A Kindred Heart

This morning I filled out registration papers for a Brittany Spaniel. This particular dog comes from a good bloodline and has a fancy name that is part of her legacy. Before I mail the application I’ll write a check to send with it. What does all this accomplish? Well, supposedly the dog is worth more because of her bloodline and the fact that she’s registered. Truth be told, a dog is still a dog. The paper work or the money won’t make her a champion hunting dog.

What about Christians? Is there such a thing as a purebred Christian? While there are no registration papers to fill out and no check required (the price has already been paid by Jesus on the cross) we can strive to be pure and we can be Christians. But truth be told, we are still only human. Our parents and grandparents may have been faithful Christians but that doesn’t make us purebred Christians. Each man and woman has to answer for themselves.

Christianity is not something I can “give” my children and grandchildren. I can tell them about Jesus. I can show them how he works in my life, but ultimately they have to want it for themselves. 

Christians are like the Brittany Spaniel in that we need someone to spend time teaching us, training us and helping us when we make mistakes. Will we all become champion bird dogs…I mean Christians, we can if our hearts are willing. It doesn’t matter who our parents were, if we are rich or poor, if we have a fancy pedigree or not.  Jesus died for ALL.

Think about it and let me know your thoughts!

What did you do in 2008? Did you climb a mountain? Swim the English Channel? Run a marathon? I didn’t do anything as monumental as these things but I did manage to stay busy. No matter what we did in 2008 it doesn’t hold a candle to what Christ did for us.

 He came, he lived, he died on a cross for our sins and he IS coming again.

The first step in finding peace and salvation is believing.

Read his prayer to his father in Matthew chapter 11.

²⁵Then Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. ²⁶Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!

²⁷“My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²⁸Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.

 Whatever else you do in 2009 if you don’t know Christ, get to know him. Read about him in the Bible and attend church services to learn more. Make time to find out what he teaches and what he did for all mankind.

Make 2009 the year you find peace for your soul and eternal salvation!

This morning a man came to my house to deliver some rugs. We made polite conversation and I wished him a Merry Christmas. “I just want Christmas to be over,” he said. I didn’t have to guess why. I didn’t know him well but I knew his mother had died sometime during the year.

“You’re missing your mother, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “She died in October. She was the one who made the holidays special for us all. It’s really hard to act happy and cheerful when that’s not how I feel at all.”

I knew exactly what he meant. My mom died in July of 1990. That first Christmas without her was miserable. Our children were little then, so I held it together and went through the motions, but my heart was so heavy that I just wanted it to be over.

I have another friend whose mom has terminal cancer. Her mother has exhausted all her treatment options and decided to forgo any more chemo. More than likely this is her last Christmas and that’s a difficult situation as well. Mom’s last Christmas with us was almost as hard as the next year. 

This year as you celebrate the holidays if you know someone whose heart is aching, reach out to them. Let them know you are thinking of them and praying for them. Tell them about Jesus and how he can help them through difficult times.

   I remember the holiday season of 1990 like it was yesterday. At the time it feels as if you will never know joy again. It feels like every Christmas will be unbearable. It’s been 18 years and while I still miss my mother and think of her daily (today would have been her birthday) the ache in my heart has been replaced with the warmth of memories. I am able to give thanks for the blessing she was to all who knew her and especially to her family. I take comfort in knowing she was a Christian and that while I can’t see her again on earth, I can be with her one day in heaven.

 

I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas. I’m saying a special prayer today for all those who may be reading this with an ache in their heart and missing someone they lost this year or holding the hand of someone who may not be here next year. I love writing for A Kindred Heart and love hearing from readers!                                                                                    

 

Remember the real reason for the season and celebrate Jesus today, tomorrow and forever.

Every day we are given opportunities to share his name and the good news of his birth, life and resurrection, but if we aren’t careful we don’t take advantage of those opportunities. Why? Sometimes we don’t think about it, we forget. Others times we may assume that folks really don’t want to hear about Jesus. It’s much easier to talk about the weather or what’s showing at the movie theater.

Instead of assuming that people don’t want to hear, why not ask? The worst that could happen would be that they would refuse, and who knows, they may think about the offer and reconsider later.

Think of the good news of Jesus as a beautifully wrapped package with a wonderful gift inside. It’s so precious you can’t wait to share it. It’s so beautiful you know they’ll be thrilled when they see it. It’s so perfect that you want everyone you come in contact with to experience the same joy it brings you.

Now take that package and give it to someone. They may not take it, but if they do, oh what a difference it will make in their lives!

So many folks across the United States are without power due to crippling ice storms. I can’t help but note the similarity to being without electricity to living without God in your life. If ever there was and is a true source of power…it is God almighty! How sad to think that so many souls refuse to even acknowledge him. And then there are thousands, probably millions, more folks who acknowledge the source but don’t bother to connect to him.

How is that possible? Through his son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

What is it like without electricity/God in your life? Beyond darkness. The type of darkness you feel. The kind where you literally can not see your hand in front of your face. Frightening blackness that paralyzes and confuses souls. A place where evil exists and runs rampant.

