Daily Stop & Thinks

A Resolution for the New Year

This year I want my life to be less busy, but fuller! (Judy Yeager, benefactor & volunteer)

If you’re into making resolutions for 2021, Yeager’s is a good one to consider. Many of us complain about how busy we are. So much to do and so little time, it seems. Perhaps you could follow her plan: “Each unscheduled day, asking God what He has in mind for me.” That would certainly set a high priority on our busy lives, wouldn’t it? Let’s try it!

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

Year’s End

“Another year is almost over . . . (Pria Priyambada)

. . . and I just want to thank the special people in my life who have listened without judgment, helped without conditions, understood with empathy, and loved me no matter what.” Before you make your resolutions for 2021, review this past year and remember all the people who helped and influenced you—and send them a note of thanks. And thank God for his blessing.

In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! (Isaiah 12:4)

Doing Right

Choose right, oppose wrong, dignify life, and esteem everyone. (Roddie Edmonds, WWII veteran)

Edmonds was in a prisoner of war camp when he was faced with a difficult challenge from his captors. The decision to defy the commandant’s command could have cost him his life, but to obey would have caused the certain death of more than 200 of his fellow prisoners. In God’s providence he was spared, but the quote above became known as Roddie’s Code.

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. (1 Peter 3:12)

Passion

I just set myself on fire, and people come from miles around to watch me burn. (John Wesley, 18^th-century evangelist)

Wesley’s use of hyperbole makes a very clear statement about his passion. He battled against the “establishment” to bring change that resulted in what we now think of as Methodism. What would such fervor bring about if we were to be so invested in a worthy cause? Instead of being involved in lesser things, we ought to emulate Wesley’s passion for noble ends.

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Ephesians 6:7)

Loyalty

Too often a sense of loyalty depends on admiration, and if we can’t admire, it is difficult to be loyal. (Aimee Buchanan, Olympic figure skater)

Sometimes we find ourselves in a quandary. Perhaps we are on a team where loyalty is essential, but some of our teammates badmouth the coach. Or maybe we have to work with people whose conduct is unacceptable. In those situations, it’s helpful to remember that we are responsible only for our own conduct. We must do our best and set an example of trustworthiness.

Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

After Christmas

Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day. (Helen Steiner Rice, late American poet)

It’s surprising—and often disappointing—how quickly the Christmas spirit disappears after the holiday is over. What happened to the peace on earth and good will to men that we heard at Christmas services and in songs? Rice is right. It won’t happen if we relegate the thought to one season of the year. Work hard to practice the spirit of peace every day.

When people’s lives please the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them. (Proverbs 16:7)

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)

Christmas

I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old familiar carols play / And wild and sweet, the words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19^th-century American poet)

In a world that has been continually torn with constant turmoil, repeated conflicts, and threats of war, we pray on this Christmas Day for lasting peace. This is the day we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace, who alone can reign sovereignly over a kingdom free from strife. We prayerfully await his promised return to establish just such a kingdom.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

Christmas Eve

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends. (Margaret Thatcher, late British prime minister)

Christmas has so many wonderful traditions, including music.  Hearing the song, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, strikes an emotional chord at this time of year, because we want so much to be with family to celebrate the most unique and wonderful event in history—the fulfilling of God’s promise to send a Savior, whose birthday we’ll celebrate tomorrow.

When the time had fully come, God sent his Son… to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

Anno Domini

Christmas is the day that holds all time together. (Alexander Smith, 19^th-century Scottish poet)

Have you ever wondered why this year is designated 2020 AD? When it was determined to synchronize calendars around the world, the pivotal starting event was the birth of Jesus. Every year since then is AD “Anno Domini” (the year of our Lord). Time before that is labeled BC (Before Christ).  He is the center of time and eternity.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:8)

Christmas and Easter

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. (W. T. Ellis, Civil War veteran)

So much of the “Christmas spirit” is manufactured by advertising and showy programs, but, as Ellis suggests, the real Christmas spirit comes from the heart of those who understand what it’s really all about. We must understand that Christmas is the celebration of the beginning of God’s plan; it continues with the life and death of Jesus and culminates with Easter.

Christ died for our sins. . . He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Christmas Joy

Christmas is for children. But it’s for grown-ups, too. (Lenora Mattingly Weber, 19^th-20^th century American author)

With a rather disheartening comment, Weber continues, “Even if it’s a headache, a chore, a nightmare it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.” It makes you think of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Old Scrooge had a lot to learn. The joy of Christmas can certainly melt the hardest heart in recognizing God’s great plan of redemption coming to earth.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Mathew 1:21) 

Christmas is Coming

For children Christmas is anticipation. For adults Christmas is memory. (Eric Sevareid, late American news journalist)

This is Christmas week, and children are eagerly awaiting the parties and, especially, the opening of gifts on Friday. Although they may try to hide it, adults are likely to be thinking about the sharing of gifts, too. But in just a week, it will all be over, and this Christmas—like every other one before—will be but a memory. To make it memorable, consider what it is really all about.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)