Three for Christmas

 bob-maclafferty, christmas  1 Response »
Dec 162010
 

Two.

At least she knew there were two.

Whisked away the next day to spend time with Aunt Beth in the south. Out of town. Out of sight. Out of…mind.

Except for Joseph, that is. Guilt-ridden, he found an excuse to make a woodshop delivery almost every day that took him by the home of Mary’s parents.  He longed for just one glimpse of her. And  hoped that he would not see her!  What did he want, lonely safety or risky togetherness?

Week after week after week passed by. He began to lose weight. His clothes hung loosely on his sparse frame.  Conflict drove him. Drove him away from others. Drove him to his knees. Night after night. Less and less talk, more and more listening.

One night-

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:20 NIV.

The next morning, fresh air and a fresh attitude gave a new spring to his step. Confident in his decision, Joseph marched up to the front door and knocked discreetly. Asking for Mary’s father, he shared his night’s dream and begged her father to let him resume his betrothal.  The positive response ringing in his ears, he lengthened his stride as he continued past the house.

Suddenly, he sees her against the back fence.  Hands and face raised to the morning sun,  glowing with health, her figure gently blossoming with motherhood.

Hearing his step, she turns and her face breaks into a wide smile!

“It’s true!” she said, “even Aunt Beth knows!”

“And I know,” he whispered to her in his arms, “I know! His Son will be my son, our son!”

And then there were three.

Two for Christmas

 bob-maclafferty, christmas  2 Responses »
Dec 152010
 

Two.

Two lives.

One earthly. One heavenly.

One life very much real. One life more thought than reality. Right up until the day that it was clear to her, and to her mother, that her time was late.  No, not late. Past! A thousand rapid questions. Angry questions. Shocked questions. Hurt questions. Selfish and loud questions. Joseph’s name spoken with harshness and disdain.

Finally, back in her bedchamber alone, she stares at her still-flat belly. Was there really a Life in there? What of Joseph, her promised? Maybe she could convince him the Life was his. They were legally promised, after all.  She knew he awaited their wedding night with impatience. She could wait for him one night at the wood shop. But who would that betray? Her father, her Father, her Joseph, herself? Her rambling thoughts were derailed by renewed shouts from the front door. Joseph.

Joseph and her father hurl accusations at each other. He looks in her direction as she cowers in the background.  His eyes  filled with hurt and betrayal. Hurt and betrayal…. and love. And disbelief. Out of kindness, he said, he would break their promise quietly. He would not demand her life. She would be a marked woman. The woman who bore a fatherless son.

As he stalks stiffly down the lane away from the house, she finally gives in to the grief. Sinking to the floor, tears flooding her face, she despairs. Please let this be a nightmare and let me wake up soon, she thinks. Suddenly, a wave of nausea sweeps over her and she lurches to the back door only to vomit her entire stomach contents on the step. She continues to retch as she imagines bringing her fatherless child into a world cruel and heartless to those without pedigree.

“Father,” she finally screams into the morning stillness, “Father, why have you forsaken me?” A sense of horror and foreboding overcomes her as she wonders if her scream went further into space and time than she intended. A vision flashes. Would her Son scream the same words in agony one day?

Just as Mary struggled alone, so Israel struggled, rejecting their heavenly Father Who yearned to complete them, to be a part of their very lives. Just as Mary agonized over her Child’s apparently missing Father, so we stumble through our lives, not acknowledging Who our Father is, not admitting that we were conceived to look just like Him, not allowing Him to make us be like Him.

Do you know Who your Father is?

One for Christmas

 bob-maclafferty, christmas  1 Response »
Dec 132010
 

One.

One young girl.

