11/8/08
Dave and I were out and about early doing a bit of grocery shopping and then looking for Christmas decorations that we have in mind for the church prayer walk. The grocery shopping was successful but the getting ready for our Christmas prayer walk nada. Hey, that’s why we’ve started the hunt early so we can check out the best things available to see our mini-vision come to pass. I say mini-vision because what we hope to do is a physical representation of a spiritual goal of taking the month of Dec. as a time to walk in prayer for the nations; for the true Christmas seasonal spirit of ‘joy to the world, the Lord is come’ and oh yeah a little peace on Earth would be good as well (actually a lot of peace on Earth would be more than welcomed). We saw many possibilities as we shopped but as of yet have refrained from purchasing accoutrements for our walk.
Kinda sounds like life. We are sometimes so busy trying to add special aids to the walk to make it meaningful that instead we end up loaded down with stuff which actually distracts from the real purpose of the journey. We often think we are walking toward healing but aren’t we really walking toward a closer relationship with Abba which by the proximity of His Spirit will naturally spring forth in healing. We see all kinds of ads for anointing oil, this one Israel, that one from this special kind of Olive tree…isn’t the point that the oil (the generic from the grocery store seems to have worked for us just as well as the other more odiferous ones we’ve purchased) it that it represents the Spirit it’s not really how to get the Spirit into the oil but our hearts into His Spirit. You’ve all heard Yeshua (Jesus) is the reason for the season and that’s true and a catchy little phrase but what does it mean? That a manger scene is more meaningful that a wreath because one has a plastic representation of Messiah in hay trough and the other is just a welcome sign we put on our doors? Let me stop right here and say I’m not a Scrooge, who hum bugs mangers, lights, holly, tinsel (well actually I’m not a proponent of tinsel simply cause to me it looks cheapy), I’m trying to point out how we can strive so hard to get the stuff part right (and yeah stuff it’s tradition and I like it) that it gets in the way of the real reason. Do I know the real reason? Yes, I do! If I can paraphrase Scripture, Abba so loved He gave His Son for whosoever wanted to, to be saved, for the world to experience real joy at the arrival of a Savior who would redeem us from the curse which wrong choice (aka sin) brought on us all, for us to have the ability to have peace on earth because Abba had made peace with the earth in the giving of His Son for our wrong doings, for us to be able to call the Creator not by the designation of God but by the relational name, Abba (Papa),so all the kids could have the chance to come home and live with Him. Okay, I’ve probably missed some very important theological implications of the reason for Messiah but if we could but grasp the above freewheeling paraphrased Scriptures we would be well along on our journey.
Let’s determine right now while it is still early enough in the season to stop take a breath and take account of the reason for the season. Let me throw in another catch phrase, wise men and women do still seek Him but hey, stop seeking Him among the stuff the good news of the gospel is that He came to seek and to save that which was lost, aka humanity, and He knew right where to look, in the back streets, in the sin laden cities, in the poor areas, in the hearts of all mankind. Slow down take a break from all the rushing around and open your heart, I promise He will come in.
k
