Tuesday's with Jesus #77

#77 "Our Christmas Gifts To Jesus" December 19, 2006 "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." (Romans 13: 8). "And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us." (1 John 3: 23). "And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4: 21).   The countdown begins. As I write this, the snowman on my kitchen wall reminds me that there are 7 days until Christmas. Most of the gifts are bought. It's time for "wrapfest" and "cookie bake-off." Cookies will be consumed around here at about the same rate that they're baked. And you think I'm kidding! Remember, I have two teenaged boys still at home. I'm sure that you're in the throws of your last minute preparations as well.    There will be parties to attend. Office parties. Church gatherings. And oh, those infamous family get-togethers. Tempers are short. And so is the checkbook. And I can't help but think, "Is Jesus pleased? Is He smiling at our attempts to celebrate His birth?" I'm not saying that I think He doesn't like it when we get together with family and friends. I don't think He's generally opposed to our gift giving if we do it in the right perspective. I don't think He's opposed to the festivities and the celebrations. As long as we keep the reason we celebrate in the forefront of our minds and hearts. But what do you think Jesus really wants for Christmas? The obvious answer is that He wants you! But let's go deeper...   The Bible shows us exactly what Jesus wants for Christmas and every single day of our lives. He wants us to love. First, He wants us to love Him. {"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment".} Today, we'll focus on the second. Jesus says, "And the second (commandment) is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Love is what it's all about. Not just the kind of love that shows up with the Christmas "warm and fuzzies". Deep, abiding, hard to love, LOVE, each and everyday of our lives. Love is the foundation for everything. The Greek word is "agape". It's a self-sacrificing kind of love. John 3:16 is the simplest, yet most profound commentary on the kind of love that God has for us. I know you know it, but really look at it...."For God so LOVED the world, that He GAVE His one and only Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." God is Love. He is a Giver and His brand of love is for "whosoever".   So who should we love? Who are our "whosoevers"?   First we must love those belonging to the household of faith. I say this first because Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Family first, neighbors next. You might think that this is the easy part. I think we're deluding ourselves if we think that we're doing a good job of it. From the time of Paul to the present day, division among believers in the church has been a constant stain on the proverbial shirt of Christianity. One of my commentaries says this: "Nothing can frustrate the advance of the gospel more, both in a Christian community's effectiveness in their witness for Christ and in Christians' individual lives, than internal unrest among believers. The gospel is all about reconciliation, and unreconciled people do not advertise it well."    When we're divided as Christian brothers and sisters, when we are backbiting, grumbling and complaining about each other, we are not living a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. We are an advertisement for Christ. Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17: 21 that "all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." He continued, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." 2 Corinthians 3: 3 says that "you are a letter from Christ." What does your "letter" say? Do you want to know what Jesus wants for Christmas? Unity, my friend...unity among believers. May no one ever hear me, ever again, slander, gossip or talk about a fellow believer in Christ in a disparaging way. May my children never hear it again. I do not ever want to put a black mark on what Christ died for and what is the obvious desire of His heart. We must "stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." (Philippians 1: 27b) Our churches aren't one better than another. Our pastors aren't one better than the other. One denomination isn't better than another. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Amen.   The second recipients of our God-kind of love are unbelievers and those who have done us wrong, Christian and non-Christian alike. Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" The Bible says to "accept one another, just as Christ accepted you." Where were you when Christ found you? What type of sin(s) were you steeped in? Are you perfect today? God loved us and continues to do so in spite of our sin, in spite of our selfishness, in spite of our lack of desire to change. And we are to love just like Him. This couldn't be impossible because God would not give us a command that we could not carry out. That would be cruel. But in His mercy and grace, He gives us the precious Holy Spirit to help us carry out His command to love. Submit yourself to the Holy Spirits' guidance, anointing and power and He will enable you to love the unlovely, to touch the leper and to forgive your enemies and love them in spite of themselves...just like He loves you!   You say, "Donna, they're just impossible. They'll never change. I've been hurt so badly." Ruth Bell Graham, in her book "Prodigals [and Those Who Love Them]", says this: "We cannot convict of sin, create hunger and thirst after God, or convert. These are miracles, and miracles are not in our department. God's part, (the impossible) is conviction of sin, creating a hunger and thirst for righteousness, conversion, and bringing a person to the place of total commitment."  Those words revolutionized my way of thinking. I am not Holy Ghost Junior! Don't try and effect in people's lives what only God can do. Love...pure and simple...love. Affirm, encourage, teach, listen and care.  And never give up on them. What would've happened if God gave up on you? This goes for your unsaved husband, your prodigal daughter, your loved ones who have hurt you deeply, that homeless man who just refuses to get with the program....all the "whosoevers" in your life.  We look so little like the lovers that the Bible calls us to be. But we must do it, "for the sake of Christ." Again, His reputation is at stake. Christ must be our example. Through death on a cross He not only "saved us" but modeled for us God's way of dealing with the opposition -- loving them to death!   Love them patiently. Love them kindly. Don't envy or boast and be not proud. Don't be rude or selfish. Don't get easily angered and by all means, keep no record of wrongs. Let it go. Rejoice with the truth. Protect, trust God, hope and persevere. This is 1 Corinthians 13, Bible-kind-of love. This is the kind of love that Jesus wants from us. These are the things that are on the Christmas list of Christ.   I pray that you will have a blessed and peaceful holiday. I pray for wonderful time with family and friends. I'm going to take a couple of weeks off from writing. "Tuesday's" will be back on January 9, 2007.    I pray to my Heavenly Father for each one of you, "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God." Let's together, in unity, give Jesus what He wants, more than anything, for Christmas... and everyday of our lives.   Merry Christmas,   Donna Schultz                                                                              See www.tuesdayswithjesus.blogspot.com for archives.         If you would prefer to not receive these e-mails, please let me know at savemom@aol.com. Feel free to forward them as the Lord leads you and if others would like to receive it, e- mail savemom@aol.com to be added to the list.   If you are viewing this on Blogger.com and would like to receive "Tuesday's with Jesus" in your e-mail box each Tuesday, please e-mail Savemom@aol.com and you will be added to the list.

