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"Helping Others Communicate"

CHRISTMAS BONUS!

12/28/2020

 
Even though I have now retired from Pastoral ministry in order to transition to a (self-employed) writing career, the good Lord still saw fit to give my wife and me a wonderful little Christmas bonus this year.  It happened this way.  According to the local weather broadcasts, we here in east Tennessee are currently experiencing the coldest temperatures we have seen in 1,074 days!  With the thermometer hovering between the teens and the thirties, suffice it to say that it has been rather cold.
 
But the good news is that, right along with these frigid conditions, there has now come the first white Christmas here since 2010!  And what a beautiful Christmas it is!  Everywhere the human eye beholds, a gorgeous blanket of fresh white snow has been deposited.  The fields, the yards, the woods, the barns, the houses, even the driveways and roads all look like some majestic scene painted by the hand of Almighty God!  The human heart rejoices at the mere sight of it all!

It has truly been a beautiful gift sent down from above right here at Christmas - one which we were truly blessed to receive.  To be sure, our Christmas would have been fine without it.  Just as we have done the previous nine years, we could have gotten along just as well without it this year.  Nonetheless, the sudden, stunning snowfall was still an added bonus that only served to enhance and enrich our experience of this wonderful time of year.

Sadly, though, not everyone received such a gift from above this Christmas.   In fact, most of the United States did without a white Christmas.  And a few did without certain other gifts from somewhere up above them this year as well. 

Consider the story reported in a Fox business News website article titled “GoDaddy Tests Employees with Phishing Email Promising Christmas Bonuses: Report”, a lump of coal might just as well have been delivered to nearly 500 of its employees of the Arizona-based internet domain behemoth, GoDaddy.

Suffice it to say that the whole thing did not go over very well.  In fact, the executives over at GoDaddy most likely wish it had never even occurred.  But occur it did.  And it’s kind of hard to undo it all now.

On December 14th of this year, it seems employees were sent an email promising a Christmas bonus — that turned out to actually be a computer security test.  In response, some 500 staffers clicked on the company generated email that purportedly offered a $650 holiday bonus for filling out a form with their personal information.

The email reportedly began with these eye-catching words:  “Happy Holiday GoDaddy! 2020 has been a record year for GoDaddy, thanks to you!”  Continuing on, it read: “Though we cannot celebrate together during our annual Holiday Party, we want to show our appreciation and share a $650 one-time Holiday bonus!”

Much to their chagrin, two days later, the employees got an email from GoDaddy’s security chief that read: “You are receiving this email because you failed our recent phishing test.”

Needless to say, a huge social media outcry ensued.  Users raked GoDaddy’s executives over the coals, calling the test especially “tone-deaf amid the coronavirus pandemic that’s left millions of Americans financially reeling”.

In response, all the company had to offer was an apology to anyone who felt the email was “insensitive,” adding it “takes the security of our platform extremely seriously.”  “We understand some employees were upset by the phishing attempt and felt it was insensitive, for which we have apologized,” read a statement issued by a company spokesman.

As I reflected on this article, I was first of all grateful that the various churches I was privileged to serve down through the years always seemed to find a way to give out bonuses to their staff at Christmas time.  This was especially true when my wife and I were younger with small children, and almost always stressed to as we stretched our income to cover our expenses.  The added expense of Christmas shopping could often be a tremendous burden on the household budget.

That is not to say that Christmas bonuses were always forthcoming.  And the truth is that there were lean times when bonuses were not given, and my wife and I simply had to make do.  Many of my readers likely also experienced a similar disappointment or two at some point or another along the way.  But even when these times came, we were never deceitfully treated by the churches we served.  At least they were forthright and told us up front. 

It can be very painful when employees are flippantly treated otherwise.  Invariably, most all employees will have had that “Clark Griswold” moment at least once, where they had perhaps counted on a bonus that they never got, sometimes even without explanation.  No doubt 2020 will now go down as just such a year for the employees at GoDaddy.  And this will only be made all the more unbearable if the email was truthful when it stated that 2020 has been “a record year for GoDaddy” all thanks to its employees!

