behind the truck.

 

Mom, anxiously waiting for her beautiful tree, was waiting for dad to return. Looking down the road, here comes dad; driving the old International pick-up truck, barreling around the corner. Something just did not look right though; where was the tree!

 

Mom steps off the porch as dad wheels into the driveway; dad still clueless about the tree. Mom, walking towards the truck, stops as dad comes to a halt; with her hands on her hips, says in a loud voice; “Moe, what did you do!”

 

Dad jumps out of the truck saying loudly; “well, I went and got you your tree!” He spun around to untie the tree, only to see it on the ground, hardly a pine needle left on it!

 

Now, dad was not one to blush, but I am sure his face turned several different shades of red; not sure, if he was embarrassed or angry! Mom just stood there, arms crossed, trying hard not to burst out laughing!

 

Yep, that was the year we had three Christmas trees; mom got a real nice store-bought tree to boot!

 

Oh, the memories!

Posted by onthesolidrock in Humor, 0 comments
Indescribable Gift

Indescribable Gift

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

Well, it won’t be long now, soon Christmas Day will be upon us; the greatest birthday party ever! We will be celebrating the most wonderful, most amazing event in the history of mankind; the Birth of our Savior!

 

Gifts will be exchanged, the Christmas Story will be read, and we will all come together because of Jesus. Even families that do not know Jesus get in on it!

 

What a miracle Christmas is!

 

When we stop to consider what God has done, we come away stunned!

 

The Old Testament Scriptures resound with the prophetic words of Isaiah:

 

Isaiah 9:2

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

 

The people of Isaiah’s day were desperate people, many of them walking in hopelessness and despair; seemingly meaningless lives, being lived out under the oppression of wicked rulers. 

 

During the time of Jesus’ birth, the people were living under the thumb of Herod the Great,  and were also very difficult and trying times. Taxes were too high, the demands of Rome were exceedingly harsh, and those who administered justice were often cruel, and extortionary in their tactics.

 

It was in this world of hopelessness and despair that God brought forth His One and Only Son!

 

 Galatians 4:4-5

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

 

Times have not changed all that much, and for many people today, perhaps even you, life is a grind, a meaningless existence, a pointless journey to a place called death, and you may wonder; is there any real meaning in life?

 

I spoke with a man just recently and I asked him and his wife if they were ready for Christmas; his reply brought sadness to my heart. He said; “It’s just another day to me, like any other.”

 

The fact is; there is no other Day like it! It is an incredible Day, a Day in which the God of the universe humbled Himself and was born in a manger, surrounded by the poorest of the poor. It was the result of the Holy Spirit’s Seed, mingling with the seed of a young woman, resulting in the One and Only Son of God being born.

 

No, there is no other Day like it ever, and we will celebrate it!

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

God has given us the most incredible gift; the gift of Life by giving His Son.

 

Let’s take a few minutes together today to read that remarkable story. . .

 

Luke 2:1-20

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

 

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 

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

 

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

 

I hope you will read that story again Christmas morning, before you open a present, and relive the wonder of that glorious Day when God sent His son into this world. And give thanks to God. . .

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

What about this Gift God sent? Do we really need it? Is it for you?

 

The Bible tells us that “sin” which is defined as; transgression of the divine law; is something that every one of us is guilty of. We do not have to look hard to realize that all of us have sinned (Broken God’s Law) at one time or another.

 

The Bible says;

 

Romans 3:23         “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

 

Sin entered mankind way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan, and they gave into temptation and sinned against God’s law!

 

His law to them was; “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

 

This problem of sin, which originated with Satan, created a serious situation, which called for drastic measures.

 

  • First, there MUST be consequences for satan’s sin.

 

A just and loving God could never ignore such a thing, and by His very nature must take action against sin. So God created a place for Satan and the angles that followed him.

 

According to Matthew 25:41 God has: prepared an eternal fire for the devil and his angels.

 

This is a literal place, a real place for Satan to reside for eternity, and the angels that follow him. To sin against God is a terrible thing, and it deserves a punishment fitting of the crime! The devil and his angels will be punished accordingly!

 

  • Secondly, there must be consequences for man’s sin

 

Genesis 3:16-19

To the woman, he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

 

To Adam, he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you;  through painful toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

 

 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust, you will return.”

 

Indeed, death certainly touched man because of sin. We have been struggling with sin ever since, and it has affected everything in the universe.

 

But God has a plan! You see; according to the Gospel of John:

 

 John 3:16

“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.

