Hands

     My granddaughter was fascinated by the raised veins in my "old hands".  And, I have to admit my hands do show a lot of aging.  In my own defense, I am proud of my hands, although old and wrinkled, they were created by God.  They allow me the opportunity to do the best I can in my job, daily activities, and in showing my love to family and friends.  I have tried, over the years, to take God's advice, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..."
     Hands are truly a gift whether old or young.  Even God used His hands with love and designed them to age.  "...an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands..."
   

Love at Christmas

     As we gear up for the Christmas Season, let us not forget about love, for Christmas is really about a love which I don't believe any of us can ever comprehend, no matter how hard we try. 

                                True Love  
Can the eyes ever really see, the ears hear, or the mind comprehend the love that transcends?

From heaven to earth, there was a God directed human birth;

Healing was witnessed, teaching was taught; a redemption plan brought.

Here was a living scene; a foretold plot;

The eyes saw, ears heard, but some scorned and walked away without a lot.

Imagine a baby's crib - a baby born of a woman, descended from Adam's rib.

A King born in a lowly manager; come to live among men, a stranger.

Yet, He healed.  The people saw, but would not kneel.

They wanted Him to leave; they didn't believe.

This King, instead, proclaimed the gospel Word.

The people followed; they wanted to hear but never heard.

This King, a stranger to most;

He was causing too much chaos, they would boast.

Imagine this man, a stranger, come to earth healing men blind from birth;

The people saw but could not see; preferring life as they thought it ought to be.

Imagine, this man, a stranger, come to die in order to save.

The people saw the life He gave to keep them from eternal grave.

They heard the words He proclaimed.

They heard but couldn't hear; instead they defamed His name. 

There was simply too much resentment, fear, and pain.

I ask again,

"Can the eyes ever see, the ears ever hear, or the mind comprehend the love that does truly transcend?"
                         Mary Crisp Jameson

   

Young Man Who Fell Asleep

     I had totally forgotten reading about the young man who fell asleep and fell out of the window until Acts 20:9-10 reminded me of the event.  "And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.  And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. "  
     It never amazes me over how often I can read scripture and pick up on an event that has long been forgotten and even come away with a completely different scriptural interpretation.
     As I pondered this particular scripture, I wondered just what was the point, because nothing else is mentioned about this young man or the event itself.  I read several commentaries and two of them I could relate to myself.
     I remember, as a young girl in church being bored and nodding off, embarrassingly, to sleep.  This story really could be comical from a human perspective for most people do laugh when they catch someone asleep in church.  One commentator put it this way-  (in my condensed version): 
   "This is the first recorded incident in the history of the Christian Church in which a young person was literally bored to death by preaching...It scarcely elicits more than a shared chuckle among  long-winded preachers...Yet instead of a comedy, it becomes a tragedy...How many have allowed themselves to sleep under sermons and have perished forever,,,have slept the sleep of eternal death and are fallen to rise no more?"
     One other commentator said it wakes us up to the fact that pastors are constantly having to come up with new ideas in their preaching methods in order to entertain and prevent "boring the congregation to death." 
     To be honest, I am sure pastors see the yawns (lack of oxygen) and sleepy eyelids of many.  With that in mind, we need to constantly be in prayer for our pastors and leaders.  They have a tremendous job to do in order to lead people to Christ.   

A Christmas Puzzle

A Christmas Puzzle ...
     It's the first day and December.  Christmas will soon be here!   When I plan for Christmas I think of how my Christmas day is usually spent.  I am blessed to be surrounded by family with lots of time spend around the table attempting to put together a complicated puzzle.  We are always in high spirits when, at the end of the day, we can see the results of a completed puzzle scene.
     So today, I put together a simple story of a Christmas puzzle in anticipation of a joyous Christmas day in 2018.

             A Christmas Puzzle

Tis' a Christmas puzzle with a heartfelt struggle

  of how the Savior's mother had no cozy place for birth.

Yet, her child would shake the earth.

Who would have ever guessed, a baby, a King no less,

  would be born without the best?

A Christmas puzzle, for sure;

God's own Son would be born into a world impure?

A puzzle, indeed, but a gift guaranteed.

Here was a King,born in a simple stable,

  laid in an animal crib, not a warm and cuddly cradle.

The child, as the story goes, was wrapped in poor swaddling clothes.

He lay in the cold with only warmth from His mother's hold.

The night was quiet, and, this birth, many would want to deny it.

Yet, "A King is born!" the angels sang.

Their voices around the shepherds rang.

This puzzle unfolds when a star above shone bright,

  announcing the birth with such delight.

Oh yes! A Christmas puzzle of what was taking place;

A Savior was born to bring the gift of grace.

Twas' the twist of a lifetime;

A Father's love bestowing joy sublime,

  sending forth His Son to shake the earth with a lowly stable birth.

Who would have guessed, a baby, a King, God's own Son no less,

  would be born without the best?

                        Mary Crisp Jameson