It was for these reasons, as I progressed from part-time to full time, and then from support staff positions to senior staff positions, I felt compelled to be sensitive to such matters, and did my best down throughout the years to work with Personnel and Stewardship Teams in order to ensure Christmas bonuses to all church staff members.  When one manages people, he or she quickly learns that it is far more blessed to give, especially at Christmas time, than to receive.

I am not just thankful that the churches I was blessed to serve never treated me wrong.  I am also thankful that God Himself has never done so.  Like the truly loving Heavenly Father He is, He may not have always given me the things I might have desired, but He has most assuredly never deceived me, nor has He ever made me feel unappreciated and unvalued.  In fact, the blessings He has chosen to bestow on me have always been supernal to my needs.

To tie all of this together, I have been reminded this week of just how good God has been to me and my family.  I have also been reminded, in turn, that I am called to be a channel of blessings to others.  I hope that all those whom I have encountered this Christmas season will have found in me an added blessing and not an added disappointment. 

As I do, I pray that I will always remember the importance of providing a little added joy to others around me at this time of year.  After all, who among us does not need and appreciate receiving just such a little bonus at Christmas?!


SOURCE:  https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/godaddy-tests-employees-with-phishing-email-promising-christmas-bonuses-report.

​WHAT’S IN YOUR TREE?!

12/25/2020

 
As if 2020 had not been a weird enough year, along comes Christmas 2020, with all its bizarre headlines.  Consider the following from Fox News:  "Christmas 2020: The Terrifying Animals Found in Christmas Trees This year".

As Fox News contributors Michael Bartiromo, Janine Puhak, and Ann Schmidt collectively report: "We’re not talking about smaller critters like ants or spiders — we’re talking marsupials and birds of prey."

The article then goes on to report that, after a year of what might be termed unwanted and unwelcome surprises, the waning months of 2020 proved no different for a handful of homeowners whose Christmas trees seemed to have attracted unwanted and unwelcome tenants.

The writers then proceed to list an assorted array of creatures that have manifested themselves between the branches of otherwise normal Christmas trees this year.  Among them are…

An Owl

The first and likely most famous was a tiny northern saw-whet owl found to be living inside NYC’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree by workers who unwrapped the Norway Spruce in Rockefeller Plaza.  Later named "Rockefeller", the owl was transferred to a wildlife center in Saugerties, N.Y., before it was set free.

A Koala

In the land down under, the McCormick family of Adelaide, South Australia, returned to their home one evening in early December to find a koala living in their tree. It was later determined that the koala had likely wandered into the house when they had opened the doors to leave home earlier that afternoon. Animal control eventually responded to detangle the koala from the tree’s lights and set it free.

A Raccoon

Back in the USA, a Florida resident named Aubrey Iacobelli initially thought a stray cat must have entered through her pet door and settled in her Christmas tree early one morning at approximately 4 a.m.   She soon discovered that it was no cat, but rather a raccoon. The ensuing hour long struggle to evict the unwelcome tenant with the assistance of her dog, complete with destruction of the tree and much household décor, was actually caught on video.

A Sparrow Hawk

Equally as alarming, Louise Anderson, of Ellon, Scotland, called police after a sparrow hawk made its way into her house and took up residence in her Christmas tree. "It was there for about 40 minutes – it was a spectacular bird," she told the BBC.  Shortly thereafter, authorities responded, and removed and released the lesser bird of prey.  

A Copperhead Snake

And then, as if the wildlife down in Australia were not to be out done, Tasmania resident Felicity Richardson found an actual copperhead snake under her Christmas tree!  She trapped it under a pot until a local reptile specialist could arrive and dispose of the intruding creature.

At his point, I needed to read no more.  I had visions of the chaos resulting from the fictional Griswold family bravely confronting a squirrel in the tree in their living room in the movie Christmas Vacation.  I then ventured into our own living room and gave our own Christmas tree a thorough visual inspection.  Fortunately, I did not discover anything amiss. 

(Moreover, upon further reflection, I really do not know what I would have done had I actually found anything.  Most likely, I would have jumped atop the couch and yelled for my wife!)


All jokes aside, it strikes me that the multiple assaults on Christmas trees manifested in 2020, and especially the one undertaken by a snake, is nothing new.  In point of fact, it was a serpent that showed up and menaced those who experienced the very first Christmas. 

