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Published: 03 January 2014

Celebration is fun when you want to but what if you don’t feel like it? What if you are having one of those days when the clouds are hanging over your head and your heart is numb? What if you feel lousy in body and soul and what you would really like to do is cry? One of the things I have learned over the years is that my emotions are a lousy authority. How I feel about things is not necessarily the best indication of how things really are. Sometimes I have felt relatively good about matters that weren’t really that great and I have felt awful on days when things were quite good. There are a lot of variables in this matter of emotion. True celebration is not rooted in feelings but in reality. I can celebrate, rejoice and give thanks even when I don’t feel like it because the things that matter most in life are not rooted in how I feel but in what God has said. I’ll be talking about the celebration of the shepherds this week (Lord willing), from Luke 2. When you really study the life of the shepherd, it wasn’t that great. And, once the announcement was made to them, their circumstances didn’t change. But, they praised and glorified God for what they had heard and seen. In other words, their celebration was based on truth; the reality that God was fulfilling His promises and they were participants in this part of His plan. So, you may not feel much like celebrating today but it is still possible because of the reality of God’s promises and plans. Go ahead, give a try; it is not hypocritical to celebrate even when you are struggling…it might be the best thing for you.

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Published: 19 December 2013

I have written a Christmas poem that I plan to read on Sunday. It is short and sarcastic and most who hear it will understand why I don’t write more poetry. It has to do with giving and the wearisome nature of such in this particular season. Giving is very fashionable right now. A host of charities and non-profits have all sorts of ways to help you feel good about yourself by giving this year. Jesus did say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” so the more giving the better…right? Giving is certainly better than hoarding and nobody wants to be an Ebenezer or Grinch so get out there and spend some money! As most of you know I finally enjoy giving but it took a while. I thought for many years the aforementioned quote of our Lord must have been reversed in translation. It seems like getting is better than giving but Jesus is the smartest One who has ever lived; He knows what life is about and how to live and He is right. But I think it is worthy of note that He did not say it was bad to receive. In fact, if we do not receive well, we can never give well. If we do not see ourselves as recipients of benefits from a generous Father we will never get over our stinginess and learn to share with others. If we only see ourselves as “givers” we’ll be prone to think we are self-sufficient and “pretty good people after all.” Our best giving will always follow our receiving. We, as created beings are first and foremost receivers. It has to be since we are finite, dependent and needy creations. However, we were made to image our generous Father and giving should follow receiving. But, let’s not miss the fact that we are first receivers. May we learn how to practice receiving the provision of the Lord for a flourishing life!