Why isn't Christmas Christmas?

For a while now, I've had trouble with Christmas; with the tired old songs we sing every year, the same scenery, the same sermons. Last year I could chalk it up to just being out of it, but this year... I certainly recognize the importance of Christ's birth. God was born a human without original sin to the descendants of David, a legitimate contender to the throne of Israel had it existed then, as a child so he could experience the complete human experience. I'm thankful for that, but I'm thankful every day for that. This year, the thing that has stood out to me most about Jesus isn't His birth, His death, or His teaching, but his humanity; the idea that God came down and experienced 30 years of normal life as just-another-person as far as most were concerned so that He could fully understand what it is to be human; what it is to labor, what it is to struggle, what it is to be tempted, what it is to be kept awake past when you want to sleep, what it is to be nagged at. Perhaps the understanding that God understands us so completely, not just as an observer outside of time, but as a co-participant in life so blows my mind that the rest pales in comparison; I don't know, but I certainly hope I figure it out.

Two prayers are better than one

This morning in Sunday bible study, Jeff passed out slips of paper with subjects for the recipient to talk about briefly. I got "prayer request"; this evoked a negative emotion because I didn't really understand the why we should ask others to pray for us. I thought, "As long as I am God's child, He will hear me just as well as He will hear the two of us." As I thought about it I remembered the last time someone had asked me to pray for them, then how I prayed for them. Then, Hebrews 4:15 came to my mind:

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

I remembered that one of the purposes of Christ's stay on Earth was to better understand the human existance so He can convey our prayers to the Father. I realized that how I pray for a situation is tainted by my life experiences and that my prayer probably won't be the same as another's, given that some of the situation is known; this is at least one reason why two prayers are better than one.

Thank you for the sickness

As I sat here contemplating the writing of the traditional "what am I thankful for this year" blog post, I found an item that surprised me. Foremost, of course, I am thankful for my renewed fellowship with God. Then, for new friends, new drive to do His will, continued employment, and so forth. As I went over my year, I considered my sickness last week, it not being muddled up like events further in the past. I realized that my sickness is like a crystal clear window into where I am now; being "squeezed" revealed what is essential and what is optional. Without such windows, it is easy to hide the truth from myself.

Be Still

As I was coming home from eating, today, I was thinking. About how many people aren't ready to hear about God until some tragedy strikes them, and why this is. Then I realized that the time that I felt closest to God, before this year, was when I was riding the bus to work and walking 40 minutes from the bus stop to work. It wasn't a tragedy, but it was time when I wasn't so busy. When I got a car is when I fell away from fellowship with God; I suddenly had so much time for meaningless things instead of "wasting" so much time sitting and walking. That's when it hit me; "Be still and know I am God."

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortess;
Psalm 46:10-11

I've mentioned Bible Study Fellowship to many of you. Among other things, it involves daily individual study. It's a seven year course, each year studying a single book or range of books. I originally started BSF 7 years ago, as required by my mother at the time; this means that I'm studying the same thing now as back then. At the time, I almost always ended up squeezing 6 days of bible study into two hours on the bus to the weekly meeting.

This time is different. I soon made the restriction on myself that I would only do the questions for a day on the day for which they are meant. Since we share our answers in a small group each week, this means instant accountability. Between this, and my general commitment to do my daily bible study, I've managed to do it most days. Along the way, I've learned that I have to make it the first thing after work, or I'll let myself become too busy or too sleepy. Taking time each day, not letting myself be rushed and taking the time I need, the course has been so much more meaningful this year.

So many studies and people have asked "how much time do you devote to God each week", but I think a more important question is "How much time do you spend being still to know He is God each week?" So many times, previously, I was a clock watcher at church and during the lecture at BSF, so many times I let my worries and business creep into my time with God. Finally, I understand, that the most important thing is to let it be the most important thing; to be still and know He is God.