31 RANDOM FACTS THAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME...
I want to share some random facts about me that will give you further insight into who I am as a person and what makes me really tick. I’ll offer one for every day of the month of January in this New Year. But then it will be your turn to share some truths about you. I want you to choose to give this gift to those that you say know you- but how much do they really know? You’d be surprised in this unsurpassed day of communication options- how little we talk heart to heart. And it is that kind of soul exchange that ignites the essence of who you are as human being! May this article invite you to also light 31 candles to make this world a little brighter because you are willing to open up your window and let the sun shine out!
1. I am not a big fan of chocolate... It doesn't really tempt me at all... Reeses Pieces are my favorite candy...
2. I always wanted to play Tony in West Side Story but that day came and went- but I can still sing a mean "Tonight- Tonight..."
3. My favorite singer is Barry Manilow and I am not ashamed of it...
4. I really am a homebody... I love being home with my wife and kids and I get homesick quite easily...
5. I can't wait to go to Heaven... It won't break my heart to say goodbye to this old earth!
6. I was deathly afraid to sit on Santa's lap as a child... I was one of those crying kids who made a scene... Even though I have become a big mouth in my latter days- I think that I am still very shy at heart...
7. My favorite hymn is Wonderful Grace of Jesus and my Life Bible Verse is Ephesians 3:20...
8. I used to pretend that I was on the radio when I was little and had my own imaginary station as far back as when I was 3 years old... It is amazing to me that I have my own radio show today and it is genuinely a dream come true...
9. I am not a big fan of people who use other people for their own personal gain... People should be loved for who they are and not for what they can do for you...
10. My favorite town in New Jersey is Chester and of all the places that I have ever lived- I have loved that town the best...
11. I miss my Dad every day still...
12. I have been given the privilege of making a living doing what I so love to do... I was created to be a shepherd of people for I do love the sheep- shortcomings and all...
13. I always wished I would have learned to play the violin- it is my favorite instrument...
14. I don't know what I would do or where I'd be without music and laughter for I love them both so much!
15. I prefer the radio over television and the movies... I would have loved to live in the 1940's...
16. I love going to baseball games. I’m not too fond of how the money has ruined the game but I still consider it a pure vacation to take in a doubleheader!
17. I love bluegrass music and good old southern gospel quartet harmonies…
18. I still get a kick out of reconnecting with old friends and faces from my past. I consider it a pure celebration moment and many times I show more emotion than I receive back!
19. I want to see the Northern Lights in person before I leave this earth behind…
20. I pretty much save everything and am extremely sentimental about items that remind me of people and places that made an impact in my life along the way…
21. I still like to sing at the top of my lungs in the shower and the car… I prefer to turn the radio way up- and if I could- I would sleep with the music on all night long…
22. While everybody needs some alone time- I would hate to have to live on my own… I like to talk to somebody and am thankful that at least God is always there for me!
23. I am fascinated and welcome the stories of my elders telling me of their life experiences and tales of their journey… I hate that present day life allows for so little of this…
24. I wish I knew how to dance…
25. My favorite car that I ever had was a 1972 Chevy Nova… Wish I still had it today!
26. I don’t do “call waiting” and if I am talking to somebody and my phone rings- I ignore the phone… I want the person that I am with to be the most important person at that moment!
27. I’d like to see a show at the Grand Ole Opry before I die… I love old country and Waylon and Willie and the Boys…
28. While I am excited about the building for our church going up on Rt. 9- I have come to know by experience that the church is made up of people and not plaster… Things come and go but relationships are the true treasure of the heart and this life…
29. I have written over 500 songs and I play the piano by ear…
30. When I talk to myself- I refer to myself as Rudolph… But that doesn’t mean you can…
31. My wife Terri is a better bowler than I am and that’s just for starters of how she surpasses me in so many areas…
So now it is your turn… And if you need an avenue to share- you can chat with me. My email is pastorrudytlc@comcast.net Enjoy the journey! It’s a new year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
PUTTING ME BACK INTO HIS CHRISTMAS!!!