One scared teenaged girl, in the dark of the morning, sees a powerful figure enter her small bedchamber. She shrinks into a corner as a glowing light fills the room. Suddenly, he speaks, his deep voice resonates, vibrating the floor-

Good morning!
   You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
   Beautiful inside and out!
   God be with you.  Luke 1:28 The Message

Somehow, a sense of total goodness fills the room! She feels an incredible peace emanating from the figure, coupled with a piercing sensation of rightness and truth. Her senses are completely overwhelmed and she begins shaking with abject fear. Again he speaks, this time in a calming whisper-

 Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. Luke 1:30-31 The Message

“But, but, but I’m not,

I’ve never,

Joseph hasn’t,

Oh, Joseph!

But why me?

Why now?

But, how?

Who?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, ….nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1  NIV

Minutes pass, or was it years?

“Yes”, she whispers finally. “Yes! I don’t know why, but yes”.

Her voice raising, “I don’t know how, but yes!

“Yes!” she finally shouts, Yes!”

And in the dark of that morning, before the son came up, before the Son came,

In a blinding flash of heat and light,

With a rush of wind,

Lifting, holding, covering,

The voice. That Voice! Was it the pound of ocean waves?  The crash of thunder? The piercing blast of a trumpet? Or all of them rolled into a single quiet voice filled with power, peace, and love-

“I am!” the Voice said.

“He is!” the Voice spoke again.

And heaven came down,

and Glory filled,

filled her soul, her mind, her heart, her all!

And then there were

Two.

The Reason for the Season… really?

 bob-maclafferty, christmas  No Responses »
Dec 132010
 

Since my girls were little, we’ve practiced our version of the twelve days of Christmas. Our version, making a break with tradition, starts twelve days before Christmas. Each day, they find a small gift under the tree. It might be lip gloss, a colorful and cozy pair of socks, a discounted DVD, a scarf. Five bucks or less.

I’m sure we are not alone in feeling the economic pinch that suggests we keep spending to a minimum. fortunately, the season is not, or at least should not, be about the transfer of wealth. Our twelve days of gift giving allow us to experience generosity and joy, unselfishness and sacrifice, anticipation and thankfulness, grace and wonder. All the things that the real Christmas is actually about!

Although I’ve experienced several dozen Christmas seasons, I entered this one as usual, looking forward to the lights and the music and impatient with the commercialism. Many of us mumble positive comments about the babe in the manager, angels, Mary, and the livestock, but is the whole thing really clicking in our minds? Or is it just another mildly supportive holiday with a strange mix of religious tradition and cutesy, secular folklore?

Around the first of December, listing to some music I hadn’t heard for twelve months, I was overwhelmed with the need to make this season real to me in a slightly different way. I am planning to write a new post each day until the 25th to help make that happen for me. I know that God has a journey planned for the next twelve days.

I hope and pray that my experience will be a blessing to you. Please feel free to comment and to share these twelve with anyone.

Missing Thanks

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
Nov 242010
 

Moms have a whole day for it. Even Dads have one! Tomorrow is a whole day devoted to it, even though it is already commercially overshadowed by Christmas. Nevertheless, we ignore it so often every day.

Coffee. I don’t drink it a lot, but a good cup on a cold day in a cozy restaurant really hits the spot. I have noticed that wait staff vary quite a bit in their technique for filling and refilling a cup. I’ve chosen this as a litmus test for determining the level of care a person takes in serving me. Often, there is a drop running down the side of the cup and several more across the table as the carafe is slowly brought to an upright position after leaving the cup. Some professionals however, have mastered the art of uprighting the carafe while it is still hovering over the cup, leaving not one drop anywhere outside the cup! For that reason, and other specific acts of quality service, I choose to regularly request the presence of the shift manager for a short moment on my way out the door. I compliment the staff member who served me and include specific reasons for my appreciation of their service. I ask that the manager share my comments with them directly. That way, they not only get a compliment, but they know that their boss knows! It’s fun!

 So, what does this coffee focus have to do with Thanksgiving?  OK. Everybody loves on and thanks mothers on Mother’s day. We may even do it on Father’s day. We may even use the words “thank you” more than once on Thanksgiving. Why? Well, because we kindof have to. It’s expected!

