MAKE ROOM FOR BABY

At an event where we sang CHRISTmas carols tonight, one line from one of them really caught my attention. See if you can recall WHICH carol it is from:

"Let every heart prepare Him room".

I thought about how parents...especially mommas....begin almost immediately to plan and prepare for their baby's nursery from the moment they discover they are expecting. I know I did! I knew in my mind exactly what I wanted although I had never actually seen it. And when I found that PERFECT wallpaper, I knew it was THE one!

Our family has welcomed two precious granddaughters in the last 3 years. Each time the big topic of discussion among us females was "how are you going to decorate the nursery?" Oh what fun it was as the girls began to pick out the colors, the bedding, the crib and all the other "essentials" to make it just perfect!

Our daughter had the first baby and as soon as they discovered it was a girl, I was very anxious to see what she had in mind as she HATED pink!! (God DOES have a sense of humor, doesn't He?) She did end up using some pink, albeit NOT baby pink. She is not a "fru-fru" person, so she opted for geometric shapes in lime green, hot pink and a tiny bit of yellow. She did all the drawing and measuring and it was ADORABLE!! Our son commented upon seeing it that the baby would never sleep because it was SO loud..HAHA!

Then last year came our second grand angel. Our daughter-in-love also began the search for the perfect color scheme and decor. She opted for chocolate brown and pink. Our daughter helped her measure and paint the stripes of hot pink, dark chocolate and milk chocolate. (You can't tell that I'm a chocoholic by the names of the colors, can you?) Our son once again gave his astute observation, stating that he'd be hungry every time he walked in his daughter's room because it looked like neopolitan ice cream!!!

Yes, planning and preparing that nursery is just one of the many aspects of all the anticipation that precedes the arrival of the little bundle of joy. And, today, most babies have the luxury of having their very own room!

Not so with a friend of ours who suddenly found herself expecting baby number 4!! So being the creative soul she is, she utilized a large walk-in closet and fitted the baby bed inside in order to give the baby some measure of solitude and quiet. It became quite the joke after a year or so as people began to ask her if her had "come out of the closet yet?" But, you do whatever works!

A missionary family that our Sunday School class supports lives near Mozambique. Although their accomodations are not primitive in the sense of them living in a grass hut....they are not what most of us enjoy today. It is small and simple by today's standards in America. But it is home to them. They had completed their family of 3 children....or so they thought. Then this week we got a letter from them stating that Baby #4 is on the way!!! Seems God had other plans. I'm wondering where this baby will sleep? Will they plan an elaborate nursery as mommas here do? Or will he/she have to be fitted in the best way possible..possibly in a corner of a sibling's room or maybe even a closet?

For all we do to prepare and "make room" for a coming arrival, how much do we do to make room for Christ in our hearts? Especially this time of year?

I know that personally my calendar is running over with things TO DO. In fact, I was recanting to a friend tonight all that I have TO DO in just the next 5 or 6 days and as I did, I began to feel a sense of panic creeping into my mind, wondering how I would ever get it all done, especially since my mother-in-law was also admitted to the hospital tonight and I do not know where that will lead. Decorating to finish, parties to prepare and cook for, a 2 night event I'm committed to at church, doctors appointments, shopping still to do, CHRISTmas cards to address and mail, CHRISTmas letters to write and send, and the list goes on and on and on..........

And before I know it, CHRISTmas morning will be here and it will all be over. And, as much as I love it ALL...........where do I fit Jesus in the midst of all that activity? Have I made room for Him...or have I been like the innkeepers in Bethlehem and found NO ROOM?

I realized that as I heard and contemplated that little phrase from the CHRISTmas carol tonight that I needed to make a conscious effort to slow down and acknowledge the REASON for all this hustle and bustle. As fun as it is, as much enjoyment as it brings, I must not....I MUST NOT lose sight of the ONE around whom it all revolves. Because if I do, then it has all become a huge waste of time.

As our women's ministry leader reminded us tonight....If we are to give ourselves to anything, let it be these:

GOD....HIS WORD.... and SHARING HIM WITH OTHERS

for in the end...NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!

For the remainder of this season, will you make a conscious effort to MAKE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR JESUS?

I pray that every time you hear the carol, JOY TO THE WORLD, for the rest of December, you will be reminded to

LET YOUR HEART 'PREPARE HIM ROOM'!!

THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER

Last week I was getting my nails done and struck up a conversation with the lady next to me. She had just retired from Fed Ex and our nail tech had given her a beautiful wrap that we were both gushing over. She commented that now she'd have something new and "snazzy" to wear during the holidays since she guessed she'd have to retire her CHRISTmas sweaters. I asked her what she meant.

She said her daughter was a student at Ole Miss. She had called her earlier in the week and asked if her Mom could quickly mail her one of her CHRISTmas sweaters. The reason? She needed one to wear to a CHRISTmas "tacky" party!! Ouch!!

I love CHRISTmas and for years I had quite the collection of CHRISTmas sweaters....pullovers, cardigans, and vests. I loved having something CHRISTmasy to wear every day of the month. It seems the tradition started quite a number of years ago when everyone was decorating sweatshirts. There were these iron-on appliques that you then outlined in glitter paint. Oh they were quite the craze!! My favorite was a deep blue sweatshirt with a huge Santa and sleigh with all the reindeer climbing into the night sky with all the stars aglitter above. I got many compliments on it every time I wore it. In fact, I wore it out! Now I wouldn't be caught dead in it.

I'd begun to notice over the last few years....even before my conversation with the Ole Miss mom...that only people MY age were wearing the CHRISTmas sweaters. So I had narrowed my collection down to the more subdued ones and to tee shirts with just a little something on them.

I got to thinking about how fads come and go. One year something is so the rage and the next year you better NOT wear it or you will be a fashion disaster. I know that Stacy and Clinton just go nuts every time they find a CHRISTmas sweater in someone's closet!

Lots of things besides CHRISTmas sweaters come and go. Car models change from year to year. Remember the llllooooonnnngggggg cadillacs of years past? Just look how far we've come from the Model T!

Decorating styles change in our homes. If you had a kitchen in the 70's, you had orange, avocado green and gold. (Hopefully none of you STILL have that !! HA!) My mother built her house in the mid 60's when turquoise was the "in" thing. She still has her turquoise appliances and every time someone sees them they are amazed because you never see those any more. And, yes, they still work!!!

I remember growing up seeing some people with the aluminum CHRISTmas trees. There was a multi colored light that swirled beneath it to make it change colors. Now you can get trees in every color under the rainbow. I have even seen trees that hang upside down!

Change .....it is part of life.

But there is one constant in our lives that never changes. JESUS. He is the "same yesterday, today and forever." (Heb. 13:8) And, His Word never changes. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matt. 24:35)

Isn't it wonderful to know that JESUS will never go out of style and that His word remains the same? We do not have to constantly be checking for revisions. There are no amendments to His Word.

You can buy a computer today and by tomorrow it will be obsolete. You can drive off the showroom floor today with a $50,000 vehicle, but by tomorrow it will have already begun to depreciate. Yet Jesus just gets sweeter with time. The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows!!

The CHRISTmas story never grows old. God sent His only begotten Son in the form of a baby, to be born in a manger, born of a virgin so that He could be our Savior. Think about that story today and thank God that it never changes.

MARK OF MATURITY

We have been following the story of and praying for the son of our former pastor, Sam Shaw, who was brutally attacked in India a few weeks ago. Here is the testimony of a young man with spiritual maturity way beyond his physical years. Read and be blessed!



On November 8, 2009 in South Asia, I and two other pastors from The Austin Stone, were robbed and attacked by a small gang of South Asian youth. Unexpectedly, one of these youth sliced my left cheek with a straight razor. The wound was 5 inches long and an inch deep. It spanned from about my left sideburn to the left corner of my mouth. Fortunately, the two other men with me were physically unharmed. We ran for safety in the middle of the city, pleaded with locals for help, and finally ended up in the emergency room at a local hospital where a doctor stitched up my face with three layers of stitches.

After arriving back home, I realized that this attack was a catalyst to great spiritual and emotional growth. After a week long of reflection, I have outlined below the lessons that I have learned. I hope my story and these lessons will encourage others to radical obedience to Jesus and mobilize them to the mission of God.

* The straight razor that scarred my face has become an altar of intercession for those South Asian youth who attacked us. My face is the sacrifice that was put on this alter. I doubt if any prayers have ever been lifted to the Father for those youth, that is, until they attacked us. Almost immediately, we began praying for them. Since then, thousands of people have interceded for them, for their joy. In this way, therefore, God turned their sin of unjustly attackingus into a great blessing for them.