Tuesday's with Jesus #76

#76 "Cattle, Ravens, The Stars and You" December 12, 2006 "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call." (Psalm 147: vs. 4 and 9)                                         A construction crew was building a new road through a rural area, knocking down trees as it progressed. A superintendent noticed that one tree had a nest of birds who couldn?t yet fly and he marked the tree so that it would not be cut down. Several weeks later the superintendent came back to the tree. He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest. The fledglings were gone. They had obviously learned to fly. The superintendent ordered the tree cut down. As the tree crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and some of the material that the birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about. Part of it was a scrap torn from a Sunday school pamphlet. On the scrap of paper were these words: "He careth for you". Psalm 147, verses 4 and 9 give us an awesome reminder of the care that God has for us.  It continually amazes me when I look up at a clear, night sky that my Heavenly Father placed each one of them there and He knows them each by their name! Isaiah 40: 26 tells us to "Lift [our] eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." If He cares to know each star by its' name, how much more does He know your name? If He cares for their welfare, (not one is missing), how much more do you think He cares about the things that concern you? He knows you individually.  He knows your uniqueness. Your hopes and dreams, fears and concerns. After all, He made you. He knew you before you were ever born and has a plan for your life since eternity past. A plan just for you. He cares for you! Ravens are not appealing birds. They are members of the crow family. We find them disgusting for the most part. They eat road kill. We see them a lot on roadsides when it's garbage day. We see them picking through and eating trash. They are a dirty looking kind of bird. When we see a dead crow on the road (one that was too slow getting out of the way of a car as it feasted on a dead squirrel) it does not touch are hearts like seeing a dog or cat, or a cute little bunny does. There is no outpouring of sorrow at the death of crow. Yet that is the kind of creature that God says He provides for. He hears that cry of the raven, the cry of the crow. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" He cares for you.     And cows, well, they're cows! What more can I say? Not the most beautiful animals. They chew their own vomit. And they don't follow very well. Sheep will follow...cattle have to be driven. They are stubborn and willful. Yet God provides them with their food. Will He not provide for us even more, in spite of our stubborn, willful ways? He cares for us! This is a pretty simple concept to grasp. No big theology here. But if we do not grab hold of it, own it and BELIEVE it, we will fall prey to the devil, and believe instead, the lie that God doesn't care. Remember the devil IS a liar! You are an immortal soul. When a crow or a cow dies he is gone, life is over, he exists no more. But when your present life passes, you will not cease to be, but you have begun a life of eternity. When we pass from this life to the next we have just begun to live forever. Please understand that you will outlive the mountains, you will outlive the sun and the stars. Psalm 8: 5 says that God made you "a little lower than the heavenly beings (or than God) and crowned you with glory and honor. You are worth much, much more than any beast of the field or bird of the air! Verse 9 tells us that the cattle and ravens are provided for "when they call". Are you calling? Are you praying? Are you crying out to God for the answer to your circumstance? He WILL hear and answer you. You are cared for much more than cows and birds! He hears them...smelly, stinky, garbage pickers, cud chewers....He will hear you! He is your Father. Are you a parent?  For those of you who have children of your own, do you not get greater joy in giving your children gifts than in feeding your dog? Do you not find more satisfaction in providing for the needs of your children than you do for your pet? So how much more gracious and good is God than we are? Not to say that we do not love our pets, but are not our loved ones immensely more important and precious to us? Thus it is with God, all of His creation is precious to Him, yet are not those made in His image more so? "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7: 11) Whatever you're facing today...whatever struggle...whatever sin...whatever problem...God knows. He answers. He cares. And this Psalm shows us what exactly He provides. It says that He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He is great and mighty in power. He sustains us. He protects us [He strengthens the bars of your gates]. He blesses His people. