December 1st - Cornerstone

         
Peter and Paul both recognized Jesus as the cornerstone of the church (Ephesians 2:20, I Peter 2:6-7), but this metaphor may not carry its full meaning in today’s society.  Let’s look at the many possible facets of this term.  A cornerstone may actually be a capstone, the triangular stone at the top of an arch.  Also known as a keystone, this uniquely designed stone is the one that makes the whole building stand even though a doorway or window has left a void in the structure.  Without Christ, our entire lives will collapse.  On the other hand, He makes up for all we lack. 

The cornerstone could also be the coping stone which is the standard by which every other stone in the building is measured.  We have no standard against which to measure ourselves other than Christ alone.  The cornerstone could also be seen as the naming stone which identifies the building.  It is only in Christ that we have any true identity.  The cornerstone can also be defined as the foundation stone upon which the building rests.  We have no solid foundation upon which our lives can stand other than Christ Himself.  The cornerstone was also the first stone to be laid in place, defining the orientation of the building.  Likewise, Jesus is the defining foundation for our lives.  One of the most intriguing possibilities is that the cornerstone could refer to the stone that the builders rejected. (Psalm 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:1, Acts 4:11)  The legend is that in the construction of the temple, a stone which was thought to be defective was thrown down the hill and had to be retrieved at much effort and expense.  When we reject Christ, we invite laborious and expensive challenges into our lives.

December 2nd -Theories

A young boy visiting an art museum noticed the fact that many of the old masterpieces depicted people with little or no clothing and concluded that global warming must not be true since the people back then would have needed more clothes before the planet’s temperatures elevated.  Well, I must admit that that one was a joke, but the following story is a real life joke on the scientists who paid an undisclosed amount of money to buy a block of  ice which supposedly contained a frozen Bigfoot.  When the block of ice which was supposedly found in the northern Georgia mountains was thawed, it was found to contain a rubber gorilla suit.  When I heard the story, I wondered exactly how scientific these scientists must be to believe that the block of ice was genuine to begin with since the Georgia mountains don’t get an excessive amount of snow nor long enough periods of below-freezing weather to produce a massive enough ice block to preserve their supposed specimen of the missing link.  One thing for sure, I understand why they were not willing to disclose how much they paid for their “treasure.”

The real truth is that the majority of the theories being presented in most scientific circles today are being accepted with just as much evidence as the trip to the art museum and the frozen gorilla suit.  Take global warming for example: John Coleman, meteorologist and founder of The Weather Channel, has spoken out strongly against the man-made global myth, calling it “the greatest scam in history.”  In actuality, there is more proof for global cooling than for global warming.  This year our planet’s climate has changed by a full degree--cooler, not warmer!!

December 3rd -Notable Notes

A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast.--Groucho Marx

I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.--Woodrow Wilson

Goals are dreams with deadlines.--Diana Scharf Hunt

At the end of the rope, people you have helped along the way add extra length to get you to your goal.

If I have seen further than others, it is from standing on the shoulders of giants.--Isaac Newton

If you are going through hell, keep going.--Winston Churchill

I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.--Jonathan Winters

The time is always right to do right.--Nelson Mandela

If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.--Abraham Lincoln

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.--Vince Lombardi

What goes in your mouth determines how you go; what comes out of your mouth determines where you go. The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.--Vince Lombardi

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.--Ann Landers

Diligence succeeds over intelligence or talent every time.--How the Cadillac Got its Fins

Jesus had eight disciples, one traitor, two managers, and one leader.  Peter was treated more severely than the others because he was the leader.

December 4th-Charlatan

Dr. John Brinkley had a booming practice from 1917 to 1939.  The unfortunate thing is that he was operating with a fake medical license and performed a surgical procedure which he had developed with no actual proof of validity.  His specialty was transplanting goat testicles into humans to boost their virility and stamina.  Beginning as a town-to-town tonic peddler, he later opened a clinic in Milford, Kansas, and eventually moved across the border to Mexico to avoid investigation here in the US.  To promote his practice and lure people across the Rio Grande for his services, he built a border-blaster radio station which played country-and-western music and transmitted propaganda about his services.  Although many people died as result of his operations; masses flocked to him, and it wasn’t long until he was a millionaire.

