Silent Night? Not!

Silent Night Holy Night is a well known Christmas hymn sung around the world. However I can’t help thinking that it wasn’t such a silent night in heaven or on earth. The angels were busy, the planets were aligning, the cattle were being displaced, Mary was in labor. An over 700 year old prophecy was about to be fulfilled. The anticipation was palpable as the universe got ready for this  grand occasion.

 Anna was in the temple praying,  The Magi were scanning the skies with their eyes with rudimentary instruments about to see the greatest discovery of their lifetime. No, this was no quiet night.  In Herod’s world there was a rebellion going being led by a man named Judas of Galilee on that kept his government on edge.  The birth of Jesus was on anything but a quiet, silent night.

The angels had not seen the Son of God in months. In fact who knows if God didn’t keep it a secret from them too.  It had been nine months when Jesus disappeared from their daily contact.
When they finally saw  again Jesus the Messiah appeared as an infant.  The angels couldn’t keep it to themselves. They stepped over into earth’s realm and were seen by the shepherds who were taking care of their sheep.  Whether they were  speaking or singing really doesn’t matter. However the message was great? Glory to God in the highest. They proclaimed that God has sent Peace, the Prince of Peace  a sign of God’s goodwill to you?

Outside of the stable people were still in a daze  for having to come back to tiny Bethlehem that they left long ago for better lives and job opportunities. Here they were crowded into ancient houses with every corner occupied by long forgotten relatives and strangers. Silent Night I don’t think so.

Bethlehem and its occupants remind me of what is happening today in 2019.  I don’t know why the government is in the condition that it is.  Like Mary and Joseph  I don’t have control of the situation. There is turmoil all around us just as it was for this little family.

 Like Mary and Joseph I am sure of this, God is in control. In the midst of all of the things that have occurred in my small world  I am held by the peace only God can give. In this peace I find stability in an unstable world. In this peace I find comfort in times of sorrow when  laying to rest good friends. In God’s peace I am looking at the process of aging that I see each day in my own body.

Yes,  in 2019 it may not be a Silent Night or silent life and all may not be calm, but I can rest, like Mary and Joseph  because I do have that Peace that God gives.

May God bless you as you celebrate God’s

peace sent through His Son Jesus Christ.

Wild Yeast!! We Are Constantly Getting Dusted.

 This week I made some bread using yeast as a leavener.  
Yeast is a single-celled, living organism that is hardly visible to the eye.  It is just about  everywhere. It takes 20 billion spores of yeast to make 1/28 of a gram of a cake of yeast.  You need a microscope to see a single cell of yeast.  Yeast is divided into  two categories, domesticated and wild yeast. In baking  most of us use domesticated yeast, which has been around for thousands of years.

If you put dry yeast with just dry flour it will do nothing.  In order to get the yeast quickly activated  and working  you have to mix it in with the flour along with some sugar in a warm liquid like water or milk.  Then the yeast starts to feast on the sugar in the flour producing ethyl alcohol and giving off carbon dioxide bubbles. This causes the dough to rise. That delicious looking bread is the result of these interactions.

The use of yeast in making bread got me to wondering about something.  In the  Bible yeast is equated with sin.  When God spoke  to the  Church  in  Laodicea He said,  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth."  Revelation 3:15-16 NKJV
I think we can use  this as an analogy with our spiritual  lives?  In a cold liquid yeast will not be activated. In really hot water  yeast will be killed. However in a lukewarm liquid when mixed with flour and sugar  yeast will multiply rapidly. In fact researchers have found that seven generations of yeast can grow in a 24 hour period.

It’s in this lukewarm state sin can grow and infect the whole body of Christ, the Church. A little truth mixed with a lie,  a small compromise of the heart, or a half hearted commitment to God and truth can breed sin.  As individuals we need to make sure we are not lukewarm allowing the yeast of sin to multiply in our lives. If we are cold then the yeast cannot be activated either.

Before yeast was packaged commercially one could make yeast bread with a sour dough starter.
A starter is made by putting equal measures of flour and water  in a container and putting  it on the kitchen counter and letting it set in a warm environment.  Remember floating all around us is yeast.  Eventually some of the floating wild yeast lands in the flour mixture and starts to feel at home feasting on the sugar in the flour. Once this process is started there are various steps to take. Eventually this develops into a sour dough starter which can be replenished and can go on for years .