After all, the Bible informs us way back in Genesis chapter 3 (verse 15) that an old serpent would seek to harm God’s anointed Servant by striking Him in the heel.  It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Satan would move upon wicked King Herod (as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2) to attempt to strike down God’s Messiah in His infancy.  As we now know, God completely thwarted that attempt.

Of course, little has changed in the intervening 2000 years.  Each and every year since then, especially at Christmas time, the evil one has sought to interject his presence and somehow ruin the season.  In this respect, 2020 was no different.
 

This year, of course, his chosen tool was some newfangled thing called "Covid-19".  And yet, try as he might, despite all the fearmongering and panic, despite all the quarantines and lockdowns and restrictions (many of which were authorized by the state), he never quite managed to undo, or even to lessen the significance of, Christmas!

Why?  Because all the menacing posturing notwithstanding, the presence of an unwelcome animal cannot undo the majesty of a Christmas tree.  Nor can the presence of an unwelcome adversary in any way undo the very meaning of Christmas itself!

​The same Genesis passage that predicts that the serpent would strike the heel of God's Chosen One also tells us that the Messiah will ultimately crush thee head of the evil one! 
 

So let Satan keep right on posturing!  Let him keep right on showing up and bluffing with all his pretentious ferocity!  He had no power against that first Christmas, and all God was up to in it; and he has no power against Christmas here and now, nor all God is up to in its midst!    

If nothing else, Christmas 2020 has surely proven what Christmas has always been about:  "Joy to the world!"  Our ageless Savior wins, and our age-old enemy loses!  

ARTICLE SOURCE:   
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/christmas-2020-animals-found-in-trees.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES:   
https://biblehub.com/bsb/genesis/3.htm; and
ttps://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/2.htm.

GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST!

12/21/2020

 
It is commonly asserted that life imitates art.  What is more, this apparently happens more often than we realize.  And I may have just experienced an example of it while out walking this morning.  Not once, but twice.
 
Let me begin by saying that those of you who read my blog regularly will perhaps remember that in an earlier post, dated 10/28/2020 and titled GOOD AND EVIL, I talked about my love for Alfred Hitchcock movies, and specifically for his movie titled The Birds.

In that movie, of course, an enormous number of bird species inexplicably converge upon the northern California hamlet of Bodega Bay, where they proceed to wreak havoc on the local inhabitants.  So, to get to the point, as I was out walking earlier today, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a similarly massive flock of birds. 

I first became aware of their presence by the sheer volume of sound they were producing.  What had begun as a slight drumming noise grew quickly into a cacophony of squeaking, squawking, and chirping that all but drowned out any other noise.
Looking up, I soon realized that the limbs and branches above me were full as far as I could see (about a hundred yards in every direction).  I do not know if they were blackbirds, purple martins, or some other species; but it was fairly obvious that they were migrating en masse, and had just then chosen to alight and rest in the trees all up and down the stretch of road I was traversing.

As I slowly made my way forward, I could not help but recall certain eerie portions of Hitchcock’s The Birds, especially the scene where Tippy Hedren and numerous children slowly begin to navigate a menacing flock of birds in an attempt to escape their beleaguered school house.  With every step they take, the birds become more and more aggressive, until an outright onslaught ensues!  With each passing step, I had visions of just such an impending attack!

Thankfully, after several agonizing minutes, I finally passed underneath and beyond the majority of them without attack.  As I ever-so-slowly emerged from underneath the threatening assemblage above me, the clamor slowly began to abate.  It was only then, however, that I began to hear another ominous sound - a new noise akin to dripping, splatting, or even plopping.

No sooner had I realized what I was hearing than I felt the droppings hitting my shoulders.  A quick glance at the pavement to my right and left confirmed my fears!  That’s right!  You guessed it.  I was being pelted with bird poop from a hundred or more avian dispensaries located directly overhead!

It was then that I had my epiphany.  I was not living out a scene from The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.  Instead, I was living out a scene from another movie:  High Anxiety by Mel Brooks!  If you are familiar with this latter work, you will know that it is a hilarious parody film in which the scene in question has a man running from a flock of menacing birds (an obvious play on Hitchcock’s The Birds), only to be overrun by them, and to be bombarded with an avalanche of bird droppings from above!

