For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9.6, NIV)

It’s Christmas Eve…is it snowing where you live? Are you going to have a white Christmas? 

Chances are that you’re not thinking, “What strange questions!” We have been conditioned to desire a white Christmas. Conditioned by what? There’s certainly nothing biblical about it! And it wasn’t all that long ago that no one cared. But they do now…

Irving Berlin was born in Russia in 1888, and his family moved to New York in the mid-1890s. While visiting Southern California, he wrote White Christmas, which appeared in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. When Irving Berlin wrote the song he told his secretary:  

I want you to take down a song I wrote over the weekend. Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it’s the best song anybody ever wrote.

Bing Crosby’s recording remains the best-selling single record of all time. It’s the opening song on my Christmas CD, Ewell-tide Carols!  

We usually sing only the chorus, but the opening stanza is clear what the song is about–not that there should be a snowy Christmas everywhere, but that he’d like to be where it does snow at Christmas:

But it’s become the wish of Americans that they experience a white Christmas. The National Weather Service actually has an official criterion for it:   

A white Christmas is defined as having 1 inch or more of snow on the ground Christmas morning. https://www.weather.gov/dvn/ChristmasSnow

All because of a song. Make no mistake: music is very powerful, and it’s one of the great gifts that our creator God has given us. Another thing to be thankful for!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1.17, ESV)

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? …Who marked off its dimensions? …On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38.4 – 7, NIV, emphasis mine)

Do we give thanks for blessings or are we often not even aware of them? 

My friend Bob told me a story today about something we take for granted: our freedom. A friend of Bob’s, who lives in Utah, was having parts of a car manufactured in Poland, and he wanted the workers to understand what the finished product looked like. So he brought four key Polish workers to the U.S. 

In the course of the day, the American had to make a quick stop at the grocery store, and he took the four men inside with him. Soon, he lost them. When he tracked them down, they were in the Kool-Aid section having a vehement discussion. When the American got them calmed down, he found out that each wanted a different flavor of Kool-Aid. So the American shrugged and scooped up a handful of packets and dropped them into his shopping basket. 

The men were astonished: “You mean no one tells you how many you can buy or what flavor? Now we understand what freedom is.”

How quickly we forget that we not only have freedom to choose what we buy, most of us have the means to exercise that freedom. 

“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5.18, NKJV)

Then you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8.17, 18, NKJV)

Continuing the theme of Step by Step from yesterday, my friend Ray told me something he’d learned from his friend Mark who was a missionary to Muslim countries for decades. Mark described the evangelism process to churches in this country by setting up a balance scale with a weight on one side and an empty container on the other. The scale was tipped toward the weight, and Mark’s objective was to tip the scale the other way.

Mark described the step-by-step process this way:

I live in an apartment building, and my neighbor comes out. I say hello. That’s one sugar cube into the container. The next time I see him, I say hello again–that’s another sugar cube. Soon, I get his name: a sugar cube goes into the container. When I see him again, I use his name: yep, another sugar cube. Soon we have him to dinner. That’s another sugar cube. At some point, we show the Jesus movie and discuss it after. Sugar cube, sugar cube. Finally, my neighbor commits his life to Jesus.

Mark drops one more sugar cube into the container, and the balance scale tips the other way. He asks, “Which sugar cube was the most important?” Sometimes people say, “The last one, of course.” And Mark replies, “No. They’re all equally important. If it weren’t for all the preceding sugar cubes and the actions they represented, there would be no “last” sugar cube!

To use terminology we’ve discussed before, the sugar cubes, no matter how simple an action they represent, can be thought of as Holy Moments. And if enough of us did enough holy moments, we could change the world (again). It’s part of the “subversive” operation Jesus began in the manger, out of sight. As he called Mary and Joseph and later the disciples, he calls us to play some part in his grand Adventure. Each contributing our sugar cubes to tip the balance.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” (Isaiah 28.10, NKJV)

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working. Or, to put it another way, you are God’s house. (1 Corinthians 3.6 – 9, MSG)

I wrote recently about the “subversive” nature of joining Jesus in advancing his Kingdom. My friend and Navigator encourager Bill Mowry, author of Ways of the Alongsider, a tool I recommend frequently, recently published an article on the occasion of his 50th anniversary of following Jesus. The story illustrates the step-by-step process that’s involved. Bill’s article is worth reading in its entirety. Here are a few snippets:

I entered college in 1968. My heroes were in the radical political left, my mission was social justice and an end to the Vietnam war, my values were shaped by the rock and roll culture, and I was in love with a girl named Peggy.

Sometime in my later high school years, I told God to “shove off.” He was irrelevant and unnecessary to my life. Little did I know that He was tracking me down.

When I moved into my freshman dorm at Bowling Green State University, I became friends with a guy who lived across the hall. We bonded over the shared dreams and frustrations of college life. However, there was a difference. Ed was a Christian.

He and Ed spent a lot of time together, including doing Bible study, which Bill participated in “just to harass his faith.” But Bill read the Gospels between his freshman and sophomore years “and was quickly impressed by Jesus. His teachings were captivating and consistent. What a surprise!“

Shortly after, he decided to commit his life to Christ:

[I] knelt beside my bed and prayed. I can’t remember what I said but I admitted my rebellion against God and welcomed His Son into my life. As one author calls it, “I was overcome by a great affection.” God tracked me down.

I soon informed Ed of my decision. After we talked, he asked a simple question that shaped my life. “Do you want to meet in the study lounge tomorrow and read the Bible together?” I said “yes” and we began meeting weekly to read the Bible together. Ed was discipling me even though I didn’t know what was happening.

That little question to read the Bible together set me on a new life course. Jesus became my hero, the Great Commission was my mission, the Bible shaped my values, and loving God became a new passion. All this started fifty years ago in October, 1969.

Bill lists five lessons that he’s reflecting on from a 50-year perspective. Here are two of them:

Lesson #2. Surrendering to God is a serendipitous journey. Serendipity means “happy surprise.” As a campus “radical,” I protested to get ROTC off campus. Then I got involved with a “para-military” Christian organization called The Navigators where most of my supervisors are ex-military! What a sense of irony our heavenly Father has. What’s another surprise? When I heard a tape recording of my voice in a high school speech class, I concluded that I would never speak in public again. I was embarrassed by my poor enunciation of words. In His grace, God gave me the gift of teaching and most of my life has been lived in front of people . . . talking! Surrendering to God is a serendipitous experience.

Lesson #3. Following Jesus is the ultimate adventure. My early life was like some of the twelve disciples — a boy from a rural community who hadn’t traveled much. Little did I know that I would be commissioned to go to the nations and to people unlike myself. Following Jesus has meant ministering to undergraduates, graduate students, professors, doctors, dentists, business leaders, and now pastors. I’ve been to places, and enjoyed friendships, that have stretched the imagination and comfort of this small-town boy. Following Jesus is the ultimate adventure.

Often we see people like Bill, effective in ministry, and we think, “I could never do that.” But Bill’s story reminds us that God is never finished with us, and we can actually experience growth and transformation, and more importantly, be part of God’s Great Adventure.

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (Mark 4.25 – 28, ESV)

I love competence wherever I find it, and I greatly admire our first responders, the police and firefighters who help keep us safe.

The other day, a carbon monoxide detector started beeping. Assuming the batteries were defective, I replaced them. Still beeping. Two beeps every 30 seconds. While I was still trouble-shooting, June came down to the garage and said the other carbon monoxide detector was beeping. Weird. But they were installed at the same time, and the batteries in both units were old, so I replaced those batteries. Still beeping. 

June insisted I call the fire department, and they sent three guys over. One of the guys took charge of the investigation, and he noticed right away that the unit was manufactured in 2012. “It could be at the end of its life–seven years.” Sure enough, when we looked at the instructions on the faceplate (which I hadn’t looked at), which was still attached to the ceiling, it said clearly, “When the unit needs to be replaced, it will beep twice every 30 seconds.” 

So when all else fails, read ALL the instructions. And don’t be afraid to call for help. The firemen not only explained the beeping, but they also inspected for carbon monoxide, assuring us we had none. And WalMart was standing by with the replacement units. What a country! And we give thanks that the beeping started around 6p instead of in the middle of the night. 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3.5, ESV)

Listen to good advice if you want to live well… (Proverbs 15.31, MSG)

Staying with the subject of nativity scenes, we went to the enormous Gaylord Hotel near the Denver Airport last Saturday to celebrate my birthday. Part of the festivities was an enormous ice sculpture display. We’ve never seen anything like it.

After many rooms of displays, and a story about Rudolph, we came to the last room which contained only a fantastic ice sculptured nativity scene. I wish I could show you all of it and capture it well.

Later we saw several souvenirs of the ice show, labeled, “See Ice! featuring Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I think the labels are wrong: Rudolph was just a warm-up for the main event!

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4.4, 5, ESV)

I mentioned yesterday that we had set up our first-ever outdoor nativity scene. Very simple.

You may have seen that Pope Francis is encouraging people to display such a scene. You don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate what he said. Here are some snippets:

[The scene] is a genuine way of communicating the gospel, in a world that sometimes seems to be afraid of remembering what Christmas really is and eliminates Christian symbols, only to retain those drawn from a banal, commercial imagination.

I wish to encourage the beautiful family tradition of preparing the nativity scene in the days before Christmas, but also the custom of setting it up in the workplace, in schools, hospitals, prisons and town squares. It is my hope that this custom will never be lost and that, wherever it has fallen into disuse, it can be rediscovered and revived.

It shows God’s tender love by placing the mystery of the divine within an ordinary setting…The lowly setting of Christ’s birth summons us to follow him along the path of humility, poverty and self-denial that leads from the manger of Bethlehem to the cross.

I was encouraged while I was delivering invitations door-to-door for an upcoming neighborhood Christmas gathering: two of my neighbors commented specifically on the manger scene. “I like your display.” I responded, “It’s the message we wanted to convey.”

In short, displaying the nativity is one more way to carry on the “resistance” we’ve been discussing. Or, to use other terminology: it’s another way to create a “holy moment.”

It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. (2 Corinthians 4.6, MSG)

This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2.12, MSG)

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2.12, ESV)

I always wondered, “Where was the sign?” But a baby in a feeding trough IS a sign! It’s not every day that you find a newborn baby in a stable. This had to be unique even in those days. 

It goes with the no status that I wrote about yesterday. The sign for the shepherds wasn’t the star even though our new outdoor nativity set (the first we’ve ever displayed) does have a star! The star was for the wise men who came later to a different place. The sign was just the baby himself, born in a barn(!). (That gives new meaning to the old expression, doesn’t it?)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7.14, ESV)

I’m still thinking about the Advent imagery of a subversive operation as I wrote yesterday about the Italian resistance during World War 2. Often we want to recruit (or be recruited for) something with status and position. Jesus didn’t come with position, like someone, say, born into a royal family. And he doesn’t offer us a position either. When Paul was “advancing” it was in Judaism (see Galatians 1.14). When Jesus came, who were the first people to recognize him? All people without status:

• Shepherds
• Simeon
• Anna
• Even the magi had no status in Israel

That Jesus was coming to establish an “underground” movement is clear from the beginning. He had no status. His witnesses had no status. His early followers had no status.

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, NLT)