His life reminds me of a truth that is presented in two different New Testament passages.  Colossians 1:16 and Revelation 4:11 affirm that everything that exists was created for the glory of God.  In fact, in Paul’s rendition, he states that even dominions, principalities, and powers (the demonic forces) were created by Him and for Him.  In spite of all the malpractice, deception, and down-right evil associated with this charlatan, we can look back to him and see two lasting results in our current society: the popularization of country-and-western music (from his radio station) and the initiation of modern research into the functioning of hormones (based on his idea of gland transplants).  Some good (if you can call country-and-western good) came out of even the most evil of men.  Yes, God did create him after all.

December 5th -Outside Your “Comfort Zone”

Many Christians speak of trying to witness or minister in some other way, possibly through operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, by getting out of their “comfort zone.”  However, it is important to remember what Jesus said in John 14:26--the Holy Spirit is our Comforter--and what David said in Psalm 139:7--that there is nowhere we can go to get away from the Holy Spirit.  If the Comforter goes with us everywhere we go, then it is impossible to be outside our “comfort zone”!  This may seem like a novel way of thinking about things, but the truth is that Jesus expressed the same truth when He gave us the Great Commission.  One common characteristic in each of these four different encounters is that a divine presence is promised as we respond to His mandate.  Matthew 28:20 states, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”  Mark 16:20 records, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”  Luke 24:49 says, “Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you.”  Acts 1:8 confirms that it is after they were to receive the Holy Ghost that they would have the power to be witnesses. 

The entire Trinity has promised to be involved with the believer who responds to the call upon his life.  Jesus committed Himself to be with us; the Father has extended a promise of filling us with His Spirit; and the Holy Spirit has obligated Himself to empowering our witness.  The Trinity’s presence in the ministry of a called witness results in signs and wonders that confirm the words of that witness. 

December 6th -Who is This?

Unlike all the members of Saul’s army, when David saw Goliath, he didn’t have an exclamation point, “See how big!  See the armor!  See his war record!”  Instead, this little shepherd boy responded with a question mark, “Who does he think he is?”  You see, David was looking at the situation from a divine perspective.  If you take the time to look at the story carefully, you’ll see that all the soldiers and even their opponent continually saw the army as “the men of Saul” or as “the army of Israel.”  It was only David who defined them as “the army of the living God.”  He was the only one to look beyond the physical relationship and see the divine connection.  Because he recognized the divine nature of the conflict, David did not doubt that he was on the winning side.  David also recognized that he had a divine relationship that made him different from the antagonist who stood before him that day.  The Philistine was uncircumcised, meaning that he was not in covenant with the Living God; David, however, was a circumcised member of the covenant community with such covenant promises as knowing that anyone who would curse him would be cursed himself and that every enemy would have to flee seven different directions.  I believe that David must have visualized the scenario which was to follow when he would decapitate the giant and leave his body to be devoured by the birds.  The head would go one way and the body would fall to the ground.  The birds would fly to the north, south, east, west, and straight up--taking his flesh in five other directions.  David was also a warrior with divine experience.  The Lord had stood with him against a lion and a bear, and David knew that He would do it again!

December 7th -Notable Quotes

Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.--Robert Brault

It takes leaders with vision to help people with dreams.--Hubert Humphrey

In the Bible, patience is not a passive acceptance of circumstances.  It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering and difficulty.--Warren Wiersbe

Be hopeful!  Tomorrow has never happened before.--Robert Schuller

If you lack knowledge, go to school; if you lack wisdom, get on your knees.--Vance Havner

Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.--Reinhold Neibuhr

He climbs the highest who helps another up.--Zig Ziglar

Go the extra mile. It’s never crowed.--Executive Speedwriter Newsletter

The extra mile is on our regular route.--FedEX

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.  Do not ever let anyone claim to be a true American patriot if they ever attempt to separate religion from politics.--George Washington

Do not pray for easy lives; pray for stronger men.--Phillips Brooks

God is not running an antique shop; He makes all things new!--Vance Havner

Grasp the things of life loosely so that it won’t hurt so much when God has to pry your fingers off of them.--Corrie ten Boom

December 22nd - Yes, Virginia, There is a ...