As I made my way home, I reflected on what all had just happened.  I concluded that what I had undergone was a good paradigm for life in general, and for the choice life so often presents us with in particular.

To begin with, I had been privileged to experience an amazing sight.  The flock of birds I encountered was truly a miracle of nature.  It was a rare and spectacular phenomenon.  And yet, ironically, I was about to miss the significance of all of this because I was focused on another, less fortunate and ultimately far less significant component of life.

After all, once home, I quickly showered and ran my clothes though the washing machine and dryer.  When I did, the singular unfortunate component of this whole experience was done and gone.  But I will forever remember the remarkable privilege of happening upon such an enormous conglomeration of migrating birds, in all their splendor and magnificence.

Fast forward nine hours…  Along with untold billions of people on this planet, I stood with my family just after dark tonight observing the so-called Christmas Star of 2020.  We are told that it has been some 800 years since the precise conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn gave the appearance in the night sky at Christmas time that a super star was present.

How ironic is it that this is occurring on the winter solstice in this of all years?!

For here, as we are emerging from 2020, when the world has now effectively dumped upon all of us a most terrible and odious expression of misfortune, the Lord has chosen to remind us of His power and presence by allowing us to experience so grand and majestic a miracle as the unheard of gathering of heavenly spheres above us! 

And do these heavenly entities not sing of His glory and majesty as they assemble?!

As they do, do they not also challenge us to look beyond the “crap” of this world (which is, quite frankly, to be expected), and to focus instead upon the marvelous, miraculous, creative, and redemptive power of Almighty God?  A power that is on display not only in nature among the birds of the air and the orbs of the skies that He created, but also on display in the supernatural display of angels singing and a Savior being born that He ordained?!

No, my friends, do not make the terrible mistake of missing the great miracle of Christmas this year!  Do not do this by focusing on the awful inundation of misfortune we have all experienced at the expense of the great blessing we have all received!  For when the Heavens sing, they do so, not by accident, but by design!  And as they do, they sing of God’s glory, God’s purpose, and above all, God’s love!

SOURCES:

THE BIRDS MOVIE ATTACK SCENE:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsP_f6TAKtk.

HIGH ANXIETY MOVIE ATTACK SCENE:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scgO8Vfh1qU.

MAKE CHRISTMAS FUN AGAIN!

12/18/2020

 
A couple of years ago, a member of the church where I was serving as Pastor made a comment to me at the annual Christmas Eve service that I have not soon forgotten.  As we are about the same age, he too had experienced the birth of his first grandchild a couple of years earlier.  His simple statement was:  “You know, Pastor, now that we have grandkids, Christmas sure is fun once again, ain’t it?!”

At the time, all I could do was smile and say was “Amen!”  Now, with six grandchildren and a seventh on the way, that blessing has only been magnified many times over!  And so has the fun associated with Christmas!  My wife and I have had the best time this year gathering up presents for our friends and family, and especially for our grandchildren.

I have to admit that it has not always been this way.  As is likely the case for so many, for me, as a child, Christmas was a magical time!  At the time, I knew nothing of the stresses, the costs, or the hassles of Christmas.  Such is the privilege of childhood.  Nor did I know the loneliness and depression many people feel at this time of the year.

But as I aged, of course, I was destined to learn all of these things.  One simply cannot mature into adulthood without having to learn to bear responsibility, replete with all its accompanying concerns.  Nor can one serve as a Pastor without seeing the consequences of having to bear such responsibility manifested in the lives of others.

Now that I am have transitioned from a Pastoral ministry to a writing ministry, I am no longer privy to so many of the cares and concerns of others.  But I do still have to deal with these things in my own life.  However, as of late, I have reached the point where I have decided to try not to let the cares of this world impact my joy at Christmas as much as they once presumed to do.

In short, I have committed to do my best to make Christmas fun again!  After all, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?  Did not the angel tell the shepherds that first Christmas (in Luke, chapter 2, verse 10) that he had come to bring them “good news of great joy that will be for all the people”?

I find it interesting that no sooner had the angel shared this than he was joined by a whole host of heavenly beings praising God!  Clearly, therefore, the angels were rejoicing because they had been used of God to bring joy into the lives of others at Christmas.
 
