In The Stillness...

S.B.: Psalm 46: 1 – 11

It’s a bit hard to believe, but the busiest part of the year has just exploded on the scene. This past Thursday we gathered around the table with family and friends, gave thanks to God for the many blessings and lessons that he has given us this past year… the Bible does say to give thanks in all things… and then we enjoyed a sumptuous meal that was lovingly prepared and served… after the main course we enjoyed enough pumpkin pie to float the Mayflower… then we prepared the leftovers of this meal… turkey sandwiches… turkey salad… And just when the tryptophan was beginning to wear off… BAM! We are plunged headlong into the yearly commercial feeding frenzy that lasts until the first week of January.

If you want to get an idea of who is important in our lives, take a look at our Christmas lists. Here’s a “WHAT IF” for you… What if we were to put Jesus at the top of our Christmas list… not the end. After all, it is his birthday, and it is a month-long celebration. Could we spend even an hour a week with him?

It’s only 30 Days, 6 Hours, 10 minutes and 22 seconds worth of shopping until Christmas (but who’s counting…) Did you see the reports on Channel 10 News yesterday morning about the mob scenes during the early morning rush to get that latest electronic gadget, XYZBox, kitchen gizmo or football-watching accessory that your cousin Nell just has to have, or Christmas just won’t be the same? Some of the news footage showed people crammed against the front door of the mall, and a line stretching around the corner at quarter-of-six in the morning, waiting for the cattle call, and it’s a miracle that there were no people getting trampled in the stampede for stocking stuffers, yet people will drag their feet, and complain that 9:30 in the morning is too early to go to the house of God.
The Psalm of the Shopper
My soul follows hard after deep discounts…
Early in the morning will I rise up and go shopping…
And because thou hast been “buy-one-get-one”
Under the shadow of my credit card bill will I rejoice.

Yet, please hear the words of King David… I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID TO ME “LET US GO TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD…” This declaration from King David gives an interesting word picture… King David would often run to the temple to worship God with the same energy and religious fervor with which many people flocked to the malls this past Friday morning. “I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID TO ME ‘LET US GO SHOPPING!!!”

My point for this morning is simply this: Christmas is a month away, and we are in the downhill run of our annual shopping mad-dash. Most of us have well-developed lists of gifts to buy, and will attack that list with military precision, you will leave the house extra early so you can swing by a store (or two or three) on your way to work, and will stop by the shopping mall on your way home to pick up an extra stocking stuffer or three… What would happen if we went to God’s house with the same religious zeal in which we check the malls for stocking stuffers? Could you imagine rising up extra early to worship God… Isaiah writes “my soul longs after thee, EARLY IN THE MORNING WILL I RISE UP AND SEEK THEE…”
Add God’s name to your Christmas list, and the gift that he wants from you is the same gift that the important people in our lives want from us… a little quality time with him.

I Bid You Peace...

Pastor Ken+