Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas :)

Yes, this is your Christmas card this year! ;)  I'll hopefully do better next year and get some cards sent, but I hope you'll be forgiving this year.  We've had a few things going on... :)

We are doing well.  For those of  you reading our blog for the first time, and for those of you who have been following us since I began the blog a few months ago, we want to thank you for reading and caring about us, especially since Joe's mom Angie went to be with Jesus last month.  It is hard to believe it's been almost a whole month since we said goodbye.  Her death has put eternity into a new perspective for us, and we love the Lord even more than ever after walking with her for as long as we could on her journey to eternity.

Angie was a Christian.  She was "born again," as we say in our church circles.  But you don't have to be in a church circle to understand what "born again" means.  In the Bible in John chapter 3, it talks about a man named Nicodemus who was a pharisee living 2000 or so years ago.  He had the incredible opportunity to be a Jew during the time Jesus lived and ministered on Earth, and his conversation with Jesus is documented here.  He spoke with Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, our Savior...face to face...and received the most incredible answer from the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.  If you were face to face with Jesus and could ask Him anything, just as Nicodemus did, have you ever thought about what would you ask Him?  His answer would be as it was for Nicodemus:  one of TRUTH, one leading to ETERNAL LIFE, and one showing you the WAY to attain that.  Through all of our lives' biggest questions, the real answers lie in the bigger picture and lead us to God's true intent for us:  fellowship with our Creator God and His Son Jesus Christ, and eternal fellowship with Him in Eternity.  Nicodemus' question for Jesus was basically, "Who are you?"  And, Jesus got right to the point.  He said that unless a person is "born again" he or she will not know the Kingdom of God and went on to explain one of the verses that is most memorized in all the Bible:  "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."  (John 3:16)  When you look at what He said, it blows your mind!  And, kinda blows those other theories out of the water...  The idea that when we die, that's it, there is nothing else...  Or that everyone when they die will go to heaven...  Or that there is a holding tank until our loved ones pray us to eternal life...  Or that we will be our own gods...  The TRUTH told Nicodemus the truth and pointed him (and us) to these facts about eternity:  there is one...there are two choices -- eternal perishing or eternal LIFE...only through the Son of God can we receive LIFE in eternity...we cannot receive it unless we've been born again...and it's an invitation given to all of us.

In this world of fierce independence, it is sobering to realize that this is one thing I cannot do on my own.  In a world of codependence, it is terrifying to realize that no one can do this for me.  In a world of "rose colored glasses," it is awakening to realize that I can't just wait until tomorrow and everything will be okay.  In a world of pessimism, it is enlightening to realize that even in my criticisms it is still true.  It is true that our Creator God is Holy and perfect, and because we are not - the Bible says we've all sinned and fallen short of His glory - we cannot be in the presence of God. Our sin separates us ETERNALLY from God, and since there are two choices in eternity, life or perishing, that means we all perish.

Then enters Jesus.  He never sinned -- never lied, never cheated on the job, never lusted after a woman, never talked about someone behind their back, never envied what others had, never took the Lord's name in vain, never did anything selfishly, never made excuses, never became apathetic... He was sinless, holy, and perfect, and he was HUMAN LIKE US, tempted in all the same ways we are, the Bible says.  Which gave him full access to Eternal Life and the earned right to be there.  But He gave it up.  You know why?  Because He knew we couldn't do it on our own.  So He gave His right to us.  He died (through crucifixion), fulfilled every Old Testament prophesy on the books, and extended an invitation then and now:  be born again.

Put off your old self, and put on a new self.  One that is forgiven.  One that is "clothed in white."  One that has full access to a Holy God and Eternal Life.  One that accepts God's gift to you through Jesus Christ.

As we journeyed with Angie in her final days on earth, she was never alone.  The Lord sent Jesus to greet her.  He allowed her glimpses of where she was going.  She saw loved ones who had "crossed the river," as the Psalm says, before her.  And we experienced her experiencing unexplainable, unadulterated JOY.  For Angie to not experience sadness or grief or guilt over leaving the family she felt enormous responsibility and fierce, zealous love and protection for, she must have seen and known something way greater than I can explain.  But she didn't.

You can know that kind of peace and joy, too.  We have much to celebrate in the Birth of Christ.  He was and is the answer to everything.

Merry Christmas. :)