I too have found the best way to experience joy and happiness at Christmas is to make certain that others find some level of joy and happiness through me!
  
So, do you find yourself wishing for a little more joy this Christmas season?  Have the pressures of life robbed you of your own joyfulness?  In other words, would you like to see Christmas be fun again?  Then, why not find ways to make it so for others?  You might just discover that giving to others not only brings them more enjoyment this Christmas season, but you as well!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:  https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/2.htm.

TIMBER!

12/14/2020

 
One night a few weeks ago, the remnants of one of 2020’s innumerable hurricanes blew itself out over east Tennessee.  The rain fell in torrents and the winds gusted as the patch of woods behind our house creaked and groaned, enduring the full brunt of nature’s fury.
 
Having been down this road before, I arose early the following morning in order to inspect the damage.  Sure enough, right in the midst of our property lay a huge old oak tree that, despite giving all it had in a fierce nocturnal struggle, had nonetheless lost the battle and succumbed to nature’s onslaught.

Needless to say, I was crestfallen.  To begin with, on a selfish note, there was now a large mess that had to be cleaned up.  I knew that the chain saw would soon roar; and my muscles would soon ache.

More to the point, a huge hole had now been created in the overhead canopy.  To a certain extent, the beauty of our patch of woods had now been diminished. But my sorrow involved more than this; for over the years, I had come to know, love, and respect this grand old tree.  Its great size alone testified to the fact that it was older, larger, and more storied than the numerous smaller trees that struggled upward beneath its canopy.  It had clearly been one of a select few like itself in our woods!

Thus, it was sad to see the broken trunk of this great tree now stretched out upon the ground amidst so much crushed and shattered foliage.  And yet, even as I viewed it in its now humbled form, I could not help but reflect upon its former majesty.

Who knew when this great tree had first sprung to life?  Who knew how many years, decades, or even centuries it had stood?  Who could even begin to count the innumerable limbs, leaves, and/or acorns it had discarded annually ever since?  And who knew how many lesser trees now growing in the vicinity owed their very existence to the spawn of this one tree?

Beyond this, who could count the numbers of generations of birds, squirrels, raccoons, and other arboreal creatures that had sheltered in its bows?  For that matter, had it been alive to witness Native Americans?  Or pioneers?  After all, men like Sam Houston and Davy Crockett had passed through this area.  Did this one tree observe these or other such men as they passed by?  Oh, if trees could only talk?!

Apparently, I am not alone in my musings.  The sixth century B.C. Prophet Zechariah also mourned the felling of certain great trees in his day.  In chapter 11, verse 2 of his eponymous Old Testament Book, he writes:  “Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!”

How do we respond when great trees fall?   To begin with, just as I had done, by reflecting on their worth.  But perhaps we can and should do even more.  How so?  Maya Angelou offers one such way in her poem titled “When Great Trees Fall”…

“When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety. When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile.  We breathe, briefly.  Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity.  Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken.

Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us.  Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened.  Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away.  We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold caves.

And when great souls die, after a period, peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly.  Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.  Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.  They existed.  They existed.  We can be.  Be and be better.  For they existed.”


Angelou is obviously speaking here to the impact of significant people on our lives.  Her assertion is that their passing should then inspire us to do more than merely reflect upon them.  It should compel us to action.  That is to say that we should always honor those who came before us by being and doing just as they did – which is to glorify God by being all we can be and doing all we can do in our time even as they did in theirs.  Let me just say that I wholeheartedly concur! 

Now for the relevance of all of this.  Earlier today, a mighty oak in my life fell.  His name was Ronald Lewis Jordan; and he was a clearly what I consider a holdover from the old growth forest of mighty men whose towering presence in my life was God-ordained.  An apt description of Ron can be found in Psalm 1:1-3:

1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked                           or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

2but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,                                                       and who meditates on his law day and night.

3That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,                                 which yields its fruit in season                                                                           and whose leaf does not wither -                                                               whatever they do prospers.

Fifteen years my senior, he nonetheless humbled himself and served under me as Church Executive during my role as Senior Pastor in the last church I served for nearly twenty years before my retirement.   Along the way, like a mighty oak tree, he clung ever downward to his roots while always spreading his branches ever skyward in an attempt to glorify Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ!