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat...the finest of His provision. He gives you His Word, His precious promises. And most important of all...He gave us Jesus...His only Son, who died on a Roman cross for our sins to give us abundant life here on earth and eternal life in Heaven with Him. Forgiveness, salvation, sanctification,and justification were all bought with the price of the blood of Jesus and given to us as a free gift.  Really if God never gave us one other thing...Jesus would be enough. But He chooses to continue to lavish His grace, His mercy, and His loyal, hesed love on us, because He is a wonderful Father.  Look up at the stars tonight. Notice the birds outside your window. Unless you live on a farm, you probably won't see many cows...But let these always be a reminder to you of the love and care of your Heavenly Father. If He cares for them, my friend, how much more does He care for you?                                                                                                  Donna Schultz                                                                                 Savemom@aol.com                         See www.tuesdayswithjesus.blogspot.com for archives.           If you would prefer to not receive these e-mails, please let me know at savemom@aol.com. Feel free to forward them as the Lord leads you and if others would like to receive it, e- mail savemom@aol.com to be added to the list.   If you are viewing this on Blogger.com and would like to receive "Tuesday's with Jesus" in your e-mail box each Tuesday, please e-mail Savemom@aol.com and you will be added to the list.

#76 "Cattle, Raven, The Stars and You"

December 12, 2006
"He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call." (Psalm 147: vs. 4 and 9)

A construction crew was building a new road through a rural area, knocking down trees as it progressed. A superintendent noticed that one tree had a nest of birds who couldn?t yet fly and he marked the tree so that it would not be cut down. Several weeks later the superintendent came back to the tree. He got into a bucket truck and was lifted up so that he could peer into the nest. The fledglings were gone. They had obviously learned to fly. The superintendent ordered the tree cut down. As the tree crashed to the ground, the nest fell clear and some of the material that the birds had gathered to make the nest was scattered about. Part of it was a scrap torn from a Sunday school pamphlet. On the scrap of paper were these words: "He careth for you".
Psalm 147, verses 4 and 9 give us an awesome reminder of the care that God has for us. It continually amazes me when I look up at a clear, night sky that my Heavenly Father placed each one of them there and He knows them each by their name! Isaiah 40: 26 tells us to "Lift [our] eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." If He cares to know each star by its' name, how much more does He know your name? If He cares for their welfare, (not one is missing), how much more do you think He cares about the things that concern you? He knows you individually. He knows your uniqueness. Your hopes and dreams, fears and concerns. After all, He made you. He knew you before you were ever born and has a plan for your life since eternity past. A plan just for you. He cares for you!
Ravens are not appealing birds. They are members of the crow family. We find them disgusting for the most part. They eat road kill. We see them a lot on roadsides when it's garbage day. We see them picking through and eating trash. They are a dirty looking kind of bird. When we see a dead crow on the road (one that was too slow getting out of the way of a car as it feasted on a dead squirrel) it does not touch are hearts like seeing a dog or cat, or a cute little bunny does. There is no outpouring of sorrow at the death of crow. Yet that is the kind of creature that God says He provides for. He hears that cry of the raven, the cry of the crow. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" He cares for you.


