Happy Solstice!

or, so that's where the 12 Days of Christmas came from...

I signed up for a free ebook last night. (I admit, even though I will never have time to read them all, I am seriously addicted to downloading every free ebook that crosses my path) This morning I got an interesting email from the author entitled Yule - The Pagan Holiday That Celebrates the Sun.

Celebrated on the winter solstice, Yule is a holiday dedicated to the return of the sun. Pagan deities associated with the celebration include: all newborn gods, sun gods and mother goddesses. Kris Kringle, the inspiration for Santa Claus, receive the honour of becoming the Germanic Pagan God of Yule. The winter solstice, as the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, has been celebrated for centuries. It signifies the return of the light, as the days become longer and the countdown to the life-giving spring begins. The Yule festival lasts for 12 days and involves great merriment and feasting, as well as many traditions each with its own meaning.  (read more)

I wasn't expecting that - guess I should check out that free book soon.

Seriously, I've known all my life that the origins of Christmas stem from paganism, though I don't really know all the details or haven't paid that much attention. Or actually care that much. It's enough for me that God gave us days to celebrate, and I have no need to look for replacements.

I have wondered what this 12 days of Christmas thing is when my calendar only has one day marked.  (and these days it seems that one day is stretched out more and more) Of course, the 12 days of Christmas come from the pagan holiday too. Why am I not surprised? (I think extending it beyond that is all retail)

Of course, there are many people who have celebrated Christmas all their lives with no clue that it has any meaning except for celebrating the birth of our Saviour. Others used to know the pagan origins and believed God when He said that He is not pleased when we attempt to honor Him by adopting the ways of the nations (pagans) around us, but somehow they have forgotten or decided it doesn't matter anymore. Or maybe God changed?

I'm pretty sure God hasn't changed. That would call into question a whole lot of other things besides holy days and whether or not pagan traditions can somehow be made acceptable and even honorable. So, I'm going to continue celebrating the days God set aside in the Bible - appointed times that remind us just who God is and what He has planned for us. Settling for pagan traditions painted and prettied up by man seems kind of hollow by comparison.

Review: Evening Prayers for Every Day of the Year

When I agreed to review this book, I did not realize that it was a collection of prayers spoken and written by Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, a pastor who lived from 1842 to 1919.  This is not a new book.  I just read the book description and thought it sounded like a great book to have.

Book Description:

We want to turn to God at the end of each day, but often don’t find the words to express our deepest feelings and longing. This collection of prayers is one of the few daily devotionals especially intended for use in the evening.

Blumhardt’s words bespeak a certainty in God’s nearness. The peace that flows from them comes from an unshakeable conviction that God’s kingdom is indeed on the way. In stormy and challenging times like our own, most of us need this reassurance frequently, if not daily.

It was only after I'd received the book and started reading the introduction that I learned that these prayers were collected and published in 1926, after Blumhardt's death, and only intended at first for his closest friends.

Since that time, Bumhardt's collection of prayers has been published multiple times, including this newly revised 2014 edition.  Obviously I haven't read through the whole book - there is a scripture and prayer for each day of the year, so I've just started going through it.  I started at the beginning instead of on the proper date (yeah, I know - what a rebel), but I plan to start over again and go through it in 2015, since January will soon be here.

What surprised me was how simple, powerful, and timely these prayers are.  They were written 100 years ago!  But, of course, God's word is timeless and timely, too.  I love the simple faith displayed in these prayers, and I find myself praying some of the lines over and over.  They just hit directly at the center of what I would have prayed if only I'd thought of it.  I also love that Blumhardt doesn't use a lot of flowery language in his prayers - just honest, heartfelt, simple words that mean so much.

"All we ask and long for, all our concerns down to the very smallest, we lay in your hands in the one great request that your name be glorified on earth as it is in heaven."

This is a book that I plan to turn to and use often, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a little guidance in connecting with God in a simple, direct, and meaningful way at the end of the day.

This book was provided for review by Handlebar and Plough Publishing.

The Barbershop

I saw this on facebook this morning. Love the logic!

A man went to a barber shop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.  As the barber began to work, they started a good conversation.  They talked about so many things and various subjects. 