HELLO LOVE!!! HOW IN THE CHRISTMAS WORLD ARE YOU???
I have been getting lots of e-mail invitations lately exhorting me to make sure that I put Christ back into Christmas… I have been wondering how wise that statement really is. I have been thinking lately that instead of me putting Jesus back into my Christmas, maybe I should be willing to step into His Christmas! Maybe I need to do a little revisiting of what HIS STORY is all about!
In the beginning there was no Christmas! In fact, at the start of the Christian era, not only was there no Christmas, it never even occurred to any of the founders of the church that there should be. There is not a single word about Christmas in the writings of Paul. In fact, he talks a lot about the resurrection of our Lord- but not so much about his birthday! And of the four gospels, while Matthew and Luke give us the background about the facts of Jesus entry into the human race- they offer no commandments about turning His nativity into a commercial self aggrandizing gift feast to buy things that people don’t need for the many individuals in our lives that we aren’t too crazy about in the first place. So what does it really mean to put Christ back into Christmas?
For believers, the Yuletide Season should not depend so much upon what we call it or how we greet one another. If we are truly going to go back to the very beginning, then Christmas is really all about us seeking God and God seeking us. It’s about us leaving what we are doing and laying it down so that we can pick Him up! It is about discovering hope and then not hogging it to ourselves but openly sharing it with others. The call of Christmas is not for us to be happy as much as it is for us to use this gift of life to make a difference in our world. Jesus came to turn the light on and shed a little purpose on his people. At Christmas, we accept the challenge that we can be angels singing good news and magi bearing gifts and innkeepers who unlock closed doors and come to know personally the One who came not to conform but transform all that is happening around us.
So based upon the facts that we are given in Luke’s gospel, I want to share two practical ways that we can be drawn into His Christmas and maybe leave our own behind! Number 1: WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO ENTER FULLY INTO ANOTHER WORLD… Jesus didn’t help us from the friendly confines of heaven. He literally moved into our neighborhood and became one of us. He lived and moved and shared our experiences. He did so with the hope that we would catch what He had and not try to acclimate Him to what we were already missing without Him! Are you willing to leave behind your own pleasure world in order to help someone get a taste of paradise? It is a paradise that can’t be bought with silver or gold- but must be sought by leaving behind your sheep so that you can become one His flock!
Get up and get going! This Christmas, go to be where Jesus might be. Discover what Noel is really all about! It’s not a retail transaction but a relational transformation! Wasn’t the power of the first Christmas more about changing lives than it was about exchanging gifts? Love isn’t love until you give it away. Stop saying Merry Christmas and start living it! If you haven’t got love where you are- then change your address! The angels didn’t bring Jesus to where the shepherds were hanging out- they brought the shepherds to Jesus! We have to get out of our funk so that we can get into His flow! We must be willing to leave so that we can cleave to who God is and what He is all about. Jesus invites us to come and follow so that our cup may be filled not with money- but with meaning! And if there is no authentic joy in your world- let God change your tune. Christmas is no time to sing the blues!!!
Finally- Number 2: WE NEED TO DELIVER GOD’S GREAT GIFTS WITH JOY!
Don’t leave it all up to St. Nick. Be willing to give- but give from the heart out of what matters most to you. Put a little soul in your sack of goodies! Let it be drenched in sacrifice and not just full of stuff! The gifts that mean the most are the ones that mean something much to the giver. God gave us himself- wrapped up in a baby that didn’t come to impress us- but to address us and change our destination in the process. If I am going to be stepping into God’s Christmas, then I must be willing to translate my celebration into real service. I need to be willing to have my attitude produce actual action! Instead of just mumbling about peace on earth- let me be a peacemaker in my house- my work place- my neighborhood. Instead of a phony smile on my face- let me know the truth that real joy is in a giving kind of living! Let me not just say Merry Christmas with my lips but let the power of my genuine generosity light up the dark days around me. I want Christmas to not just be a day- but a way of life. If I understand Christmas from a biblical perspective- it was really the start of something big. It was definitely more initiation than culmination.
