Blog My Sojourn Live

I desire this Christmas and the next as long as I live-- to honor the only hope and light for this broken world!

The question I asked myself this year as Christmas approaches—is not

How many gifts am I getting— although it is fun to receive and open gifts—I get that and enjoy it like everyone else.

I’m not thinking about time around the tree—although I love being with family.

I do love Christmas and the meaning in and about it.

I know the story—I believe the story—I love the story.

God coming to earth via a virgin—being the one to save the world from its own personal sin.  The sin that moved from Adam to all of humanity.  Nothing can help mankind’s heart except putting one’s faith in the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Oh baby—I know that if I could change my broken and sinful heart—I tried.

I know that if I didn’t even know the story that I would be like many others—why care?  Everybody is doin it.  Right?  I mean really, if there wasn’t a baby (Jesus, God in the Flesh)  Why would I care about doing anything differently?  Except that the shame in guilt inside continued in some form to come out.

So—through the years—this historical story.  This incredible mystery, this amazing day in the history of mankind brings the only hope.  The only hope that my sin could be blotted out.  It is the only hope that my sin could be erased from God’s memory.  It is the only hope for the poor, even though we can feed them.  It is the only hope for the addict although they can get sober.  It is the only hope for those in despair, although we can reach out to them.  Does the God in the Flesh bring Hope?

Over my life I have embraced His Light.  The Light that exposes my sin.  My inner longings.  My inner failings.  My attitude, my hurts, my pain.  He—the Light is the only Light that can shine through all the fake, all the trimmings, all the B.S., all the false stuff.  It is His Light that brings out truth.  It is His Light that shines through religion, it is His Light that convicts, that shines on the true pain of Adam’s sin in me.

And for all the above—I will honor Him.  He is my Hope, He is my Light, He is the only one that can change humanity and I fear that this message is being whittled away because of P.C. speak, because of progressive theology, because of all the works that man can do himself.

My heart this year and the years to come is to Honor the only Hope and the only Light that can shine in true in this broken world.

Shine your Light

Bring your Hope

To those who will see your Light and to those that will put their Hope in you!

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I have been reading Schaeffer since 1979.  I may have not got it—but I did get this—that He Francis Schaeffer was a prophet before his time.  Now is the time for Followers of Christ to bone up.  To get their heads and their hearts into what is happening in the world.

"We must realize that the Reformation world view leads in the direction of government freedom. But the humanist world view with inevitable certainty leads in the direction of statism. This is so because humanists, having no god, must put something at the center, and it is inevitably society, government, or the state." — Francis Schaeffer

Maybe I’m old school.  Maybe I just don’t like the “progressive” ideology.  Maybe, just maybe the movement in this world mainly our country has been like the frog in the kettle.  You know as the boiling water gets hotter the frog is lulled into being warm and cozy until the boiling water kills the frog.

I do believe that the “Christian community” those that claim to know and walk with Christ have been lulled to sleep.  Why didn’t anyone stand up to the political correct nonsense?  Why didn’t anyone stand up to those that have been taking away authority from those in authority?  Why hasn’t the church stood up and said—at least—we don’t live by your creeds.  We don’t believe in your mantra?

Something is wrong—and I do believe that Schaeffer was right and is right-- "We must realize that the Reformation world view leads in the direction of government freedom. But the humanist world view with inevitable certainty leads in the direction of statism. This is so because humanists, having no god, must put something at the center, and it is inevitably society, government, or the state." — Francis Schaeffer

The idea that the government is our help, our cure, our refuge is now I believe getting to the point of no return.

To hear the class warfare garbage.  To believe that “transformation” comes by doing righteous acts—feeding the poor, being fair by spreading others wealth around, by doing doing doing—is not biblical at all.  Really?  You bet.  Transformation comes through the Holy Spirit, not through works or by putting the have’s down.

Schaeffer is right and I am afraid that no one is listening.

It is time to stand up against those that believe that their world view is making a difference.  It is not.  Anything less than the true followers of Christ standing against all the pontificating and wrangling by not claiming the truth of the Gospel to fallen man will continue to fall short, fall on empty hearts.  It is time for the true follower to understand that the Bible speaks, that the Christ is alive in hearts, that being a follower of Christ is going to cost something.

