Christ' (s) Mass

Merry Christ Mass !

I love caroles in church, candle light service, lighting Advent candles, children's programs, family gatherings around a meal, fireplaces ablaze, hot chocolate, snow flakes, shepherds, choirs singing, nativity sets, hearing from far off friends and family, socializing, sharing and church bells ringing.

I detest Santa Claus, the crime, spoiled children, gimme gimme, rush rush, hurry hurry, got to get, drunken parties, debt, loneliness, presents, families arguing, wasted money, crime, stress, worry, credit, jealousy, trying to outdo last year, trying to out do your neighbor, ungratefulness, lay away, payments, travel delays, got to go, got to give, got to do and right now!

What have we done to Christmas?  If you take Christ out of Christmas, you have Mass.  What are we having a mass for?  Santa?   Heaven, save us!

I have to admit, there are a few things on my hate list that I can get caught up in.  It is all around us.  You don't dare attack Santa or "Christmas" openly.  You could get eggs thrown at you.  Yet, so many will admit they hate to see it come.  



 



Let's step back and take a good look at how we have come to "celebrate" the birth of the perfect man who sacrificed himself to a horrific death so we would be saved to eternal life through the grace of God.  

 What does any of this have to do with that precious man?

What are we doing to our children?

If we are going to continue to celebrate with such selfish disregard for our Savior, let's at least take His name out of it.

A little food for thought:
Amos 5:21-23, Hosea 2:11, Mt. 15:3, Colos. 2:8



Let us make an effort to remember Jesus on His birthday. 

Amen

All About Your Stuff

Everyone has stuff.  What sort of stuff do you have?  What kind of stuff do you want?  Is there any stuff that you have that you don't want?  Is there stuff you don't have that you do want?  What will you do with the stuff you don't want?  What do you do with the stuff you do want?

People want stuff.  Some of the stuff they want, they need.  Much of the stuff we have, we don't need.  So, why do we have the stuff we don't need?  Do we use our stuff to show off or show our stuff is better than the stuff of other people?  My stuff is better than your stuff.

What do you do with your stuff?  Do you use your stuff?  What do you use your stuff for?  Do you need your stuff to survive?  Do you need your stuff to be healthy?  Do you need your stuff to help others who don't have stuff?

Do your kids want your stuff?  Are they asking for your stuff when you are gone?  Do you have an attorney to make a will to say who gets your stuff?  Do they argue over who gets what of your stuff?  Will they go to court to get your stuff?  Will your family be torn apart over your stuff?  Or, do you have stuff that no one wants?

Does your stuff make you happy?  Do you enjoy having your stuff?  Does it make you feel all warm and fuzzy to have your stuff?  Does your stuff satisfy you or give you meaning?  Does your stuff give you purpose or sustain your life?

If not, you just might need more stuff.  Of course!  We all know that having stuff will make us happy, so we work to get stuff.  Some people cheat, lie and steal to get stuff.  Sometimes they go to jail because of their stuff.  When we get the stuff we want - to make us happy, we find we are not happy with the stuff we thought we wanted.  What do we do?  We get more stuff!  The stuff we had did not make us happy so more stuff will make us happy, so we work longer and harder to get more stuff.  When we get more stuff, do we find we are soon unhappy with our new stuff?   Do we really need to get more stuff?

We go to resale shops, malls, yard sales, markets, dealers, sales, discounts, the internet, auctions, stores and warehouses to get more stuff.  We buy other people's stuff.  We trade for stuff.  We look high and low for bargains in order to have more stuff.  The one with the most stuff at the end, wins.

What if the stuff we buy doesn't work?  There is the issue of returning stuff we decide we don't like, want or doesn't fit.  Maybe the new stuff is the wrong size or color or just doesn't work like we wanted it to.  We have to return our stuff and have the bill adjusted with the rebate, on our credit card, stand in line and wait, with other people who are returning stuff.

What if our stuff gets broken?  We have to file a complaint, return it or ship our stuff for the company to repair our stuff.  Then we wait for our stuff to be returned.  Meanwhile, we rent other stuff to use while our stuff is repaired.  We pay someone to repair our stuff so we can display, insure, store and inventory our stuff.

When we have stuff, we have to clean our stuff so we buy stuff to clean our stuff.  We have to put our stuff someplace so when we fill our home with our stuff, we have to rent a facility to store our extra stuff.

