Wise Men Still Seek HIM

It’s all in the name.  Or so they say. I was thinking about names this week. Your name, my name, everyone’s name. Our parents pick them, and sometimes they have been picked generations ago. My two middle names come to me through many generations, ‘William John’. It was my grandfather’s name and his father before him. Even my brother’s name came the same way, ‘James’ except from the other line.

Many people change their name for convenience. Many shorten or use their middle name. Here’s a thought, I don’t think I could call, William, the grandson to the throne of England, ‘Bill’. Just saying. My thinking is, your name tells everyone who you are. Again with me, am I a Robert, Rob, Bob, or even my family name, Robin?  

A word of wisdom for the men out there. I learned from a very amazing husband and father that he never referred to his wife as ‘her’. it was always by name. I also learned a couple of wonderful things about our names from the bible. In one of our church songs we sing; ‘There’s a new name written down in glory, and it’s mine. . . ‘ That line comes from a verse at the end of Revelations 21. Take a quick look at it.

But the best verse that we have in the bible concerning names is found in Philippians; “God exalted Him . . and gave Him the name that is above every name . . .at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord . . .” The Wise Men came first to bow and confess. We at Christmas will follow in their footsteps, coming before the Prince of Peace to bow down and worship Him. Now, ask yourself if this line is true, “Wise Men still seek Him.”

Something to think about.

Rob

Free?

“The best things in life are free.” Tell that to the child as they stand in the toy section of the department store. I’ve said this before; kids do not need to get something every time they go to the store with mom or dad. If they do, they expect it for the rest of their lives. But back to this line.

Tried to find out where the line originated but it’s just called an English proverb. Might be first attributed to Abraham Lincoln but actually attributed to Samuel Goldwyn. Even before that it was originally included in a poem by William Wordsworth, but then in the 1920’s Coco Chanel add this line, “but the second best things are very, very expensive.” It became the basis of a musical in 1927 and went on to be a movie with Gordon Macrae. You sort it out. I just believe it to be true.

One anonymous individuals quote included; “Sleep, hugs, kisses, love, friends, family, memories, smiles, laughter, fun, the best things in life are free.” They are so right. Think about it. Go down the street and have someone smile at you. Don’t you feel good after? And it was free. Or how about on the calm cold Christmas Eve when you are alone with your thoughts and you remember a previous memory of another Christmas Eve and you feel warm inside.

And if that Christmas Eve is connected to the baby in the manger, and knowing He gave us forgiveness free, isn’t that the most amazing free gift you have ever received? Maybe that is one of those moments when we experience free-dom from our sins. And that is;

Something to think about.

Rob

Peace of God

Churchill said it best and his words echo through the centuries on into the future; “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”  Those words are imprinted into our history books as a beacon of what never should ever happen in a world where everyone verbalizes the reality of peace and yet it is so elusive. Every Nov. 11^th all of us stop and remember. We remember all wars but two world wars more than the others. On Nov. 11^th 1918 at 5am an armistice with Germany was signed and at the eleventh hour, war ceased.

Peace was and is elusive. Even today war continues as man against man seeks to have power over others. It’s where we don’t have the freedom to do and be what we want. Yes, conflict is in our world but also in our very lives. Most people realize that all conflicts are based in the area of power. Do you remember this phrase said by Baron Acton; “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely?

November 11^th is that rare two minutes of silence where peace tries to raise its triumphal head in victory. Sadly it doesn’t. In those too short brief moments all that we can do is bow our heads and close our eyes and ask God to help us to never send our young people to war, but also thank Him for the brave men and women that fought and died and still fight for freedom today.

I believe for the world to have peace, it needs to first start with ourselves. In everyone’s home and in our communities and in our cities before it can reach our country and world. Martin Luther King Jr. knew this better than most when he said; “Let freedom ring…” So, take a few moments to thank those who fought for our freedom, because freedom costs, today and tomorrow.

And as wonderful as these words expressed by great men, Jesus words are better than anyone’s, said anywhere, at any time, as they are recorded in John 14:27;

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Something to think about

Rob

Are They All Fads?

Did you know that most fads come and go as quickly as eating a Taco? Then again, the occasional one drags on and on. Like men’s pants falling off. No idea why anyone would want to do that but I remember the first time I saw it in 1971. Here are a couple from just this year.  Very long cardigans.  Why? Who knows? Then there is flannel around the waist. Again, I don’t know why.  Here is one no one can answer. For men, beards & top knots. What? And these are just recent ones.

They come and go. I remember a couple from when I was a teen. Not around now but it seemed to be cool to have go-go boots and mini-skirts.  Not me mind you.

This is what I think. It’s just some strange way to be different. My granddaughter goes to school with two different socks on every day. MMMM. The good side is she never has to search for the match. Kind a fun I would think. I don’t think I can do it but she can pull it off with style. Every one of us wants to have something different about ourselves. Something that makes us stand out from the rest of the crowd.

I did it when I was young and sometimes continue to do it on occasion just because.

Back then I dressed like Harry Belafonte but without the tan. The wonderful thing is, no matter what fad we engage in, almost everyone accepts it. Parts of letting each person do their thing.

It’s not a stretch to recognize that God did this right from the start. Wasn’t called a fad back then. I was just each person was created by God as an individual and that was awesome. Today, we are all different.  We look different, act different, even think very differently. And that is the beauty of God’s highest creation. He knew us before we were born. He gave us our personality, our likes and dislikes and created us all perfect.

So when you look at someone who looks or acts a little different, remember God created them and what He created is wonderful