This Is My Gift to My King

Today is Epiphany. This morning on our way to church I said to my son, “Yesterday was the 12^th day of Christmas and today is Epiphany.” He replied, “Did you just realize that?” Clearly his gift is a quick wit among other creative talents.

Epiphany is the church holiday in which we celebrate the Magi from the east visiting the child Jesus. They brought Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but before they bestowed these gifts on the young Jesus they offered Him their worship. The Magi worshipped Jesus not for what He had done for them but simply because of who He is. The story of their visit is recorded in Matthew 2:1-12.

In church this morning our pastor talked about the significance of the three gifts the Magi brought, and then he asked what gifts we can give to Jesus. I decided I would share the significance of the Magi’s gifts, as well as my thoughts on my gifts to my King.

The first gift of the Magi was gold. This was the customary gift given to kings. This gift points to Jesus as being a king from His very birth. He is the highest of royalty. The Magi sought Him as the King of the Jews. He is ultimately revealed to be King of kings: “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:16 (NIV).

The second gift of the Magi was frankincense or incense. It was customary for priests to use incense in the temple as part of their worship of God. It was the priests who presented sacrifices in the temple to atone for the sins of the people. But these sacrifices were only temporarily effective for that purpose and had to be repeated over and over. This gift of incense points to Jesus as the final priest. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” Hebrews 4:14 (NIV). He has been our sacrifice once for all to atone for the sins of the world.

This third gift of the Magi was myrrh. This is a spice that was used in burial. This points to Jesus as a prophet who will be killed for preaching the truth just as the prophets of the Old Testament were killed. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” Matthew 23:37 (NIV). Jesus knew that He would be treated just as the prophets were. He was born for this purpose — that He would die and be buried with myrrh to atone for our sins. But praise God, He rose again.

So what then is my gift to my King? What can I give that is worthy of His glory? First of all I give my worship of Him simply for who He is and not for what He has or will do for me. I can give my time and myself. As I listened to the sermon this morning, though, it occurred to me that one of the greatest gifts I can give to Jesus is this blog. As I write to glorify His name and to share His mercy and love with others, I hope that this gift is pleasing to Him so that someday I will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21 (NIV).

What gift will you bring to the throne of the King?

Joseph: The Forgotten Character

When we think of the Christmas story, it seems we tend to forget the role that Joseph played in this historical event. We rightly focus on the baby Jesus, or often on His mother Mary. To be sure, Joseph is there in every nativity scene, but do we really comprehend the importance he plays in this story and what we can learn from him?

Mary knew beyond any doubt that she was a virgin and when she found herself pregnant she had no trouble believing that what the angel had told her was true. But Joseph had no such assurance. He had been told in a dream by an angel that Mary’s baby was the Son of God, but surely he had doubts. For Joseph to believe, he had to have faith and to trust God’s messenger as well as his new bride.

This afternoon I’ve been listening to Christmas music and wrapping presents to the smell of a rib roast in the slow cooker for Christmas Eve dinner. The song Joseph’s Lullaby by MercyMe came on and I found myself pondering the thought of Joseph accepting Jesus as the Son of God while at the same time treating the Holy Child as his own son.

Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, “In love he [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:5-6 (NIV). In the same way, Joseph adopted the baby Jesus as his son, even though he knew the child was not his. In faith, Joseph raised this miracle Child as his own, teaching Him the craft of a carpenter and the love of God. In all that Joseph did as the earthly father of Jesus, he glorified God the Father.

So this Christmas, let’s remember Joseph, the forgotten character of the story at the center of all history.

Rejoice! He Ransomed Captive Israel!

I’ve been listening to the new Jeremy Camp Christmas Album, Christmas: God with Us, in my car this past week. He does one of my all time favorite Christmas songs: O Come O Come Emmanuel. Of course he does an awesome rendition. My son was with me in the car the other day when it was playing and he said, “I love the way he sings ‘Israel.’”

On a side note, my son and I were on our way to a Winter Orchestra Concert at his high school when he said this. I wasn’t thrilled about going because I didn’t expect any Christmas music at all. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the whole show and they played some good old traditional Christmas songs, like Silent Night and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, as well as two songs from my favorite Charlie Brown Christmas (which I still need to watch this year). The reason was that the orchestra students were told to form small ensembles and to choose whatever they wanted to play. It was such a blessing to see so many of the kids choose some of my favorite Christmas songs.

Anyway, I thought I would share with you Jeremy Camp’s rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel to get you in the Christmas spirit if you aren’t already. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Buck-a-Hit Day at Bojack.org

It’s Buck-a-Hit Day once again over at Jack Bogdanski’s blog. Head over and shake a dollar out of him and into a needy charity’s pockets. http://bojack.org/2012/12/welcome_to_buckahit_day_6.html

You will also find an opportunity to give to some local Portland charities out of your own pocket if you so choose. Considering what our Lord gave to us this Christmas season, sharing a little of our own blessings is the least we can do.

Merry Christmas!

We Were Gone Astray

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen was never one of my favorite Christmas songs, until a couple of years ago when Mercy Me came out with The Christmas Sessions album. Their rendition of this old classic is much more energetic than any I had ever heard before. I also love the back-up vocals that sound almost like a choir in the background.

As I listened to it this morning getting ready for work, I thought of one of my favorite verses from Isaiah:

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV).

We all were gone astray and Satan had power over us. But then into the world came the Son of God, and the angels brought us tidings of comfort and joy. Now we are free from Satan’s power and can live instead in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a Merry Christmas, indeed!