Now we can take wild yeast as the world’s  sinful ways,  thoughts and philosophy. It’s all around us. We may not be looking to have ourselves squeezed into the world’s mold, but the yeast is looking for a place to land and feast. For example today you can be watching a family friendly show  or a movie and then up pops a racy t.v. commercial- wild yeast. Maybe you’re reading a book for a required class and some illustration or somebody’s retelling of a story turns obscene- wild yeast.  Today it seems sin, wild yeast is on display everywhere. You get dusted with it when you’re not even trying to do so.

We don’t see the wild yeast of sin landing on us but God does. If we don’t deal with this wild yeast we will eventually see the consequences.
 We are getting dusted  with wild yeast landing on us but we don’t have to let it activate in our lives. So what do we do?

1. First of all be truthful with God and yourself.
 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:8
 "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." II Corinthians 7:1
Let’s get mature in Jesus, by practicing holiness and reverencing God. Hold God’s Word sacred and obey it Be zealous and give no place to the enemy. Ask God to put a guard over your lips and guard your heart for out of it flows the issues of life.

2. Keep short accounts .
Confess our sins as soon as they are brought to mind and forgive each other quickly and freely.  Don’t let the yeast/ sin get activated in your life. Give  the sin of unforgiveness  the cold shoulder, and pray for one another  Pray without ceasing. "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

3.  Engage in effectual fervent prayer with the Holy Spirit ’s Guidance.
A few weeks ago one  of my friends sent a text asking  that I  pray over something. Well I said a quick prayer right then and there. However the thought came. Pray like you would want some one to pray if it was your concern. Part of the verse in James 5:16 came back to me " The effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much." Fervent is defined as very hot; glowing; exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling; zealous. God wants us to be hot, sincere in bringing our request to Him. We should not be engaging in some tepid insincere, obligatory prayers. Pray like we mean it.
Let our lives be marked by being zealous and passion fervently doing God’s  work and praying for ourselves and others.

May God give us cleansing, wisdom and grace as we walk to heaven through a yeasty and sin infested world.    

Musings Over My Breakfast Plate

Do you say a prayer of thanksgiving  before you eat? I know Thanksgiving Day is still over four weeks away.  That’s still over 4,032 hours. Those are a lot of hours between now and then not to eat. As I was looking at my breakfast this morning I thought I am eating better than a lot of kings and queens did in days past. I have salt for my scrambled eggs, avocado, pineapples in my mango salsa, and a cinnamon roll with raisins on it accompanied by  a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

Daily, I have easy access to salt. Once salt was so precious that it was  kept in a locked box. The closer one sat to the salt at the dinner table the more important one was. Hence the phrase, “Below the salt,” meaning you were not as important as the others.  Wars were fought between Portugal and the Dutch in the 17th century over the Banda Islands in Indonesia for control of the spices   cinnamon, nutmeg and mace located there. Cacao from which we get the cocoa for hot chocolate, not to mention avocados  and pineapples had to sail through treacherous oceans to get to the European kings and queens.  

Now here I sit with my breakfast plate with items most people of days long past could never afford or even have had access. I am grateful.  I will say thanks to God for such bounty on just an ordinary day. I feel incredibly blessed whenever I eat. Therefore since I don’t eat just once a year I will say thanks whenever I eat.  Oh, and please enjoy your meal!

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, 

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20

My Breakfast Plate

What's on the Inside?

The massive oak tree lay strewn across the lawn of the stately house.  For years the wounded and now chopped tree had kept its deadly secret hidden from human eyes. Internally it was rotting away eaten by disease or some other slow moving virulent insect force. Now it’s inner secret was exposed for all to see. I stopped to take some pictures as the stricken tree interrogated me.

Is my life like this tree?  I may look strong on the outside, but inside am I hollow and eaten away? What is eating away at me inside?  Have I let  bitterness over a small slight eat away at me?  Am I carrying around  childhood memories of school or home that I have never confronted?  Sure  I’ve been blessed  with a great family, friends and a a wonderful career.  Yet here I am. I have to check to make sure my insides are not rotting away.  Have I truly forgiven that which I felt was unforgivable or  are the tentacles still decaying on the inside, burrowed deeply within my emotional core?
If someone could send a camera to my emotional core would the person be shocked at what was going on inside of me?

I pray to God that my heart, my emotions and mind  will be free of the decay of any form of bitterness or malice. May I be as healthy internally  as I appear on the outside.

A Poem added after the original post

Innervision

If my soul were on display

I wonder what my friends would say.

Oh my, I thought she had more within,

But her inner holiness is oh so thin.

The outward form of her is warmly bold,

But, the inward part is skinny and cold.

She looks well put together on Sunday Morn,

But inside she is raggedy and torn.

She speaks of love and heaven oh so well.

