Bob and Isaiah

A friend of mine and I were reading a segment of Isaiah, Chapter 60, comparing it to the coming of three wise men to Jesus:

"And all of from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord...all Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nabaioth will serve you...bringing your sons from afar with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord, your God the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor..."  Isaiah 60:7-9

We wrestled through the third person pronouns - there's the "praise of the Lord," and "flocks gathered to you" and "your sons from afar" and  "your God the Holy One of Israel" who has "endowed you with splendor..."

Whew.  The Lord, you, your sons...and all from Isaiah, the prophet. Is the you, the "you" of Isaiah's time? Or maybe the prophetic "you" of Jesus' time...? Or both ?

Well, that's what Bible studies and pastor's are for, so I'll leave that to you for additional study and prayer.

I looked at my friend and said, "you know, Isaiah is like the Bob Dylan of the Old Testament," and he laughed. But it was just like Bob to mix his use of "I" and "me" and "you" to mean the same, or different people in his lyrics:

"And every one of those words rang true, they glowed like burning coals,

pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul, from me - to you...

Tangled up in blue."  Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks.

Bob's content isn't quite as lofty as that of Isaiah...but sometimes you wonder if he's gotten more attention than his predecessor, at least in our lifetime. It is a catchy tune.

In the end, maybe it's that one wrote to share his inspiration, and one wrote of what he was inspired to share.

What do you believe?

Recalculating Your Position...

We took our new, portable GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) gadget along to help find the restaurant on New Year's Eve.

We typed in the restaurant name and a snazzy, 3D color map started highlighting the fastest route.  The best part - whenever we took a wrong turn or drove past an exit, a friendly (computerized) voice immediately reassured us she was "Recalculating your position." And a few seconds later the map reconfigured our new position and announced the recalculated turns that would get us back on track. No matter how many times you take a wrong turn, the friendly voice will say, "recalculating your position," and then point you in the right direction. And every time, you still have the free choice to ignore the all-knowing little device.

We even took a couple wrong turns on purpose, just to second-guess the recalculated route.

Before long, I absently said out loud, "recalculating your position" to anticipate the device's upcoming correction when I missed a (poorly marked !) roundabout.

You couldn't dream up a better life application for God's Grace.

No matter how many times you take a wrong turn or speed pass the 'right' exit in this life - even when you've chosen what you know in your heart to be a 'wrong turn'  ---- God has gone before you to begin 'recalculating' your route. He is the God of new beginnings.  I don't know what His voice might sound like exactly, but I believe you'd have to add parking lots full of compassion and mercy and understanding to that computerized voice on our GPS to even hint at the real deal of God's forgiveness and renewal. 

Have you made wrong turns (like me) in the past? This week, today?

There's no hiding from the Satellite signal. He knows. You're right there on God's snazzy multi-dimensional map. But more than anything, I believe God wants to guide us along the straight path - if we'll only listen to that voice (our conscience partnered with the Holy Spirit) and glance over at the map (the Bible) to keep from losing our way.

What do you believe?

 

My Unopened Gift !

My wife promised not to buy any other Christmas gifts for me. We try, like most families, not to go overboard with gift-giving, and stay grounded in the Reason for the Season (the coming of Jesus). I'd pointed out a reasonably priced dress watch (sale price well under $99 for curious shoppers), and looked forward to wearing it after Christmas.

Then we invariably buy each other a few other items - which we claim don't count as 'big' gifts; a music CD and some dark chocolate this year.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day came and went.

We had wonderful family fellowship for Christmas Eve at our home. My wife and daughter, parents, sisters' families, niece and nephews...a relaxing, laughter-filled evening despite lingering health concerns for several among us.

Christmas Day at our church service we played worship music and soaked in the gorgeous sunlight coming through stained glass to spill over the beautifully decorated altar and creche. A truly appropriate celebration of Christ's coming to earth. Then after a late brunch at home we finally opened gifts amongst our small family (including daughter's boyfriend...please don't get me started). 

By day's end we were pleasantly worn out from all the preparation and activity and my girls had to get some sleep in order to face work the following day. That's the morning I remembered it. My new dress watch. I had reached into a drawer to pull out my old one - and laughed out loud.

A fully lived and loved Christmas with an unwrapped - and forgotten - gift still sitting on a shelf in our house somewhere.

I'm wearing it now - and I really like it. But it was a new twist on the 'Christmas is more than giving/getting gifts' theme.  This is a gift that I forgot was there. Purchased, ready and waiting on the shelf. I only had to ask my lovely bride and she gladly gave me the gift. I received it just as gladly. 

Jesus is there - a gift of eternal life and love - unopened by millions of people.  Christmas comes and goes with great joy and fellowship; is there anyone you know who still has an unopened gift of redemption waiting for them?  Why not offer to help them find it? Maybe they know it's there, but are unsure of how to ask. It could be their best Christmas ever.

What do you believe?