Necessity of Christmas

“Though you don’t need gifts...give what you can.

Though it’s not about the food...share meals together.

Though it is much more than a party...spend time to celebrate.

Though you didn’t deserve God’s gift...receive what you so desperately need.”

Loren Thornburg 

Things get busy, presents take over and the eye appeal of everything becomes our focus.  How did it become this way?  What are we celebrating anyway?  It’s hard to remember what we are celebrating with so much going on.  It seems we have lost the necessities of Christmas and found instead the extremities.  The truth is that we need Christmas, but not the Christmas we have come to know.  We don’t need the presents, although I enjoy that part.  We don’t need the food, although it’s fun to share a meal together.  We don’t need the parties, although it’s so good to be together.  So then, what do we need?  We need this time to remember what we have been given.  We need to remember who it is that has given us this great gift.  We need to remember that we don’t deserve any of this nor are we entitled to it.  So join together, share gifts, and enjoy meals, but remember why you need to do this...to remember how you need the great gift we celebrate at Christmas.

“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,[a] Mighty God,    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 NLT

We need Jesus.  We need all that He is and all He brings.  I can’t deny the fact that I need a Counselor.  I need a Mighty God.  I need a Father.  I need Peace.  I need a Savior and all the rescue that He brings.  Sometimes I lose this in the midst of parties and presents.  Yet, there is still time to remember the gift that has been given.  There is still time to enjoy Jesus and all that He means to me and desires to bring to us.  I have to remember my Savior, otherwise the necessity of Christmas is lost.  

There is also still time to purchase my devotional book in print AND now the ebook version is also available: 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/loren-thornburg/hope-remains/ebook/product-21365709.html

Pieces of the Puzzle

“Each piece has a place that all comes together to create a beautiful picture.”

Loren Thornburg

Jigsaw puzzles can be a fun activity.  I have learned there are different ways to approach puzzles.  Some people put the pieces together by shape, some by color and some can see both color and shape together.  Each one sees the pieces on the table differently.  For me there is something about having the final picture in front of me that helps.   There is also something about the picture that helps me see that in the midst of pieces everywhere there is a way for them to all come together.  Sometimes it can seem like they will never find their place like the pieces of our lives.  It’s hard to see how this season, job, or experience has any relation to where I’m headed.  Yet, what I’ve found in looking back is that they all come together in a beautiful way.  It’s just hard to see through all the pieces.  

“Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”

Psalm 40:5 

You can get lost in the pieces if you stay there too long and miss what the pieces are creating.  Whether it’s looking at the picture or the box or seeing the bigger picture we need this for more than puzzles.  God calls us to it.  We see all throughout scripture the call to look to Him, the One who created this puzzle of life and the pieces of your life.  He knows how to put them together for a beautiful design.  The God who has done many wonders, too many to recount, is the One who wants to be the author of your life and of the picture the pieces are creating.  If we let Him He can take our pieces and make them into something wonderful.  Each piece has a place.  Even the pieces of your life can come together for something beautiful.