Who I Want to Be

I’m getting my life ready for the new year. I want to make some personality improvements so I took a personality test on the internet. I don't know how accurate it was because there seems to be a human element for which the test didn't allow. I had a hard time answering the questions honestly. I seem to want to answer how I want to be instead of who I really am. This frustrates My Friend Pam to no end. I’m sure she remembers one specific beach trip that we took personality tests together. She kept saying, “No, no, that is not how you are.” My answer was, “Why can't it be? It’s what I want to be.”

Well, I’m sure I did the same thing on this test this time too. It turned out that I’m either ENFJ or ESFJ. I took it twice and changed some answers. Whatever these initials stood for that’s what I either thought I was or wanted to be; until I read the description of these personalities. Then I went back and changed some more answers. In the end I don’t really know what my personality is but I do know what I want it to be.

I want to have the perfect personality. I want to be: loving, optimistic, easy going, patient, kind-hearted, virtuous, loyal, gentle, and self-disciplined. I fear I’m not there yet. I think the initials for that personality is SC (Spirit-controlled.)

Galatians 5:22-25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

I don’t want to be E, N, F, S, J, I, P, or T, or any other initials. I just want to be SC.

The only real evaluator of this test is the Holy Spirit Himself. And He’s a tough grader and very honest about what I am at any given moment of the day. While it may be impossible to have the perfect personality this side of heaven, at least I have a Teacher that doesn't give up on me. The Holy Spirit convicts in a gentle way (and sometimes in a not so gentle way when I'm being really obnoxious.) But the Holy Spirit always convicts and leads lovingly.

I know who I want to be this New Year.

I know who I need to depend on.

I know I’m going to need some help getting to the place in my personality I want to be.

With God’s forgiveness, grace, and mercy I’ll get a little closer to my personality goal.

I may even get to change some of the personality test answers legitimately.

My Friend Pam will be so delighted.

Oh Come, Let Us Adore Him

I'm reading a book now…It seems I have started other blogs this way. The book is about how to worship God. Every Christian author, it seems to me, has the key to meaningful worship. And their key is different from every other Christian author’s key. I guess it’s a way to sell their book but it also shows that we are confused about how we are to worship God. What happened to the good old days when our “greats” and “grands” didn't think twice about how to worship? They didn't read books. They didn't attend worship conferences. They just worshiped. They didn't question it. They just worshiped.

The author of the book I'm reading disclosed the fact that by his calculations 8 out of 10 believers do not feel that they have had a time of worshiping in the presence of God on a weekly basis. That means definitely not on a daily basis either. I don't know if these stats are legitimate or not but it shows that we modern Christians have a problem with meeting with God in a meaningful way.He says the obstacles we face in our century are hindering us from encountering God. It’s true we have more stress at the workplace, and technology has cluttered all of the spare time our “greats” and “grands” had. We have too much required of us and too much to do and not enough day to do it in. The author spends over 200 pages teaching how to worship. And he can be hired to teach conferences also if further instruction is needed.

In my introspective moments away from this book I've wondered just how people knew how to worship before all of this instruction was presented by our current Christian authors?

David the shepherd and king of Old Testament fame was a self-taught worshiper. He said in Psalm 95:6-7 "Oh come, let us worship and bow down;let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand."

And he wasn't the only shepherd that figured it out on his own. Luke 2:15-20  states,"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child... And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

The shepherds, not considered learned theologians of their day,  knew instinctively how to worship after they encountered Christ just once.

We, who have the opportunity of a daily encounter with the living God, say we don't feel like we have done any worshiping.

So let’s take a moment now.

Let’s worship right now.

Let’s stop while we are reading this and sing this in our hearts:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him born the King of Angels.

O come, let us adore Him.

O come, let us adore Him.

O come, let us adore Him, 

Christ the Lord!

I had a little worship moment. Did you?

Have a wonderful time of Christmas worship with your family and friends.

No Ordinary King

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32-33

Kings, dictators, presidents, emperors, czars, pharaohs: these are just a few of the names we have given the rulers of our world. There seems to always be a pecking order. And there seems to always be someone in charge that requires our submission. We have always had to yield to a person of superior force and to the will of his or her authority.

The problems come when we disagree with the decisions of our authority. They may have had the best or worst of motives but all of the leaders past and present have led from a human flawed perspective. Even those that historians call the best of the world’s leaders have made mistakes. Some of them have had consequences that changed the course of history. Those that have been called the worst of the world’s leaders have devastated populations and economies. The good news is these leaders were short lived when compared to all of history’s timeline. Their kingdom came to an end. Some were handed down for several generations but even they came to an end.

But when an angel appeared to a young woman he told her some very exciting news about a world leader. He would be called the Son of the Most High and He is still called this today and will continue to be called this. He will continue the reign of the house of King David and the house of Jacob. He will continue to fulfill all of the promises God gave to these men in His eternal kingdom. His kingdom will never end.