But her soul is filled with thoughts from hell.

Dear God my soul is on display

God, You see my thoughts both night and day

Please change me Lord my soul renew

So that my interior is aligned with You.

Author: Patricia Simpson Newton

Just Enough

“The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” a book written by Marie Kondo sold millions of copies around the world. The popularity of her book also spawned a series on Netflix. Ms. Kondo developed a method to help people get their lives back in order after they have acquired way too many material possessions. I call this show on Netflix “Hoarders Light  designed for Millenials.”

In this Netflix series we see people’s uncurated collections of clothes, books, magazines, and other personal items which have taken over their lives. Instead of bringing happiness the owners are frustrated and overwhelmed by all their stuff. Marie uses her KonMari method based on Shintoism, an Eastern religion, to develop a way to part with items.

Just watching the show caused me to think anew about my propensity to continue to collect things I really didn’t absolutely need. I thought back on my own experience when I sold my Seattle home. I had to reckon with my brain on so many levels. I had things I would probably never use again in life. I knew it was time to let go. However I had to be stern, steadfast and  even brutal with my heart to part with many things.

I’ve asked myself why did I wear myself out to accumulate so many material possessions? I can tell by the closets in older homes that people didn’t always feel that they had to have closets the size of some people’s living rooms. Over consumption is a problem, at least here in the United States. The explosive growth of the storage facilities industry is a testament to this problem.  To be transparent I downsized from a 4,500 square foot home to a  5X10 storage room.
I didn’t get depressed I got free!

Over my life’s journey I’ve learned:

It didn’t matter how many homes I may have owned.
I could only occupy one house at a time.

It didn’t matter how big my house was.
I could only be in one room at a time.

It didn’t matter how many vehichles I had in my garage.
I could only drive one at a time.

It didn’t matter how many shoes were in my closet.
I could only wear one pair at a time.

It didn’t  matter how much food I had in my refrigerator.
I could only eat so much at a time.

Solomon made a simple request to God, “..Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”1.  I am wondering if this isn’t the key to happiness  and another way, if I may borrow from Marie Kondo, “to spark joy.”

Parting Thought

I want to be more like the Apostle Paul who said, “Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” 2.

1. Proverbs 30:4    NIV
2. Philippians 4:11 Message Bible

Still My Prayer in 2019

Dear God,

May I have a life of devotion, 

not just a time of devotion.

May my life be consecrated, 
not just a time of consecration

May I have a Sabbath heart, 
 not just a Sabbath Day.

May all my resources be at your disposal,
 not just a tithe.

May all my time be sacred, 
not just a time for God.

May I have a worshipping heart, 
not just a time of worship.

May I walk in the light of Your love consistently,
 not just in my dark times.

Help me to endure my dry spells, 
for I do not have a dry life.

Remind me that you are always in control no matter what may rage around me during this enduring walk of faith.

"Begin with the End in Mind" Happy New Year!

A few weeks ago I was on my way to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet them. We were going to ride together to church in New Jersey. I turned off the main thoroughfare of Stenton Avenue on to Ivy Hill Road. The road comes to a T where one has to make a left or right turn. What makes it necessary to go left or right is the immense Ivy Hill  cemetery. As I was waiting at the red light I looked at the row of headstones and the stately mausoleums.  The thought came to me that at the end of everyone's earthly road this is what awaits us. We will all have a face to face meeting with death. However it is while we are alive that we make the decision on which direction to go when we meet eternity.

It was a sobering thought.  I pass these silent sentinels, witnesses of my mortality frequently in Philadelphia. This is an old city. Graveyards are ubiquitous. They remind  us that our earthly journeys are short compared to going to our long homes which are forever. Yet some of us spend more time contemplating what we are going to wear or what we are going to eat than our eternal destination.

Yesterday my heart was deeply saddened to see the news report of three young people, two of whom had just finished participating in Philadelphia's 2019 colorful Mummers' Day Parade.   On their way home they were tragically and instantly killed in a car accident when another driver crossed the line and hit their sports vehicle.  Twenty six hours into the New Year they were immediately gone.

I am thinking of the late Stephen Covey's book,  The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. The first habit is to "Begin with the End in Mind"  This is January, traditionally a time for new beginnings. I can begin again with the "..End in Mind." My question to you and to myself is, "Am I sure that I know what the next step is when I face that end of life's road"  I feel certain I can answer in the affirmative. Can You?

 ".. people are destined to die once,.."

Hebrews 9:27

P.S. If you would like to know my plans you can ask in the comments section of this blog or contact me at tricianew12@gmail.com