Christmas Memories and Miracles

I found myself talking to the dog on our morning walk a couple of days ago, about the whole idea of “After Christmas Memories.” I had got to thinking that most of the fond memories that I’ve heard people tell of, usually occurred in the days before or on Christmas day itself.

But I had been reminded earlier that morning, of a special event that happened in the days following Christmas almost 30 years ago.  The Christian radio station that I usually listen to in the morning had switched over to their special “12 Days of Christmas” format and was playing contemporary Christian Christmas songs from the last few decades… and it was a cut from Steven Curtis Chapman’s 1995 “The Music of Christmas” album that pulled me back to that heartfelt experience.

In the twenty years that I worked for Hewlett Packard and their spin-off, Agilent Technologies, I normally took the week after Christmas off from work.  It was the first extended time off that I would take since the summer each year and it gave me quiet time to spend with my family.  It was also the first break we got after months of preparation and practice for the annual Children’s Christmas program at the church.  So, like I said, it was a time to just kick back and relax!

Therefore, in that particularly busy and at times difficult year, Piper and I decided to grab the opportunity afforded by her homeschooling vacation and my time off and spend a couple of days alone, at our favorite lodge up on the Sonoma County coast.  So, we threw a few essentials into the back of the Camaro, stopped at our neighborhood Raley’s for meals and snacks and pointed the car west, toward the Pacific Ocean!

The weather all along the coast was typical for that time of year and was dreary, overcast and cold.  But you know… any day, no matter what the weather… was always a beautiful day at the coast for us!  I think that we probably spent more time in the room on that visit than we normally did, but we enjoyed being alone and listening to the new Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas cassette that the kids had given us when we opened presents a few days previous.

So, when that song from that album played on the radio these many years later… I was transported back in time to that lodge room with its little kitchen, sitting area, bedroom and bath, along with its breath-taking views of the Pacific Ocean below the cliff a few dozen yards outside our window. 

The particular memory that was so sweet to me was of me sitting in a chair and watching Piper, who was standing with her back toward me, across the room, getting a snack for herself at the kitchen counter... with Steven Curtis Chapman singing “Christmas Is All in the Heart” from my boombox in the background.

I’m not so sure why it was so special, but I always loved watching her move… the way she confidently carried herself and even how she manipulated her little fingers when she used the knife to cut her favorite whole bran bakery muffin in half… and even though she was fully covered in insulated jeans, boots, a long sleeve shirt and an insulated thermal vest, she was still the most alluring and exciting woman in the entire universe to me!

And it was that unique memory that triggered thoughts of another one of my most favorite after Christmas activities!  I gave up on New Years Resolutions along time ago, but over the years since, have gotten into the habit of taking the time to listen to the Lord for special words and or “Catch Phrases” during the concluding days of December, in order to help frame the course of my EXPETATIONS for the soon coming NEW YEAR.

The scripture from Isaiah 9:6 that we have been looking at throughout this December, has definitely gotten me focused on the miraculous nature of God.  If you recall, the Prophet, in announcing the coming of the Savior, declared to the Israelites in Judah,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In last weekend’s Christmas blog, we discussed how Jesus’s name of “WONDERFUL” or “WONDER-FILLED” can also be defined in the old Hebrew as “MIRACLE-FILLED!”  Therefore, we could simply say in today’s modern English, that Jesus, the manifested presence of the one of whom Isaiah prophesied as Savior… and the truth of His Word… is FILLED with MIRACLES!

E.W. Kenyon is his book “The Wonderful Name of Jesus” wisely wrote that

“When REASON takes the place of the MIRACULOUS, Christianity loses its VIRILITY, FASCINATION, and FRUITFULNESS.”

Dictionary.com defines the word “VIRILITY” in this context, as Christianity’s “character, vigor or spirit and its power of procreation”, and the word “FASCINATION,” as Christianity’s “ability to irresistibly draw the attention and interest of someone.”

So… without miracles, Christianity is just another dead religion, instead of the living, breathing and life-changing relationship that we have in our daily lives with Jesus Christ.