During the Christmas season of 1897, a short note to the editor appeared in The New York Sun.  Virginia O'Hanlon wrote, “Dear Editor:  I am eight years old.  Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus.  Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it's so.”  Please tell me the truth: is there a Santa Claus?”  The editor's response was masterful as he wove his words to describe the magic of Christmas and the spirit of the season.  He confirmed, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”  The missive and its reply soon became a classic and made a place in journalism history.

Today, there seems to be little question concerning jolly old Saint Nick.  Every mall, every product catalogue, every commercial, and every television holiday special shouts at the top of its voice, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”  Somehow I wonder if Miss O'Hanlon would be writing the same letter were she to address the editor today.  A more in-touch question might be, “Dear Editor:  I am eight years old.  The ACLU, my school system, all I see in the stores and on TV, and all I hear from my little and big friends tells me that there is no Jesus.  Please tell me the truth: Is there a Jesus?”  It seems as though our whole nation is making a deliberate attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.  Courthouse lawns and school plays are not permitted to present the Bethlehem story.  One school even prohibited the students from bringing Christmas candy canes to the classroom because the crooked sticks are said to represent the shepherd's staffs and, therefore, were religious symbols.  However, we continue to cry out, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Jesus!  Yes, ten thousand times ten thousand times--yes, yes, yes!  Yes, there is a Jesus.”

December 23rd - Visions of Sugarplums

One line from Clement C. Moore's A Visit of St. Nicholas conjures up a secure, serene picture of children with the blanket pulled tightly up to their faces as they sleep in innocent bliss.  It's a scene into which each of us would wish to find our way.  Unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened to far too great a percentage of the church today.  We've crawled into the warm covers of the church and let the devil lull us to sleep with visions of sugarplums.  Our minds have become so enthralled with visions of sugarplums and our blessings of prosperity that the real visions God wants to give us are crowded out.  But what is a true vision from God?  It bears six characteristics which are easily remembered in that they are represented in the letters of the word VISION.

V is for “vital.”  Visions stir the body of Christ to move from lethargy and come alive.  They stir the church to evangelism and soul winning.  I stands for “insight.”   When there is no vision or insight into who God is and what He is doing, His glory cannot abide.  S represents “showing.”  A true vision from God gives direction.  “Intimacy” is represented by the letter I.  When you really catch a glimpse of hell or heaven or Jesus on the cross or God on the throne, your life will be shaken to its very core.  O denotes “our.”  God is giving visions; it is our privilege to receive them.  N means “needs.”  Visions draw us into the hurts, fears, disappointments, problems, sorrows, sicknesses, sins, and needs of the world around us.  Once you receive a true vision from God, you’ll never be the same; the dance of sugarplums in your head cannot change you like that.

December 24th - Wise Men Still Seek Him

Simeon the priest was "righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him."  He had been told by the Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Christ.  Imagine how his heart must have pounded each time one of the self-proclaimed messiahs came to Jerusalem.  He must have looked at each one with great hope--but each time the Spirit spoke to his heart and said, "No, this is not the one.  Wait.  He is still coming."  Then came that day when a little baby boy was placed in the old priest's arms.  Just a little eight-day-old boy; far from the great leaders Simeon had seen marching in Jerusalem; just a little back-woods carpenter's son--but THE TRUE MESSIAH!  Hallelujah!  The old priest's heart really pounded this time!  The Spirit of God witnessed that this was the "light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel."

Simeon's revelation of Christ came from the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Holy Spirit that reveals Christ to us even today.  The key is listening when the Spirit speaks!  Simeon was prepared for Christ's first coming because of his dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit.  In the same way, our charismatic life in the Spirit should prepare us for His second coming.  Jesus stated that the Holy Spirit would "take what is mine and declare it to you." (John 16:14)  As we live each day deeper and deeper in the Holy Spirit, we will have more and more revelation of Christ.  Thus, our lives in the Spirit will prepare us to see Him on the day of His manifestation.  Praise God!  Let's be Simeons and listen when the Spirit speaks to us this Christmas.