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Entitlement.   What does that mean?

World English Dictionary

Verb

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Fair.  What is fair? 

I didn’t grow up with the idea that fair means everything—everything is equal. 

I didn’t grow up with the idea that fair means that everybody gets equal.

I didn’t grow up playing baseball or football or hockey without a scoreboard.

I was taught that fair means that you do things without cheating.  That winning was not the objective—but playing with all I had, giving 100% did not mean a win, but at best that win or lose, my team could compete because we gave our best.

I started working when I was in 7^th grade doing a daily paper route.  I worked the paper route till I went to High School.  I played in band, I swam, I did a little homework, but I was active and responsible.  I was taught that I was the one responsible to get it done or not get it done.

I worked in a grocery store from the time I was 16 and through my first 2 years of college.  Same store, with promotions from bagging to night crew.  Nobody did it for me.  I was in 2 unions over my life time, I worked for money, saved my money and blew my money.

There has always been people that made more than me.  There has always been people driving better cars, getting bigger paychecks, doing “better” than I.  Was that fair?  Really?

I can’t believe that right now in this crazy world we live in that there is this idea that fair means everybody gets what everybody else gets.  Or that because others are well off—they should be penalized for their hard work to even the playing field.

Oh—I have a heart.  I was out of work.  I went and found jobs.  I worked crazy jobs.  I worked crazy hours.  But never, ever did I feel or think that everybody should be on the same page.

Why?

Simple I don’t believe for one second this:  That God has the view of fairness like we do.

First of all—God didn’t have to do anything period.

People have rebelled.  Including me

People choose to sin.   Including me

Jesus came to earth, died on a cross.  That is not fair.

Jesus raised from the dead.  By faith people can chose to allow Him the forgiveness that is needed to have a relationship with Him. 

Not all people will respond.  Is that fair?

Is it fair that people will suffer?

Is it fair that life is tough?

Is it fair that not everything turns out like we want it?

If fair is the ultimate life goal it will not happen.

Unless—unless people decide that they should determine that everyone should be on the same page.  If that is the case—is that a God thing?  

There is much out there right now about this idea called fair.  It started years ago with jealousy, class warfare, people demanding to be treated fairly.  It is crazy.

I have some real concerns going on for the generations to come—

King David spent 10 years running, hiding in caves as the King.

Joseph spent years in captivity due to his brothers jealousy.

Fair?

Romans Chapter 9 speaks from God’s view about fair.

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. ¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

 ¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

   “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
   and I will have compassion...

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The beloved 3^rd baseman of the Chicago Cubs Ron Santo died this week.  One of the early 3^rd wheels of Monday Night Football Dandy Don Meredith died today.

I have childhood and middle school memories of both of these men.

I can remember watching Ron Santo play third base like a man possessed.  Ron Santo epitomized what the guardian of the hot corner played like.

He gobbled up hot liners, hot grounders like no one else.  He was the first Mr. Hustle.  He never dogged a ball, he went after everything that came his way.  When he got in the batters box—he was ready.  I loved watching Ron Santo play.

When I was a kid—I watched Monday Night Football with my father.  I loved hearing the banter between Dandy Don and Howard Cosell.  It was if they were right in the room with us.  Giving the details and the jokes to all of us as we watched the early dayz of the Monday Night spectacle.  I actually was given the nickname in Middle School—Dandy Don.  Funny how I thought Don Meredith was just like me—just having fun watching and commenting on a game called football.

So weird to now be at the age when my childhood memories are coming to an end with the passing of those that I watched with huge eyes and marvel.

Kind of sad to realize at 51 how fast life goes by.  Kind of sad to be reminded again how short, how fast, how mortal we are really.   I have thought about 2 men for the past day and half.  How they touched a normal kid like me.

Then I thought—who am I affecting?  Who am I in front of that appreciates just a person doing their thing?  I think that is important.   As a follower of Christ—as a person that loves God deeply—what do the people around me see?   Do they appreciate a person doing it with all my heart?  That is not really that important.  But what is… is that I really am doing what I love to the fullest and hopefully that is having an impact!

Just a thought after appreciating my childhood via those that I watched and enjoyed.

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