So this Christmas- I want to learn a new carol. I want to sing what heaven sings and not just another verse of earth’s dusty old tunes. Music is a powerful instrument. It can go where sermons can’t. It crosses social class and racial divisions. And if there is one thing I have understood from scripture it is that wherever God is at work- there is singing and plenty of it! Make this holiday a time to join His choir! Step away from your Christmas and be willing to enter into His. It might just end up being the best beginning you have ever experienced! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I have been getting lots of e-mail invitations lately exhorting me to make sure that I put Christ back into Christmas… I have been wondering how wise that statement really is. I have been thinking lately that instead of me putting Jesus back into my Christmas, maybe I should be willing to step into His Christmas! Maybe I need to do a little revisiting of what HIS STORY is all about!
In the beginning there was no Christmas! In fact, at the start of the Christian era, not only was there no Christmas, it never even occurred to any of the founders of the church that there should be. There is not a single word about Christmas in the writings of Paul. In fact, he talks a lot about the resurrection of our Lord- but not so much about his birthday! And of the four gospels, while Matthew and Luke give us the background about the facts of Jesus entry into the human race- they offer no commandments about turning His nativity into a commercial self aggrandizing gift feast to buy things that people don’t need for the many individuals in our lives that we aren’t too crazy about in the first place. So what does it really mean to put Christ back into Christmas?
For believers, the Yuletide Season should not depend so much upon what we call it or how we greet one another. If we are truly going to go back to the very beginning, then Christmas is really all about us seeking God and God seeking us. It’s about us leaving what we are doing and laying it down so that we can pick Him up! It is about discovering hope and then not hogging it to ourselves but openly sharing it with others. The call of Christmas is not for us to be happy as much as it is for us to use this gift of life to make a difference in our world. Jesus came to turn the light on and shed a little purpose on his people. At Christmas, we accept the challenge that we can be angels singing good news and magi bearing gifts and innkeepers who unlock closed doors and come to know personally the One who came not to conform but transform all that is happening around us.
So based upon the facts that we are given in Luke’s gospel, I want to share two practical ways that we can be drawn into His Christmas and maybe leave our own behind! Number 1: WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO ENTER FULLY INTO ANOTHER WORLD… Jesus didn’t help us from the friendly confines of heaven. He literally moved into our neighborhood and became one of us. He lived and moved and shared our experiences. He did so with the hope that we would catch what He had and not try to acclimate Him to what we were already missing without Him! Are you willing to leave behind your own pleasure world in order to help someone get a taste of paradise? It is a paradise that can’t be bought with silver or gold- but must be sought by leaving behind your sheep so that you can become one His flock!
Get up and get going! This Christmas, go to be where Jesus might be. Discover what Noel is really all about! It’s not a retail transaction but a relational transformation! Wasn’t the power of the first Christmas more about changing lives than it was about exchanging gifts? Love isn’t love until you give it away. Stop saying Merry Christmas and start living it! If you haven’t got love where you are- then change your address! The angels didn’t bring Jesus to where the shepherds were hanging out- they brought the shepherds to Jesus! We have to get out of our funk so that we can get into His flow! We must be willing to leave so that we can cleave to who God is and what He is all about. Jesus invites us to come and follow so that our cup may be filled not with money- but with meaning! And if there is no authentic joy in your world- let God change your tune. Christmas is no time to sing the blues!!!
Finally- Number 2: WE NEED TO DELIVER GOD’S GREAT GIFTS WITH JOY!
