Mεταμορφόω

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Perhaps, this post may sound a bit cliche, but I cannot escape this thought at the moment as I look back on what Christ did for me and all those who have believed on His Name, and even those who have yet to do so.

In my online journeys (and at work), I have encountered many people who either are asking about the true meaning of Christmas, or have given up on it all together. The latter of those two groups simply see Christmas as yet another day in which capitalism reigns supreme and selfishness seems to be the ultimate motivation for the celebration. Sadly, those of US (I include myself here) in America who claim to represent Biblical Christianity are just as guilty in presenting this selfish picture of Christmas.

However, if we consider what The Bible teaches, we see something very different. We find the true meaning of Christmas. The hymn quoted below summarizes the 4 Gospels best with the line, “Born to die that man might live.” Jesus Christ was born not to be a good example, not to be a great prophet, but He was born so that He might die and pay the price for our sins. Thankfully, it doesn’t end there. He was also born so that He might rise again from the dead, proving that He has the victory over sin, death, and Hell; that He is indeed The Son of God (Romans 1:3-4).

What is your motivation for celebrating The Savior’s birth this year? Is it simply to give presents in the selfish hopes that you’ll get something in return? Or is it to meditate on what your Savior did for you? If this lost world were to view how Christmas was celebrated in your home, would they see selfish capitalism, or would they see Jesus Christ?

“Ring the Bells”
Harry Bollback

Ring the bells! Ring the bells!
Let the whole world know;
Christ was born in Bethlehem;
Many years ago.

Born to die that man might live;
Came to earth new life to give;
Born of Mary born so low;
Many years ago.

God the Father gave His Son;
Gave His Own Beloved One;
To this wicked, sinful earth;
To bring mankind His love, new birth.

Ring the bells! Ring the bells!
Let the whole world know.
Christ the Savior lives today;
As He did so long ago!

Tonight, I had the privlege and blessing of going to the Late Night Skate. Yes, I said blessing. I told someone who had come for the first time that for them to have not been here was to miss out on many blessings. They thought I was nuts and told me that blessing wasn’t exactly the first word they would’ve chosen to describe a late night skate. Perhaps it isn’t the first word that comes to minds, but that got me thinking, should it be? Shouldn’t we have such a view of God where every thing that happens to us is a blessing? Like David, shouldn’t we view all that we have in this life and say, “Praise The Lord, O, my soul; praise The Lord”? Should the word blessing characterize more of how we think of the various circumstances, whether good or ill, that God allows to come our way? Just a thought that I was considering while I was skating that I figured I’d pass on to anyone else that happens to come by.

This may sound ridiculously simple, but to me this was a very profound (and greatly encouraging) thought that God has been teaching me this whole semester while I’ve been out of school.

I’ve been meditating on the song, “In My Weakness” (if you don’t know it, listen to Christy Galkin’s CD, which is a Steve Pettit Evangelistic Team CD featuring Christy) and also read the related Scripture passage, 2 Corinthians 12. Normally, when we consider the thought of God’s strength being perfect in our weakness, our first thought is that He is greater than our weaknesses. No doubt, this is certainly true. Our second, and slightly deeper application of this truth is that God is able to overcome our weaknesses and work in our lives in spite of them. I believe this to be the immediate application of the 2 Corinthians 12 passage. However, in the whole context of Scripture, I came to discover and understand for myself an even richer and 3rd application of the truth of how God’s strength is perfect in my weakness. God is not only greater than my weaknesses and able to work in spite of them, but He can make my weaknesses my strengths. How this came to be understood is through a series of events that have happened this semester (which, unfortunately, due to the nature of those events and for the sake of those involved, I cannot give details; but I will suffice to say that they were situations in which I was struggling to “Count it all joy (James 1:2).”) in which I was unable to do anything. In utter complete helplessness, I leaned on Christ to do a work that I knew from the start only He could do, but hoped that He would accomplish through me. My weakness- in this case inability- became a strength- dependance and trust in God. As we consider the lives of men like Peter, Paul, Timothy, and others, we see how God took their weaknesses and made those weaknesses their greatest assets. I think particularly of Peter- the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth- and how God took Peter’s pride of self and turned it into boldness for Christ. God can do this in any and all areas of our lives, and I believe that it is desire to do so, if we will but let Him.

I praise God for allowing the both good and hard circumstances that have come my way. If for nothing else, I praise Him for this because He strengthened my resolve to continue fighting the good fight of faith, and to let God show how He could take my weakest moments in life and make them into my strongest moments.

When living life for Jesus Christ
becomes too hard a task;
When obedience means sacrifice
that seems too much to ask,
that’s when I learn that my own strength
isn’t really strength at all.
And, I find rest in humbleness
when He becomes my all.

In my weakness, He is strong.
In my need, He leads me on.
When I come to the end
of all that I am
and place my trust in Him,
that’s when His strength begins
in my weakness.

When failures in my human strength
have weakened all my pride;
When ruined hopes and fallen dreams
have crumbled me inside,
that’s when I learn to finally see
the strength of Jesus Christ.
It’s then I see His strength in me,
when weakness fills my life.

In my weakness, He is strong.
In my need, He leads me on.
When I come to the end
of all that I am
and place my trust in Him,
that’s when His strength begins
in my weakness.

In my weakness,
He is strong

In my most recent post, I made mention of the fact that I’ve been working 40-50+ hours a week. While I haven’t been in school, I’ve been in a bit of a quandry. As many of you that read this blog know, I am a Music Education major with my proficiency on bassoon (and I even look kind of like my instrument…or so I’m told). For the 4 1/2 years that I’ve been playing bassoon, I have been using the school’s instrument. However, now that I’m not a student, I haven’t been able to practice (part of it is school policy- completely understandable- and part of it is practicality; you can’t have two people playing the same instrument- it just isn’t sanitary!). So, with the hard earned money that I’ve been making, I decided that it was better I try to get my own instrument now, rather than after I’ve finished school. After much searching, I found the answer to my problem right underneath my nose, almost. Where I could not work something out with companies like Woodwinds and Brasswinds and other music companies that sell bassoons to do a rent-to-own on the instrument as I don’t have a credit card or the full amount of the selling price (this was mainly due to the rarity of orders placed on the instrument; unlike saxophones, trumpets, flutes, and clarinets, it’s not every day that someone orders a bassoon), White House of Music was willing to work a deal with me where I could go on their Pro-Lease plan (a rent-to-own program where a student can rent a professional level instrument while making monthly payments on the instrument). Because of the nature of the instrument, I was asked to put a $1,300 down payment on the bassoon before they could order it. Two weeks after we had talked about it, I had the money for them (and enough to continue covering my own expenses). For the last month, though, it was a struggle to decide which bassoon I actually wanted to go with. Once I was able to talk to my teacher about it, the answer became simple. So, two weeks ago, I placed the order. I wasn’t supposed to get the bassoon until January. However, Friday, White House of Music gave me a call and told me that they had the bassoon for me, ready to go; all I had to do was come in and fill out the paper work. What you see below is a bassoon that is worth $9,100 (list price). I’m getting it for $5,800. ISN’T GOD GOOD?! If I had been in school, I am convinced I would’ve never been able to own an instrument like this. It is a Fox Renard 220, and after having played on it since Sunday, I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking to get a nice bassoon. Well, here’s some pictures of it. Amazing how I took for granted the ability to practice. Enjoy sharing with me in God’s blessing!