A gifted administrator, preacher, teacher, and in his own right, even scholar, Ron was both a “Jack” and a “Master” of multiple ministry trades.  He was passionate about the Gospel, and fiercely determined to press its cause at every opportunity.  Yet, he was wise enough to know that the Gospel must ever be acculturated; and he therefore worked tirelessly to make the Gospel relevant in our context.

In my role as Senior Pastor, he, as Church Executive, was for me both a mentor and a parishioner.  In this sense, he not only taught me, but also learned of me.  And for this reason, I will forever be grateful to him - both for the wisdom he proffered me in the many times I displayed woeful ignorance, and for the affirmation he gave me in the pitifully few times I displayed Godly wisdom.  

The wisdom he expressed to me came from the countless experiences he had garnered before we ever even met.  In this sense, his roots ran ever deep.  Conversely, the graciousness he showed me no doubt came from the future he always chose to embrace.  In this sense, his branches soared ever skyward.  Like so many others for whom I now speak, I was blessed just to sit among the foliage he exuded, and enjoy the fruit he produced.  

In the Bible, the venerable Job acknowledges that broken trees are all too often remembered no more (24:20).  Yet, in chapter 14, verse 7, he also affirms that “There is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender shoots will not fail.”

Due, in part, to the ravishes of nature, my brother, Ron Jordan, has now been cut down.  As much as I am able, I now aim to see to it that he is remembered!  More importantly, I hereby testify to the fact that there is hope, for because of his faith in Jesus Christ, Ron Jordan will indeed spring forth again into newness of life.  His future is assured as he now sprouts afresh and anew in a whole new world!

In the meantime, as one who suddenly finds himself exposed in the huge void created by this one man’s passing, I pledge to struggle ever upward for my own God-ordained place in the sun, not for self-aggrandizement, but only so that I too might glorify God by having a similar impact in the lives of others as did he!  If you knew Ron, then you also know that is exactly what he would have wanted.

POEM SOURCE:  https://poems.com/poem/when-great-trees-fall/.

SCRIPTURE SOURCES: 
https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/1.htm; and
https://biblehub.com/zechariah/11-2.htm.

LOOK WHO’S BACK!

12/8/2020

 
The theme itself is perennial.  Whether it is expressed in The Angels’ 1963 number one song, "My Boyfriend's Back", or Thin Lizzy’s 1976 chart topper, “The Boys Are Back In Town”, or the Dropkick Murphys’ 2013 hit “The Boys Are Back”, or any one of a dozen similar releases, the notion of young men who had gone away, but have now returned, is a common theme in popular music.

Just as it is in life itself.  The entertainment industry knows this well.  Consider such classics as Charles Frazier’s 1997 novel Cold Mountain, later made into a 2003 blockbuster movie.  Like the 1993 movie before it, Sommersby, and its basis, the true-life historical account of the return of a 16th century French peasant named Martin Guerre (itself the subject of multiple books and movies), the story of a young man returning from a difficult struggle in military service and resuming his life is a powerful motif.

If you are wondering where I am headed with all of this, suffice it to say that today has been a day of joyous celebration in our family!  For my son, who has been away overseas in service to our country, returned home today after a lengthy deployment. 

Along with other members of the family, his mother and I are ecstatic.  We are also extremely proud of him and all he has undertaken on our behalf, not only as his parents, but also as American citizens.  His service and sacrifice has, in part, helped to make possible the many freedoms we enjoy!

Of course, long ago, the Bible itself explored similar themes.  Some sons went away against their will.  Joseph was a beloved son was taken against his will, but who eventually came back victorious.  Other sons left of their own volition, but came home defeated and humbled.  Consider the famed prodigal son.

But One Son, the biggest of all, went away of His own volition, fought and won the greatest victory, and returned home fully triumphant.  That Son, of course, was none other than Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.  Even now, He is loved and adored as He sits at the right hand of His Father, fully satisfied in the accomplishment He achieved, and awaiting the culmination of all things when He will be crowned as Victor once and for all!

Admittedly, the comparison is a feeble one.  But I too now know the anguish of a father whose son left of his own free volition to defend, protect, and ensure the future of others.  More to the point, I now know the joy of a father whose son has not only embraced such a task and born that responsibility, but who has come through victorious and returned home to those whom he loves and cherishes!

