Think about this:
- Martin Luther was born into a family of trading class (middle class) background. On October 31, 1546, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral sparking the beginning of the Reformation – the beginning of Christianity becoming the people’s religion.
- John Wycliff is known to be the major translator of the Bible from its once elite translation of Latin, usable only by the most educated priests of the church, to the language of the common people, making it readable by all who could read, giving us the priviledge to read God’s word for ourselves.
- Rosa Parks is called the “Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement.” At the height of segregation, Parks refused to give her seat on a bus up for a white man to sit. This simple act became a major motivator in the fight against racism in the South.
- A 19 year old girl heard about a Buddhist man recently diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis. She determined to visit him and pray for him. As she told him about Jesus and knelt to pray with him he was touched and gave his heart to Jesus, converting from Buddhism. Today this man, David Yonggi Cho, pastors the world’s largest congregation, Yoido Full Gospel Church, in Korea.
These people performed seemingly simple acts of conviction, all of which significantly changed the course of history and had great eternal value.
What about you? What seemingly insignificant acts have you engaged in lately? Are you doing the little things that might make an eternal change in someone’s life?
Are you dreaming that your life will leave a legacy and consequently dreaming or trying to be involved in BIG things?
Matthew 25:34-45 says,
34. “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. 36. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37. “Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38. When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? 39. When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40. “The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant [they seemed], you did for me.’ 41. “Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! 42. I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. 43. I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’ 44. “They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or in need of clothes or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’ 45. “He will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you failed to do for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant [they seemed], you failed to do for me.’
btw-Thanks, Heath, for preaching an excellent sermon that still has me thinking!
Okay…I finally have power (specifically: heat) back! It’s been a grueling start to the winter season for us in our new hometown of Bradford, Massachusettes, which is north of Boston. We had an unexpected ice storm on Thursday which quickly piled up on the trees causing them to fall and knock out the electricity. I’m not completely convinced but I’m pretty sure that sleeping in my living room, huddled around the fireplace, drinking lukewarm coffee (yuck!) ’cause it cooled down as soon as I poured it into a cup, playing every board game we own at least 40 times each (and we’ve got A LOT of games), wearing 5 layers of all of our warmest clothing without regard for fashion, and not showering for several days (because lets just be honest nobody was sweating, and, therefore, creating any body odor, and who in their right mind would climb into an ice cold shower in an ice cold house?!?!), all the while getting to church every night because my daughter and I are in the church Christmas play and the show must go on(!) is on my list of Top Ten Things to Make Sure To Do Again.
But anyway…I’m all that much more grateful for my home tonight after roughing it for 3 days. Thankfully, it wasn’t 3 weeks! 
Whew! Welcome to the Northeast!
I LOVE Christmas! Who couldn’t really. It’s especially fun with my kids. We’ve been hard at it decorating our house. We feel particularly blessed this year since we’re finally in an actual house and not crammed into an 800 sq ft apartment like we’ve been the last three years. I can’t believe I really have the room for a big tree, and that I have a real fireplace mantle. I have an actual dining room to entertain in, and an outside to decorate too – it’s funny what becomes a big deal when you go without for awhile.
Most important to our Christmas season is our traditions. I’m a huge proponent of having traditions with your family. Specifically, realistic ones that can be maintained. Because ministry has always kept us away from our family, we determined early that regardless of whether we had family with us or not, we would always maintain our traditions. And in our home Christmas is chock full of them, starting with Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving dinner is the beginning of our season. I make the full dinner, turkey, cranberry sauce, homemade rolls, etc. And we pull out our fine china. My kids even eat on the china (with a lot of, “please be careful!”). Then after our requisite Thanksgiving afternoon nap, we always go as a family to the movie theater to watch a Christmas movie. (There wasn’t a very good one this year, I must admit.)
We don’t often do too much to support Black Friday. I refuse to give up an extra minute of sleep just to fight the crowds at any store or shopping center. Instead, we do stockings on this morning, rather than Christmas morning. And then we spend the rest of the day decorating our house, both inside and out.
The last big tradition we do on a yearly basis is our Jesse Tree. Using our Jesse Tree ornaments, we learn the Old Testament background for the New Testament story of the birth of Christ. We have a devotional book which includes daily Scripture readings that we use as family devotions.
If you’re trying to change the way your family celebrates Christmas, think about starting some traditions. Here is a link to a calendar of activities that you could pick from or it might spark some ideas of your own. Whatever the case, make sure that you refocus your time and attention on Christ this Christmas season. Help your kids to understand why we celebrate this time of year. And most importantly, make sure that you are focused upon Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. Many blessings!
