Icy Weather
Gifts on Cold Gray Morning
Icy rain coats the trees, sidewalks, roads, and power lines like the tiny holiday lights wrapped around the trees and houses. But my coffee cheers up the chills, as does the glory of the seasonal music so many of my favorite radio stations offer. Sure hope the power doesn’t go out, and I lose these gifts!
Once upon a time, when I was a lot younger, losing power was a lark – it was a tiny taste of old times. Now, not so much. It’s dark, cold, and scary inside a power-less house!
Darkness Still Surrounds Christmas
As in former years, Christmas 2016 comes in dark settings: The horrors of Syria—Somalia, and Chicago – whew! On top of this news, political fall-out from the recent Presidential election is tearing at our national fabric. The light of reason and good-will flickers. It’s dark, cold, and scary inside this power-less world, too!
Therefore, when I landed, serendipitously, on a blog, I basked in the warmth of its admonition, and am passing along its hope. Christ Jesus chose men to follow Him who were more naturally enemies than friends – yet, He bid them see past the beliefs and practices that divided them. Imagine, please:
. . . Jesus putting one hand on Simon’s shoulder and the other on Matthew’s—these two men whose political views should have made them vicious adversaries—and saying to them, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12). Love and Politics
Oh! That I will see those today who are as different from me as the tax-gatherer was from the poor fisherman with the love, forbearance, and kindness that I say I believe Christ empowers.
Giving Good Gifts
That would be a great gift, right? One that might actually do a little good in this war-weary world. Leave it to a Texan to make a mighty good gift list!
Christmas Gift Suggestions
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.
~ Oren Arnold
The CAROLS are a sweet place to find such gifts in the cold, dark times that are today . . . they are filled with, bright warm truth. Come on and sing with me! Sing aloud . . . make a joyful noise to the LORD . . . God inhabits the praises of His people.
Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled2
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not3
The love-song which they bring;4
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,5
And hear the angels sing.
(Third verse, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear)
A PS: Dear reader, you might like a link Doug just sent me, too:
The Non-Partisan Politics of Jesus