Hammer on Anvil '

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7, ESV).

The birth of Jesus was not as we might romanticize it to be. It was not a clean, cozy, warm room in a birthing center, where nurses attended Mary. It was far from being what hospitals call a sterile environment. On the contrary, the birth of our Savior took place in a barn which no doubt reeked of the dung and urine of the various animals that resided there. Since no Pack-N-Play was available, Mary laid her newborn son in a feeding trough.

Imagine that. God incarnate, choosing as His birthplace a foul-smelling building used to house cattle, donkeys, goats and sheep. As I meditated on this wondrous truth, the thought occurred to me, How can you NOT believe this marvelous story? Think about it. What other religion would enthrone their king in a feeding trough? The pharaohs of ancient Egypt, for example, were no doubt born with pomp and circumstance, with a dozen nursemaids attending to the mother's every need. If anything happened to the baby, the person responsible would likely have been executed.

Jesus was born in the same way He lived His entire life -- in humility. Instead of people of nobility being in attendance, Jesus was surrounded by shepherds, who were considered the dregs of society. The outcast and the marginalized were always His favorites; the pious and religious were the ones He shunned.

As you gather with loved ones this week, take time to stop and meditate about the wonder of Jesus' birth. And that He came for YOU. He came for me. He came for all those who will humble themselves and call on His Name.

Have a blessed, joyous Christmas.

Sometimes things happen to Christians and we wonder why. We seem to think that, as children of God, we should be insulated from any unpleasantness in life.

Recently my dear niece called to share what's going on in her life. She does this periodically; she and I seem to have an uncanny knack for understanding each other. She GETS me, and I get her.

This time, she called to ask for prayer. Her church is in the midst of a capital campaign -- not a huge one, but just adding on some much needed room. Right after my niece and her husband prayerfully committed the amount they felt God wanted them to give, they got hit hard -- a nearly $4,000 auto repair. Satan is SO predictable, is he not?

The cool thing about my niece is that she was way clued in on this. She shared her excitement at waiting to see how God was going to provide in the midst of this.

We must not deny God's inherent goodness simply because we are bewildered by circumstances. We need to remember we are but fallen, sinful creatures and that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). We have no right to expect to understand our Creator's every move. If we did, what need would there be for faith?

Remember Job? He refused to curse God even when nearly everything he had was taken from him -- including his health. Through his entire horrendous ordeal, he maintained his confidence in God's goodness, even though the reason for His suffering was never revealed to him.

Christians love to quote Romans 8:28 about how all things work together for our good. But many of us misinterpret what "good" means. In God's economy, our "good" does not mean convenience and comfort and a carefree existence. God's ultimate end in His dealings with us is His own glory -- and when we are disciplined by Him, it is because He is conforming us into the likeness of His Son.

J.I. Packer explains this dynamic very well in his book Hot Tub Religion:

"He leaves us in a world of sin to be tried, tested, belabored by troubles that threaten to crush us, in order that we may glorify Him by our patience under suffering, and in order that He may display the riches of His grace and call forth new praises from us as He constantly upholds and delivers us."

Even in horrific illness; even in the deepest, darkest depression; even in the death of a loved one; even when an innocent is cruelly molested; even when children go astray and we fear for their very souls -- let us remember, dear brothers and sisters, that our God is still on His throne. And let us seek to glorify Him in how we respond to whatever life might throw our way.

"Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them" (Hebrews 11:36-38).

What a sobering passage -- and how starkly different we Christians in America live! Is our behavior as Christ followers so like our Lord's that people can truthfully say, "The world was not worthy of them"? For me personally, the answer is a resounding NO.

I much prefer to be surrounded by comfort. I have a precious family -- a wonderful husband, sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, as well as extended family that is very dear to me. Can't I just focus on all the good things in my life and not think about suffering and persecution?

No, I can't. Hebrews 13:3 exhorts us: "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." I am to REMEMBER them -- not put it out of my mind because it's uncomfortable to think about.