For all of this, I am grateful!  An earthly son, and a Heavenly One, both of whom have willingly given of themselves for me and mine!  To God be the glory!

COLOR ME HAPPY!

12/3/2020

 
Having decided we had spent enough money on fairly expensive replacement cartridges for our ink jet printer, my wife and I decided to take the advice of friends and try going the “ink refill kit” route.  After all, spending $17.95 beats spending $59.99 any day of the week!
 
So, we went online and ordered one “Premium Refill Ink Kit” containing “3 bottles of 30ml Dye Black ink; 1 bottle of 30ml Dye Cyan ink; 1 bottle of 30ml Dye Magenta ink; 1 bottle of 30ml Dye Yellow ink; and 1 refill drill”.

It arrived yesterday; and wouldn't you know it, I drew the short straw of installation.  So, scared to death I would mess up the procedure it called for, I dutifully spent last night reading and re-reading the instructions.  Then, this morning, after once again reading though the directions, and after getting myself all psyched up, I tore into the package and threw myself into the process with compete abandon.

A quarter of an hour later, it was all over.  Three color ink cartridges and one black ink cartridge had all been refilled and reinstalled.  To my utter amazement (and especially my wife's), they were all working quite well.  In fact, after running the cleaning program for the ink jet heads, and then printing an alignment page, I was amazed to see just how well the test page turned out.

Until I took another look, that is.  Not another look at the printed page, but at my hands, and at the top of the desk where I had performed the messy refill process.  It seemed as if everywhere I looked, a hodgepodge of primary colors and/or combinations of them gave evidence of the intense preceding struggle undertaken to reinfuse life into my depleted ink cartridges.

Prominent among those colors were blue, black, and above all, red.  My hands, even more than the desk top, bore evidence of the fierceness of the melee.  But I looked upon the scene with great satisfaction, knowing that even though the struggle may have been intense, it was nonetheless extremely rewarding.

Of course, the image of black and blue hands, covered in a further layer of red, brought to my mind what another set of hands must have once looked like, after another, far greater struggle to infuse new life into depleted vessels had taken place.

That struggle was the one that happened when the battle of the ages came to a head on an old rugged cross some twenty centuries ago, as the Only Begotten Son of God allowed Himself to be beaten black and blue before shedding His crimson blood through the piercing  of His hands, feet, and side, all for the right to give new life to men and women everywhere.

As a result of an intense few minutes of struggle on my part, my printer found itself infused with newness of life, clearly reflected in the crisp, bright colors it was generating with each new page.  As a result of an infinitely more intense few hours of struggle on a cross, men and women in all times and places were suddenly able to be infused with newness of life.

I am one of those who benefited by that great sacrifice by Jesus Christ.  The evidence of His struggle was on display in His broken body and His spilled blood.  Now, hopefully, the newness of life I have experienced through Him is evidenced by a bright, new colorful disposition on display as I go about glorifying Him by fulfilling the purpose for which He created and then redeemed me.

What about you?  Are you feeling empty inside?  Do you feel depleted?  Would you like to find newness of life?   One that evidences a new purpose and productivity?  As well as a new and abundant overflow of colorful joy? 

If so, then why not consider what Jesus has done for you?  Why not embrace His struggle and victory on your behalf today?  In short, why not allow Jesus to color you happy today?!

I leave you with the testimony of Rufus H. McDaniel.  Pay particular attention to the words of his first and last stanzas.


1 What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
since Jesus came into my heart!
I have light in my soul for which long I had sought,
since Jesus came into my heart!

Refrain:
Since Jesus came into my heart,
since Jesus came into my heart,
floods of joy o'er my soul like the sea billows roll,
since Jesus came into my heart.

2 I'm possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure,
since Jesus came into my heart!
And no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure,
since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]

3 There's a light in the valley of death now for me,
since Jesus came into my heart!
And the gates of the city beyond I can see,
since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]

4 I shall go there to dwell in that city, I know,
since Jesus came into my heart!
And I'm happy, so happy, as onward I go,
since Jesus came into my heart! [Refrain]


Amen!

HYMN SOURCE:  
https://hymnary.org/text/what_a_wonderful_change_in_my_life_has.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

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