December 25th - The Needle in the Haystack

In this Christmas season, we need to reflect on the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus--the hard-to-comprehend truth that Jesus was 100% God yet became 100% man.  Even though we often see Christmas cards with Jesus depicted as a baby with a halo shining above His head; in the biblical account of the Christmas story, we meet a little baby who didn’t stand out from the crowd.  Herod had to ask the wise men to show him where to find the child.  When he realized that they had tricked him, he had to kill all the babies in the region in an attempt to execute the one he was looking for.  Even though there were supernatural events surrounding the disclosure to the shepherds and the wise men, they had to have explicit directions in order to find the Christ child: the one wrapped in swaddling clothes and the one in the house over which the star came to rest.  The mystery of the incarnation is that Jesus could blend into the mass of the human race and become as indistinguishable as a needle in a haystack.  But just as a needle is not straw no matter how mingled it may become in the hay, Jesus remained totally God even though He was totally  enmeshed  in  humanity.   He  was still  the High Priest even though He was touched with every feeling of infirmity common to man.  Even though He was tempted by every sin we humans know, He was totally untainted by human sinfulness.  It is so easy for us to get our attention on the little baby in the manger and to lose the incarnate God dwelling among men.  It is all too easy to lose the needle in the hay stacked in the manger.  This Christmas, let’s not miss the point of the incarnation--Emanuel, God with us. 

December 26th - Credit Cards

The average American with a credit file is responsible for $16,635 in debt excluding mortgage.  The personal savings rate, which was approximately ten percent in 1980, has hovered close to zero for several years.  Consumer spending has risen to just over seventy percent of the US economy from a bit more than sixty percent in 1965.  It is dropping now, but only due to economic downturn.  American consumers are so “glutted on everything that they have acquired and all the time that was robbed from them…that they almost saw this [downturn] as a great opportunity to stop,” says Faith Popcorn, chief executive of her eponymous consultancy.  Ninety percent of the people she interviewed are considering options for a “simpler life,” and eighty-four percent said that they will buy “less stuff.” 

On the spiritual level, sin is like using a credit card, driving us into moral and spiritual bankruptcy.  We enjoy the present but then we have to pay later--and with interest!  The ironic thing about the sin credit card is that it is just like the plastic one--you no longer enjoy the stuff it brought you but you are still paying for it.  Maybe it takes a spiritual downturn, just like an economic downturn, to make us aware to the fact that all the things we have been gratifying our flesh and souls with should be cut out of our lives so that we can pursue the things that make for a fulfilling and purposeful life.
Hebrews 11:25-7 tell us that Moses forsook the pleasures of sin which are only for a season to obtain the reward of greater riches which were in Christ.  Let’s make an end-of-the year resolution to do the same.

December 27th - Keys to Greatness

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation.  He hardly knows which is which.  He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine if he is working or playing.  To himself he always seems to be doing both.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Define issues; refine solutions.

Remember that when you are going through something you are doing just that--going through!  Don’t stop there; determine to come out on the other side victorious!

In life, you can either take the photograph or get into the picture.

You can’t change history, so go after the future.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.--Helen Keller
John the Baptist said that he must decrease so that Jesus could increase.  The same is true with us.  If we want Jesus to increase in our lives, we must sacrifice what we are to become in favor of what we can be through Him.

Teamwork makes the dream work.--Bill Wilson

Catch the waves; don’t make them.

The first step toward the future is always a step away from the past.

Be in your place, full of grace, or fall on your face.

December 28th - What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden?

We all know the story about the apple and how it got Adam and Eve kicked out of the garden.  But wait!  Is that what really happened?  I’m sure that your Sunday school teacher taught you that God kicked our great-great-great-great-grand parents out of the garden as a punishment for eating the forbidden fruit.  Just think for a minute, the deed was already done, so what good did it accomplish to drive them away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?  Actually Genesis 3:24 explains that it was because of the tree of life that God evicted them.  He did not want them to eat of that tree while in the fallen state and, therefore, live forever in the fallen state. 