 And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 NIV

For may of us, you’d think the text reads a little more like this-“and be thankful, in a regulated and periodic fashion”. I don’t think that’s what God had in mind when He had Paul write that short sentence, do you? I think He wants us to live days that are full of thanks! It’s one way we show love for each other.  Have you ever seen someone look less happy when you thank them?  Not usually. Their faces usually light up like a Christmas tree! By the way, what did you say to the person who took the trash out of your office this morning? What about the person who bagged your groceries?

Being thankful is what God asks of us. And when we are obedient to Him, He changes us from the inside out. One word of thanks at a time. One day at a time. Making us look more and more like His Son.

Here’s the challenge for the rest of the week.  Worry less about getting your fair share of tryptophan-laced turkey, dressing,a nd pumpking pie and focus more on those around you. Find at least ten people to thank. Find people you don’t usually thank. Find actions for which you don’t usually show appreciation. Be creative. Be specific. Be direct. Look them right in the eye, tell them what you are thankful for and tell them why. They may be surprised. They may even look shocked! That’s a hint that you may not be thanking them enough! 

Starting……….NOW!

Where do the Nasties come from?

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Nov 182010
 

Do you ever get into the middle of your day and realize that you have had unkind words with more than one person? How about a grouchy comeback to your spouse? An impatient response to a plea from your daughter? Where do those things come from? They just seem to slip out of my mouth without conscious thought, like some kind of automated response. It’s like drinking fountain with the handle stuck on- spewing forth and out of control. I’ve counseled employee colleagues about this. I’ve counseled myself about this while on my long commute home. I hate it, but it seems so natural. Yuck! Blech! (Yes, that’s spelled b-l-e-<phlegm>)

Rachel Lampa figured it out in one of my favorite songs entitled, My Father’s Heart:

Let everything that breathes
Praise You
The earth, the sky, the sea
Praise You
Just as nature shows to us
Your blessing
Soon I find my heart
Confessing

My love is not my own
It all belongs to You
And after all You’ve done the least that I
Can do
Is live my life
In every part
Only to please my Father’s heart

Did you catch it? The secret is right in the middle. We can’t control all our nasties. Can’t help it. Nothing we can do about it. Until-Until we admit that what controls our interactions with others is love, a love that comes from only one Source, my Father’s heart. My only hope is to get as close to Him as I can, letting His love spill all over me and flow out to others. So, do you have those moments when you realize that your words and actions are totally out of control? Or am I the only one?

Father, I can’t treat others the way You want me to unless You fill me. I can’t speak words of kindness and caring unless You give them to me. If I do it right today, it’s only because my love is not my own, it all belongs to You!

Listen to the entire song if you wish-

Isaiah 63 Treasure part 7

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Nov 092010
 

One day a couple of years ago, I got a call from one of my daughters at school saying that she was feeling very sick. I drove quickly to the school and found her laying on a couch in the chaplain’s office, surrounded by concerned friends. I helped her to her feet and she walked unsteadily out into the hallway with my arm around her for support. She soon slumped against me, too dizzy and weak to stand. I swept her into my arms and carried her through the hall and out to the car. Teenager or not, sometimes the right place to be is in daddy’s arms!

A few days ago, something was different in the pattern of my days and I spent most of the time on my feet for part of a week. That and some time spent barefoot at home on hard floors made the soles of my feet sore and tired. I just wanted to be able to keep my feet up.

Do you ever feel like the pressure on your feet is just too much? By the end of the day, do you feel more like melted jello than a mighty oak?

he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

If you feel like that, you are carrying something you were never meant to carry. What is that something? It’s you! Just like me, ready and willing to lift my daughter when she’s down, God is even more ready to do that for you. He’ll lift you and carry you as long as you let Him.

I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:7-9 NIV

Father, give me the strength to be weak today. Remind me not to try to do by myself what only You can do for me. Pick me up, hold me close, never let me go. You promised. I’m asking. Let others around me  see me floating today and wonder why!

