Hello TD! We hope you’re enjoying our daily gifts to help you love Jesus more this Christmas!
Well, gift #5 may be familiar to some of you, but it is so fun and heart warming … and a perfect way to model for us the enthusiasm, energy, and heart we need to have when we go Christmas caroling at the convalescent home this Friday as part of “A TD Christmas.” I love it and tear up watching it. Enjoy and be prepared to “bring it” on Friday! – Arthur
Today’s gift is intended to help you prepare your gift for Jesus this Friday at “A TD Christmas,” which begins at 6 p.m. at my house. So, Sandra wrote this devotional for you to help you out. Thanks Sandra! – Arthur
Hey TDers! Lights are up, Christmas songs are being played on the radio and in the malls, cards are being sent, gifts are being prepared … it is all fun, exciting, and busy. Christmas means Christ’s mass. Even though the celebration of Christmas has taken a life of its own, we can still determine to keep the essential and real meaning of Christ’s mass in Christmas.
As we recall in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Let’s focus on that “free gift” that we as believers have received. The Greek word is “Charisma”. Charisma is the gift of faith, knowledge, holiness and virtue. It is the grace or gift denoting extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the chruch of Chirst, the reception of which is due ot the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit. (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5486&t=NASB)
For TD this Friday, we would like you to go against the cultural grain, go deep, unplug (unless you are using your computer or phone to read the Bible or listen to a sermon) and unleash the CHARISMA that God has freely given you. Here are some practical suggestions for you to consider:
1. Listen to a message – maybe one of the podcasts on this blog; or go to TD.mbcla.org and go to Messages and listen to a great TD message; or go to Resources and pick a website and a great sermon to listen to. After listening to it, respond by writing out a summary, journal entry, poem, or even an exhortation to share. Just write a response to what you’ve heard.
2. Listen to the message on the temple that inspired me to write my poem. Warning, it is 1 hour and 15 minutes long, but it is worth it! It was recommended to us by Joni, herself!
In The Temple: The Glorious and Forgiving God (1Kings 8)
3. Share the love of Christ to someone considered “the least of these”. If you want to give a gift back to Jesus, He said in Matthew 25:24, “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ Give a gift or card to someone who is not in your immediate cirle of friends. Extend yourself, reach out in His name!
4. Create or do something for the Lord’s honor – write a song or song lyrics, draw or paint a picture, write poetry, read extra portions of Scripture, spend extra time in prayer and praise, etc.
On Friday, we would love to hear about the “charisma” that you allowed to explode in your life today. We want to have a Christmas celebration this Friday where Jesus is truly honored and celebrated! Maranatha (the Lord is coming) ! – Sandra
(btw, eat dinner before you arrive; we’ll have snacks and refreshments after returning from the convalescent home)
Well, Christmas is about Jesus, and there aren’t a lot of people I know of who know that better than our suprise gift giver today! Click on the link below to see who it is, be encouraged, and enjoy! – Arthur
Hope you enjoyed yesterday’s opening gift! Today’s gift is homemade. It’s a podcast of Sandra’s offering to Jesus, called “Wrappings or Trappings” – a rich and inspiring poem she wrote, full of insight and significance, to remind us to fight for what’s right this Christmas: Jesus. Please listen and grow. Thank you, Sandra!
Don’t forget to bring your own homemade gift to Jesus to “A TD Christmas” this Friday for you to share wtih your small group! – Arthur
Hey TD’ers,
It’s 12 days until Christmas! What will you give Jesus for Christmas? We challenge you to your time, talent, and heart to create a unique gift for Christmas gift for Him!
For the next 12 days, we will be posting Christmas gifts – videos, poems, songs, and essays that have been produced to bless the Christ of Christmas! Check in each day for Christmas blessings!
For our first gift, here’s an absolutely AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING video that we posted last Christmas, but is so good, we’re posting it again! You WILL be blessed. It’s a great way to start the season! – Arthur
In this next essay in “The Pernicious Lie” series, we take a chilling look at the life’s beginning from a unique perspective. There’s much to learn when we see life from another’s angle, especially if that angle is from … an archangel! Written while he was in high school, Nathaniel forces us to consider things we may not want to consider. Read on and be prepared to ponder … and pray. – Arthur
The masterpiece has been marred; consummation exchanged for corruption. “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25). How else could this “amen” be uttered except with grave solemnity? Indeed it is not an affirmation of “let it be!”, but rather a heavy assent of “it is true”. O, the sting of the truth of lies! How it grieves me to see that which was conceived in love, grow to maturity in bitter hate. What pain is felt in watching those who once walked with the Master, flee from the abuse of their masters. There is no place on earth that does not witness men breathe curses and raise their fists against the hand that formed them and the breath that infused them with life. If only earth knew how many tears heaven has shed on her behalf. But it was not always that way.