Joh 3:20 - [In Context|Read Chapter]

What is it like for those who do plug in to the source? They walk in light and truth and goodness! They have peace that passes all understanding. They are forgiven, the saved and they will go home to glory with Jesus when he comes again, and he is coming again!

There are some differences between electricity and God, of course. We pay for electricity with a monthly bill, but the price of salvation has already been paid. It is a free gift.

It’s our choice-darkness, sin and death or a free gift of eternal life.

Choose God. Choose to come to him through Jesus. Choose to plug into his power. It is the greatest gift ever given.

Have you ever stood on the other side of a two way mirror? I once worked in a grocery where there was a mirror and behind it the store owners could watch customers without them knowing they were there. Believe me, customers often did things I don’t think they would have if they knew someone was watching.

What about us? Do we do things we shouldn’t when we think no one is looking? Last Saturday I slipped on an icy sidewalk and fell. One of the first things I did was look around to see if anyone saw me fall. They didn’t, but God did. He’s always there, always watching, and he sees us every time we stumble and every time we fall. The good news is he sent his only son to die on a cross for our sins and that son is coming back for us one day!  No matter how many times I stumble and fall, he will still love me. He will still take me back! Oh what a blessing that is!

Every December, I vow that this year things will be different and every year I do the same thing. I rush from one store to another in an effort to find items I can mark off my list of gifts to purchase. Add to this the frenzy of ball games and events we attend, then mix in late-night gift-wrapping sessions and grocery shopping. By the time Christmas Day arrives, you can find me beneath the Christmas tree covered with torn wrapping paper, passed out from exhaustion.

In the past, I have tried to talk my family into packing up and going away for the holidays. No gifts, no cooking, just rest and relaxation and enjoying each other’s company. So far, I haven’t been able to convince them this is a good idea, and I sort of understand. There are a few family traditions that are too special to change.

Most of us have memories of growing up and waking to the wonder of a beautiful tree surrounded by stacks of presents. In our memories, Christmas was a magical holiday, mainly because our mothers were doing the work and all we had to do was show up and eat.

This year, the world is an economic mess. The idea of going out and buying gifts for people who already have enough of everything holds no appeal. Last year, my best friend gave me a very unusual Christmas present. I opened up a card to find a slip of paper inside that said something like, “Congratulations, you now own a goat.” The goat is in Africa and belongs to a family who needs the goat much more than I need new dishes or knickknacks.

Christmas at the Kindred house this year will be a scaled-down version of years past. I can cut back, but I don’t have the heart to cut out those things that are near and dear to my children’s hearts. One thing I can do, though, is follow my friend’s example. This Christmas, somewhere in Africa someone is getting a new goat.

You can purchase animals for needy families from several world-aid organizations, including www.heifer.com (click on “Heifer International Charity”).

Another friend of mine chose to celebrate by visiting www.compassion.com and sponoring a child in need.

There are angel trees in every community filled with children’s names who won’t get gifts if someone doesn’t adopt them for the holiday season.

Nursing homes encourage folks to adopt a grandparent and make the holidays more meaningful for one of their residents.

However you choose to celebrate, remember the reason for the season. While we don’t know the exact date of Christ’s birth, we know the story well.

^{Luke 2}

⁸That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, ¹⁰but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! ¹¹The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹²And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”

¹³Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors. ^F6 ”

Jesus was born. He lived and died on a cross. He rose again and he is coming back to claim his own. Those are the facts and that is the real reason to celebrate!

While most of us were celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family a terrible event was occuring on the other side of the world.  I received the following letter by email from a preacher in India.

Won’t you join me in prayer for those involved in this terrible crisis?

Today I made a business call and as I was about to hang up I wished the lady I was speaking with a happy Thanksgiving. There was silence for a moment, then she said, “We’re not having Thanksgiving this year. My father died a few weeks ago and my mother didn’t want to have a family meal so we aren’t this year.”

I told her how sorry I was about her loss and then I hung up. Tonight I’m saying a prayer for her and for all those who have recently lost loved ones. I remember too well what that first Thanksgiving and first Christmas is like.

If you know someone who has recently lost a loved one, give them a call. Let them know you are thinking of them. And let them know that Jesus cares.

We sang a song at church Sunday that says it so well…

Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
No, not one!  No, not one!

Two rows in front of me at church is a lady who is raising her three granddaughters. They are at every Sunday morning service, Sunday night and Wednesday night without fail. She’s a working grandmother and she’s already raised three daughters and now she’s doing it again for the next generation.

On the pew behind me is a lady who brings her four year old grandson and her one year old granddaughter every Sunday.  She comes in with the baby on her hip, a diaper bag on her shoulder and a Bible clutched in her hand, looking frazzled but happy.

Then there is me. Every other weekend I join the ranks of grandmother’s taking grandchildren to church. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to do it, but it’s a bittersweet happiness because as much as I love having my granddaughter with me, I wish her father were bringing her.

When our children become adults they have to decide for themselves whether or not they will attend church. We can invite, we can beg, we can plead, but ultimately the ball is in their court.

Do I pray about this? You bet. Night and day, day and night. Will you pray with me? Pray for all the grandmother’s who like me are taking grandchildren to church and praying that someday soon their children will go with them too.