Missing Jesus

"...Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?..." ~ John 1:46

Every Christmas I hear it. Every Christmas I read it...the story of Jesus' birth.  Every year something new stands out to me about it. This last year was no exception.


Reading aloud from Matthew chapter 2 on Christmas morning, I read how King Herod questioned the wise men from the east as to where Christ should be born:

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (vs. 5-6)

This was a reference to a prophesy spoken by the prophet Micah hundreds of  years before:

 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. ~Micah 5:2

I then read how an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take his family and flee to Egypt for their safety. Joseph obeyed. As recorded in vs 14-15:

 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. 

This was a reference to a prophesy spoken by the prophet Hosea hundreds of years before:

 "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." ~Hosea 11:1

A little while later, once again, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him to return to Israel, that it was now safe to go back. Scriptures expounds:

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." (vs. 22-23)

As I read through these scriptures I began to think about how, if someone had only heard the prophesy about the Savior coming from Bethlehem, but only knew Jesus as the guy from Nazareth, or if they only knew of the prophesy of  Him being called out of Egypt, but didn't know that as a baby he had ever lived in Egypt, would they have missed Jesus?  Would they have missed realizing who He was because they were so focused on that one detail and totally have missed the fact that he was love incarnate?  I couldn't help but wonder...would I have missed Jesus?

Many did. John 7:41-43 states that, "Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him." 

Right after that conversation the officers, chief priests, and Pharisees began to talk among themselves about Him. Nicodemus stood up for Christ, but the other leaders responded, "...Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet." (vs. 52)  Though, according to Matthew, multiple prophets had spoken of the Savior being a Nazarene, this group was all focused on the fact that He would come from Bethlehem. Apparently they had no idea He had been born there.

Even Nathanael would possibly have overlooked Christ, had Philip not been his friend and led him to Him:

Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. ~John 1:45-46

In the same way that so many were able to miss Jesus, despite Him walking and talking with them, so we also can miss things in our lives, if we are not careful.  It can be so easy to find ourselves zoned in on one thing, one area of life, etc. and total miss out on the big picture. We have to be careful not to be so focused on the mundane that we miss what's most important. As the saying goes, sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees. 

We can be guilty of this in so many ways:

When reading scripture:  It is so important to read scripture in context. Everyone seeking a relationship with Christ needs to read the whole Bible and when studying the Bible they need to read not just a scripture, but everything around the scripture in context. For example, John 3:16 is a wonderful verse, but we can't embrace it, yet ignore verse 3-8. 

With relationships:  It can be very easy to get so consumed in the routine day in and day out responsibilities of life, that we can neglect the most important relationships in our life. We can also miss out when we choose to focus on and magnify a few faults in another, rather than choosing to focus on and celebrate their many strengths.

With God given callings:  Sometimes, we can lose the big picture and come to think inside a box that God never created in the first place. God is a very creative God and He doesn't always do things exactly the way we expect. The truth is, He rarely does. We can also be at fault in thinking that only certain gifts and talents are useful within certain positions. Due to this we may cast them aside, when scripture teaches us to use them all. (Matthew 25:14-30)

This list could go on and on, but the point is this: DON'T MISS IT! Don't miss what's most important. Step back. Take a good look at it all. Realize what is most important and focus on those things. These people who lived during the time of Christ were walking, talking, and eating with Jesus, yet many overlooked him because they didn't know his full background; they only knew the part that didn't line up with what they were watching for. Because of this, they missed Jesus.

Don't miss Jesus. 
Don't miss Him in the sunrise and the sunset.
Don't miss Him in the sounds of the streams or the sounds of the birds.
Don't miss Him in the smell of the rose or the smell of fresh rain.
Don't miss Him when you hold a cute puppy or are held by a loved one.
Don't miss Him in these things, because He created and gave you all of them.

Dear Friend

Dear Ember,

We said our goodbyes to you this week...or at least we began the process. We will, however, never say goodbye to our precious memories of you and will continue to look forward to that day in which we will get to say hello again.