When they eventually touched the subject of God, the barber said, “I don’t believe that God exists.”
“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.
The barber said, “Well you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist.  Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barber shop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.  He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and said to the barber, “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber, and I just worked on you!”
“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don't exist because if they do, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”
The barber said, “Ah, but barbers DO exist; what happens is, people don't come to me.”
“Exactly”- affirmed the customer, “That’s the point.”

God too, DOES exist; But what happens is, people don’t go to Him and do not look for him.

Related articles

• The Barber Shop
• Weekly Wisdom - Does God Exists

Book Review: Bold As Love

Bold As Love: What can happen when we see people the way God does by Bob Roberts, Jr.

About this book:

As Christians, we’re called to love our neighbors—all our neighbors. But is that even possible? And can we truly love them well?

People often think of their neighbors as those already belonging to their “tribe” or community. It’s safe, it’s easy, and it doesn’t often cause conflict—politically or religiously. But in today’s world, everyone and everything is interconnected globally in an ever-changing cultural landscape, while religious strife runs rampant. Is it feasible for Christians to live their faith boldly and lovingly while entering into a true relationship with “neighbors” of other faiths, both locally and globally?

In Bold as Love, Pastor Bob Roberts shows you what it looks like to live out your faith daily in the global public square among people of other faiths—Jews, Muslims, atheists, Hindus, Buddhists. While he admits that it can be challenging to engage people of other faiths whose beliefs are as strong as yours, he demonstrates how to enter into this critical dialogue in a radical yet loving way. “We have to learn to speak with one conversation and give the same message everywhere to everyone,” he says. “We are commanded to love God and love others. And sometimes that requires risky boldness.”

Roberts invites you to respond to this call to live a life of fearless and loving engagement with the world. So take the risk! Your faith wasn’t made to live in isolation. It’s something you do face-to-face, heart-to-heart, hand-to-hand. Whether you are in a suburb of Houston or a village in India, put away the fear and suspicion and, instead, answer the call to radically love others the way God loves. And get ready to see your life and the lives of those you touch—your family, your community, even your enemies—transformed!

This book really had me thinking about what it really means to love your neighbor.  Too often in our church tradition we hear people questioning who our neighbors really are.  Who are we supposed to love?  Are there people that God does not require us to love?  I have to agree with Bob Roberts when he says, "Loving others isn't something we do when we agree with them, or when they're like us, or even when we like them."  We are called to love all of our neighbors, maybe even especially those who don't believe the way we do.  Be developing relationships with them, we open up the dialog to share with them what we believe and why, while also understanding who they are and what they believe.  We come to love them as individual people, and not just a people - often a people we don't understand or that we fear.  Often loving others requires risky boldness and is something we can only accomplish by focusing on God first and following his commands to love others.

While reading the book, I found myself highlighting sentences and passages that really struck me.  There are some real gems in this book along with the far-reaching challenge for all of us to see people and love them the way God does.  Roberts shows what it looks like to boldly love your neighbor as God would want us to by sharing the experiences he's had in his home church in the Dallas area, and around the world, building relationships with people from all walks of life.  Imagine what the world would look like if we all stepped out and did that!

"When we love people and build relationships with them, all kinds of good things happen that were not previously possible."

Bold as Love: What Can Happen When We See People the Way God Does is available at Amazon and other book retailers.  I encourage you to pick up your own copy.  Also, be sure to check out Bob Roberts' blog at Glocal.net.

Note: I received a free copy of Bold as Love for review.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Related articles

• Bold As Love by Bob Roberts, Jr.
• Book Review : Bold as Love

Still Here

I really can't say that I believe in the Rapture, and I certainly didn't believe any claims that today would be the day - if there really is such a thing. There's kind of this thing about no man knowing the day or hour, not even the Son - only the Father. There are no online degree programs that can give any man that knowledge.

But, if there is going to be a Rapture at some time, I can just see the people left behind (unbelievers) having this exact attitude:




until things get really tough, and God gets their attention.

God is Busy Right Now

This has been around before, but I just got it in an email again today and thought it was worth passing on:

If you don't know GOD, don't make stupid remarks!

A United States Marine was taking some college courses between assignments. He had completed 20 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan . One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist, and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform... I'll give you exactly 15 min." 

The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am GOD, I'm still waiting."

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently.

The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What in the world is the matter with you?  Why did you do that?" 

The Marine calmly replied, "GOD was too busy today protecting America 's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid stuff and act like an idiot. So He sent me."

The classroom erupted in cheers!