Advent Thankfulness – A Poem

Last year I wrote an acrostic poem titled Advent, and I have been astounded in the past 4 weeks how many times it has been viewed. The search terms stats on my blog show that a lot of people have been searching for Advent acrostic poems. Since it is a topic of great interest, I decided to write another one. It is quite different from the first but carries the same Great News of hope found in a manger.

ADVENT THANKFULNESS

Angels to the shepherds sing
Divine arrival of the King
Victory is now in sight
Emmanuel comes this night
Need of all mankind is met
Thankful hearts, He paid our debt

What Is Christmas All About?

My favorite Christmas show ever is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I remember watching it every year on TV when I was a kid, and now I own it on DVD and watch it every year still. My favorite part is when Charlie Brown asks, “Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?” And Linus walks into the spotlight and tells Charlie Brown what he wants to know; what we all need to know.

The Problem with Santa Claus

For many people, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa Claus. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, they start looking forward to Jolly Old St. Nick bringing presents to all the good little boys and girls. Every shopping mall has a Santa Claus waiting for long lines of children to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. I’ve even known people whose only Christmas decorations in their homes are Santa themed.

Now I will admit that I have a few Santa Claus decorations and we do hang stockings to be opened on Christmas morning. We even label some family gifts as “from Santa.” The spirit of giving that surrounds Santa Claus—which started with the very first real St. Nicholas who gave presents to needy children—is wonderful.

But there is a problem with Santa Claus. The whole idea of a Jolly Old Elf bringing presents only to good boys and girls contradicts the Gospel message of Christmas. We are reminded in Christmas songs that Santa “knows if you’ve been bad or good,” and if you are bad all you get is a lump of coal.

This is the story of most major religions—that if we are good enough we will earn whatever it is we want most.

Jesus tells a different story. Immanuel, God with us, came because He loves us all whether we are good or bad. He offers salvation and eternal life to all. It’s a free gift and all we have to do is accept it to be on His list.

Santa’s list of who’s naughty and who’s nice might seem to work for making kids be good. But long ago God showed that the threat of punishment or withholding of blessings doesn’t work to make people do what is right. “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.” Romans 8:3 (NIV).

That is why for me Christmas isn’t Christmas without the Christ child and most of my Christmas decorations are nativity scenes. And my favorite Christmas songs aren’t about Santa Claus but are old standards like O Come O Come Emmanuel, O Holy Night, and Mary Did You Know?

Which is why today I want to share Jeremy Camp’s rendition of that last of these on his recently released Christmas CD.

Grampa Cookies for Recipe Friday

Ever since I have known him, which is almost 27 years, my father-in-law has made the yummiest cookies at Christmas time. Each family gets a tin filled with these cookies every year. We call them Grampa Cookies.

This year I decided to get the “recipe” from him to share with all of you. When I asked, he replied, “Well, there really isn’t much of a recipe.” And in some respects that is true. But as we talked more I gleaned from him the tricks to executing this seemingly simple recipe successfully — tricks he has learned from trial and error (followed by success) over the past 27+ years. I think he has it down to a science now. Hopefully I can save all the errors for others who try this recipe, including me next year.

This is a picture of the tin of Grampa Cookies we got for Christmas this year. They were almost half gone before I could get the picture taken, and so I don’t have an example of a vanilla one, but they are yummy, too. I think my father-in-law said he made 260 Grampa Cookies this year. That’s a lot of melting, dipping, and love!

Grampa Cookies

Ingredients:

Almond bark (chocolate or vanilla)
Ritz crackers
Creamy peanut butter

Directions:

Spread a thin layer of peanut butter between two Ritz crackers to make a sandwich. Repeat until you have made enough for as many cookies as you want.

To coat the sandwich cookies, use almond bark, an easy melting candy coating that comes in chocolate and vanilla (and possibly other flavors I don’t know about). It comes in squares that can be easily broken apart. Place 7 squares of almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and stir. Microwave a second time for about 30 seconds and stir. Microwave a third time for about 30 seconds, and the almond bark should be ready for dipping the sandwich cookies.

My father-in-law said you have to be ready to dip quickly and not allow for interruptions once you start dipping. The 7 squares should be enough to coat 20 to 25 cookies. Use a pair of tongs to turn the sandwiches over and over in the dip until they are coated on all sides, then set them on a piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or Saran wrap to set.

Do not try to re-melt the almond bark as it won’t turn out right. Being a thrifty guy, my father-in-law scrapes the last of the almond bark in each batch out onto this broken cookie sandwiches — he called these his “seconds” because they taste just as good but don’t look like a nice cookie that he would want to include in our gift tins.

Repeat this whole process 20 sandwich cookies at a time until you have the number you want. These can be stored for several months in cool temperatures, but tend to crack open around the edges if frozen.

Epiphany – A Poem

Tomorrow is Epiphany. Last year I wrote a post about what the holiday of Epiphany is about and why we celebrate it. You can read that post here, if you are interested.

I have a special recipe to post tomorrow, so I decided I would write an Epiphany post a day early. Since it is Thankful Thursday, I wrote a poem expressing my gratitude for the reason for this holiday – which is the appearing of Christ to the Gentiles (that’s you and me who are not Jewish).

Epiphany

The magi travelled from afar
following the bearing of a new star

The Jewish King of kings to see
the One who came for you and me

He could have come for only His people
then there would be nary a steeple

With His cross raised up high
where every seeking heart could spy

The truth that He loved us all
this Son of God who took the fall

The One whom to all mankind appeared
though by some He was not revered

With the magi let us follow His star
and worship this One who appeared from afar

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (NIV).