Now this could be a bad thing for us if this eternal king was human. There would be mistakes here and there. There would be things that we may not want to submit too. There would be bad decisions that would carry consequences for eternity.

But this king is no ordinary king.

This King is Jesus.

This King will always make decisions for His people that will be for their eternal best.

This King will protect His people against any catastrophe.

This King will keep His promises.

This King will keep peace forever.

This King will uphold justice and righteousness always.

This King will reign wisely and lovingly and do what is just and right in all the land.

This King will be highly exalted by God.

This is no ordinary king.

This is my King.

This King is Jesus!

What Would You Do?

I’m a very curious person. I'll bet I drove my parents crazy with all the questions I asked. I want to know the what’s, why’s, how’s, and when’s. I want details not just bottom lines. Sometimes the scriptures lead me to questions for which God doesn't give answers. And I even want to know why He doesn't give all the answers.

One of the questions I have involves the Christmas story in Luke chapter two. I really get into the account of Mary and Joseph’s arrival in Bethlehem. The birth of the baby I’m sure was like what women go through today but without drugs, doctors, hospitals, or sanitization. And I really don't want those details. I like the account of the angels appearing to the shepherds. That seems to be very thorough. And then the visit of the shepherds to the new baby is described. Then the story kind of ends abruptly.

Verses 17-20

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Who did they tell? What did the people that heard wonder about? The Greek words are “akousantes ethaumasan” (don’t even try to pronounce this) which means they comprehended and understood the ramifications of what the shepherds said and it amazed, astonished, and caused them to speculate about this birth. Did they believe the shepherds? Did anyone else go to the stable to see this miracle? Did these shepherds ever follow up on the life of Christ?  The story was stopped too soon. My questions are not ever answered. Why did God stop the story here?

It has made me and my overactive imagination take over. Did the wife of one shepherd say, “You left the sheep? That’s our only income. You would jeopardize our future on a baby?” Did the children of one shepherd say, “Daddy, take me. Take me to see this baby. And tell us the story again!” Did one shepherd tell his family that they were going to follow this little baby because one day He would proclaim that He was the Messiah? Were any of those shepherds or their witnesses in Jerusalem at the time of Christ's crucifixion and did they remember the "Bethlehem story"?

And then I began to wonder what I would do if I were living at that time and a shepherd told me this fantastical tail. Would I believe and want to go worship? Or who would I tell if I was one of the few people in the entire world that experienced this angelic event? Would I tell my family, my friends, even complete strangers?

Maybe that’s what God in His wisdom not to resolve the story wants us to do. Maybe He wants us to make the faith decision to believe or not to believe that this historical occurrence is true. Maybe He wants us to glorify, praise and tell others of the reality of Christ that we have experienced in our lives with the enthusiasm of the shepherds.

What am I going to do with this story?

What would you do?

Focus, Focus

We took my nine year old great niece out for a day of shopping. We and she had a specific list of must buys. Of course, with a child shopping during the Christmas season things fell apart very quickly. Our must buy list turned into, “Ooooo, can I have this? I want this. I really need this. Please, get this for me.” The lights and glitzy displays didn’t help because stores want to compel us to buy. Everything is meant to distract from the real shopping list to the spur of the moment purchases and over spending.

The adults kept telling my little niece, “No, you don't need this. This is not the reason we are here. Focus, focus.” That is, until we got distracted.  It was quite humorous when she began to tell us to focus.

It’s easy to lose our focus during the holiday season. We get distracted with all the Christmas hype and turn our attention away from the reason we Christians emphasize this time of year. Isn't the first part of the word “Christmas” Christ? Sometimes we forget that.

In all of the extra bling we have added and are exposed to at this time of year, let’s spend a little time in focused thankfulness and worship.

Hebrews 12:2

Looking away from everything else, focus on Jesus,

the one who initiated and perfected our faith.

He focused on the future joy and blessing while He endured a death on the cross not giving a thought to the shame of the moment.

Now He is seated in a place of honor at the right hand of the throne of God.

I know we have to do a lot of things at Christmas but having to do a lot of things shouldn't consume us. We have to decorate our houses. We have to buy the gifts. We have to bake the goodies. We have to learn the music for the Christmas cantatas. We have to make the costumes for our children’s nativity programs.  We have to visit the relatives. And all this is added to our already busy daily schedules.

But for a moment, let’s look away from all of this and look to Jesus. He is the “reason for the season” (I wasn't going to fall into the overused phrase trap but there it is. I did.) He is the originator, and founder of our very faith. He continues to make us into His completed and acceptable and perfected ones.

We can take our flawed messed up selves and stand before God unflawed and faultless because of Christ. Now that makes me want to say, “Merry Christmas to all!”

I'll be telling myself the very thing I told my little niece this Christmas time.

No, I don't need this. I need Christ.

This is not the reason I am here. He is the reason I'm here.

Focus.

 Focus.