Free Will

Free Will (get it)

Do you believe there is free will, I mean real free will where you get to choose what you will do and there is no outside influence that forces you to do one thing or another? Do you like the idea that you are free? I find it interesting that I want freedom when I want to do my own thing. I don’t want God to force me to always do what he wants me to do, otherwise I might miss out on some great sin opportunities along the way (note sarcastic tone). Of course then there are those times when I find myself getting mad at God because he didn’t step in and rescue me from some horrible situation. In fact, though I like my freedom I find that every time I ask God the “why” questions, I’m really wondering why God does not interrupt my freedom and freedom of others when the end result is pain.

So…I want it both ways but only when it suits me. I guess I have forgotten my place as a part of God’s creation and I have elevated myself to divine consultant or super important opinion giver. I forget that Jesus warned me before embarking on this journey of faith. He told us that the life of faith would bring suffering and gave us dozens of examples in the Scriptures. I have also forgotten that none of us do very well with free will; I mean our super-great grandparents, Adam and Eve, did a terrible job with their free will!

I need God’s intervention and I want to be trusted to make good choices. The news paper is filled with reports of so many who do poorly with their free will. But I also see how others have brought the Kingdom near as they have used their free will to be the hands and feet of Christ to the place God put them. I also see how God intervenes and his desire to save all of us from out poor choices will not be thwarted by those choices. Christ died on a cross while those he died for called for his crucifixion. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Today I have free will and today I need God’s intervention. What do you think? Are you truly free?

Facebook Marketing

I’m really not a Scrooge, I like Christmas! I like the warm feelings I get as the day gets closer. I love the feels that surround the Christmas Eve service as people come bundled up knowing that tomorrow is the “big day”. I like that we pause in the hustle and bustle and take time to come together as a church and remember the birth of our Savior. It is the calm before the storm and it is one of my favorite traditions.

We blend Santa into our traditions and I love it for the kids. Watching them put out goodies for Santa will always reveal who knows who the real Santa is and usually includes some sort of bribery with the items selected for the plate. Santa brings the stockings at our house and it’s the only time the kids get to rip open their gifts all at once. When it comes to the gift giving, that happens later in the day and it is done one at a time. We all watch one person open their gift and get to see their reaction to the surprise. It’s a lot of fun.

This year I think I’m going to try to add in a new tradition; the making of a Jesus cake. It is a German tradition (my blood line) that goes back many hundreds of years. It consists of:
1. White cake to symbolize Jesus’ purity
2. Red frosting to symbolize his shed blood for us
3. The rising of the cake represents the resurrection
4. The single candle represents Jesus as the light that would never be extinguished
5. The sweet taste is to remind us of the wonderful life that awaits those that have received him.
6. The treats (coins and metal toys) that are dropped into the batter symbolize our need to seek Jesus and the gift he has for us.

Why do we celebrate? When I look at the traditions of Christmas, that we as Christians hold near and dear to our hearts, I wonder if it matters what we are celebrating. I mean what does eggnog, trees, stockings, house lights and going into debt have to do with celebrating the birth of Jesus? The focus on loving people and being with family seem to be the current spirit of Christmas and hope for the season. If this is true, why do Christians knock all the other religions that celebrate the holiday under their names (Hanukkah, Rohatsu, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Yule) when they are celebrating the same things us Christians are. Love, family and good will.

Christmas is gone. It is no longer a religious holiday, we have given it up for something else. What we do at Christmas is good, but so are the things “non-Christians” do during the same time. Christmas was started by the Church in about the 4th century to combat the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. The church designed many holidays to give spiritual meaning to these pagan celebrations in an attempt to convert them to Christianity. It looks like the church gave up on Christmas years ago and it has returned to its original state…a pagan celebration.

I say let it go and let’s celebrate the birth of Jesus in July, the month he was actually born in. I’d be curious if we would do all the same fanfare for that date as we do the current one. I wonder…