I realized as I thought about all of this and pondered the quickly approaching NEW YEAR of 2025… that ALL the EXPECTATIONS that I have for each and every NEW YEAR… always include the anticipation of a MIRACLE… or two… or more!

How About You?

If MIRACLES are the VIRILITY of my faith in Christ and the fascinating POWER that irresistibly draws the attention of others… then I WANT to have MIRACLES active in my life!

Wouldn’t You Agree?

Have a fun, safe and sound New Years.  We are FINALLY forecast to have some cold but SUNNY weather for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025!

… and EXPECT MIRACLES to come ALIVE in 2025!

Expect A Miracle

With today being the official first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, our weather here in Oklahoma did not disappoint but greeted our morning walk with a frost covered golf course and temperatures in the low twenties!  And while I was bundled up with my thermals and cold weather insulated coat and gloves… Fiver bounded around like a kid at an amusement park!  With his thick Great Pyrenees coat, he thrives when the thermometer plummets!

He has a routine each and every morning that never varies.  After my morning coffee and Bible study time, I feed the dog and head for the shower… and as soon as I turn off the water and step over the tub… he appears at the slightly ajar door* and begins to dance around the bedroom and bark… knowing that our morning walk will begin as soon as I get myself ready for the day!

It's actually kind of funny and I play along with him by pretending to bark and say things to excite him even more.  I don’t think that I could find a better example of someone’s EXPECTATIONS bursting forth with the anticipation of an upcoming event!  And low and behold… if I should drop the leash after putting his harness on him to return to the kitchen to get my keys… he’ll literally stick to my side by pressing against me until I return to and open the front door!

The EXPECTANCY that Fiver places in me to take him on a walk each morning brings to mind the same EXPECTANCY that the angel of the Lord gave to everyone with whom he shared the joyful message of the birth of the New Born King… Christ the Lord.

From Isaiah’s prophecies some 400 years before the actual event, to the revelations given to Simeon and the prophetess Anna and his personal appearances to Zacariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds tending to their flocks in the fields near Bethlehem, the angel of the Lord presented to the world an EXPECTATION of the WONDER-FILLED, Prince of WHOLENESS coming to revolutionize the world’s way of thinking and bring eternal salvation to mankind.

In Isaiah 9:6 the Prophet lit the fires of EXPECTATION within the hearts of the Jewish people in Judah by declaring:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government (rule/dominion) shall be upon his shoulders: and his NAME (singular) shall be called WONDER-FILLED, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of PEACE (Wholeness and/or Satisfaction).” (KJV/MSG) 

According to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, the word translated WONDERFUL literally means “MIRACLE, MARVEL or a MARVELOUS THING.” The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions defines it as an “EXTRAORDINARY, HARD TO BELIEVE (with the natural mind) thing.”

In one respect, the angel of the Lord was heralding to mankind a message of an event of the birth of someone through whose actions (on the cross and beyond) would open up a totally new horizon to the way we think, speak and act!  To get ready to activate the strength to believe and receive the EXPECTATIONS of God’s supernatural powers and abilities to live and function in our lives… and through our actions of faith in Him and the truth of His Word… positively affect the lives of people around us.

The world renown evangelist Oral Roberts coined the phrase “EXPECT A MIRACLE” that became the rally cry for all of us Charismatics during the 70’s and 80’s and is still heard today through Brother Robert’s books, at Oral Robert’s University here in Tulsa and the world-wide ministry of his son Richard Roberts.  I believe that it is the statement of faith and the way of life that the angel of the Lord presented at that first CHRISTMAS on that cold and starry night, around that tiny manger in the little town of Bethlehem a few thousand years ago.

I believe that it is the message of daily EXPECTATION that the Lord is still teaching us today as we listen to, learn and follow the teachings found in our Bibles and Christian study books and other aids.  It is the MIRACLE MINDEDNESS that He wants us to keep active in our lives 24/7… no matter where we are or who we are with.

I believe that it is the call that JESUS is renewing for us in THIS CHRISTMAS that we are celebrating right NOW in 2024.