*The Lord brought me to Psalm 97:11 a few days after the attack: “Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.” I realized that the straight razor was not only an altar of intercession for those youth, but it was also a plow, tilling the soil of my body and prepping it for sowing. The straight razor plow opened the way for The straight razor plow opened the way for the seeds of joy and compassion for those youth to be sown in the soil of my heart. My wound, therefore, is now a memorial repository of joy in God and passion for the joy of unreached peoples.

* The sowing of my soil - my face -also meant uprooting some of my weeds. On the car ride to the emergency room, I distinctly remember feeling sick about my sin. I was horrified that even in amoment of intense suffering, the weeds of pride grew. For a moment, I saw that the nasty roots of my sin ran deeper than I could fathom.


*This past week, I was blown away when I realized the sowing of seed and the sprouting of the plant have onething in common: the breaking of the soil. That is amazing! The breaking of the soil is twice the key moment in the process of harvesting a plant. In a garden, the soil is broken with hope! In my situation, the breaking of my face at the plow of those South Asian youth was outwardly quite grotesque, but spiritually it was a natural and good gift from Above, opening the way for future fruit bearing!


*Suffering is a natural part of being sent on mission. The Lord revealed this to me a few days after the attack. When Jesus sent out his followers on their first mission, he told them that they were going out as "sheep in the midst of wolves" (Mt. 10:16). For Jesus, suffering at the hands of the wolves was part of the sending! The apostle Peter says that we have been "called" to unjustly suffer (1 Peter 2:21). Therefore, trials such as ours in South Asia are not abnormal to our lives as Christians; rather, they are a very normal and very necessary part of our calling as Christians. Unjust suffering is not "strange" when you walk the Calvary Road, so let's not treat it as such (1 Peter 4:12).


*God kept all of His promises to us, even while we were attacked. Immediately after our attack, while still seeking help from local authorities, Psalm 34:19 came to mind and comforted me in prayer: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." A few days later, the Lord led me to Ps. 97:10, "He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked."


*Yes, the Lord preserved our lives and delivered us from further affliction. If the straight razor hit me a few inches lower, it would have sliced open my neck, leaving me near death. If ithit me a few inches higher, it would have taken out my left eye. The wound missed my major facial nerve by probable millimeters. If this nerve was severed, I would have been paralyzed on the left side of my face. The path ofthe straight razor was perfectly guided by my heavenly Father to thwart away these afflictions.


*Sometimes the Lord might keep us from feelings so that we will rely on simple faith in His written promises. Immediately after the attack, as we ran for safety and sought medical care, I wanted to feel the Lord's presence with us. Our hearts were racing, our emotions were barely steady as blood gushed from my wound onto my shirt and pants. I wanted the physical comfort of the Lord's presence. But I did not feel it; rather, I had to believe it. Where my feelings failed, my mind thrived. I remembered Scripture and believed it. My heart followed the leadership of my head and believed in the Lord's comfort and presence even when I did not feel it. This experience encourages me to memorize more Scripture, so that in my next trial, my head will be fully armed to lead my heart.


*I am so deeply grateful for the gift of our suffering in South Asia because I think it has led me one step further to obeying my life verse, given my by parents when I was an infant: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Josh. 1:9). I feel bolder in my proclamation of the Gospel. What can someone do to me now? Knife me? Been there, done that.


*I learned the irreplaceable worth of comfort from Christian brothers and sisters. The two other pastors with me were by my side in support throughout my immediate physical recovery. I cannot thank them enough for their sacrificial care for me. They are true comrades. The prayers and encouragement of many all over the world have been deeply comforting and encouraging.
Our suffering in South Asia was a "gracious thing" inthe sight of God! It was a gift of grace! Listen to the profound message of 1 Peter 2:19-21: "For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."


*I don't want to waste a good moment of suffering. The legacy that I want to leave on this earth and to my family is a heap of stories of radical, simple devotion to Jesus! I am learning that the Calvary Road is not a path merely to endure; rather, the Calvary Road is to be embraced with joy and hope! The Calvary Road is a "gracious" road! That straight razor may be the greatest blessing of the year for my family and I as it leads me one step further on the Calvary Road - the Road that my Lord embraced on his way to die for thugs like me and the South Asian man who knifed me.


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I WILL BLESS THEE FOREVER

"I will extol thee, My God, O King and I will bless thy name forever and ever.

Every day will I bless thee and I will praise thy name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable!!

One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts.

I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works.

And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare thy greatness.

They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness and shall sing of thy righteousness.

The Lord is gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy.

The Lord is good to ALL and his tender mercies are over ALL His works.

