Sunday School

This Christmas season is the one-year mark of when God started making big changes in my heart and life.  Actually, He started months before then.  But this time a year ago was when I really started to see it. 

The changes have been nearly palpable.  A year ago I wanted to live in bed and had to force myself to work and church.

Next week I start teaching Sunday School.  (Voluntarily.)

I don't know that I have any real point to this post other than to ask for your prayers as I go into this endeavor.  We will be going through the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  I've been through this book at least twice on my own now, and I can honestly say it had led to huge changes in my life.  It has pointed me to my Creator and helped ignite a new desire for Him.  It's an incredible and powerful thing, and I want each person in our class to experience it too.

Specific prayer requests:

• For the Spirit to soften and prepare hearts to receive His truth
• For people to come whom God wants to be there (we currently average 6-8)
• For hearts and minds to welcome thoughts and ideas that are a little non-traditional and possibly controversial
• For people to actually read their books during the week
• For people to act on any convictions of the Spirit
• For lives to be transformed and changed
• For each of us to incorporate into this study the practice of prayer from our last study
• For wisdom as I present this material, and for only God's truth to come out of my mouth
• For a renewed energy and passion of this material so I can commit the necessary time and effort toward preparation 

I truly appreciate your prayers!  If you are willing to commit to remembering us, please continue praying through the next three months or so.  I am excited to see how God works and changes lives through this study!

The Final Harvest

All harvest season long the farmers have been fighting the weather, steadily trying to bring in the corn and beans.  And all season long they've met delay after delay, whether from rain or snow or pulling grain carts and combines out of thigh-deep mud.

Even now as I've driven the South Dakota and Minnesota counrtysides to and from work, I see a handful of fields with corn and beans remaining.

I was driving home last Wednesday night, the jet-black sky further hindering the visibility of the road in the snow that was falling thick.

This was the start of the biggest snowstorm to hit the Midwest in decades.

As I came around a curve, big lights shone bright in a field off the highway.  A combine and a grain cart were hard at work to bring in the corn before it became impossible to operate.  The combine was quickly repositioning itself to resume its place after dumping a load of grain, its massive headlights only magnifying the appearance of the blanket of blowing snow hanging in the air.

These farmers knew that within hours, it would be impossible to finish the harvest.  This may even be their last shot altogether, because once snow falls in these parts, it's there to stay until spring arrives.

We, too, have a harvest to bring in.  Not of grain and produce, but one of souls.

The harvest is plentiful.

There are a few in this world that make up the faithful elect who labor endlessly and spend every ounce of themselves to point people to Him and help usher in the Kingdom.

But many others remain.  Others who see the fields white and ready, but do little to bring in the harvest.

We know a time is coming when we will no longer be able to finish this work.  Each day that passes brings us one day closer to that time.  Like the farmers laboring to bring in the harvest even as the storm begins, so we must labor to bring in the eternal harvest.

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?

(Italicized verses from Matthew 9:37 and Luke 18:8.)

Baby Jesus In a Manger...Who Are You?

Baby Jesus in a manger, I love You...

In our Americanized homes and churches, we arrange Nativity scenes.  A Mary bent over a manger, a Joseph leaning on his staff, a sheep and a donkey peering over their shoulders, three Wise Men on bended knee...and a baby Jesus displayed in a feeding trough.

Lying there, to earth a stranger, I love You...

It blends in with the other decorations. Just another part of the season, lost amist the lights and garland and presents.

But this week, as I was listening to a Christmas sermon on one of my drives home, the Spirit opened my eyes just a crack to the magnificent reality of the awesomeness of this scene.  For He gave me a glimpse into the wonder that is God-made-flesh.

The Creator of the Universe is a mysterious Being.  If you've ever seen Louis Giglio's presentations, my guess is you were blown away by the huge infiniteness of our universe.  Earth isn't even a blip on the screen in the panoramic view of billions of galaxies. 

Our Creator spoke all of these into existance.

This same Creator carefully formed you inside the womb.  He knew you before you were even conceived.

He made everything around us - the earth, sea, trees, bugs, animals - with incredible detail.

He says to us, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9)."  Now we can see a limited view of the cosmos that stretches for distances beyond comprehension.

His thoughts, His knowledge and plans...that's how far beyond us they are.

Shepherds heard the angels singing "I love You."

This Creator became a baby, limited Himself to the confines of flesh.

This little baby that looked like any other...this was the LORD.

What if this baby was in His little manger...in the very sanctuary where I worship?

What would I think, feel, as I saw this humble little baby and knew that God Himself was laying before me?

What would I do as I looked upon His infant face?  Fall on my knees?  Sing?  Cry?  Rejoice?

Would I dare hold Him?

I do not think my heart could handle such a thing.

The Candy Cane Interpreted

I think this is the last Christmas Traditions post.  I hope you have enjoyed exploring our holiday practices with me.  I learned a great deal, and while many of our traditions don't share Christian roots, I feel better knowing their origins.  I still quite enjoy the beauty of lights and trees and carols, and I am comfortable adopting such traditions as my own, because they each still remind my why I celebrate this season in the first place.  The Creator of this great universe came down to our world as a tiny baby, and He is the reason that any of this matters to me at all.

