December 23, 2008

• God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good!

  Global Warming doesn't seem to be the answer to all the changes in our current weather patterns and the vast variations that our nation has been seeing already this winter...even though 'winter' hadn't even officially arrived yet.

  The following is a true happening and taken from a clipping I recently ran across....

  

  The Year Without A Summer                                                                                                                           

  "Freaks in the weather have forever been a subject of interest. Recently information has come to light that the year of 1816 was a year without a summer. A clipping of the "Elizabeth Pioneer" of 44 years ago (this clipping is old so it may have been printed 50-60 yrs. ago by now) refers to the freak years as follows: January and February were warm and spring-like; March was cold and stormy, still vegetation had gotten well under way in April when real cold weather set in.

  Snow and sleet fell on 17 different days in May. In June there was either frost or snow every day but 3. July was also cold and frosty. August was worse, for ice formed nearly an inch in thickness and killed every green thing in the United States. In the spring of 1817 corn which was kept over from 1815 sold for $5.00 to $10.00 per bushel for seed only.

  The eruption of Mt.Temboro, Dutch East Indies, blew 50 cubic miles of dust in the air killing 60,000 people and clouding the skies all over the earth, crops refused to ripen, trees bore no fruit, and cattle froze in the fields as a result. The year 1816 was a year without a summer.

  The phenomenon of 1816 was further told in the "Yorkshire, S.C Enquirer": January was so mild that most people allowed their fires to go out and did not burn wood except for cooking. February was not cold and March was windy. April came in warm but, as the days grew longer and the air became colder and by the first of May there was a temperature like that of winter. The young buds were frozen stiff and ice upon the ponds and rivers, corn was killed, and corn fields were planted again and again. When the last of May arrived, everything had been killed by the cold. June was the coldest June ever experienced in this latitude. Frost and ice were as common as buttercups usually are. All fruit was destroyed, snow fell 10 inches deep in Vermont. July came in with snow and ice. On the 4th of July ice was a quarter inch thick throughout New England.

  To the surprise of all, August proved to be the worst month of all. Thousands of people would have perished in this country had it not been for an abundance of game."

  

  What rhyme or reason would the weathermen have for us should this happen in 2009 or 10 or ever again?

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  CHRISTMAS....What does Christmas mean to You...to Me?

  The tendency for most of us at Christmas is to rush through the season doing rather than learning. Christmas happens every year, but somewhere along the line we develop the impression we've grasped all there is to know about it's meaning, like there's nothing else for us to learn. Rather than pausing to contemplate, we shop. Rather than probing into it's meaning, we shop. Rather than think and reflect, we shop. 

  Can we reflect on Jesus' birth, life and death, and say with Mary: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." ??

  I think if we can have a goal to become more like Mary--to be unpretentious, truly humble and unselfish, understanding, uninhibited-- then and ony then, will we be receptive enough to receive whatever miracle God has for us.

   

  I smiled when I read the little story of a sweet little girl who made a Christmas banner that said: "Mary had a little  lamb.....and named him Jesus." She was ridiculed by her teacher and classmates which broke her heart. The precious outcome and happy ending to this story is, her loving Mother made sure that this special banner was the centerpiece of their Christmas celebration every year thereafter! Mary truly did have a little Lamb....and named Him Jesus!

  

  There's a side to the Christmas story that isn't often told..."those delicate little hands, fashioned by the Holy Spirit in Mary's womb, were made so nails might be driven through them. Those baby feet, soft and pink and unable to walk, would one day walk up a dusty hill to be nailed to a cross. That sweet Infant's head with sparkling eyes and eager mouth was formed so that someday it will withstand the pressure of the crown of thorns that the men at his crucifiction forced onto it. The tender body, warm and soft, wrapped in swaddling clothes, would one day be ripped open by a spear." Jesus was born to die. His mission was no mystery and had been foretold in scores of scriptures.

  

  The Baby in a manger was born to die upon a cross; yet most people don't like to think about the cross at Christmas, because Christmas is about birth and a new life. They see the cross as an ugly, nasty, tasteless reminder of man's dark ages when men acted in barbarous ways. The sentiment of most people in this world is that Christmas is a time for tinsel, glitter, blinking lights, warm fires, and fuzzy feelings. Christmas is a season we like to think of as "peace on earth and good will toward men." Nobody likes to think of  horrible first century torture and violence, or spoil the serenity of the season with images of  gore, suffering and bloodshed. Somehow people want Christmas to be the one day of the year when everyone pretends that the world is okay.

  Therefore, for most people, it's tough to appreciate the cross at Christmas. Yet if it weren't for the cross, there would be no reason to celebrate at Christmas time, or any other time for that matter. The values of love, peace, good will, and new life...values we treasure at Christmas and that make life worth living...were all purchased and made possible on the cross of Jesus Christ. If we would look at Christmas through the eyes of Jesus, then we see the cross even from the manger. Jesus was born to die and give His life for us. Then again we need to see the manger through the cross....we aren't really ready to worship the Baby in a manger until we have trusted our lives to the Savior hanging on the cross.

  When we see a Christmas light, let's always remember that Light that shines in the darkness, even though the darkness comprehends it not. My sin and your sin nailed Jesus to the tree, and it was His Love that kept Him there. Jesus was born to die for us.

  So, if Jesus were born to die for us, then we must die to live for Him. When we die to our stubbornness, our selfishness, our deceitfulness, and are willing to bury our pride and arrogance; when we confess these (and many more) as sin and recognize our need for a Saviour....when we embrace the cross and trust in Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us, then, in a spiritual sense, the miracle of Christmas happens again. This time, not in Bethlehem, but in our very own heart and life!

  It is through that process that Christ comes to us spiritually and enters, not through a manger, but through the door of our heart. We then embrace the Lamb as the sacrifice for our sin, and the miracle of Christmas happens all over again.....inside of us.

  Beautiful?......Yes, very beautiful!!

  Last but not least, while we are giving gifts to family, friends and neighbors, let's not  forget that this gift giving is bound to be empty if we miss the opportunity to receive  the greatest Gift of all.....that the Father gave for all mankind.

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  "....behold , the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying....fear not....and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:20-21

   

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