All thy works shall praise thee O Lord and thy saints shall bless thee.

You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in ALL His ways and holy in ALL His works.

The Lord is night unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him; he also will hear their cry and will save them.

The Lord preserves all them that love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and forever. " Psalm 145: 1-10, 16-21


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

HAVE YOU EVER THANKED GOD FOR....

A good, warm bed?

What about just a bed? Many in the world don't have one, you know.

A hot shower?

What about just running water IN your house? Our ancestors didn't have it and there are millions around the globe who still don't.

An ice cold COKE?

Many would thank God just for a clean drink of water.

The home you live in...whether 1000 square feet or 5,000.

Many tonight are living under a bridge, in a ditch or under a tree. They have no place to actually call home. Many more are in shelters or missions because of a lost job and financial ruin due to the economy. Others are living in their car with their children. Where are YOUR children sleeping tonight? Do you live in a safe neighborhood or do you constantly flinch at the sound of gunfire? Are your children able to play in your backyard or are you afraid they may be shot if you let them out the door?

For someone to hug and who hugs you back?

There are many who NEVER receive a hug from anyone...day in and day out. They never are touched in any way of affection. They never hear the words "I love you". And no one ever utters their name in prayer.

For your food?

No, seriously. Even if you say the "blessing" every day, do you ever really stop and realize what it would be like to not have ANY? Worse yet, can you imagine what it would feel like to not be able to feed your kids?!! We will throw away more food tomorrow left on plates than many people eat in a week.

For the USA?

Our freedoms are precious and we better be careful to thank God for them for many of them are hanging in the balance. Our freedom to worship God, to speak of Him, to proclaim His word is a gift many in other parts of the world would give anything to have. Instead, they must meet secretly to worship, and hope that they do not get caught, for if they do, they will be imprisoned and tortured unless they renounce the name of Christ. There are more people martyred today for their faith around the world than at any other time in history!

Your children and grandchildren?

Yes, that seems like an easy one, but sometimes the most obvious things go unmentioned. Thank Him for the sweet, cuddly babies that are impossible NOT to love. Thank Him for the busy toddler who is wearing you out. Thank Him for the rebellious teen who is trying to figure out who she is. Thank Him for the adult child who has made you proud. Thank Him for the prodigal who keeps you on your knees. Thank Him for the precious grandchildren who bring you so much joy and mean that you have lived long enough to acquire them. Verbally thank Him for each one. There are some tonight whose arms ache for theirs because death has snatched them away this year or because they are far away or estranged. Cherish every moment you have with them!!!

So much to be thankful for. God daily loads us with benefits. Today take time to stop and really think about how blessed you are. Take time to thank Him the One from whom all blessings flow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

TAKE HEART!

Have you ever felt like a failure? As a Christian, do you feel like you blow it more than you succeed? Then take heart, my friend, you are in good company.

Moses killed a man, ran for his life and hid in the desert for 40 years til God spoke to him from the burning bush and sent him to Pharoah with stammering lips and a rod in his hand. He also went into the mountain of God and when he returned his face shone from being in the very presence of God. What a life of ups and downs he had. God used him in a powerful way, but then the day came when he lost his temper, struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded and he forfeited his opportunity to see the promised land of Canaan.

We would see that as total failure. He blew it big time. The very thing he had been aiming for, struggling to achieve and waiting a lifetime to see he lost in the strike of that rock. As you read God's pronouncement of the consequences of his action, you almost get the feeling that God says "OK, Moses. I'm done with you. You blew it. That was your last chance." Somehow we get the feeling that God just sort of wrote him off at that point. We would have.

But praise God He is not us.

Hear instead what God did. He took Moses up into the mountains overlooking Canaan and showed him what he would miss. Then He said,

"'This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, Isaac and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed. I have caused thee to see it with thine own eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.' So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab [NOT Canaan], according to the word of the Lord. And HE [GOD] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor; but no man knows of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old whne he died; his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.....And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord KNEW FACE TO FACE!" Deut. 34: 4-7, 10

After all the times Moses blew it....after all his failures....even after God had to exact punishment on him that must have broken His heart...God took him up and let him see what he was missing. Then, not to leave him behind while the others got to go forward, God took him home and tenderly and personally buried him Himself. Then He recorded for all time that there has not been a prophet since in all Israel like Moses who the Lord knew FACE TO FACE!!

Not a bad epitaph for one who made so many mistakes. Sure wouldn't mind having that written on MY tombstone!