Don’t leave it all up to St. Nick. Be willing to give- but give from the heart out of what matters most to you. Put a little soul in your sack of goodies! Let it be drenched in sacrifice and not just full of stuff! The gifts that mean the most are the ones that mean something much to the giver. God gave us himself- wrapped up in a baby that didn’t come to impress us- but to address us and change our destination in the process. If I am going to be stepping into God’s Christmas, then I must be willing to translate my celebration into real service. I need to be willing to have my attitude produce actual action! Instead of just mumbling about peace on earth- let me be a peacemaker in my house- my work place- my neighborhood. Instead of a phony smile on my face- let me know the truth that real joy is in a giving kind of living! Let me not just say Merry Christmas with my lips but let the power of my genuine generosity light up the dark days around me. I want Christmas to not just be a day- but a way of life. If I understand Christmas from a biblical perspective- it was really the start of something big. It was definitely more initiation than culmination.
So this Christmas- I want to learn a new carol. I want to sing what heaven sings and not just another verse of earth’s dusty old tunes. Music is a powerful instrument. It can go where sermons can’t. It crosses social class and racial divisions. And if there is one thing I have understood from scripture it is that wherever God is at work- there is singing and plenty of it! Make this holiday a time to join His choir! Step away from your Christmas and be willing to enter into His. It might just end up being the best beginning you have ever experienced! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
IS HAPPY HOLIDAY ALL BAD?
HELLO LOVE! HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?
Happy Holidays! Now before you go and think that I have sold out to our spineless and politically correct culture, let me remind you that the word ‘holiday” first surfaced back in the 1500’s when two other words were combined and they would be- “holy” and “day.” What our society doesn’t realize that the essence of what they are bestowing upon one another in the idea that they are somehow escaping any spiritual allegiance is simply this: “HAPPY HOLY DAY!” No matter how hard people try, as long as there is a God, nobody can really wipe out the holy from the day!
Although it is quite amusing to witness the lengths that some humans are going in an attempt to put a mask over what December 25th still truly is. On December 8th in Austin, Texas- an area Lowe’s had this sign hanging from their store. Now in English, the sign reads: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Holiday Trees…” But directly underneath in Spanish, the same sign reads: “Ahora Aqui! Arboles De Navidad Recien Cortados…” which translated means: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Christmas Trees!” I guess in Texas that Christmas only offends those who understand English and not Spanish speaking individuals. Oh by the way, that Lowe’s carries no “Holiday Tree Stands.” They only sell “Christmas Tree Stands.”
Has anybody tried to buy a “Holiday Tree” for Valentine’s Day? How about one for Easter? Did you ever rock around the Labor Day Tree? Who are we kidding- they are Christmas Trees! And they have been since at least 1851 in this country. As a matter of fact, this is kind of funny. In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland, Ohio appears to have been the person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a pagan practice and some even threatened the minister with bodily harm. But now today, the city manager of Eugene, Oregon ordered that Christmas trees could not be erected on city properties because he considered them Christian religious symbols. He felt that their presence would violate the principle of the separation of church and state. Seems like these little spruced up evergreens can’t find a proper welcome anywhere they go!
But come on, is the Christmas tree a true Christian symbol of the season? Did Joseph, after making sure Mary had a safe place to birth the baby, stick a branch in the ground and adorn it with manger magic? Did the visiting shepherds bring along stringed popcorn and little wooly wonders to help decorate? I am not anti-tree but if it is such a defining symbol- why is it not mentioned in the gospels of Matthew or Luke? Maybe we should be decorating barns and caves instead? Isn’t that where God brought his majesty into the midst of the manure and mud? If we want to take it literally, perhaps we should be dressing down instead of dressing up? And we all know that the most important tree in the life of a Christian is the one that Jesus hung upon at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free and pardon there was multiplied for me and there my burdened soul found liberty- not at Rockefeller Center- but on a hill far away- where Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all.