For now, I choose to reflect on some of the treasury of memories we have shared together and take a moment to share them with others, in hopes that they too will bring a smile to their face as they have brought a smile to mine.

Memories of our IBC days... Sometimes on weekdays, when we would find out the night security alarm was broken, and, thinking it wrong not to take advantage of the opportunity, we would stay out late rollerblading at the canals, etc or, often, when the alarm was working, we would stay up late on campus for both legit and pointless reasons. Then, the next morning, your roommate Steph and I would shake your bed and do all kinds of other mean stuff to you trying to wake you up for class. Most of those times you never even budged. You were the Energizer Bunny at night; Sleeping Beauty in the morning. I will never understand how you slept through all that.

I remember being at a tent revival service we were having in the same neighborhood as IBC. A very young girl wandered in off the street. You ended up holding her the whole service where you sat on the front row, directly in front of me. The girl was wild, squirming around, playing with your hair, making lots of noise, etc., to such a point that I questioned whether she actually was hearing anything the minister said. Then the altar call was given.  Within just a couple of minutes that little girl was speaking in tongues as God filled her with the Holy Ghost. That day God taught me to assume nothing, things are not always as they appear.

Memory of General Conference in Phoenix...I had been in Phoenix for days already, staying with my family in a hotel, when you decided to come to conference at the last minute. The next thing I knew you had arrived and were begging me to stay with you at your hotel. Sight unseen I finally gave in. Upon arrival to the hotel I realized why you had begged me to stay with you. It looked like those places in movies where criminals on the run hide out, or where the victim is found. I went to get a towel from the front desk. When I got there, the door was ajar (by ajar I mean open and looked broken) and I rang a bell and waited a good long while for someone to come to the front desk. No one ever came. There were other very disturbing things about the room that I can't fully remember now, but I feel like it involved both leaks and bugs. I did not sleep well that night...actually I am not sure if I slept at all. Needless to say, I am hoping you never again chose to book online one of those super cheap non-chain hotels without reviews and sight unseen.

Memories of Vacation in Daytona Beach...My family had booked a three bedroom condo. My parents, my cousin and her husband, and us were supposed to all stay in the same condo. We arrived to find out that, oops, they only had two bedroom condos at the largest available. I all of a sudden felt homeless, or at the best that it was gonna be a long week sleeping on an air mattress. Then the most wonderful thing happened, the resort gave you and I our own corner, ocean front, just steps up from the pool, condo, free of charge. And the rest of the week was bliss...
Well, other than the day we decided to rent those big wheel looking things to ride on the sand. It looked easy. We quickly found out it wasn't. We thought "we'll just ride down to that next pier".  We quickly realized that "next pier" was much further away than we had assumed and that we weren't nearly as coordinated or in near as good shape as we had thought. But, we were both stubborn and goal oriented and persevered...and both almost passed out in the process. If I remember correctly I think we walked those big wheels back.

There are so many other times I could mention, but one seemingly insignificant one stands out in my mind....Staying at your parent's house, sitting out on their patio getting our farmers tans, while we both drank our waters and read our non-fiction books in silence. We of course later discussed all the cool stuff we were learning from our books, but for that moment we were perfectly content sitting in silence sharing something we both enjoyed doing.

There's so many things that make me smile that I will always remember about you. You were the only person I knew that referred to anybody, male or female, as "Dude" and got away with it. You were always trying to talk me into things. I was always telling you no. Now some of those things I wish I would have said yes to...not the random things you would try to get me to sell though. You were the one with the sales skills, not me. I love how I could come to town to visit you and by the time I left feel like I had seen the whole city and met everyone who lived there. I love how you liked road trips/ traveling just as much as me, and wish I could have went on every trip you ever tried to talk me into.

We were different in so many ways, but it was our similarities that through distance and time kept our friendship solid. I learned a lot from you my friend, a lot about not letting past negatives weigh down future hopes, a lot about living life fully, a lot about many other things. I am still a work in progress in applying these lessons, but I have learned them.

I will miss our tag team goofy voicemails. I will miss you making fun of how pathetic I am at texting back quickly. I will miss seeing the irritated look on your face when I said your name like "Timbeeeer". I will miss hearing you say "Dude" or "Chica". I will miss you.

As much as I will miss you, I thank God that I am one of the lucky ones who was blessed to have known you.

Until we meet again my friend...

Love you,
Rachel

Friendship, Bitterness, & Treasures

"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." ~Ruth 1:16-17

Today I started reading Ruth again, one of my favorite books of the Bible. For such a short book, there is so much to be learned from it. Today I learned about friendship…which is what the name "Ruth" means.  The first chapter of this book is a perfect example of what true friendship (love) looks like. Out of real love for her mother-in-law, Ruth refused to leave her alone to go on her way, but insisted on going with her...not just going with her, but remaining with her. 

Naomi showed real love for Ruth by trying to protect her and insisting that she stay where she might have a better chance for survival, or so she hoped. However, God had a much better plan for Ruth, and, unlike Orpah, she chose to cling to Naomi, and that is the moment God would begin to change her life. This change began when she chose to stick with her loved one and enter Bethlehem (The House of Bread), risking leaving behind all that was familiar to her, simply because she truly loved Naomi.

  

Naomi means "my delight", however, when they reached her homeland, she told them to call her "bitterness", rather than "my delight", due to the negative way she felt God had dealt with her.  You see, through eyes of love, Ruth still saw her mother-in-law as delightful, someone worthy of love...someone in need of and who deserved companionship.  No doubt, by her insistence to be called Mara instead, life had beaten her down and she probably was no longer quite the loveable lady Ruth had first known. She has probably depressed, negative, and unlikely the type of person people enjoyed being around...she was "bitter". 

Bitter...not only an attitude, but a taste that can get into other people's mouths and spirits as well, if those people do not choose to love and over power, rather than to ingest, that potent taste. 

Reading about this reminded me of a tweet by Bro. Raymond Woodward that I read earlier today:

"We're not willing to take what we don't want to get what we do want. A field has rocks and weeds in it, but the TREASURE is in the field! You're church, pastor, marriage, or spouse is a field with treasure in it. Don't complain about the field; rejoice in the TREASURE!" ~J. Hyles

None of us are perfect. If you don't agree with that statement I suggest you repeat it out loud until you do! In different ways I believe we are all diamonds in the rough. A diamond in the rough may be defined as "someone (or something) that has hidden exceptional characteristics and/or future potential, but currently lacks the final touches that would make them (or it) truly stand out from the crowd." 

 Lucky for all of us:

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." ~Proverbs 27:17

A true friend remembers you at your best, and if you are no longer at that place, reminds you of what "your best" looks like until you are back to being the treasure God created you to be. In process it is very possible one may become an even more valuable treasure than ever before!
 
 Left to their own devices it is doubtful that Ruth or Naomi would have survived their tragic situation. However, together, they not only survived, but thrived.  And, just as, in my last blog, I spoke of Christ being born through the lineage of Isaac...He also chose Ruth and Boaz to be part of that blessed lineage as well!

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" ~Matthew 6:21

Christians in Action

"...And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." ~Acts 11:26

"Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are." ~Author Unknown

"What this world needs is a new kind of army - the army of the kind." ~Cleveland Amory

Christian - "Christ-like".

When I was in high school I was in a club called Christians in Action (aka: CIA :-). I feel the name of this club sums up the excerpt below I felt to share. While we, as Christians, are not saved by works, if God's Spirit is truly in us it WILL show through in the fruit we bear...Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance.

The below is from a fictional book I am reading titled "The Silas Diary" by Gene Edwards. While it is a fictional work, it is based on the real journeys of the Apostle Paul as recorded in the Book of Acts. Whether or not this is the way it was, only God knows...however, this IS the way it should be and I truly belief the way it can be:

...During the course of a year, some who have rooms lose them because they have no money or nothing left with which to barter. During the winter, some barter all they own for food. In this region of Galatia, many slaves, when given the opportunity, refuse to be set free. Others, once freed and on the edge of starvation, sell themselves back into slavery. Hardship is a constant companion in the lives of these people. Such are the people who make up the community of believers in Pisidia.