Someone else might want to take our stuff so we have to buy insurance to replace our stuff and a security system to guard  our stuff.  Then, we inventory our stuff so we don't forget what stuff we have.  Sometimes, we even photograph our stuff.

We could have a sale to get rid of some of our stuff.  (Now here is a revelation!)  Then, we have to decide which stuff to get rid of.  Which of our stuff do we really need and which of our stuff should we sell?  Do we need the stuff we think we need or do we just want it?  Is it sentiment that has us keeping our stuff?  Is it the cost that has us keeping our stuff?  Maybe it is the hope that someday our stuff will be worth more than what we paid for our stuff.  Then we have to go to our inventory to find where we put our stuff, get our stuff, clean our stuff and decide how to sell our stuff.  

If we have a yard sale, we have to clean, sort and price our stuff.  If we sell to a dealer or collector, we have to prove the value of our stuff so we pay to have our stuff appraised.  If we take our stuff to a resale store, we have to clean, sort and value our stuff.  Then we have to keep a running inventory of our stuff.  If we want to sell in a craft mall, we have to pay rent for the space to sell our stuff and spend time, and money, creating a display for our stuff.  We will have to purchase more stuff to exhibit the stuff we are selling.  We can create a virtual store on one of the many selling web sites created for selling stuff.  Then, we have to set up the virtual store, charge tax, do shipping and pay taxes to the government on our former stuff. 


You will never see a U-Haul truck behind a 
hearst.
A coffin is not big enough to hold all of your stuff.
More stuff will not get you any priority in heaven.
Money is the least of God's blessings


The only things we keep forever are those we GIVE AWAY.
Amen

Be An Example, James 1:27

I was shopping with a friend one day when she sped up her car to keep me from handing a couple dollars to a man on side of the road with a sign asking for food money.  She explained to me that so many people in the city, asking for financial help don't actually need it; they are con artist.  I will admit she has a point.  There are just such people out there taking advantage of the good spirit of many. 

To prove a point, I went to Strong's Concordance and looked up the word "give".  There are five pages of verses with the word "give" quoted.  That does not even include "giver", "given" or "giving".  Of course, there are more verses about what God gives to us than those commanding us to give.  However, if God can give us so much, shouldn't we pass along to others?

Here are a few of those verses:
Gen 14:20- Then Abraham GAVE Melchizedek a tenth of everything
Pro 25:21 - If your enemy is hungry, give him food
Mt 10:8 - freely you have received, freely give
Mk 6:37 - Give them something to eat
Mk 10:21 - Give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven
Mk 12:17 - Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's
Lk 6:30 - Give to everyone who asks of you
Lk 11:9 - Ask and it will be given you
Acts 3:6 - Peter offered all he had
Ro 12:20 - If your enemy is thirsty, give him something to drink
Jms 2:16 - Help with physical needs
Jms 1:27  (My personal favorite)  Pure religion is caring for widows and orphans


Although we need to discern in our giving (that's just being responsible with what we have), nowhere are we told to question who we give to or what they will do with what we give.  We are merely told to give to others, especially if they ask of us.

With some American Indian blood running through my veins, I am reminded of a teaching from my youth that says:  When you have a successful hunt, you are to share with anyone who asks.  During the days when I was returning from a successful art show, I remember many times there were people with signs, asking for help.  In Iowa, I was approached in a parking garage for food for a hungry family.  Stopping for gas on I-70, I was asked for a donation for cleaning my windshield.  I laughed to myself as I drove off with a windshield dirtier than when the man started.  

In Ohio, I was looking for a place to have breakfast and called to a man, on the corner, with a sign to join me.  It was a fascinating meal, listening to him talk about high school and his family.  The waitresses all knew him.  It seems he frequented this particular corner.  He ate breakfast and ordered lunch to go.

Times when I was not asked:  There was the faces of three boys in a dollar store who were short some change to pay for a couple trinkets, when I made up the difference.  Or the Indian boys, in Oklahoma, who had only pennies for ice cream that cost more than a dollar.  They were amazed to get help for the sweet treat. 

I remember a woman in a diner in South Dakota trying to get attention to be seated and being ignored.  She was not dirty, just an old Indian woman, with a couple dollars for pie and coffee.  I sat her down with me and demanded a menu for her.  It was enlightening to listen to her talk about her life on the reservation and where she lived now.  She had ordered a four course meal with lots of coffee, boxed up everything she could not finish, along with desert, and asked for quarters to do her laundry.  I wrote her name in my Bible so to never forget and still pray for that poor unfortunate.

