Ramblings and Reflections

Happy one year anniversary for the publication of my book, A Message to Deliver. There’s just a couple of days left to get your name in the drawing for a free copy. Five copies will be given away. Simply LIKE or comment on this and you’ll be added to the list of prospective winners.

Remember those cafeteria dinner plates? They were divided into sections– the bigger one for the main entree, the smaller ones for your dessert, veggies and potatoes.

With that said, I have to make a confession. I am prejudice. Wow! Wash my mouth out with soap and throw me in prison. But you know what? I believe everyone is prejudice in some way or another. Everyone pre-judges others by some worldly standard. White or black, rich or poor, male or female, young or old, Democrat or Republican, Patriot’s fan or evil Steelers fan (Whoops. How’d that slip in there?).

There are soooo many ways we categorize other people and draw conclusions about them.

Our country is being ripped apart by our prejudices. Look at the recent happenings in Baltimore. How many people (ON BOTH SIDES) drew their conclusions on skin color, political party, or how a twisted media portrayed the situation, BUT NOT ON THE
FACTS? And look at the results- A city burned and people were hurt.

We are divided by our own prejudices. Rich people are all evil, poor people don’t want to work, hispanics are all illegal aliens . . . You know what? I could go on and on, but I hope you get the point. All ludicrous statements.

Our melting pot has become more like the cafeteria dinner plates. We classify people, delegating them to the main entree section, or one of the smaller areas. You stay in your area. I’ll stay in mine. Not only that, my area is better than yours. This is not good!

Christians Must Identify as Christians.       We are not black. We are not white. We are not rich or poor. We are Christians. This isn’t easy. I’ll admit, I make automatic assumptions about people based on what they are. But don’t go all high and mighty on me. I guarantee you toss people in their dinner plate section, too.

The wonderful truth of the matter is, JESUS is not Prejudiced.

Galatians 3:27-28 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

My dinner plate analogy breaks down in the following way. In the real dinner plate, the items you separate are truly different. Peas are different from hamburg or potatoes. They not only look different, but on the inside they ARE different. However, people are all the same. We may look different on the outside (skin color, language spoken, wealth, job skills, etc.) but on the inside we are the same– SINNERS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR.

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus sees beyond everything else, and to our need?

Yes, our society is fractured. But Christians need to see with the eyes of Jesus. He is the answer to what ails us. Not laws or political parties. Not divisions by skin color or financial class. Not revolution to overthrow the bad people. Nope. True change will happen when Christians see only two divisions – Those who have Jesus, and those who need Him. Those who have Jesus we should treat as brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who need Jesus we should reach out to with love and the message of the gospel.

Plain and simple. Throw out the cafeteria plates.

I surrender! I give in to the great white fluff, pressing on my brain. Last night, as I gazed from my window at the snowy white landscape, which looked more like an image of the moon than my front yard, I feverishly worked to create things to do with the snow. Not normal things. Oh no. We need fun things . . . Wild things . . . Things that bubble the brain and excite the imagination! Things that match my snow madness.

Here are my top three.

1. THE MYSTERIOUS SNOWMAN   Sneak over to your neighbor’s front door at two o’clock in the morning, and build a snowman. Make sure it’s so close to his door, he can’t get out without running into it. Make it as ominous looking as you can. Perhaps place a sign in its hands which reads, “The End is Near” or “Have You Hugged a Snowman Today?” or “We’re Watching You”. Then ring the bell and run! If you have a neighbor who’s been bugging you in some way (loud music, a dirty yard, etc.), it’s even more fun.

2. THE DISNEY DANCE        Reenact “Let it Go” from Frozen. Put on a gown and dance around your yard, while you build a giant ice castle. With a fist raised to the sky, scream out, “The cold never bothered me, anyway.” I did this and surprisingly the neighbor called the police. FYI- It was the same neighbor who’d found a mysterious snowman on their porch at 2 AM. Will wonders never cease.