A group of people have become brothers and sisters, their new way of life wonderful and joyful. It is a way of living never before seen on the face of the earth. Yet God ordained that it come into being in this poor and remote region of Asia Minor.

It is amazing, as I look back, to see how these holy ones take care of one another. If one brother finds a job in the marketplace and the supervisor needs more help, that brother runs to find another brother so he, too, can work that day.

When several brothers work together, they work harder and better. They share a spirit of joy, often singing, often praising. Though the masters and supervisors don't understand it, they remember these men who work so well together. As they hire workers each morning in the marketplace, they search out these faces first. Some of the merchants have been known to say: "You, today you work. Go find your friends, the ones you call brothers, the ones you laugh and sing with."

In the gatherings, brothers tell one another about possible places to look for a day's work. The next night they tell everyone about how the Lord provided them a job, while the rest listen, rejoice, laugh, and interrupt.

Nor were the brothers alone in this new way of meeting needs. This new life inside them was changing everyone and everything, affecting the women as much as the men. The sisters in Pisidia began caring for one another, a phenomenon unknown in the Gentile world. They care for one another in the most unexpected ways. In childbirth, of course, but also working together at the river and in their homes and rooms. (Those who have no home and have to sleep in the forum are especially cared for.) Any sister who becomes sick is soon cared for throughout the night and day.

I have often seen the sisters working together in the fields, caring for one another's children, sharing vegetables and grain with one another, or cleaning rooms together. Sometimes they meet only to sing, to talk, to cry, to care, and to be cared for. If one somehow manages to have more than a day's supply of food, they often come together and prepare one big meal so all can have a good meal that day.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" ~Psalm 133:1

It's Not a Problem; It's an Opportunity.

Today, while thinking about some of my closest friends, I started trying to remember how I met each of them. Most I don't even remember when exactly I met them. But a few I remember very well, because our friendships began under negative circumstances.

One of my closest friends I met while we were attending IBC together. I didn't know her at all when she asked me, while sitting in a student lounge across from me, "Do you want a new roommate?!" She was in an extremely bad roommate situation. Her and her roommate pretty much couldn't stand each other. I, on the other hand, got along fine with mine, but was wanting to find a better situation, yet not hurt my roomie's feelings. I hadn't told anyone I was feeling this way. I told the girl, "I don't know" and that I'd get back with her. Long story short, I found out through the grapevine that my roommate and her new best friend were wanting to be roomies, so, not even knowing the girl's name,while sitting across from her in the lobby again, I asked her if she still wanted a new roommate...a year and a half later we'd been roommates a year, never fought, discovered we were oddly a like in tons of ways, and still to this day we remain great friends. Her situation was very bad, and mine not so great...but a lifelong friendship came to be because of it.

Another one of my closest friends I met because I was invited by a friend of hers to stay at her house with a group of other people I didn't really know, in a town where our Bible school choral,which I was in, would be singing. I was told she was cool with me joining and so I decided to do it, though I felt a little awkward about it, considering I wasn't even sure who she was, since there were like 5 girls with the same name at our school. Well, it so happened that almost everyone ended up taking different vehicles, due to varying schedules, to drive the 3 hour drive to the city we were singing in. Somehow the girl and I ended up being the only ones who could leave at the planned time. So...we loaded up our stuff and ever since that road trip, that began with me feeling like jumping ship, we have remained great friends.

Another time, while a new freshman in Bible college, a girl who I didn't know from Adam (or rather Eve :-) said a snappy statement in response to my reply to a question an upperclassmen had asked me. I was embarrassed and hurt. Mainly hurt. I didn't understand why the girl didn't like me, when she didn't even know me.

I prayed long and hard about this, telling God I wanted to get along with everyone, and asking him to please heal the situation. Within a week the girl stopped me in the staircase and apologized. She told me she had been jealous of me and that she had liked the person she knew I liked for a while and that she was very sorry for what she did. (The upperclassman had asked who I liked. I had told him I didn't want to say. Her snappy response was "It's not like everybody doesn't know!"..Well, I hadn't known everybody, especially people I didn't know, knew, and I definitely didn't know why she was being rude about it.)