So once again this year, I bought my “Christmas” tree the day after Thanksgiving from the Frank family at Secluded Acres. We hold the honor of buying their very first tree now for the last 4 years! Bill and his lovely daughter Diane always do such a great job of taking care of us and making sure that we get the right tree to satisfy the whole family. And our tree now has the big colorful lights on it and family ornaments that date back to the beginning of time. But I know that this holiday would be more of a hole-in-it-day and wouldn’t be very happy at all if this time of the year amounted to be nothing more but a season we all just dressed up a dead plant! What makes it so awesome is that like Linus, when he tried to teach Charlie Brown- I too have learned what Christmas is all about. And like the Grinch, I know deep down inside that it is not something that can be bought in a store or stolen away because of someone not wanting to acknowledge it! Nothing can really stop me from every December celebrating the child who is the one who came to set me free. And whether a major department store acknowledges that or not doesn’t change the truth that I once was blindly selfish- but now I can see!
So Happy Holiday because it truly is a Holy Day! And my prayer for you is that you have more to celebrate than the gifts that will be exchanged on December 26th. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son- that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Receive the gift that God longs to give you. Believe the wonder of what this time of the year is all about. In the bleak midwinter- God turned the light on and if that isn’t holy- then what is??? HAPPY HOLY DAY- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Happy Holidays! Now before you go and think that I have sold out to our spineless and politically correct culture, let me remind you that the word ‘holiday” first surfaced back in the 1500’s when two other words were combined and they would be- “holy” and “day.” What our society doesn’t realize that the essence of what they are bestowing upon one another in the idea that they are somehow escaping any spiritual allegiance is simply this: “HAPPY HOLY DAY!” No matter how hard people try, as long as there is a God, nobody can really wipe out the holy from the day!
Although it is quite amusing to witness the lengths that some humans are going in an attempt to put a mask over what December 25th still truly is. On December 8th in Austin, Texas- an area Lowe’s had this sign hanging from their store. Now in English, the sign reads: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Holiday Trees…” But directly underneath in Spanish, the same sign reads: “Ahora Aqui! Arboles De Navidad Recien Cortados…” which translated means: “Now Here! Fresh Cut Christmas Trees!” I guess in Texas that Christmas only offends those who understand English and not Spanish speaking individuals. Oh by the way, that Lowe’s carries no “Holiday Tree Stands.” They only sell “Christmas Tree Stands.”
Has anybody tried to buy a “Holiday Tree” for Valentine’s Day? How about one for Easter? Did you ever rock around the Labor Day Tree? Who are we kidding- they are Christmas Trees! And they have been since at least 1851 in this country. As a matter of fact, this is kind of funny. In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland, Ohio appears to have been the person responsible for decorating the first Christmas tree in an American church. His parishioners condemned the idea as a pagan practice and some even threatened the minister with bodily harm. But now today, the city manager of Eugene, Oregon ordered that Christmas trees could not be erected on city properties because he considered them Christian religious symbols. He felt that their presence would violate the principle of the separation of church and state. Seems like these little spruced up evergreens can’t find a proper welcome anywhere they go!
But come on, is the Christmas tree a true Christian symbol of the season? Did Joseph, after making sure Mary had a safe place to birth the baby, stick a branch in the ground and adorn it with manger magic? Did the visiting shepherds bring along stringed popcorn and little wooly wonders to help decorate? I am not anti-tree but if it is such a defining symbol- why is it not mentioned in the gospels of Matthew or Luke? Maybe we should be decorating barns and caves instead? Isn’t that where God brought his majesty into the midst of the manure and mud? If we want to take it literally, perhaps we should be dressing down instead of dressing up? And we all know that the most important tree in the life of a Christian is the one that Jesus hung upon at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free and pardon there was multiplied for me and there my burdened soul found liberty- not at Rockefeller Center- but on a hill far away- where Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all.
