Make Room For Jesus

Just over 2000 years ago, there was a husband and wife who had traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be taxed. She was nearing her due date and he was tired from the journey and worried about his wife. They arrive to find that there are travellers everywhere and of course they forgot to make reservations. No Vacancy is all they could hear. Finally one inn keeper offers the finest accommodations available . . . for donkeys. And of course, they take it and she goes into labor and their son is born amidst the mooooooing and bahhhhhing. And it was in such conditions that Jesus Christ was born into the world. It's the Christmas story, the reason for the season. Perhaps you've all heard of it before.

Many times, I think we've heard the story so many times that we no longer allow it to impact us. We miss the amazing nuances and powerful lessons hidden among the shepherds and the wise men. We forget the selfless sacrifice of a teenage mother and a confused husband to be. We take for granted the angels singing and the innkeepers inability to find a room. The story becomes "old hat" and we fail to allow Christmas to impact us the way that it should. Because we unfortunately don't make room for Jesus Christ in our Christmas.

Oh - we've got all the decorations. We've got the wonderful food, the office holiday parties and the Christmas Cards, the secret Santas and the sparkling lights. But do we forget Jesus in all of our festivities? If we fail to recognize His significance, Christmas is just another retail shopping trap designed to get you to spend more money than you can afford on gifts that won't be appreciated because they are given to people who don't really need them. So be careful to not forget the real reason for the season.

Growing up my mom and dad fought hard to insure that we always kept Jesus at the focal point of the holidays. Of course we had our Nativity scenes positioned in their optimum place and we went to multiple church services and we usually attended a Christmas play or a living Nativity scene each year. But the one thing that I've never forgotten was the emphasis they placed on insuring that we never forgot this great story. Every year on Christmas Eve while others opened gifts and had big meals, we gathered together in our living room and we prayed together as a family for those who were in need and had less than we did. And then together we all opened our Bibles and we read the passages from Matthew and Luke that reveal the treasure of the birth of Christ.

I'm all grown up now. I have two children of my own. But every Christmas Eve, if you happened to drop by my house, you'd see Rodney & Davina, Jordan & Abigail, Nanny & Papa, and anyone else that we can have stop by gathered together in our living room for a time of prayer and thanksgiving and then for a careful read of this amazing story. About 4 years ago, I passed on the reading responsibility to my son and this year for the first time he's going to share it with his sister. And I'll tell you, there's something so refreshing about passing on a tradition of such value to your children and watching them embrace it and look forward to it.

So this year - don't forget to make room for Jesus. Don't get to busy with all of the hustle and bustle that you forget the humility of a savior being birthed in a stable. Don't forget the power of shepherds having angels reveal to them a Messiah's birth. Don't forget the joy of wise men who chose to follow a star until it revealed a king. Don't forget the willing vessel Mary or sacrifice of Joseph. Don't forget the innkeeper who while he had no room, he gave what he had. Don't forget the animals who got a front row view of God stepping out of eternity and into a robe of flesh. Don't forget to give Jesus room in your Christmas and make this a year that your family will remember .... not for the lights or the presents or the parties. Rather, they'll remember because they rediscovered the true reason why we celebrate. Merry Christmas! Love you all! -- RP

Dealing With Disappointment

Have you ever heard the statement, "Into every life a little rain must fall"? Personally I expect a little rain. We all need a little rain. Rain is good. It brings nourishment. It brings refreshing. But what do you do when the "little rain" turns into a hurricane, tornado, monsoon, typhoon, blinding blizzard, and an earthquake thrown in for good measure. Well - I wish I could change the monumental forces of nature that may be blowing into your life right now but I can't. What I can tell you is that we all go through life and suffer disappointments and the difference between living a healthy overcoming life and wallowing in despair is how you respond to the weather that's blowing right now.

Disappointment is tough because by definition in order for us to suffer it, we have to have things happen to us that are the exact opposite of what we expected. None of us want to experience and therefore we are rarely skilled at dealing with it. And unfortunately the only way to learn to deal with it is to be disappointed. Do you see why this is so tough?

So what do you when you suffer disappointment? What do you do when the things that you expect to occur just don't? What do you do when you expected sunshine and all you see are storm clouds? What do you do when everyone else is feasting on the pleasure of life, all you seem to have is indigestion? You deal with it and you move forward.

Joseph has a plan. He's going to be a successful furniture shop owner. He's a carpenter and he's reputable and he works hard and he produces a good product. He's got a great fiance and he's building a beautiful home and his life is going great. Then his fiance stops by with some news. He's thinking that she's gonna tell him about the curtains she's picked out or maybe a new pattern of China that she found at the local Nazara-Mart. Instead Mary drops this extremely disappointing news . . . "Honey, I'm pregnant AND we both know it can't be yours AND just so you know it's by the Spirit of God. Oh and by the way, your family has still not RSVPd for the wedding." (Now I know I've used creative license there but I'm confident that Joseph's level of disappointment was about through the roof.)

So how does he deal with it? Joseph decides that his solution will be to send his fiance away to privately have the child and begins to reconsider the whole life that he's planned out. Just like you or I, when the disappointment storm rolled in, Joseph begins to reconsider every dream, plan or ambition he's ever had. But as he begins to wallow in self-doubt and disappointment, he discovers that God's plan for His life is bigger, MUCH BIGGER, than the life plan that Joseph had put together following his bar mitzvah. And to me that's why Joseph is the forgotten hero of the Christmas story - instead of allowing disappointment to derail him - he allowed God to reveal an ever greater plan that he could be a part of provided he didn't allow disappointment to control him.

So today - although disappointment affects us all, when it comes - and it will - don't allow it to derail and completely dissuade you from moving forward. Rather, allow your disappointment to make you more aware of the voice of God - because he just may you wake you up in the middle of the night and reveal your role in bringing Jesus to the world. It may not be the plan you had. It may not be the agenda you had in mind. But God loved you so much to send storms and tornadoes and hurricanes and monsoons into your life to make you aware that His plan was bigger than yours. So go ahead and listen and let your disappointment fuel the plan of God for your life.

Well until next time - let God lead you in your disappointing moments - discover His plan and follow it and eventually you'll see that the rain was necessary to prepare you for the moment when God's greatest plan will be revealed! God bless - love you all! -- RP