This girl was a quiet somewhat reserved person that few people got to know well during the two years I was there, but I was blessed to get to know her very well...even getting invited into her room to pet her pet bunny that no one knew about (they weren't supposed to be allowed on campus.:-) In the end she even told me that she hoped me and that person would end up together. That didn't happen. (Obviously:-P) But I think that shows just how God turned a bad situation around and made it something great!

More recently I have been blessed to develop friendships with some fabulous people whom I would never have even met probably had it not been for what turned out to be an unfavorable situation that I've had to go through. I know these new friendships are going to be long lasting and have a great effect on my life. And I know, in the end, that I will look back and say, "You know what...ever bit of it was worth it."

Today I overheard my coworker respond to another coworker regarding a "problem" they were working on, "Don't say "problem"; say "opportunity!"

Sometimes in life that's exactly how we have to look at things. Sometimes we have to think, "Wow, this is really messed up, but I bet God can do something really special with it!" If God can give beauty for ashes I believe He can take any situation and cause beauty to come forth from it! Remember we are, after all, talking about the Creater who made man from dust.

Let's not also forget the most obvious opportunities always available: the opportunity to grow and the opportunity to learn.

Problem: source of perplexity, distress, or vexation

Opportunity: a favorable juncture of circumstances, a good chance for advancement or progress (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

I Want to Be a "Giver"

New Year's Resolutions are an interesting thing. Some people swear by them; others make fun of them. I've realized through the years that the ones that swear by them are usually the ones that accomplish them. The ones that make fun of them...well, they tend to make fun because they haven't been quite so successful at fulfilling them and perhaps have stopped trying all together.

I personally fall somewhere in between the two. For one thing, I don't think it takes a new year starting out to decide to make a commitment to doing/ not doing something. Also, some years there is something I really feel to focus on...other years I'm more set on general improvement, rather than something that specifically is standing out screaming "work on me!"

This year I have decided to focus on one. This year I want to become a better giver. I want to give of myself to others like I have never gave before. As the baby of my family, this is not something that comes very naturally to me, but it is a trait I want to pursue.

In part, to fulfill this goal, I want to stay more connected. Not connected as in being on every networking site out there. But rather as in realizing who those people are that I want to make sure I stay more connected with and being the type of friend/ family member that they deserve. I'm referring to those people that years from now when I'm possibly living in Timbuktu (figuratively speaking I hope:o) I won't find myself thinking "I wonder how they're doing?" or "I wonder what ever happened to them?" But rather that I will know and will have been in enough contact with them to have rejoiced with them when they have rejoiced and have been there for them when they have gone through trying times as well.

A few years back a dear friend of mine, who knows way more people than myself and is one of the busiest people I know, decided he was going to do this. He told me he was making a list of all the people (including people like his grandma) that he knew he needed to talk to more often. In this case he was even going to assign certain days a month to call them. While I don't intend to go to this extent, I have seriously been thinking about who those people are that I should be putting on my "list".

I've been asking myself questions such as:
Who have been my closest friends in the past?
Who am I closest to now?
Who would I like to grow to know better?
Who do I feel I can learn from?
Who do I feel may be able to learn from me?

While this is my New Year's resolution, due to choosing to spend this year in a job position/ ministry that consumes a lot of my time & energy, I have already started off a little off track. Talking all day for one's job makes one less likely to want to talk once he or she goes home...and thus less likely to pick up the phone. However, I am determined. I have some awesome friends and family members who deserve my time. And, if I don't feel like talking sometimes, who cares? I can always listen. Listening's good..Listening's better anyway.

So, dear friend, if you haven't heard from me in a while, feel free to call me and remind me of this fact...I won't be offended and will be glad to hear your voice. And once you confirm to me that you fall into one of the list categories above I will be glad to call you back. (Kidding ;o)

Hope you're having a blessed New Year!