Christmas is less than a week away and I’m already looking beyond the holiday to the year ahead.  Clients of mine have been through very rough sledding this last year, due in part to the perilous economic times we live in.  Jobs are in short supply, and good jobs seem to be almost non-existent.  However, Christmas provides a good environment for perspective.  The man Jesus came to this earth in dire economic times, to a family extremely poor with no hope of any dramatic improvement in their circumstances.  He was born in a stable… with neither position nor influence that would allow them to enjoy anything close to being in an adequate environment for the birth of a child.  And his life after he was born was immediately in danger from a madman who governed the land in which he was born.  Perilous times indeed!

But the Good News of Christ’s birth still speaks to our hearts even two millennia after the actual event.  Out of desperation comes hope; out of discouragement comes wonder; and out of confusion comes wisdom.  Regardless of your circumstances this Christmas season, Jesus still provides us with perspective.  He still calls us to a life of faith, hope, and love, and His birth is the most poignant reminder of God’s overwhelming love for us.  And, all believers still exclaim along with the Apostle Peter, “Where else can we go?  You have the words of eternal life!”  So here’s to a Christmas where our thoughts are turned from ourselves and our own personal problems and predicaments, to the recounting of God’s blessings and a view ahead to the hope He alone can give us.  May you enjoy a Christmas with a view to eternity, and be reminded not only of the wisdom of Jesus, but also of the loving sacrifice He was for us all.  Merry Christmas!

Jim

I am a Detroit Tigers fan.  Yes, I admit it, I love the Tigers.  That is a baseball team for those who are not fans.  As any true baseball fan knows, our sport is a fickle one.  It is the longest of all professional seasons and has double the games of the other sports:  162 encounters spanning seven months not including spring training.  As I type these words, the Tigers are in third place and have won eighteen games and have also lost eighteen games.  But I have hope…  Hope that they will surge into first place in their division by the end of the year, hope that they will win the American League pennant, and hope that they will prevail in the World Series.  To be honest, this type of hope is just a wish, not founded in any reality other than my dreams.  As a fan, I live in the “just wait until next year” fantasy.

Contrast that to Romans 5:5: “…hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  Hope rooted in God’s promises is not the same as “baseball hope”, which is mere wishful thinking.  Biblical hope is assurance of certainty… God is at work and He will redeem our world and us in the process.  Here are some actions that help keep me grounded in this hope:

1. Focusing on God’s faithfulness… I need to remember that God has blessed me in so many ways, and reminding myself of these gifts is a reminder of what is to come.
2. Praying through the fog… My communication to God is a necessary element of remaining hopeful.  It crystalizes my emotions as I’m in the process of verbalizing what’s on my heart to the One who loves me perfectly.
3. Silence in the midst of chaos… we live in a noisy culture.  Cultivate the habit of getting alone and being silent.  Clear your mind of the clutter of the day and be still, knowing that God is indeed God.
4. Listening to God… a wonderful product of our silence is that we’re finally able to begin to hear what God might be saying to us.  Let Him speak to your heart.

The Tigers are doing OK as I write these words.  They might even have a good season, but I would not take that to the bank just yet.  What I should do is remember that I have a hope, and that hope isn’t based on wishful thinking but on the One who is the same both yesterday, today, and forever.  Our hope is also our assurance that God will one day make all things right.  Now that’s something to hope for!

Jim 

It doesn’t take long once you hear the newscasts and read the papers to figure out that we live in chaotic times.  Japan’s tragedy, Libya’s upheaval, gas prices skyrocketing, and the economy still in the doldrums… all these are a reminder that all is not as it should be.  Life, in the words of M. Scott Peck is “difficult”.  I am reminded during times like this that I continually long for life to line up and be perfect.  I want my ducks in a row.

Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that it will not happen.  Right about the time when things start going well, something breaks down: a car, a relationship, a body, or a dream.  After some time it will leave you in despair asking the question, “Who’s in charge here?”  The answer is found in Jesus’ words to his disciples in Matthew 6:28 ff: “And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire , will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”  The answer is not cliché, it is reality.  God’s in charge here…

So as you go about this week, take a minute, 60 seconds, to center and reflect on the fact that whatever happens, whoever is hurting, there is a greater purpose and a Greater Power at work in all that transpires.  “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  God’s in charge here…

Jim

Funerals are always sobering and cause a deeper and more poignant reflection on life, death, and the significance of relationships.  The funeral that I attended on February 12^th was all of that and more.  My young friend Eddie was killed in an auto accident.  He was 19 years of age.  It was and is a tragedy.

During times like this, life is reduced to the essentials.  The question that dominates my thinking is “What really is important?”  When a life ends abruptly just short of two decades, how does one find any solace and comfort at all, let alone meaning and purpose.  But here are my essentials that keep me focused and also help me avoid despair:

1.  God is God, and I am not.
2.  God is still in control.
3.  I need to live my life knowing that I am not a permanent fixture in this world.
4.  God is the One who gives comfort.
5.  I need to constantly learn what it means to be Christ-like.
6.  The only true joy is found in loving God and loving others.

In times like these I find that my sorrow can either be a weight or a wing.  If I allow my sorrow to weigh me down to the point where I disconnect from others, then it will be a hindrance to my growth emotionally and spiritually.  But if I embrace my sorrow and allow God to use it to more deeply understand Him and those around me, then what is painful becomes a necessary tutor in my journey on this earth. 

“As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.  But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and his righteousness with their children’s children – with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts… Praise the Lord, O my soul.” - Psalm 103:15-18, 22

Jim