The world I now view with grief was brought to life in the midst of angelic laughter. Yes, I have seen it all, for I was there from the beginning. I watched with awe, in a spirit of hopeful expectation, as the Master spoke each creature into being and ordered the world into motion. “It is good,” (Genesis 1:25) He said after each design, for how could the Holy One create anything less than perfect and beautiful? It was exhilarating to observe flowers bloom, fruit ripen, animals frolic and prance side by side, and stars dance in the sky as if they were performing an age old routine, all for the first time. It was all fresh, new, bursting with life, and the joy of living was pure. Heaven erupted in celebration as we considered the splendor of our King’s handiwork. It is not surprising that we gazed intently through the portals of heaven as the sixth day in history dawned. There was that look in the Almighty’s all-knowing eye that read “just you wait, you haven’t seen anything yet.” I couldn’t even fathom what was about to be brought into existence, yet I must admit that I did overhear parts of the conversation of the Three Lords. “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26). Man? What was man? Or who was man? Could he actually bear the image of the Holy One? Would he be like us angels? Would he really be like God? That final question is all too familiar as I recall how the “morning star” and “son of the dawn” (Isaiah 14:12) fell from heaven, from glory, and from Truth. “I will make myself like the Most High,” (Isaiah 14:14) was our chief’s resolve, yet such an aspiration reserved him headship only over the lowest depths of hell. Yet for the moment, all my doubt was dispelled as God blessed man and gave him authority over all the wonders He created. “Very good,” is how the God of all goodness described the pinnacle of His creation. And indeed, in the man I saw the image of the Lord. He had a mind capable of pondering truth, he possessed creativity and authority, he used language and words to communicate thoughts and emotions, he was intimate in relating with the woman made in the same likeness as he, and he was given an eternal soul which was created to last forever. Man was a masterpiece! In him was showcased the eternal power, love, and glory of our Creator.
That was the way things were intended to be, yet the Master knew full well that that was not the way things were going to be. For here again the pernicious lie that took Lucifer captive soon strangled the glory of creation: “You will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5). As I heard this empty promise clothed in partial truth, I longed to scream that they were already like God, at least as much as their physical, created selves could handle. Living in a place where the light of His glory is enough to illuminate the whole land, I yearned to shout that they could never fully be like the Holy One, the one and only I AM. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil,” (Genesis 3:5) was the bribe Satan used to lure Eve. And it was all too quickly that this carefully disguised warning turned into a curse. As the One who simultaneously sees the past, present, and future, the Almighty was intimately acquainted with good and evil. He truly knew, as only He could, the murder of Abel, the licentiousness of Sodom and Gomorrah, the cruelty of the Egyptian slave lords, the massacring of Hebrew infants to Molech, and the divine sacrifice of Calvary. Only the I AM could know the end from the beginning. Yet it was at that moment that the journey began for the image-bearers, including me. I could have never fathomed the horrors I would behold as soon as their eyes were opened. The vitality of the misty garden air soon evaporated and the gruesome stench of death hung in its place. Before long, I and another archangel were summoned into the throne room of the masterful Artist and Architect. It was indeed shocking to see the countenance of the Almighty’s face shift so quickly from holy bliss to righteous anger. I shielded my eyes not only from the brightness and radiance of His light but also from the scorching heat that exuded from the consuming fire our God had become. “You shall guard the Eastern side of the garden to prevent humankind from reaching the tree of life,” He commanded, His voice marked with an intense sadness. Then a flaming sword was brought forth and His powerful hand extended and gripped the weapon; in turn He entrusted the blazing object to me. “Now it is necessary to rule by force, yet there will come a time when those who live by the sword will perish by the sword, and I will be Lord of their hearts once again. Trust, dear one, that in the end all will be infinitely greater than a return to Eden.” And with that I descended onto the terrestrial planet, sword in hand. I stood at the gate of what was now paradise lost. I peered briefly into the hazy annals of time and history, glimpsing the lives of countless individuals. All were tormented by their experiential knowledge of evil which was growing deeper with every passing moment. How could the intimacy of evil and humanity truly be used to restore the beauty and glory of Eden? How was it possible to exceed the perfection of creation? Amidst the cacophony of questions and the jarring sights and sounds of evil, His assured voice resonated with my ears and my soul. “Infinitely greater,” was what He promised. I knew I needed to trust the hand that brought man from the dust, that wielded the flaming sword, and that offered hope in the midst of despair. In His sovereign hand, it would all be good. It was a promise, from the Almighty.