If you are just joining, please peruse the several previous entries for more Christmas Traditions uncovered.

____________________

Personally, I prefer the cinnamon flavored ones.

I always eat the long stick part first, then eat the curve.  When I was younger, I would eat the stick down until it was level with the other side, making an even-shaped "U".  Then I would stick the whole thing in my mouth and pretend I had a retainer.  (I was one of those odd children who eagerly anticipated getting glasses and braces.  I thought they were cool.)

After hearing the Christian symbolism behind the details of the candy cane, I quickly accepted that as the true origin.

Once again, I have found this information to be not entirely true.

As Christmas trees became a popular tradition in European homes, people would often decorate them with small treats.  Straight white sticks of candy were one such treat.

According to tradition, in 1670 the choir director of a cathedral was irritated with fidgety and disruptive children during the living Nativity.  To encourage (or bribe) them into good behavior, he passed out these white candy sticks as an incentive.  He curved the sticks to represent a shepherd's staff, just like the staffs the shepherds used in the Nativity.

Red stripes were not added until after the start of the 20th century.  In fact, Christmas cards made before the 1900s show white candy canes; cards made after that time show the stripes.  When, where, and why the stripes appeared is unknown.  The common story is that a candymaker in Indiana fashioned the treats as a way to spread the Good News.  The hardness of the candy is representative of God the Rock.  White is for the purity of Jesus, born of a virgin.  Peppermint flavor symbolizes cleansing hyssop.  The curved top represents a shepherd's crook, or "J" for Jesus.  The red stripes are for Jesus' blood, and the three small stripes represent the Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit.  (Explanations for the stripes vary.)

In the 1950s a machine was invented that enabled the mass production of candy canes.  Today, if you walk down any store aisle with Christmas candy, you'll see all kinds of variations:  traditional canes, tiny canes, extra large sticks, colors across the rainbow, and just about every flavor imaginable.

Like I said, I prefer the cinnamon.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sources:

http://www.noelnoelnoel.com/trad/candycane.html

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp

http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/candy_canes.htm

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/cane.html

A Pear Tree With A What? And Why Are the Ladies Dancing?

If you're interested in any other Christmas traditions, it's possible I may have already posted about them.  Check out the last several previous posts to see if you can find what you're looking for.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Last year the Christian radio station I listen to had a call-in competition drawn out over twelve days.  On day one, the caller had to finish the line from the song:  "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..."  Each day added another line, until on day twelve the caller had to complete all twelve days.

I can comfortably count down from about the seventh day of Christmas; anything above that gets a little shady.

As with just about any information available today, the roots of this song are controversial.  Some agree with Christian meanings, others deny the possibility.  And as with anything, you can use whatever information you find to fit the argument you wish to present.  (I found a good article supporting non-Christian roots for this song at snopes.com, if you wish to read further.  This article swayed me to believe the secular origins to be more true than the religious.)

First of all, the twelve days begin on December 26th and end on January 6th. Some cultures celebrate Christmas during this time period rather than on December 25th. January 6th is referred to as Epiphany, marking the day the Magi visited baby Jesus.

Even though this song probably did not originate from Catholic persecution as many claim, the Christian interpretations giving to it in later years are still kind of fun.  I'm going to tell you what they are anyway.

So, here we go...

Day 1 - A Partridge in a Pear Tree:  The partridge represents Jesus and His devotion to His people, as a mother partridge is devoted to her chicks even to death.  The pear tree represents the cross that Jesus died on.

Day 2 - Two Turtle Doves:  Old and New Testaments

Day 3 - Three French Hens:  Three virtures of faith, hope, and love...or the three gifts of gold, frankencense, and myhrr given to baby Jesus by the Wise Men.

Day 4 - Four Calling Birds:  Four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

Day 5 - Five Golden Rings:  The Law of Moses, Pentateuch, Torah...(all words for the first five books of the Bible)...Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, & Deuteronomy

Day 6 - Six Geese A-Laying:  Six days of creation in which God created all things.  Eggs may also represent new life, or creation.

Day 7 - Seven Swans A-Swimming:  Paul wrote about seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:  prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, & compassion.

Day 8 - Eight Maids A-Milking:  The Beatitudes - those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, the meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

Day 9 - Nine Ladies Dancing:  Fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Day 10 - Ten Lords A-Leaping:  Ten Commandments

Day 11 - Eleven Pipers Piping:  The eleven faithful disciples (Judas was the twelth disciple, but betrayed Jesus)

Day 12 - Twelve Drummers Drumming:  Twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.  (Refer to Rich Mullins' song "Creed" for an easy reference.)

Next post:  The Candy Cane, Interpreted

___________________

Sources:

http://www.abcog.org/12days.htm

http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

http://folkmusic.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_twelve_days_of_christmas

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp