Mark Beeson

"Merry Christmas" from Our Family to Yours

 

 

Sheila and I watched a Red Fox walk past our house at dawn. It's Christmas morning so it was wearing its most impressive and luxurious winter coat.

This is the first time Sheila has seen a fox in the wild, so we went from window-to-window, keeping pace with the fox as it moved past the house and into the woods. We're hoping it's one of a mated-pair, as that would increase the probabilities our grand-kids will see a fox sometime this week. If they see one, it'll be a memorable moment and a "good thing." 

We're making memories.

I'm praying God's blessing will be lavished on our little family ... and yours. Whether you're in a season of sorrow or celebration, this morning I asked our Heavenly Father to bless your family with the "good things" God promises those who serve Him. 

Merry Christmas!

May your "family always be blessed." 

 

2 Samuel 7:28-29  -  Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you always. Lord God, you have said so. With your blessing let my family always be blessed.

 

 

LET'S GO AND SEE FOR OURSELVES!

 

 

We've all heard the saying, "Good News won't walk. It runs!"  

So I wasn't surprised that my granddaughter Lydia jumped up and ran when she heard she could "come and look in the manger" with the other children in her Early Learning Center program last week.

Lydia's quick reaction to her invitation made me think of the shepherds' response to theirs. The angel told them, "A Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord." They "made haste," to find the "Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

Today we're able to invite our family and friends to any of GCC's 10 Christmas Eve Worship Services to "see (for themselves) this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." We'll spend one hour together in a very simple service. We'll sing familiar Christmas songs, listen to Bible readings of the Christmas Story and light candles as we sing Silent Night. 

Come.

Let us adore HIM, Christ the LORD. 

 

Luke 2:10-15  -  The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

 

A Happy Memory

 

 

Years ago, back when I used a Nikon and shot film, my family went to my mom's house every year for Thanksmas, a marvelous blending of Thanksgiving and Christmas intended to help our dispersed family congregate before the busiest days of the holidays kicked into high gear.

Those were marvelous times together, filled with laughter and joy.

The year I took this picture (which we scanned a few days ago for Isaac's Memorial Service), we were surprised by an early season snowstorm. We grabbed some old sleds from Mom's garage and went to the park where I went sledding as a little boy.

The old sleds worked and we had a grand day together, flying down the snowy hills on ancient wooden SPEEDAWAYs that were never intended to hold piles of laughing children stacked on board. The only time I remember the kids hitting the Pause Button was when their Grandma jumped on a sled, sped down the hill and crashed into a tree. Luckily, those were the days when the accepted remedy for all minor injuries was to "put ice on it." There was plenty of ice available and Grandma was fine.

I love looking at this picture of Josh, Isaac, Amber and Aaron. I love it. I love that I was there to take it. I love that I kept it. I love the memories it brings back to me every time I look at it.

Cherish your days friends. Make the most of them and never wish them away, hoping they'll pass more quickly so you can jump right into the days you presume lie ahead. Who knows how many days lie ahead? I'm guessing it's better to make the most of this day than to assume you'll be able to wait and give your best effort tomorrow.

These Days of Christmas will pass and "just like that" they'll become memories to look back on with gratitude or regret; the choice is ours.

 

1 Thessalonians 6b-8  -  It’s especially gratifying to know that you continue to think well of us, and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you! In the middle of our trouble and hard times here, just knowing how you’re doing keeps us going. Knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive. 

 

We'll be Together Again in a Little While

 

 - A picture I took of Isaac Hunter (1977-2013) with his daughter Jada -

I’ve been thinking …

Most of us over-estimate the number of days we’ll be able to hold on to each other in this life and we under-estimate the number of days we’ll spend together in heaven.  Maybe that’s why it’s so grievous to learn our days with someone we love here have been fulfilled. It’s difficult when we had imagined we’d have more days with them here and we’re suddenly aware we’ll be missing the “tomorrows” we’d assumed would be ours.

The last week has been a week of sorrow for my family. 

We learned the “tomorrows” we’d expected to enjoy with my nephew Isaac here, are rescheduled to be enjoyed there, where GOD promises we will be together “with the LORD forever.”  I wish we could share more days together here too. There is no doubt. I will miss my Isaac for a little while - as will so many of his family and friends. Our days with him here have run their course.

Proverbs says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”  

Each day that we stretch out our hands to embrace those we love, we’re holding on to a sacred treasure, so during the brief time we’re here together, it would be wise to actually be together and make every moment count.  

Love well today. Our “tomorrows” will be here soon enough.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18  -  “The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.”

 

 

St. Catherine's Bell Tower, Mount Sinai

 

 

 

... The church is Catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. When she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that body which is my head too, and ingrafted into that body whereof I am a member.  And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; but how much more me, ...

- John Donne -

 

1 Corinthians 12:25b-27  -  All the parts care for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. ... You are all a part of the body of Christ.

 

 

Linking a "Good King" & GOD's Peace

 

 

2 Chronicles 14:2-7  -  "Asa was a good king. He did things right in God’s eyes. He cleaned house: got rid of the pagan altars and shrines, smashed the sacred stone pillars, and chopped down the sex-and-religion groves (Asherim). He told Judah to center their lives in God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the commandments. Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. Because the land was quiet and there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God kept the peace.

Asa said to his people, “While we have the chance and the land is quiet, let’s build a solid defense system, fortifying our cities with walls, towers, gates, and bars. We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles.” So they built and enjoyed prosperity." 