– Nathaniel Hsieh (2009)
Hey TD’ers!
Jonathan Edwards once commented that, “Of all the knowledge that we can ever obtain, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves, are the most important.” He’s right.
Hopefully, you were impacted by our study of generations and Jesus’ genealogy last Friday. Instead of our usual Bible study this week, we are asking you to interview your parents (and grandparents, if possible) to find out more about your own personal history. Take good notes, ask good questions, listen well, … and enjoy!
If you do a good job, you will learn a lot about why you are the way you are; and you’ll be impacted by the detailed ways God has been working through your family (even if they aren’t Christian) and in your own life. Don’t treat it like an assignment that you HAVE to do. Instead, see it as a conversation and a great opportunity you GET to do! If you do, you’ll all have a great time!
Bring the findings to TD on Friday and we’ll have a great time of discussion and discovery!
What kind of questions should you ask? It’s up to you, but here are some of the topics you’ll want to cover:
– Key moments in your familiy’s history (perhaps events and decisions that have shaped your family’s direction)
– Your parents’ life stories (incl. what it was like for them growing up, what their dating life was like, etc.)
– the spiritual lineage of your family
– interesting stories about your parents/grandparents/uncles and aunties/cousins, etc. (incl. their homes, rooms, schools, friends, activities, etc.)
– interesting stories from your childhood that they remember
– their perspective of you growing up and now (incl. whose personality you most resemble)
Looking forward to seeing you Friday! – Arthur
Hey TD’ers!
Tomorrow night, Sandra and I will share the wealth, bring you into our world, and invite you into the nascent stages of preparing a Bible study/message. We will get down and dirty together, tackling what I think may be one of the most difficult passages to work with – Luke 3:22-38. But the tougher it is, the more rewarding it will be as well!
In addition to unearthing and excavating the jewels of Scripture, I’ve asked Nathaniel and Daniel to share Nathaniel’s song of the same title, “Throughout All Generations”!
Lastly, in keeping with our generational theme, PLEASE DRESS IN CLOTHES OF ANOTHER GENERATION – like your parents’ or even grandparents’ generation! The older the better!
See you all tomorrow! – Arthur
In this season of working on and submitting college applications, it’s so important to get an accurate and clear view of what college really is … and isn’t. Indeed, what happens in our colleges ends up shaping our culture tomorrow. As totally devoted Christians, it is not only vital that you KNOW your role, but FULFILL your role on the college campus. But what is your role? To answer this, you first need to get an accurate view of the landscape. Hopefully, this article by Al Mohler will help spark your first thoughts. – Arthur
Several years ago, sociologist Peter Berger argued that secularization has been most pervasive in two social locations—Western Europe and the American college and university campus. The campuses of elite educational institutions are among the most thoroughly secularized places on our planet. This should concern anyone with an interest in higher education, of course. But it really matters to every American—or at least it should.
A wonderful and concise explanation of why this is so was provided in the pages of The Weekly Standard this week by David Gelernter, a professor of computer science at Yale University. In the course of making a proposal for the “reclamation” of higher education, Professor Gelernter wrote this very important paragraph:
Since the cultural revolution culminating in the 1970s, the left has run nearly all of the nation’s most influential, prestigious universities. Their alumni, in turn, run American culture—the broadcast networks, newspapers, the legal and many other professions, Hollywood, book publishing, and, most important, the massive, insensate, crush-everything-in-your-path mega-glacier known as the U.S. federal bureaucracy—and even more important than that, the education establishment charged with indoctrinating our children from kindergarten up.
That’s why it matters to you. And that’s how the future direction of the culture is set by the current culture of the elite colleges and universities. Many parents are unaware of how this happens. Their children may or may not attend one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation. But in almost any other institution they will study under professors who want to be associated with (or eventually hired by) one of those elite institutions. Exceptions to this pattern are rare, and the influence of these elite schools extends throughout the culture at large.
David Gelernter is in a position to know. After all, he is a professor at Yale. As he makes clear, what happens at Yale doesn’t stay at Yale.
Total Devotion 