Keeping Christmas

In John Bunyan's timeless allegory  Pilgrim's Progress, his parable of the Christian's journey from sin to heaven,  we see Christian and Faithful walking their way to the Celestial City. One of the towns they encounter is Vanity Fair.. The town's undying appeal was that it offered everything one could possibly want to purchase. It glittered, and sparkled with so many delights, once one stopped to browse, it was not uncommon to get forever caught up in the madness of it all. Christian and Faithful stood out because they dressed differently, and spoke differently than the consumers in Vanity Fair. They were repelled by the emptiness of it all and saw what a poor trade-off it was in comparison to the pilgrims' destination. And when Faithful dared to open his mouth to appeal to reason and point to a better way, he paid with his life.

We are all destined, for the rest of our lives, to be consumers of goods and services. But should that be our whole life? When did Vanity Fair move into our space to such a degree, Advent is now marked by continuous Black Fridays  (starting in October) and an overt war against Jesus as THE reason for these holidays?

Where did, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life " go? If we were visited by strangers from another planet (humor me, please) would they know the season is not about sales, and gifts, angelic love stories, and even lights? Would they be misled into thinking this season is about US - our needs, our want, our desires? 

 Christians, are we being faithful in keeping Christ central to all we do? How are we keeping Christmas this year?

November 2017. By the end of the meetings in Jamaica we were already talking about what 2018 should look like. Seems like months passed without much happening besides just praying and basking in the afterglow of what God had already accomplished.

Then came July and the meeting in Jamaica with pastors and ministry leaders. That brought a renewed sense of mission and the planning ramped up. From that point on every week exposed a different piece of the puzzle as the full scope of what we pictured this year to be took shape.

Little by little, working here in Florida and the churches in Jamaica doing their part the months rolled by. November slipped in and at last we embark on the last leg, the last few items to pack in anticipation of leaving next Wednesday. 

The very day Jesus ascended to Heaven we were told he is coming again. One day the talking, planning, and preparing will be over. Christ will come and it will be time to go. Ready?

Walk on

Somebody is breathing a sigh of relief this morning, the long hard, week is over. Maybe you feel like you did not fare so well in the battle. It could be temper got out of hand, or something was said a little too sharply,  was misconstrued, or someone kept silent when he or she should have spoken.Whatever the reason, there is a sense of relief today because the perceived failure is behind you.

There are so many scriptures about God being our strength which by the way, would not be necessary if we did not have weaknesses. There would absolutely be no need to rejoice in the fact there is no condemnation in Christ for the forgiven, if we never missed the mark. The reason we are admonished to pray for each other and to bear each other's burdens is because burdens are a fact of life.

Lift up your head this morning and behold the face of our Glorious Lord who says come unto me all who are pressed down by burdens. I will give you rest...l am your rest. Let's not allow the devil to take away the victory of getting up after we have fallen. Maybe, there was no fall. Just a bump in the road; God is greater than the condemnation we heap on ourselves. Keeping walking. That's what we do and therein lies the victory.

Seasons

Weekly Word from the Wisdom Walk
It is well into October and still the temperatures refuse to relent, staying in the 90s or high 80s. For some scorching temperatures gave way to violent storms that left death and devastation in their wake. Others are looking at grim reminders of a flood- silt and mud and nameless debris spread like a blanket over what used to be treasured belongings. Ash piles, twisted metal, lone mailboxes standing like exhausted sentinels, waiting for mail that no longer comes. Not since the fires leveled whole communities. Weary knees, drooping hands, wordless cries, all give testimony to long praying short on answers.

And we sigh and wonder when and sometimes if it will ever end...

Notice though, no matter the destruction that occur, the seasons change. Leaves turn to rusty gold and leave the security of their branches to carpet the ground. The snow has already made it's appearance, a sure herald of the long winter ahead.

Yes, there is a time and a season that God has set, unalterable. Many of us are in the midst of what feels like epic disasters. Death of loved ones, ailing relationships, agonizing uncertainty of how to let go or what that even means. But hang on. Seasons however violent, however hard or long they last,  God's immutable Law declares they can only last their allotted time. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. Mark your season,  await the change.

The SPIKES is Right

Weekly Word from the Wisdom Walk

As we walk this road there are so many instances where we can only appeal to divine wisdom. But there are tools to help us especially in the aftermath of a disaster or truly life altering news.

I'm paraphrasing today from Dr. Renato Lenzi's SPIKES Protocol given to me by one of our hospice providers. Starting with "S."

S-etting, can make all the difference. Choose a quiet area with few distractions and calm your own spirit before you begin to intervene.

P- erception, find out what the person thinks about the situation. Pay attention to both body and spoken language; what is not said is equally important.

I-nvitation, "may I suggest or have you considered", is a whole lot better than "you should". Don't force your point of view or try to solve. Sometimes listening and allowing the person to talk it though is the best remedy.

K-nowledge, use your experiences sparingly. Jargon and big words may be just a waste of time. Speak at the person's level and make sure they are following what you are saying.

E-mpathy, please dont say "I know how you feel" unless you actually have had the experience. And even then, your response may have been different. Say "this may be hard for you, or "I can't imagine how this must hurt." Cry with them, pat their shoulder, hold their hands IF their body language says this is okay.

S-trategy, explain what you can do to help or repeat their action plan to them. Clarify any questions and last, see if they are open to meet again or to be referred to another professional.
Remember, sharing each other's pain is one way of showing the love of Christ in us.
Walk in His steps .

Pick your pace

Today for the first hour of walking, I encountered no one. The first jogger past me well into the turnaround. Later there were dog walkers, strollers talking away on their cell phones, cyclists, a runner "wide open" and more walkers.

The thing is each came from a different home, possibly started at a different time, and all went at his or her own pace.

Looking at the people on the cell phone my first thought is,  that's not walking. But by the same token,  if I jogged I'd have pain until next Tuesday 😲 and I don't even remember what year it was that I ran as fast as I could.

What a beautiful thing this race is not for the swift or the battle for the strong. Endurance is what counts. Making it to the finish line is what matters.

God calls us to get on the field and run or walk or jog the best race we can without worrying about the speed of others.

Come on, let's go. You got this ...

Yes. I am Strong

Weekly Word from the Wisdom Walk
We all love the fearless Elijah for whom even King Ahab had a healthy respect. It's powerful stuff calling down fire, being fed by ravens,  raising the dead, and at the end of the journey departing to glory in a chariot if fire!

Yep. Elijah was the man.

But who remember the not so glorious days? Elijah running from Jezebel. Elijah so lonely and discouraged he is convinced he is the only righteous person left. But wait, there's more. What about Elijah depressed, laying down and praying to die?

What? Wasn't he annointed and filled with the Spirit of the Lord?

Sure he was. Then what happened?

Being human is what happened. Sometimes we give so much, we come up empty. And physical and mental exhaustion are two of the devil's favorite places to play.

Down does not mean backslidden or spiritually dead. It's just a side effect of being human.

Keep crying out to God. Be honest with him and wait...

He'll send angels.
God bless you, Friend.