This text is not written to brag but to show an example, ITim 4:12.  Many, many people do so much more than my occasional small treats.  My point is that we do not have to give huge amounts to impact someone.  And, I was rewarded by being so well entertained.  People have stories we are not aware of.  It takes our mind off ourselves for a few minutes and reminds us that others also suffer and so often more than we do.  I need to help others to keep myself humble. 

Amen

That Dirty Word

"Tithe"

This is not a popular practice for many of us.  We can always use that tenth for another bill, shoes or car repair.  Fact: It actually belongs to God in the first place..

Tithing is a 10th of what we have already been given. Nu 18:26  We receive it first, then we give part of it.  A 10th is a very small part of the whole, which is everything we have: health, home, job, friends, family, clothing and food.  People tend to forget that God freely gives us all these things.  They are not ours to begin with.  He gives us and ask that we reserve 10% of that to hand back to Him.  This is what He asks us to do to acknowledge that He is provider; the one we should come to for everything.  He wants to give and bless.  He wants us to acknowledge Him as the source.

What the Bible says about tithing:  Gen 14:20, Gen 28:22, Lev 27:32, Pro 3:9, Heb 7:2 & 4

Our children are a blessing from Him.  How do we give a tenth of our children?  Caring for them as though we will give them back - like the parable of the talents; or, Samuel's mother, Hannah. 

The tithe is not only on the physical items we have but also peace, health, the air we breathe, life itself and on and on and on.  We do not have any of these things if God does not first give them to us.  What about our calling?  We are called by God to an understanding of Him; to be His children He wants to love and care for.  How do we give a tenth of these things?  By showing appreciation; by serving others.

Another gift from God is Jesus; our greatest blessing.  How do we give a tenth of that ! ?   Ans:  Jms 1:27

The 10th is so little.  The suggested tip for a waitress today is more.  It is a mere token to show God we acknowledge Him and appreciate all He has done, is doing and will do for us.

Giving to others:  Giving is a wonderful thing.  You cannot give a gift and tell the receiver what to do with it.  I see this happen so often.  You give something to a friend who gives it to her daughter.  You meant the gift for your friend.  She gave it away.  That makes us feel our gift was unappreciated. 

It is the act of giving that is our reward.  We are blessed when we give.  After that, we have no more connection with the gift.  Anything, anytime we give, we are blessed for the act of giving.  Why would you want to deny your friend that same blessing?

God never lets us do without.  If I give food to a food drive or take half my supper to a sick neighbor, I never notice a bare spot in my pantry.  I have never done without because I gave.  As matter of fact, I have more because I give.  This makes it easier to give more food.  The more I give, the more I have to give.  God works this way to allow us to share His blessings.  Mal 3:10

The blessings of giving are not always tangible just as all of God's blessings are not tangible: mercy, grace, forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life.

Discerning where to give is important.  ("Do not cast your pearls before swine.")  I try not to give to someone just because I like them.  They may not need as much as someone I don't socially see eye to eye with.  I try not to give to a person who does not make effort to help their self.  Giving to that person who is making an honest effort to work and do better for their family, is discernment.  The issue is:  If I give to a person who is a chronic taker, the truly needy will do without my help.  After all, my ability to give has a limit.

We tithe to the church (the bride of Christ).  Here is a different issue:  We are NOT to discern giving to the church (as long as the church teaches Jesus from the Bible).  All too often people are too concerned with how the church operates and distributes it's funds.  We are told to give - NOT to tell the church how to operate.  The church is set up, according to Biblical instruction, on how to perform.  Let's stop all the voting and have faith in our church leaders to "run the show".  That's why they are there.  The pastor is a pastor because God allows him to be the pastor - no matter what you think of his ability as a speaker, or the music, during worship service.

HEAVEN WILL NOT BE A DEMOCRACY !


What we are giving is not ours.  It is first given to us from God. 
Immeasurable blessings will come to you by being grateful.  God appreciates a cheerful giver.  We are reminded of the rich man who would not give up what he had to gain heaven and the widow who gave the last of all she had.

May you share your blessings and reap the rich rewards from your loving Heavenly Father.
Amen