It’s the message that the angel of the Lord originally brought to the world at the birth of the baby Jesus as he encouraged them and continues with us today, to live out our daily lives in such an awareness of being MIRACLE MINDED and NOT fear focused!  To believe for GOD’s BEST and fully EXPECT to see it in all that we do.

SO… what about you?  Will you yield to the call that we revisit each Christmas as we read the Christmas Story with our families? (See: Luke2:1-38) 

When you step out your front door today… will you EXPECT A MIRACLE?

I believe that you will!  Have a blessed, warm and meaningful Christmas… and continue to EXPECT A MIRACLE for the rest of this year and beyond into 2025 as well…!

 

*When Piper started having seizures back in 2009, I got in the habit of keeping the bathroom door slightly ajar when I shower because she had a seizure when I was showering one morning and I wanted to be able to hear her.

Wonder-Filled

I have always enjoyed collecting cars.  As a kid I had boxes over-flowing with Matchbox Cars.  But these cars were not to be placed untouched on a display shelf, but pawns to my over-active imagination as I spent hours on end playing with the cars and making up extravagant adventures as I went along.  I could be anyone and go anywhere as I imagined myself behind the wheel of my favorite cars in my ever-growing collection.  In Junior High I found a new hobby and began building 1:25 scale plastic model kits of 1960’s Muscle Cars.  I never took the time to paint the completed models, so I had matching white cars on every available space in my bedroom!

By the end of my days at Santa Rosa Junior College, I had met the gal I would eventually marry and together we delved into our joint joy of Hot Cars and began collecting the real ones!  Through the next forty some years we owned everything from two-seater English and Japanese sports cars, to four-wheel drive trucks, to hot station wagons, and onward to one of each of the three most popular Pony Cars… Challenger, Camaro and Mustang!  And today I find myself reverting back to my younger years as I have begun, once again, collecting 1:25 scale, precision diecast model Pony cars!

As a kid I can still clearly remember the WONDER and excitement that I would feel when I would find a small (approximately 2”) box wrapped under the Christmas tree.  My mom had a tradition of slowly adding wrapped presents under the tree each day during the week proceeding Christmas Eve, when we normally opened most of our presents… and since she usually started with the smallest ones first… you can imagine of how I was ready to burst with anticipation as we gathered around the tree on Christmas Eve!

I have to admit that this Holiday Season has been the toughest for me yet, since the passing of my wife six years ago.  But I was pleasantly surprised the other day, when I felt that familiar old spark of WONDER and excitement perk up in me as I began to study the prophet Isaiah’s foretelling to the Jews in Judea of the coming of a Savior many hundreds of years in their future.  He boldly declared to a downcast nation,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called WONDER-FULL, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (KJV)

You’ll notice that I split the word translated WONDERFUL into two words.  I did that because it was the way that I first read this very familiar verse this year.  I became aware that the scripture does not automatically combine the words WONDERFUL and Counselor… like I’ve always read it and heard it preached.  It is actually two separate Anointings, Characteristics, Roles, Positions or Titles given to the coming Savior.

And it made me literally jump for JOY with the anticipation of the WONDER of Jesus filling my life!  The Sermon Bible Commentary makes a point of importance when it states that WONDER “is the first title which the prophetic herald assigns to the new born prince.”  Explaining in detail, that Jesus is WONDERFUL in His nature, in His offices and in RELATION to His people.

I would summarize the commentary in John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible for WONDERFUL in this verse by stating that Jesus is full of WONDER in every aspect of His being, in every aspect of His name and in every aspect of His Word.  Dictionary.com defines WONDERFUL as “to think or speculate curiously, to be filled with admiration, amazement or awe, and to feel WONDER at.”  I had to pause and laugh at this definition because it reminded me of the way I always felt about my wife, Piper.  She had a way of keeping things in our relationship fresh, fun and exciting… and enjoyed keeping me in anticipation of her next unexpected, humor-filled action!

