Emmanuel

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17

What if Jesus never came?

If there was no Silent Night, Holy Night.

No Away in the Manger.

No O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

No Merry Christmas.

Life would be pretty different, wouldn’t it?

No hope for us as we are Gentiles.

Not under Jewish law, which would most likely still be the case for the Apple of God’s eye.

The Jewish people.

As Gentiles, we’d probably believe in some pagan god.

Like the Romans or Greeks had.

Sounds depressing.

Shall we dive even deeper?

What if God didn’t even exist?

Like literally, God is not here, there, or anywhere?

If all this life is for nothing?

That when we die, that’s it?

Pretty awful, isn’t it.

Let’s try it.

Are you upset today?

Nobody cares. Nobody to help you. Nobody to give you any peace or hope.

Confused about life and need advice?

Again, nobody cares. Nobody to help you. Nobody to give you any advice at all.

Feeling badly and need healing?

Nobody cares. No hope there. You are stuck suffering for quite awhile.

Want people to do what you want?

Try yelling. Whoever yells the loudest gets their way.

Want something?

Push and shove your way to the front. You deserve it.

Hate the truth?

Is there even truth?

Lying is normal because there is no standard of right and wrong.

Diving deeper still, there is no moral absolutes because there is no God creating order out of chaos.

A life where anything goes.

Chaos is the order of the day.

Every man for himself.

I can’t take it anymore.

Aren’t you just relieved?

We don’t ever have to experience a world without the existence of God.

When we are upset, need advice or healing, God is right there.

In fact He’s always with us.

And He paved the way for our eternal salvation when He sent Jesus on Christmas.

Emmanuel. God with us. Forever

Photos by Erwan Hesry, David BealeAnnie Spratt, & Josh Boot on Unsplash

Prickles

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

IMG_56803333

How often do your prickles erupt?

Once in awhile?

When life really goes to pot?

When you’ve finally had enough?

Or too, too often….?

Prickles are easy to spot.

In fact, one can feel them rising to the surface.

They’re ugly.

Painful to others.

And frankly to yourself as well.

They put a barrier between you and the world.

It’s normal to get upset-

Just make sure it’s godly.

What?

Treat little annoyances like water off a duck’s back.

They simply don’t move you.

And when your children need your quick firm stand, be as a gentle bear they cannot move. 

If you react instead to life as someone who quickly sprays quills, you’ll be one of those people.

People who need lots of space for whatever mood they happen to jump into.

And you don’t want that.

To be so unpredictable.

People are scared of porcupines, because their prickles can erupt in an instant.

Don’t be prickly.

Be a quiet gentle giant, standing firm when you must, predictable to life.

You can’t often control your circumstances, but you can always control your reaction.

Photo by matthew Feeney on Unsplash