And cows, well, they're cows! What more can I say? Not the most beautiful animals. They chew their own vomit. And they don't follow very well. Sheep will follow...cattle have to be driven. They are stubborn and willful. Yet God provides them with their food. Will He not provide for us even more, in spite of our stubborn, willful ways? He cares for us! This is a pretty simple concept to grasp. No big theology here. But if we do not grab hold of it, own it and BELIEVE it, we will fall prey to the devil, and believe instead, the lie that God doesn't care. Remember the devil IS a liar! You are an immortal soul. When a crow or a cow dies he is gone, life is over, he exists no more. But when your present life passes, you will not cease to be, but you have begun a life of eternity. When we pass from this life to the next we have just begun to live forever. Please understand that you will outlive the mountains, you will outlive the sun and the stars. Psalm 8: 5 says that God made you "a little lower than the heavenly beings (or than God) and crowned you with glory and honor. You are worth much, much more than any beast of the field or bird of the air!
Verse 9 tells us that the cattle and ravens are provided for "when they call". Are you calling? Are you praying? Are you crying out to God for the answer to your circumstance? He WILL hear and answer you. You are cared for much more than cows and birds! He hears them...smelly, stinky, garbage pickers, cud chewers....He will hear you! He is your Father. Are you a parent? For those of you who have children of your own, do you not get greater joy in giving your children gifts than in feeding your dog? Do you not find more satisfaction in providing for the needs of your children than you do for your pet? So how much more gracious and good is God than we are? Not to say that we do not love our pets, but are not our loved ones immensely more important and precious to us? Thus it is with God, all of His creation is precious to Him, yet are not those made in His image more so? "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7: 11)
Whatever you're facing today...whatever struggle...whatever sin...whatever problem...God knows. He answers. He cares. And this Psalm shows us what exactly He provides. It says that He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He is great and mighty in power. He sustains us. He protects us [He strengthens the bars of your gates]. He blesses His people. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat...the finest of His provision. He gives you His Word, His precious promises. And most important of all...He gave us Jesus...His only Son, who died on a Roman cross for our sins to give us abundant life here on earth and eternal life in Heaven with Him. Forgiveness, salvation, sanctification,and justification were all bought with the price of the blood of Jesus and given to us as a free gift. Really if God never gave us one other thing...Jesus would be enough. But He chooses to continue to lavish His grace, His mercy, and His loyal, hesed love on us, because He is a wonderful Father.
Look up at the stars tonight. Notice the birds outside your window. Unless you live on a farm, you probably won't see many cows...But let these always be a reminder to you of the love and care of your Heavenly Father. If He cares for them, my friend, how much more does He care for you?
Donna Schultz
Savemom@aol.com
See www.tuesdayswithjesus.blogspot.com for archives.

If you would prefer to not receive these e-mails, please letme know at savemom@aol.com. Feel free to forward them as theLord leads you and if others would like to receive it, e-mail savemom@aol.com to be added to the list.

If you are viewing this on Blogger.com and would like to receive "Tuesday's with Jesus" in your e-mail box each Tuesday, please e-mail Savemom@aol.com and you will be added to the list.

