Clay in the Hands

This could be it.  This could be the last post I make to Clay In The Hands.  Weird isn’t it?  I have been sharing my journey here for over 3 years and this could be the last time.

According to the Mayan’s, the calendar ends tomorrow.  I don’t know a single person who still follows that calendar but for some reason, the fact that the Mayan culture – which by the way has been virtually extinct for hundreds of years – failed to continue their calendar past tomorrow.  The assumption by those who worry about these things is that the world will end when the Mayan calendar ends – as if that extinct culture had some crystal ball that told them the exact day of the world’s end.

I really appreciate what Dr. Jim Dennison said this morning in his blog, Denison Forum On Truth and Culture.  You can read what he said in full here.  HIs point was that while we can’t say the world will end tomorrow, we also cannot say that it won’t.  But that has nothing to do with the Mayan calendar.

Jesus, the very son of God whose coming to earth we celebrate this next week, will return.  Scripture is clear that he will come again.  But scripture is also clear that we have no idea when that day will occur.

But all of this hoopla about the end of the world happening tomorrow raises an interesting thought:

If you knew for sure that the world would end tomorrow, how would you live today?

The sobering truth is that the world could end tomorrow.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow so we need to make the most of today.

How will make today count?

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This morning during my prayer and reading time I was reminded of something very simple but profound.  I was reading in Psalm 37.  The verse that I focused on was verse 4.  In this passage, the writer tells us that we should “delight” ourselves in the Lord and when we do we will receive the desires of our hearts.

On a cursory reading, we get the idea that if we follow God, God will make sure we get what we want.  But when you look closer at the passage, that is not what the writer is saying at all.  When he says “delight” he means more than give a cordial tip of the hat or an occasional prayer of thanks for what God does for us.  The word delight carries the idea of complete enchantment – an all-consuming desire to please.

When  we look at the context – the other verses around this one – we see that the writer is reminding us that when we make God the focus of all we do, when our lives revolve around pleasing God and doing what is good and right, then God will give us the desires of our hearts.

But here is the very simple yet profound idea the writer is communicating.  When we live our lives with the one focus of pleasing God – really delighting in the Lord of all creation – then the desires of our hearts will line up with the plans God has for us.

When we live in God’s perfect will (as Paul would call it in Romans 12) then our lives will be full and our hearts content; because when we seek to please God with all we are – that is the reward we will receive.

Live delighted today!

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Has Christmas lost it’s wonder for you?  When you look at the eyes of a child as they gaze upon a brightly decorated tree or the presents under that tree – do you see the amazement?  Do you still feel that same awe?

Yesterday, we talked about the wonder of Christmas.  I pray that, as adults, we don’t lose that same amazement we see in the eyes of children as we approach this most holy day.  We know the story – many of us have heard it all our lives.  If we aren’t careful and attentive, this season will pass us by and we will not have paused to truly consider why it still holds wonder and amazement for us today.

The God of the universe decided to break into human existence – divinity and humanity merging – in order to save us from our mistakes, poor choices and sin.

A woman was chosen to give birth to God.  Even though she had never been with a man, she gave birth to a baby boy – God’s very son.  Not only did God choose to come to earth under these scandalous circumstances, Jesus was born into poverty – a common man.  And now, 2000 plus years later, we celebrate that birth.

All of that should cause us to pause – it should cause us to feel amazement.  It should remind us that there is so much more going on in this life than we can explain or even see.

Don’t let the wonder and amazement of this season slip by you this year!

Be blessed today!

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This morning in my prayer and reading time, I was looking at a particular story around Jesus’ birth.  In Matthew 2, we find that there were three men looking for a king to be born in Israel.  You may have heard them called the wise men, or the three kings.  Matthew calls them Magi.

These were men from another country who had dedicated their lives to watch for the coming of a king.  And not just any king.  This king had his own star.  That was the sign that told them they were on the right track.

Think about this for a minute.  The assumption of most scholars is that these men were not dedicated followers of the God of Israel.  They did not worship at the temple.  They weren’t from Israel at all.  The only thing we are told is that they were from the east and they had traveled a distance, following a star in search of a new king – and not just any king – the king of the Jews.

As I think about this story, and all these men must have gone through to search out the king, I have to ask myself, “How diligently am I searching for the King today?”  Am I really searching at all?

How about you?  Are you looking for the King today?

As we move closer to Christmas day, don’t forget to look for Jesus.  Search for his tangible presence in your life.

Will you find Jesus today?

More from this story tomorrow.

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This past Sunday, we began the Advent season in our church.  This month we will be celebrating the coming of Christmas with the following theme:

Wait with hope . . .

Watch with anticipation . . .

Wonder with amazement . . .

Welcome with excitement . . .

This past Sunday we talked about waiting.  I don’t know about you but I HATE waiting.  I can’t stand it.  It seems there is never enough time in the day to get everything done and so when I have to wait on someone else to do what the are supposed to do so that I can my things done . . . well, I just don’t like it!

But during this season, I am reminded that waiting is not always a bad thing.  In fact, what I find is that waiting creates space.  I have been reminded that waiting is the tension between my time and God’s time.  Waiting – this tension – stretches me and reminds me that this life really isn’t about me at all.

So this Christmas Advent season, embrace the wait.  Allow the space that is created by the wait to shape you.  Use this space to consider who you are in relation to God.

Trust me – it will change the way you look at Christmas!

Be blessed!

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Remember that question you would be asked as a child – “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I remember being asked that question on numerous occasions.  It is just one of those things adults ask kids.  I honestly don’t remember having a set answer.  I am sure I would respond with “a fireman” or “a policeman.”  (I am fairly positive I never said, “a pastor.”)

But now as I am a bit older, I have had the blessing of hearing my sons respond to that question.   Every once in a while, when they were young, they would respond by saying that they wanted to be like their dad.  Talk about a proud moment in the life of a father!

Throughout our lives, there are people we come to respect.  In fact, it is not uncommon to have folks in our lives who impact us so dramatically that we want to be more like them.

Paul says, in Ephesians 5, that as children of God, we should seek to imitators of our Father. We should have such a respect and gratitude for God that our desire should be imitation.  So what do you want to be when you grow up?  Who do you want to resemble?

As imitators we may be the closest thing to God that people around us see today.

How closely does your imitation resemble the real thing?

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