So once again this year, I bought my “Christmas” tree the day after Thanksgiving from the Frank family at Secluded Acres. We hold the honor of buying their very first tree now for the last 4 years! Bill and his lovely daughter Diane always do such a great job of taking care of us and making sure that we get the right tree to satisfy the whole family. And our tree now has the big colorful lights on it and family ornaments that date back to the beginning of time. But I know that this holiday would be more of a hole-in-it-day and wouldn’t be very happy at all if this time of the year amounted to be nothing more but a season we all just dressed up a dead plant! What makes it so awesome is that like Linus, when he tried to teach Charlie Brown- I too have learned what Christmas is all about. And like the Grinch, I know deep down inside that it is not something that can be bought in a store or stolen away because of someone not wanting to acknowledge it! Nothing can really stop me from every December celebrating the child who is the one who came to set me free. And whether a major department store acknowledges that or not doesn’t change the truth that I once was blindly selfish- but now I can see!
So Happy Holiday because it truly is a Holy Day! And my prayer for you is that you have more to celebrate than the gifts that will be exchanged on December 26th. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son- that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Receive the gift that God longs to give you. Believe the wonder of what this time of the year is all about. In the bleak midwinter- God turned the light on and if that isn’t holy- then what is??? HAPPY HOLY DAY- MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
WHERE IS OUR CHRISTMAS SPIRIT???
HELLO LOVE- HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU???
What Christmas Spirit is going to win out this December? Will we come alive and wipe the sleepy gunk from our eyes and finally wake up to what matters most? Or, will we allow the spirit of greed and selfishness to rob the joy from the season and blind us to the real reason that we needed a celebration of light in the midst of a bleak period of December darkness in the first place?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t always get it. I hear that as a country we are in the claws of an economic funk and recession and then I witness what people are doing all around me and totally getting out of whack when it comes to priorities and I want to shout out lord, “What the heck is going on?” Did you hear what happened on Black Friday? It wasn’t our nation’s brightest moment, I will tell you that. A rampaging mob of bargain hunters trampled a Long Island Wal-Mart employee to death as he opened the store for the post-Thanksgiving sale- unleashing a stampeded that blew the doors off the hinges. Now, were they running for the essentials of bread and milk and food for their children? Did this man die because people were starving and they were half-mad over the sorry state of their families? Nope! This young man perished because of big-screen television and electronic equipment. It was over excess junk that nobody genuinely needs to survive and yet it was a fatal event. It is a sad commentary on our humanity. It was an expose on the chaotic nature of man.
Back between 1941 and 1945, did all those young men die so we could have the freedom to rush a department store and kill a man because of our insatiable desire to have more, more, and even more? And even before that, Jesus came to earth that first Christmas so that he could eventually die for us so that we could exercise our rights to get stuck in clueless groups, following leaders who aren’t taking us to a giving kind of living which leads to an attitude of gratitude. No, I am afraid that the spirit that we are sending and receiving is wrapped up in a deadly, “All for me and none for you!” fleshly battle cry. It is a question that cries out, “How can I continue to get what I want- even though I don’t really need it at all!”
We need to be freed from the greed that’s a weed which chokes the seed that would lead to a grateful heart if it could be allowed to succeed! We need to let go of one of our favorite sentences WE KEPT SAYING when we were 2 years-old-and that is “MINE!” We are living in a world where 2 billion people right now are living on $2 a day!!! 2 billion people that God loves just as much as me and you.
We need to understand that maybe the state of the uncertainty of our financial status might be just the ticket for us to get back to the reality of why we need Noel and what caused Christmas to happen in the first place. Jesus left the riches of Heaven to come to earth in the poorest of packages to teach us that the real gift is not found in our outside presents but in his inside presence that makes a difference in everything we do! If I truly believed that a bigger television or the latest gadget is just what I need to make my Christmas complete- I haven’t gotten the gist of what got this country into its present day mess in the first place. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs! Our desires are vaster than our actual daily requirements. When are we going to learn that it is not the stuff we remember anyway but the substance of the relationships and the people all around us that matter most anyway when it all is said and done?