Tuesday's with Jesus #75

#75 "What's It All About?" December 5, 2006 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6: 33)   According to Garbage Magazine, Americans used 28,497,464 rolls and sheets of wrapping paper, 16,826,362 packages of tags and bows, 372,430,684 greeting cards, and 35,200,000 Christmas trees during the 1989 Christmas season. I can just imagine what the numbers are now. The National Retail Federation projects that $457.4 billion will be spent on the "winter holidays" -- including Christmas -- this year. What's it all about?   Chuck and I had mixed feelings this weekend as we were decorating our home for Christmas. We just weren't into it so much this year. As we pulled the boxes out of storage, I began to look at all that we've accumulated over the years. Mind you, I pitched a lot of it a few years ago. It's amazing how it grows again! Some of it was junk that ended up in a bag for either donation or the trash. Haven't decided yet. Other things held dear memories. Like a picture frame that I received from a homeless man one year when we were coordinating a shelter program. He was so proud of the gift that he gave me, even though I'm quite sure a certain snow globe store at Macomb Mall lost some money that year. There was "The Night Before Christmas" book that I read to my children each Christmas Eve before Chuck would read the Bible passages from Matthew or Luke. They're too old for that now, but maybe one day I'll read it for the grandkids. So I hung on to that one. As I was decorating the tree, I was able to look at ornaments made by my children when they were small. Those are precious to me. Paper ornaments with their pictures on them brought a smile to my face. Other ornaments have been gifts received from family and friends over the years. Those made me smile as well. These are important things; children, family, friends, my husband.   The space under my tree is empty. It is awaiting the brightly colored, ribboned packages that will soon be placed there. A part of me wishes that it could stay empty. The true meaning of what we celebrate is not found in those packages. The meaning is in the simple manger that I placed under the tree. The truth of the One who was born in a borrowed stable and was buried in a borrowed tomb. The truth of the One who was laid in a wooden manger and died on a wooden cross. This is what my heart is full of this year. The gift that God, my Father, gave to me, in His precious Son, Jesus Christ. I wish my tree would remain empty except for all of my children sitting around it, each one claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior.     Maybe it's because I'm getting older. My husband hates when I say this, but I've lived more years of my life than I have left. Maybe it's because in the past month or so, I've been acutely aware and grieved over different people, problems and situations that have come across my path. In the last week alone, I've been asked to pray for sickness and disease, relationship restoration, people divorcing, people dying. There was one day where honestly, I told the Lord I didn't think I could pray for anyone else. It was sucking the life out of me. On Friday morning, it was pouring rain..literally beating against my windows while it was still dark and I was trying to pray and read the Word. I felt like there was just a blanket of evil over everything...Satan overcoming the world it would seem. Of course, when I focused on the Word, the voice of truth let me know that the world had not spun out of control and that God was still sovereign and in charge. Nevertheless, it still made all the Christmas trappings seem very meaningless to me.   So like the loving, wonderful Father that He is, my Abba sent His word to me right in the middle of my half- put- together Christmas tree and all my boxes. I pulled out a beautiful crystal frame in which I had placed a greeting card front a few years ago. I had forgotten about it. As it brought tears to my eyes, it brought peace to my heart. It reminded me "what this was all about" and I want to share it with you.   "If you look for me at Christmas, you won't need a special star - I'm no longer just in Bethlehem, I'm right there where you are. You may not be aware of Me amid the celebrations - You'll have to look beyond the stores and all the decorations. But if you take a moment from your list of things to do, and listen to your heart, you'll find I'm waiting there for you. You're the one I want to be with, you're the reason that I came, and you'll find Me in the stillness as I'm whispering your name. Love, Jesus."   That frame, with that simple message is my favorite decoration this year. If it were up to me, it would be the only one. But since I have children and they enjoy the decorations and the presents and the cookies, I will keep pressing on. But now my heart is filled with the answer to my question, "what's it all about?"  I will find quiet moments and go to Calvary. And there I'll kneel with those who know the meaning of the manger, and find the Christ, this Christmas. I will praise the one who would one day be executed for my crime. That, my friend, is what it's all about!   May you find Christ this Christmas,   Donna Schultz Savemom@aol.com   See www.tuesdayswithjesus.blogspot.com for archives.   If you would prefer to not receive these e-mails, please let me know at savemom@aol.com. Feel free to forward them as the Lord leads you and if others would like to receive it, e- mail savemom@aol.com to be added to the list.   If you are viewing this on Blogger.com and would like to receive "Tuesday's with Jesus" in your e-mail box each Tuesday, please e-mail Savemom@aol.com and you will be added to the list.