Isaiah 63 Treasure part 6

 bob-maclafferty  No Responses »
Nov 032010
 

Redeem.  What comes to mind when you hear that word? I asked my family abut that this last weekend. My dad reminded us of something that only the more seasoned of you might recall: Green Stamps! Wayhahayyy back when, in the time before cellular, even before faxes and pushbutton phones, certain stores would give out these stamps along with your purchase. They would get carefully saved by licking and sticking them in a book. When the book [or books] were full, they could be redeemed either through the mail or at a redemption center for cool stuff like a portable AM radio or a set of curlers. Wow!

Dictionary definitions for the word redeem include to buy, to buy back, to make up for.

Let’s try a different word. Ransom. What images come to mind? Our family could only think of negative and scary ones. Images involving kidnapping and slavery.  Images of losing precious loved ones.Ransom. In the 1990’s Mel Gibson movie by that title, he is a father driven to go to any length to get his kidnapped son back.  Ransom. Dictionary says the redemption of a prisoner, slave, or kidnapped person. It’s a noun. It’s a verb. Ransom. Redeem.

What I make is mine. What I create, I own. God created us. He lovingly designed us, breathed His life into us so that we could freely return His love. But, we freely chose to move away from Him, choosing a life of selfishness and following a sinister imposter who enslaved us.

 In his love and mercy he redeemed them;

When someone is kidnapped, stolen from the ones who loved them, a price, the ransom, is extorted from them. They are asked to pay for something that they originally owned! In the Old Testament, law allowed for a family member to redeem, or buy back, property that had been lost through debt in order to keep it in the family.

It wasn’t enough for God that we belonged to Him in the first place. When we strayed from Him, He loved us so much that He bought us back with a price so high, so horrible, so bloody, that it is hard to understand. The price was His Son. The price was willingly and freely paid with no guarantee of getting us back! The price was paid, knowing that some would actually choose to remain enslaved!

I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:7-9 NIV

Oh Father, You loved us first. You loved us best. You love us still. Even when we don’t love you back! How can You do that! Am I that important to You?

Amazing love,
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
-Chris Tomlin

Isaiah 63 Treasure part 5

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Oct 192010
 

My wife is one of the most caring people I know. People just naturally turn to her when they are hurting or upset.  It’s like there’s a poster hovering over her head saying, “Step right up for sympathy!”  My daughters feel the same way. Calling from school,”Momma, I don’t feel good” is the most natural thing to do. The only thing better than hearing Mom on the phone is to have her there in person. 

There’s something about Mom’s presence. it says that the world must stop while she focuses on her hurting child, the apple of her eye. Somehow, just knowing that she is there, in person, for them, is enough to make things better. No CPR administered, no stitches sewn, no limbs replaced, but Mom being there makes the hurt take a back seat.

I should know. If I’m hurting, I like to have her around also! 

and the angel of his presence saved them. NIV

He didn’t send someone else to help them.
   He did it himself, in person. The Message

and he was the Messenger who saved them. Gods Word translation

 In all their suffering he also suffered,
      and he personally rescued them.(New Living Translation)

Pick your favorite version. God is personally involved in saving you, not just in an eternal sense, but also from your daily crises. Himself, in Person. Don’t you just love that? Never believe what many say, that there may be a God, but He is disinterested and impersonal, not caring or involved in our daily lives. That is the devil’s lie.

“Stop the presses!”, He says.  Never mind that Jupiter’s orbit is getting a little ellipsoid. Who cares that the Tree of Life fruit of the month committee will have to start late! God focuses on you. Today. Right here. Right now.

 I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. He said, “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me”; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:7-9 NIV

Take some time right now to tell Him how it feels to be cared for personally.

Father, how can you focus on just me when you have a whole universe to run, when You have armies of angels to command, when You have a devil to fight and our world to save? Why? I don’t understand, only accept. It makes me feel so comforted and safe. Let me speak and act today in a way that reflects You and how you care for Me. Individually and in Person. What a Dad you are!

 Older Entries  Newer Entries