Saeed Abedini is an American pastor who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2012. In September, he wrote a beautiful letter to his daughter on her eighth birthday. In it, he addresses questions we all have asked of God at one time or another:

God is in control of the whole world and everything that is happening in it is for His good purpose, for His glory, and will be worked out for our good (Romans 8:28). Jesus allows me to be kept here for His glory. He is doing something inside each of us and also outside in the world. People die and suffer for their Christian faith all over the world and some may wonder why? But you should know the answer of WHY is WHO. It is for Jesus. He is worth the price. And He has a plan to be glorified through our lives...The confusion of “WHY has all of this happened?” and “WHY your prayers are not answered yet” is resolved with understanding WHO is in control…LORD JESUS CHRIST, our GOD!

"The answer of why is WHO." Saeed stressed this more than once in his letter. I think the point he is trying to make is that our focus should not be on circumstances and why they are happening, but on Who is in control.

Our pastor is currently preaching a series of sermons on Revelation, and recently talked about the fifth seal:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”

This is the cry of my heart as I pray for pastors like Saeed, who has a wife and two children. It is the cry of my heart for dear friends who are currently in one of the biggest battles of their lives, assailed by what Scripture calls "fiery darts" of the enemy -- but in their case those darts seem more like javelins piercing their hearts. They are waging a major spiritual battle, and my husband and I are in it with them. As our pastor asked, "How long, Sovereign Lord?", I suddenly began to weep. I had no control over it -- the Holy Spirit came upon me and I began to weep quietly for all those who are being tormented and harassed by the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy.

It is wonderful to have blessings -- and I have far too many to count. But as you gather with family and friends this Christmas, take time to pray for those less fortunate. Remember Pastor Saeed and his wife and kids. Remember Hannelie Groenewald, a physician whose husband and two children were killed just last week by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Werner Groenewald was a South African aid worker who had been helping Afghans through education and development projects since 2002. Remember men, women and children who are victims of human  trafficking. Remember the families left behind when their loved ones are senselessly killed, victims of police brutality.

I don't intend to be morbid, but it's so easy to get lost in the frivolity of the holiday season that we almost forget -- in my case I WANT to forget -- that fellow believers are dying out there. Take time to educate yourself by visiting Voice of the Martyrs or Open Doors. Dare to sign up for their e-mail updates, so you can be equipped to pray more intentionally and effectively. 

Our intercession may be the lifeline our brothers and sisters need to hang on and endure.

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11).

When is the last time you felt like an alien in your sphere of influence? Have you ever felt out of place in a gathering where people were discussing, for example, a movie that you chose not to see because of questionable content?

I remember very vividly a time when my place of employment had a fire drill. I was standing outside with some other women (all believers) as we waited for the "all clear" to go back inside.

When the conversation turned to Coach handbags, the youngest in our group boasted about having SIX of them. I was tempted to ask her if she had any idea how many orphans she could sponsor with the money she spent, but I held my tongue. When she said her fiancee probably wouldn't want her to spend money like that once they got married, some other women in the group proceeded to tell her that if her husband could have HIS "toys," she was entitled to hers. I about threw up, and excused myself from the group -- which I realize now was not the correct thing to do. I was wrong to not confront my sisters. It wasn't so much the greed, but the fact that these older, supposedly more mature women were basically instructing the younger woman -- before she was even married -- in the clever art of deceiving her husband so that she can buy whatever she wants.


A couple of years ago I complimented a young woman in our church after seeing her honeymoon pictures online. Though many of the photos were taken on the beach, she was dressed modestly in lovely sundresses or skirts. I made it a point to compliment her because many Christian women have embraced the world's standards with regard to their clothing. String bikinis seem as popular at Christian swim parties as they are at public beaches. We have forgotten that God exhorts us to be modest and not draw attention to ourselves -- let alone cause men to lust after our nearly naked bodies.

I think we forget sometimes Paul's admonition to the Romans: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (Romans 12:2, NLT). 

It is not a bane or a curse  to be different. On the contrary, we are called to be different. If our lives look no different than the rest of humanity, how can we hope to reach the lost for Christ?