3. THE AMAZING, GIANT DOG (with a bladder problem)    Get a fifty gallon jug of yellow food coloring. Where can you find this? I’m not sure. Probably one of the big box stores. Once you’ve acquired the goods, you have two options. Either soak your neighbor’s yard or soak your own yard with the stuff. If you choose your neighbor, it will be revenge for him calling the police on you, simply because he’s not a fan of Disney songs. If you soak your own, you can call the police yourself. When they show up, you should have this amazed, mortified, the-martians-are-landing kind of look on your face, as you proclaim, “You should have seen the size of the beast that left this.”

That’s all I have. If you think of more creative uses for snow, let me know.

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Each New Years, people make resolutions. Check these out.
Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), from the Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.

Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.

Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.

Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

What? You say you’re a Christmas expert? You actually know valuable information like when tinsel was invented? Then test that knowledge by answering the following questions. After you’re done, check your answers down below. See how many you got right.

No fair peeking at the answers ahead of time. If you do, Santa will leave coal in your crisper. Not a nice thing.

1. What year was the poem, “The Night Before Christmas”, by Clement Clark Moore, published?
A. 1822      B. 1876      C. 1901     D. 1923

2. Which two Bible books tell the nativity story?
A. Luke, John      B. Matthew, Luke       C. Matthew, Mark      D. Paul, Luigi

3. In the TV Special, “A Charlie Brown’s Christmas”, what did Lucy want for Christmas?

4. What was John the Baptist’s mom’s name?
A. Priscilla     B. Elizabeth     C. Sarah     D. Mrs. Baptist

5. What was the name of George Bailey’s hometown in “It’s a Wonderful Life”?

6. Who told the wise men to find the baby Jesus and bring word back to him?
A. Herod     B. Jay Leno     C. Caesar     D. Joseph (He went for a walk after JESUS was born, and got kind of lost)

7. In “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” what was the dog’s name?

8. What did my true love give me on the ninth day of Christmas?

9. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but where did Mary and Joseph come from?
A. Jerusalem     B. Nazareth     C. Jericho     D. Egypt

10. What year was the film “White Christmas” released?

NO PEEKING! GET YOUR ANSWERS STRAIGHT BEFORE READ ON.

Are you ready for the answers? Here they are.

1. A. 1822! Yes, that’s right. It’s that old. This poem was a Christmas Eve favorite at our house. My kids always wondered about the “Threw up the sash” part. What in the world is sash? And why did it make the fella sick?

2. B. Matthew and Luke. The other two Gospels begin at different times in Jesus’ life. Mark begins his story with the baptism of Jesus. John takes us all the way back to the beginning, pointing us go the deity of Jesus.

3. The young girl was smart. The answer- Real Estate.

4. Though I really like the answer “Mrs. Baptist”, the real answer is B. Elizabeth.

5. Bedford Falls. So just like George Bailey, you should run around your neighborhood on Christmas Eve, shouting, MERRY CHRISTMAS, BEDFORD FALLS! I do this every year. The neighbors love it! They even call the police to give me an escort. Isn’t that nice of them?

6. A. Herod. The man was insane. His motivation for seeking the King of kings was murder! Thankfully, God warned the wisemen to head for the hills!

7. That cute little pup’s name was Max.

8. If your answer was Nine ladies dancing, you’re wrong! Look at what the song says. “On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle dove, and a partridge in a pear tree.”

9. B. Nazareth

10. 1954. It’s a classic, well worth watching. I always tear up a little in the last scene.

That’s all she wrote. Tally up your correct answers. We asked Rudolph to come up with a scale to measure your Christmas know-how.

If you got-

10 Answers Correct, but you looked them up on the internet, or asked your mother for help. Bad. bad, bad. Santa says that’s like cheating off someone else’s paper on a test.

0 Answers Correct,  you deserve coal in your crisper.

1 to 3 Answers Correct,  you’re a Christmas Elf- Fourth Class. You gotta try harder.

4 to 6 Answers Correct,  Hurray! Get yourself some figgie pudding and eggnog. You’re on the way to Christmas Quiz Greatness.

7 to 8 Answers Correct,  you are so good, you can add a slice of fruit cake to the egg nog and figgie pudding.

9 Answers Correct, you are an Elf-First Class!

A Perfect Score. Wow! You deserve a ride on Santa’s sleigh!

So how did you do? Leave a comment and let me know.