A REVOLUTIONARY SHIFT “Because he has focused his love on me, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in his distress. I will deliver him, and I will honor him.” - Psalm 91:14-15 ISV The holidays can be so busy.  I love this season, but with all of the “extras,” by the time the last ornament is tucked away, I can feel wiped out. That is when I start looking around and realize that, while the tree may have been beautiful and Christmas dinner delicious, somehow in the busyness, my priorities got out of whack.  Does this ever happen to you? I look in the mirror and see that along with my credit card bill, my waistline has expanded.  And I’m exhausted and grumpy, because after six weeks of running around and eating holiday foods, I desperately need a nap and a break from indulgence. I have spent moments with the Lord in this season.  But like the difference between going t...

A PRAYER FOR THE PRODIGAL Father, it’s getting cold outside.  I look out the window at the frosty rooftops of my neighbors, and my heart sinks to think of those without a roof over their head or hope in their heart.  I think of those held prisoner in the clutches of addiction, those without food to eat and whose only socks are threadbare with holes. Father we lift the homeless, the lost, the sick, the addicted and the vulnerable.  We lift those who left rashly, wandered away or were taken.  We lift those in rebellion, those who were abused or forgotten.  Have mercy upon them, Lord!  We pray for their safety.  We pray for their provision. Deliver them from evil!  Send an angel of mercy! Still the tongue of the deceiver!  Convince them of Your love! Lift the fog and break the chains that keep them in darkness.  Arise Spirit of repentance!  Set their hearts and minds toward home! Good Shepherd leave the 99, and go out into th...

A WAY IN A MANGER “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”” – Luke‬ ‭2:8-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I love this time of year.  It starts with the beautiful season of giving thanks, crisp night air and the crunch of brilliant leaves under foot.  That gives way to the twinkling of lights, fragrant boughs, beautifully wrapped packages and mugs of hot cocoa on frosty, winter mornings. If we were not careful, it would be easy to shift the birth of the Savior to second position in this season.  With the noise, hustle and hurry of th...

THE EVERLASTING WEIGHT OF GLORY “And give thanks FOR everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Ephesians 5:20 This is such a hard verse.  I Thessalonians 5:18 is much easier to accept which instructs us to “Be thankful IN all circumstances.” We can conceive of thanking God while IN pain, but the thought of thanking Him FOR it is quite another thing.  How do we scrape up the wherewithal to thank Him for the very things we have dreaded and prayed would never happen?  How do we thank Him for the bad news, the disappointment, the betrayal or the death? Like a child with a fear of needles, we are sick and want to get better, but we are terrified of the prescription. What happens inside our body to fight infection and disease as a result of the medicine is invisible.  So we must face the fear and wincing pain of our prescription, and trust that it will do the work in us that we need. We hold fast to the hope that: “...This light, tem...

I had an eye opening moment at the grocery store yesterday.  The store was busy and my cart was full with a vast array of holiday and specialty foods that I rarely buy.  The Christmas music playing was particularly annoying and unusually loud.  I was feeling overwhelmed and my irritation was rising.  A tinge of resentment crossed my mind as I wondered why the responsibility always fell solely and squarely in my lap to organize and pull together family events. Feeling the pressure and the weight of the obligatory labor and the earned exhaustion that I knew would be forthcoming, I glanced casually at the older gentleman who was walking toward me.  My cart was shockingly full, but his cart had maybe five sad, little items in it.  He may have had plans to spend Christmas at his daughter’s home, or these few things may have been last minute items he needed for a Christmas gathering.  That may have been the case, but I suspect his cart was nearly empty, ...

PEACE IN THE CHAOS “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" - 2 Timothy 3:5 (NLT) It has been a chaotic season for most of us.  The to-do list, challenges and responsibilities pull at us from all directions.  Our tendency is to be drawn to the things that shout the loudest.  In the din, we miss the Lord’s still, small voice that calls us into intimacy with Him.  In the busyness of preparation to celebrate His birth, we do not want to miss the whole point of the celebration. How unfortunate it would be to accomplish the technical aspects of a visual celebration without truly celebrating in our hearts—to have an appearance of worship—going through the motions—while our minds are on the to-do list and the merry-go-round of chores.  Going through the motions does not bring the peace we desperately need.  It is only through taking our thoughts captive and disciplining our minds...

MERRY CHRIST-MAS! Recently, I was chatting with a friend who asked what I was wanting for Christmas this year. Being both blessed and a contented person by nature, there wasn’t really much in the way of material things that I truly desired. I don’t speak Spanish, but living in California, it is common to see Spanish words. One can’t help but pick up a few words here and there.  This morning as I was typing a greeting to a friend, I saw the word “Christmas” in a new light.  I saw it as “Christ-mas.”  “Mas” in Spanish means “more.” In the celebration of the birth of the Savior, we celebrate the gift of Emmanuel—God Himself coming to live with us. With Him comes love, joy, hope and rescue.  In His name we have salvation, adoption, deliverance and peace with God.  In Him we belong, are wanted and accepted.  Isn’t that what we all truly want and need? I now know what gift I want this year.  I want Christmas itself.  I want more Christ—the g...