And you know… that is very similar to the way that I like to live in my relationship with Jesus!  I’ve come to the point in my life where I don’t EVER want to lose the sense of WONDER, anticipation and expectation that I feel when I read and study my Bible, pray and allow my faith to be a witness of His WONDER in the daily routines, events and human interactions of my life. 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Let’s do something together this CHRISTMAS season… Let go back and remember the WONDER and excitement that we felt in our childhood years when it came to anticipating and then tearing open the presents under our family tree… and then think of the WONDER that Jesus promises to bring into our lives in the here and now… at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.

My confession is that I am coming ALIVE and will THRIVE in 2025… why don’t you join me in fully EXPECTING the manifestation of the WONDER that was brought with the baby Jesus that Isaiah prophesized about… to be STIR-ED UP, ACTIVE and ALIVE in our lives… starting RIGHT NOW… TODAY!

Hummm… Less the 2 weeks til Christmas… are you ready?

Let Me Introduce You...

I used to love it when my wife would come to visit me during my 20 years combined stint with Hewlett Packard and later their spin-off company Agilent Technologies.  I would get a call from the guard at the lobby from which she entered the building, and they would let me know that I had a visitor.  And it was a sure-thing every time.  By the time I made it down to either of the two public lobbies, she and the guard would have big smiles on their faces and be talking like they were old buddies!  She had an uncanny way to make anyone relax and feel special around her.

The real pleasure for me though, would come when we made it over to my work area and I would get to introduce her to all the folks working in my department within the fabrication area.  I guess that I used to talk about her a lot, for when my team would meet her in person, they acted like they had known her for years!  They knew that I was crazy about her and most likely wanted to meet the women that made their supervisor smile so much!

And so, with that personal example in mind… I want to introduce you to a special friend this Christmas…

As I have been studying (and writing about) the gift of God’s PEACE that He gave to us, it only seemed logical that I would be led to turn back in the Old Testament, to a well-known prophecy that foretold of the coming of a special child of Whom is the reason of the Christmas Season that we are celebrating this month.  The prophet Isaiah brought hope to the about-to-be-taken-under-siege inhabitants of Judah, some 700 years before the actual event was to take place, by introducing them to a coming Savior, by announcing in Isaiah 9:6,

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of PEACE.” (KJV)

Now I know that you’re probably thinking… “What’s he talking about?  I already know about Jesus.  What is Pastor Jim trying to pull here?”

Well… I want to introduce you to a new side of Jesus.  A revelation that some of you may not have considered before!  And I discovered this personality as I read Isaiah 9:6 from the modern paraphrase Message Bible where the translator/writer of this edition, Eugene H. Peterson, properly captured the ancient Hebrew meaning of the word PEACE (Shalom) by accurately stating the names of Jesus, writing that,

“His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of WHOLENESS.”  (Shalom)

So… Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, allow me to introduce you to:

Jesus, “THE PRINCE OF WHOLENESS!”

The Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries (FIRM) reports that,

“The root word of Shalom is ‘shalam’… and that the ancient Hebrew meaning of shalam was ‘to make something whole’. Not just regarding practical restoration of things that were lost or stolen. But with an overall sense of fulness and completeness in mind, body and estate.”*

The Oxford Online Dictionaries informs us that the legal word “estate” refers to “All the money and property owned by a particular person.”

You know… It is very much like the folks I worked with who already knew about Piper, but got to know her in a deeper way when she came in person to my place of work.  Most of us already know Jesus (or at least about Him)… but there is always a deeper revelation to learn and then put into practical application in our lives.  If you’re anything like me… a greater revelation of Jesus only works to make me hungry for more of His promises and goodness in my life.

And like the title of my blog… It definitely makes me want to EXPECT more of God in my daily activities and then empower me to be a greater blessing to those around me!  I want my entire life to be WHOLE… physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally as well as financially… DON’T YOU?

I’m EXCITED… AREN’T YOU?  There is always more of Jesus to be known and activated in each of our personal lives.  I pray that each of you will join me in introducing JESUS, THE PRINCE OF WHOLENESS to everyone around us during (and after) this wonderful holiday season!

After all… He IS the reason for the season!

 

*https://firmisrael.org/learn/the-meaning-of-shalom/