 

This is the very reason that Jesus came into the world! He came so that we could have eternal life. That our sins (which are many) could be forgiven!

 

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s love for us! Jesus is God’s gift to us; this is why we celebrate!

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

How does one appropriate this incredible gift of life? The Scripture on Romans blazes the way!

 

Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

Do you believe? Do you have faith to believe? God says you do, and that also is a gift from Him

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

Well, there you have it!

 

Will you receive this great gift, and walk in ALL the Light it brings?

 

Like any gift, it has little value unless it is received, embraced, and taken in. Imagine taking the time and effort to purchase a special gift for one of your children.

 

The big day comes, and you present them with the present. They look over the gift, shake it a little, then set it down and simply tell you; “it looks good dad, but I really don’t think I will open it.”

 

How would you react? How does God react when we do the same thing when presented with His indescribable Gift!

 

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

 

So, a few closing thoughts. No one really likes to talk about hell; many people really don’t even believe that it exists; and if it did exist, God would never send good, kind and caring people there!

 

The fact is, He does not send people there; they go there of their own free will. Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels; it was never intended for humans.

 

God went to extraordinary lengths to redeem fallen mankind and offer forgiveness and a place in heaven with Him. One of the greatest gifts God ever gave mankind, was the ability to chose.

 

Unfortunately, many people chose to live a life contrary to all God has offered; renown author and pastor Max Lucado put it this way:

 

“Consider, then, this explanation of hell: Hell is the chosen place of the person who loves self more than God, who loves sin more than his Savior, who loves this world more than God’s world. Judgment is that moment when God looks at the rebellious and says, “Your choice will be honored.”

How about you? The gift has been given and placed at your feet . . . what are you going to do with it? The God who gave it is hoping with expectant hope, that you will open it; if you chose not to, He will honor your choice.

 

Chose well

 

Copyright 2017 – Faith Upside Down

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A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story

Christmas has arrived so quickly this year! Perhaps it’s the “age thing” or the “busy-ness” of life, whatever the case may be, Christmas is here! 

One of the things I like to do each year, to help me spiritually as Christmas nears, is to read and re-read the Christmas story from the Bible.

I often begin reading these accounts in late October and early November. I like to go to the Old Testament and read Isaiah’s account of the coming Savior (Isaiah 9:2 – 7) not forgetting to look at Micah 5:2, for the reference to Bethlehem, as the place of His birth.

I also love the account in the New Testament from Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-20, each giving their own flavor to what took place.

While I know I have read these accounts dozens, if not hundreds of times, I never tire of reading them. Each time my heart leaps with joy, and my mind races with wonder, as our great God engages the most miraculous plan ever!!!

I am bedazzled by the audacity of His move. To usher in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, by allowing Himself to be born and raised by imperfect parents, is beyond imagination! What risk! What adventure! Talk about shock and awe, my God is the author of it all!

My whole being revels in the story each time I read it. I feel as though I was kidnaped by an evil marauding pirate and trapped in a dungeon on a faraway island with no hope of escape.

The ocean was too far and my rescuers could not make the journey. Even if I could escape on my own, I would only be re-captured and sent back to the dark recesses of the gloomy den; only darkness, evil, and despair awaited me! Who would be my rescuer?

Alas, rather than come with warships and armor to my rescue, He devised a plan to enter the dungeon with me, and make the extraction from within, not from without! The plan was risky, fraught with danger!

In spite of the risks; the dangers inherent in this plan, He came anyway!

I recall in vivid details the day I woke up in that dark dungeon to find the Master standing there, with arms open wide, His face beaming with joy, beckoning me to come.

I could hardly believe my eyes, it was Him in all His glory, looking at me, in my sin and disgrace. I could hardly look at Him, I felt so ashamed! I expected words of condemnation, criticisms, and punishment, as that was all I ever received while locked in this frightful dungeon.

Instead, He lifted me up, then gently opened the shackles on my feet and hands. He tenderly began to bring light to my darkened eyes, and we began our journey out of the dungeon into His kingdom.

He has never once been critical of me, has never judged me as unworthy, nor has He spoken evil of me in any way. He continues to be my very best Friend!

How about you? Has the Savior been to your dungeon yet?

This Christmas, as we celebrate the wonder and the joy, let the Master free you, and allow Him the joy of a complete rescue on your behalf; after all, He risked everything for you.

God is Awesome

Posted by onthesolidrock in Faith, 0 comments