But Moses was not the only one that God used and favored in spite of their mistakes and failures.

Abraham ran ahead of God and had a child by his handmaiden [with the help of his wife of course]. He lied about who his wife was, not once but twice. Yet God called Abraham his friend.

David committed about every sin there is....yet God called David a man after His own heart.

Those are just to name a few.

So today if you feel like you've just blown it AGAIN and that God must be getting pretty tired of your miserable failures. Take heart from these and know that GOD LOVES YOU!

He loves you....

IMMEASUREABLY...........there are no limits to His love.

INFINITELY............forever and always

UNCONDITIONALLY.........no strings attached. Not "I'll love you IF" and not "If you do this wrong, I'll stop loving you". HE JUST LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!

His patience is not like ours. He never gives up on us. He never lets go.

Take heart, my friend. God isn't finished with you yet!!

GOD'S WAITING ROOM

WAITING.

Waiting is something no one likes to do, yet we all find ourselves having to wait from time to time.

We've all known what it is to wait in line at the grocery store, Walmart or the fast food place. You stand in line behind the skinny kid with stringy hair, chain dangling from his ripped back pocket and ear buds from his big ears so long that you could retrace the pattern on his wrinkled tee shirt in your sleep. But.....you KNOW that sooner or later you will reach the point where you pay and get to leave. Why? You always do.

You are rushing to your destination when suddenly traffic slows to a crawl then ultimately stops dead still. You crane your neck out the window and all you see for as far as you can see is a winding loop of cars and trucks. And...no one is moving! So you do what everyone else is doing...the only thing you CAN do. You wait. Why? Because you know from experience that eventually the wreck ahead will be cleared and traffic will once again move and you will be on your way, albeit two hours late.

The waiting room of a doctor's office is duly named. Because there you KNOW when you arrive you are going to wait. And, if your doctor happens to be one in particular that I know but who will remain unnamed, you KNOW that your wait will be at least four to five hours. And as frustrating as that is, you do know that in the end you will see him. How do you know that? Because you always do.

Being in God's waiting room is different. You do not always know what the end result is going to be. In fact, we rarely do. Nor do we know how long we are going to have to wait.

Take Abraham for instance. God told him his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, yet year after year, Sarah remained childless. Old age came upon them and it appeared that God had totally forgotten His promise. But then, at the ripe old age of ninety nine, the waiting ended and Isaac was born. Abraham was in God's waiting room for a very, very long time.

The children of Israel are another prime example of being in God's waiting room. When God led them out of Egypt he promised them a land "of milk and honey" in Canaan. It was a short journey from Egypt to Canaan, approximately 150 miles, and should not have taken them more than a month to get there had they taken the most direct route. But, God had other plans. His ways are not our ways. He had much to teach them along the way and, because they were slow learners, it took them forty years to get there!

However, the Jews that marched around Jericho for seven days...the Jews who blew the trumpet and shouted on the seventh day according to God's command....the Jews who saw the walls of Jericho fall down FLAT...were not the same Jews who left Egypt. They were not the same Jews who complained to Moses that they had been brought out in the desert to die. They were not the same Jews who complained about the food, longing for their leeks and garlic from Egypt. No, these Jews had seen God move in ways they had never dreamed. They had seen facets of His character never known to them before. They had learned that, indeed, he truly WAS the great I AM.

That was God's goal all along. It was not just to get them from point A to point B. It was to reveal to them His character. And when we are often in His waiting room, that is still His plan today.

God's character is multi-faceted just like a beautiful diamond. And every way you look at it reveals a different hue, a different dimension. He wants to reveal Himself to us so that we might enjoy the totality of WHO HE IS.

It is difficult being in His waiting room. We pray for some situation or someone we love, and then we wait....and wait.....and wait.....and wait. Sometimes we wait a short period. Sometimes it is for years. God does not keep us waiting to frustrate us or make us miserable. He waits to be gracious to us. I know...I know...it doesn't feel very gracious when you are the one waiting, I agree. But Isaiah 30:18 reveals God's purpose in waiting, "Therefore will the Lord wait, THAT He may be gracious unto you and therefore will HE be exalted that He may have mercy upon you..........blessed are all they who wait on Him."

So, the next time you find yourself in God's waiting room, know that He has you there to teach you more about Him and to glorify Him. After all, He knows the end from the beginning and He knows the plans He has for you, good plans, plans to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Therefore, My Friend, "wait on the Lord; be of good courage; and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait I say on the Lord." Psalm 27: 14