 

Doing More Than You Can Do

 

 

"Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them."  - Patrick Henry, from "The Southern Literary Messenger," quoted in Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence, and Speeches (1891)

 

Our progress isn’t always determined by our personal limitations. Sometimes we can do more than we can do because we get help. It’s when we refuse to ask for help that our personal limitations define our possibilities.

A few years ago I hiked up Mt. Sinai with a bunch of guys from GCC.  I was packing 27 pounds of camera gear when dawn broke and we left St. Catherine’s Monastery.

What was I thinking?

Before we’d gone a mile I knew I didn’t have the strength to make it to the top of the mountain carrying that much stuff.

I looked around for help and saw these camels. 

It occurred to me that GOD probably created these critters to haul my photography gear up Mt. Sinai so I accepted the help GOD put right in front of me. I hired a camel and that ol’ dromedary packed a virtual photographer’s studio up the mountain, easily bearing the burden that had so recently limited me.

This Advent Season I've been thinking about helping: thanking GOD for all willingly helping me and asking GOD for strength and courage so I can help others. 

• How can I be GOD’s provision to help someone past their personal limitations?
• Will I accept GOD’s provision to do what I can’t do without HIM?

The INCARNATION involves more than guidance for the confused or therapy for the sick; GOD came in the CHRIST to give us life when we were far beyond sick and confused; we were dead in sin.

GOD saves us because we need a Savior then helps us help one another.

 

Psalm 119:144-149

Your statutes are always righteous;
give me understanding that I may live.
I call with all my heart; 
answer me, Lord, and I will obey your decrees. 
I call out to you; 
save me and I will keep your statutes. 
I rise before dawn and cry for help; 
I have put my hope in your word.
My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.
Hear my voice in accordance with your love.

 

A Goat Just Isn't Enough

 

 -  Baby Rocky Mountain Goat / Oreamnos americanus  -

 

Hebrews 10:4 &19-23  -  It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ... Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 

 

Mandela's Resolve Under a Surface of Dissent

 

 

“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 

 

Nelson Mandela was responsible for much of the success of South Africa's anit-apartheid movement. He acted on his convictions. He suffered for acting on his convictions. He forgave those who made him suffer for acting on his convictions. He was a truly remarkable man.

Mandela's death this afternoon seems to have people comparing their lives to his. Nobody wants to be all-talk and no-action. I've heard several say: "I wish I was more like Nelson Mandela."

No doubt. But nobody ends up "like Nelson Mandela" because they "wish" they were like him. 

Anyone "wishing" to be "like" this man, this symbol of resistance, this world-wide icon of struggle against apartheid, must be willing to suffer - and after suffering, to offer forgiveness, reconciliation and amnesty to your enemies.

Mandela became Mandela because he traveled the roads Mandela traveled, endured the isolation he endured, suffered the decades of imprisonment he suffered and after all that, forgave the enemies he forgave. His decisions and actions changed his world. 

"Wishing" doesn't change things; action changes things: things around you and things inside you. Behaving (taking steps one way or another) changes you!

A "long walk" lies ahead for those willing to accept responsibility and stand against injustice. 

 

Proverbs 24:23  -  It’s wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.

 

 

Doing What We Know We Should Do

 

 

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."  - Helen Keller, from The Open Door (1957)

 

Since our Men's Breakfast & Book Study this morning, I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about a passage of scripture from 1 Chronicles 12:32: "The Men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do." 

I can't imagine a better time than this time for doing what we know we should do.

 

2 Samuel 10:12  -  Be strong. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God.

 

A Brief Word of Encouragement …

 

 

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."  -  Martin Luther King Jr., from Strength to Love (1963)

 

Maybe you are having one of those days when you face a great challenge or you need to make a tough decision that's sure to result in controversy, and you're not sure you'll get through the whole process unscathed. You feel the knot in your stomach tightening as you wonder whether you're the Apex-Predator at the top of the Food Chain.

I have some news for you. 

You are not the Apex-Predator at the top of the Food Chain.

• You're not the Lord of all you see. 
• You're not the One upon whom everything depends.
• You're not the King of the Universe.
• You are not GOD.

GOD is GOD; you aren't.

So I encourage you to start your week with two simple questions that'll help you face facts. Ask yourself, "What do I know to be true about me?" And ask yourself, "What do I know to be true about GOD?"

The Truth is your friend.

• When you know the Truth, you're less inclined to pick up burdens you were never meant to bear.
• When you know the Truth, you don't eagerly accept the blame people want you to carry because you're not meeting their addled expectations.
• When you know the Truth, you discover it comes into your life bringing a bit of Wisdom along with it. And Wisdom provides more than facts; Wisdom offers guidance.

Knowing the Truth doesn't guarantee you won't walk into a "bear" of a problem this week. It doesn't guarantee you won't walk into the "teeth" of a Big-Hairy-Audacious-Controversy as you pursue your Big-Hairy-Audacious-Goals. The Truth is - if you're doing anything worthy of your time and effort - you probably will face a "time of challenge" in the days ahead.

Don't be afraid. The Wisdom that comes along with knowing the Truth helps you make good choices. Wisdom counsels against the knuckle-headed foolishness and idiotic behavior that can get you killed for no good reason (and yes, for those of you wondering about this, occasionally there are good reasons to put yourself in a situation that can get you killed). Wisdom doesn't make you the Apex-Predator at the top of the Food Chain but it can keep you from acting like you are when you aren't.

Don't be foolish. Be faithful.

Get Wisdom and take responsibility for your responsibilities. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and HE will guide you. Submit to the Way, the Truth and the Life and the rest of your days will be the best of your days - even if "times of challenge and controversy" lie ahead.

 

 Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will direct your paths.