But why was it that God was so concerned about the human race having the knowledge of good and evil?  After all, in Hebrews 5:14, He commends those who exert themselves in the ability to understand both good and evil and to be able to discern between the two, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”  The problem was that God knew that once man tasted of evil, he would no longer be satisfied with good.  Prior to that fatal bite, Adam and Eve knew only good.  Unfortunately, once their eyes were opened to the reality of evil, the human race gravitated like a moth to a light bulb to that knowledge.  Look at God’s assessment of the human condition at the time of Noah’s flood, “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)  Man had stepped on to the slippery slide that was to take him to total depravity.

December 29th - David--the Giant

We all remember the story of the little shepherd boy who fought Goliath as “David and the Giant”; however, to get the real meaning out of the story, we need to drop the “and” from the title.  Actually, this is a story about “David, the Giant.”  This little narrative shows how this little boy proved to be bigger than  any number of obstacles which were thrown in his path.

First of all, he was bigger than criticism.  The first thing that David encountered when he showed up at the encampment was his oldest brother’s scorn.  Verse twenty-eight of I Samuel chapter seventeen records Eliab’s bitter scathing against the young David.  The accosting would have been enough to discourage most of us, but not this giant-hearted shepherd boy!  Next, he proved to be bigger than the reward.  Although the king had offered a bountiful ransom to anyone who would step forward to fight the Philistine, David seemed totally unmoved by the reward.  His question, “Is there not a cause?” showed that he was motivated by the cause, not the cash.  Next, we see that he was bigger than the situation.  Though his challenge was a giant, he didn’t shrink back, but actually ran to the conflict.  As soon as the giant collapsed before the miniature warrior’s slingshot, David proved that he was bigger than himself because the entire army instantly sprang to action and routed the enemy.  Lastly, we can conclude that David was bigger than time.  Had David not arrived on the scene, the story would have ended with just the forty days that the Israelite army stood cowered into the corner, but David stepped into history with a story that is still recounted in every Sunday school class some three millennia later!

December 30th - The Power of the Printed Page

I recently read a testimony of a man in a Latin American country who was so angered by having been given a gospel tract that he ripped the pamphlet to pieces; however, that night he couldn’t sleep as his mind kept replaying the incident.  Eventually, he got out of bed and pieced the tact together again, read its message, and prayed the prayer to receive salvation.  The fascinating story reminded me of another similar incident in South America many years ago.  A Protestant missionary was giving away Bibles in a predominately Catholic region.  The local priest was so enraged that he had “invaded his territory” that he snatched one Bible and ripped it to shreds which he then threw into the gutter.  A local vegetable vendor reclaimed the pages to use as wrapping paper for the produce he sold at his stand.  As the local women unwrapped their vegetables, they began to read the pages and visit their neighbors to try to find the rest of the story.  Before long, the entire village was engaged in a giant game of jigsaw puzzle as they tried to reassemble the testament.  The result was that the entire village came to Christ.     

Over half of Christians in the world attribute their salvation to the printed page, a form of evangelism that doesn’t lose its power with time.  One furniture mover came to Christ by reading a tract he found under a sofa he was moving out of a house.  That little voiceless witness had been hidden there for about twenty-two years.  One gospel publishing company reported receiving mail at an old address which they hadn’t used for twenty-four years, indicating that their tracts were still in circulation and doing their job almost a quarter of a century later.

December 31st - Headlines

The following are actual headlines out of real newspapers.  Even if it is just because of the poor structure of the wording, I do find it a relief to be able to laugh at the news since it seems that all that ever gets reported is bad news.   

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last  a While
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Local High School Dropouts Cut In Half
Hospitals are Sued by Seven Foot Doctors
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Proverbs 25:25 tells us about some refreshing news, “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”  Isn’t it wonderful to know that there is some news that can make us smile when we hear it--not because of the mixed-up wording, but because the news is actually good!  The gospel is good news in and of itself.  In fact, the word “gospel” literally translated means “the almost-too-good-to-be-true news”!