World UPSIDE DOWN

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Wednesday, December 12, 2018

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, and encourage those who have weak knees.  Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.”  And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.  The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!  Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.  The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land.  Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.  Isaiah 35:3-7(NLT)

Life was upside-down!  Isaiah encouraged tired, weary ones who wanted to be faithful, but sometimes found it hard to hold-on, to believe in the God who said:  Hold on!

Today many people dismiss Christ based on unbelief – that certainly God (if he exists at all) must be more complicated than the manger story.  Certainly, a God who could create the universe that has the intricacies of DNA and quantum physics would not have given the most important announcement of mankind and angels to stupid shepherds.

But were they stupid?  The shepherds are the ones who believed God; they went immediately and without question to find the child.  When they arrived, they worshipped.  When they left, they rejoiced and told others.  It seems the shepherds were the wise and obedient ones.  They remembered their history of exile in Egypt long before, and how Yahweh was true to his promise, sent Moses, and redeemed them out of captivity:

When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream!
 We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.  And the other nations said,  “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”  Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!  What joy!  Psalm 126:1-3(NLT)

In defense of those who find it hard to possess joy in their doubt and prison cells, we can all be a little dumber than shepherds at times.  And sometimes it takes another prisoner to set the tone for us.

Father Alfred Delp[2] was a prisoner of the Nazis during World War II.  He was charged with treason for true Christian preaching.  From his jail cell he wrote about the meaning of Advent, the coming of Christ

"Advent is a time for rousing.  Human beings are shaken to the very depths, so that they may wake up to the truth of themselves.  The primary condition for a fruitful and rewarding Advent is renunciation, surrender ... a shattering awakening; that is the necessary preliminary.  Life begins only when the whole framework is shaken."^[3]  

For You Today

A few questions we should ask at Advent:

·      Have you ever had your framework shaken?  Have you walked in a dream, as if everything has been turned upside-down?  I wonder if, like the shepherds, God allows these events to move us to the next level? 

·      And what will you do at the next level?  Could it be that God wants us to leave the nightmares of doubt and fear, to walk out of the familiar and selfish?  Could it be that He wants to see us walking in dreams of worthy choices and loving attitudes? 

·      Could it be that this Advent the still small voice that says, “I want you to love me above everything” will shake your framework…because you recognize the voice?  And you know…it’s no dream; He’s your God!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Image courtesy:  Graf Foto [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

[3] © 2009 COMMUNICATION RESOURCES, INC.

Why There Should Be Seatbelts on Dentist's Chairs

It seemed like a dream, too good to be true, when GOD returned Zion’s exiles. We laughed, we sang, we couldn’t believe our good fortune. We were the talk of the nations— “GOD was wonderful to them!” GOD was wonderful to us; we are one happy people. Psalms 126:1 - 3 (TMSG)

My bride, Elizabeth, once (long ago and in a faraway galaxy) held a position as an orthodontist's assistant.  When she first trained for the job, she was given instructions on how to operate the controls on the dental chair.  Her job would include getting the patient settled in the chair, reclined and comfortable. 

Her first patient was a rather large man in his fifties.  After the customary talk about weather and family, the man was shown to the "seat of honor".  Staring at the control panel, Elizabeth's training somehow seemed to vanish; the instructions looked like an alien language; she decided to "wing it". 

The first button she pushed had a promising result as the chair backrest started toward the reclining position.  Unfortunately, when the huge fellow was nearly horizontal Elizabeth pressed what she thought was the stop button; it turned out to be the emergency release.  The back rest toppled backwards, turning the man upside-down.

Elizabeth is not afraid to correct mistakes; neither is she afraid to do it quickly.  Pressing one control after another, the seat carrying her guinea pig jolted upright, forward, and then banked slightly to the left.  Another few stabs at the panic buttons, and the chair (with its passenger holding on for dear life) banked and looped like a crop-dusting plane on crack cocaine. 

By this time the patient began to exhibit some minor concerns about the turbulent flight, mostly with questions that began with "Are you....whoops....hey, what's.....whoaaaaa......can you stop this....aaaaahhhh".  

Now, my bride is a compassionate, caring person, but she does one thing which no human being can properly understand when it happens – when nervous, she giggles!  It is uncontrollable, and as predictable as April 15th at the IRS.  Once she was told about a death in the family and she had to go into the ladies' room to keep from being misunderstood. 

When criticized or embarrassed in any way she smiles in a way that can frustrate her children or husband in ways inventors of "water-boarding" never imagined. 

When the "bucking bronco" of an examining chair had finally been subdued, the nervous Mrs. Brownworth was unable to breathe, unbidden tears of laughter pooling at her feet.  What seemed like an hour was probably only half a minute, but even at the World Bull-Riding championships the professionals only have to stay on for 8 seconds!

Now, there is one other thing about Elizabeth’s laughter – it is infectious!  By the time the chair had gotten tamed, the patient and four other dental assistants were also in stitches. 

Somehow the situation eventually calmed down enough for the doctor to do his thing, and Elizabeth did keep her job.  It may have only been kindness, or a sense of humor on the patient's part, however. 

At the end of the day the receptionist came to Elizabeth and reassured her that all was well; in fact, the man had paid her a compliment.  He told the receptionist to tell the doctor to make sure he kept Elizabeth on staff, and maybe consider giving her a raise.  He said, That lady sure knows how to show a fella a good time!

Remember This

Christmas is on the horizon; it’s not all sugar plums and candy canes.  The holidays can test your reserve strength and patience.

Remember to smile a lot and enjoy the ride.

Remember….it’s a birthday party!