My spirit this Christmas season is simply summed up by this prayer:
Dear Lord, teach me to need what I want and want what I need. Free me from the greed that wants to sabotage the true treasure which is always been discovered in whom I have been given and not in what I don’t own. Teach me to count my authentic blessings and to share out of my abundance and not hoard out of my fear. May your Spirit ignite my spirit to spread the Christmas spirit this year and the years to come- no matter how much is in or not in my bank account. Let my heart account overflow! In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit- Amen… Merry Christmas!
Check out Rudy’s Radio Website www.rudyinthemorning.shutterfly.com
What Christmas Spirit is going to win out this December? Will we come alive and wipe the sleepy gunk from our eyes and finally wake up to what matters most? Or, will we allow the spirit of greed and selfishness to rob the joy from the season and blind us to the real reason that we needed a celebration of light in the midst of a bleak period of December darkness in the first place?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t always get it. I hear that as a country we are in the claws of an economic funk and recession and then I witness what people are doing all around me and totally getting out of whack when it comes to priorities and I want to shout out lord, “What the heck is going on?” Did you hear what happened on Black Friday? It wasn’t our nation’s brightest moment, I will tell you that. A rampaging mob of bargain hunters trampled a Long Island Wal-Mart employee to death as he opened the store for the post-Thanksgiving sale- unleashing a stampeded that blew the doors off the hinges. Now, were they running for the essentials of bread and milk and food for their children? Did this man die because people were starving and they were half-mad over the sorry state of their families? Nope! This young man perished because of big-screen television and electronic equipment. It was over excess junk that nobody genuinely needs to survive and yet it was a fatal event. It is a sad commentary on our humanity. It was an expose on the chaotic nature of man.
Back between 1941 and 1945, did all those young men die so we could have the freedom to rush a department store and kill a man because of our insatiable desire to have more, more, and even more? And even before that, Jesus came to earth that first Christmas so that he could eventually die for us so that we could exercise our rights to get stuck in clueless groups, following leaders who aren’t taking us to a giving kind of living which leads to an attitude of gratitude. No, I am afraid that the spirit that we are sending and receiving is wrapped up in a deadly, “All for me and none for you!” fleshly battle cry. It is a question that cries out, “How can I continue to get what I want- even though I don’t really need it at all!”
We need to be freed from the greed that’s a weed which chokes the seed that would lead to a grateful heart if it could be allowed to succeed! We need to let go of one of our favorite sentences WE KEPT SAYING when we were 2 years-old-and that is “MINE!” We are living in a world where 2 billion people right now are living on $2 a day!!! 2 billion people that God loves just as much as me and you.
We need to understand that maybe the state of the uncertainty of our financial status might be just the ticket for us to get back to the reality of why we need Noel and what caused Christmas to happen in the first place. Jesus left the riches of Heaven to come to earth in the poorest of packages to teach us that the real gift is not found in our outside presents but in his inside presence that makes a difference in everything we do! If I truly believed that a bigger television or the latest gadget is just what I need to make my Christmas complete- I haven’t gotten the gist of what got this country into its present day mess in the first place. Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs! Our desires are vaster than our actual daily requirements. When are we going to learn that it is not the stuff we remember anyway but the substance of the relationships and the people all around us that matter most anyway when it all is said and done?
My spirit this Christmas season is simply summed up by this prayer:
Dear Lord, teach me to need what I want and want what I need. Free me from the greed that wants to sabotage the true treasure which is always been discovered in whom I have been given and not in what I don’t own. Teach me to count my authentic blessings and to share out of my abundance and not hoard out of my fear. May your Spirit ignite my spirit to spread the Christmas spirit this year and the years to come- no matter how much is in or not in my bank account. Let my heart account overflow! In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit- Amen… Merry Christmas!
Check out Rudy’s Radio Website www.rudyinthemorning.shutterfly.com
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