Christmas

Jesus Christ

He came to proclaim good news to the poor,
to heal the broken-hearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners,
...to comfort all who mourn.

Emmanuel

"Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing...."

For our Salvation, Christ drank the cup of the sins of the world. 

For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross,
despising its shame. 

Lord Jesus 

The joy of the Lord is our strength!

Do not be afraid!

Scripture references: Isaiah 61:1-3; Hebrews 12:2; Nehemiah 8:10

Christmas Any Time and All the Time

In His hometown, Nazareth, Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He opened the scroll to the reading for the day, from Isaiah 60. He began to read:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me 

to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 4: 18, 19

When He had finished reading, He said, "This day this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

Jesus said he came to help those who realized their need. These included the poor, the sick, the outcast and a few religious leaders who desired to hear HIm. What a blessed and favored bunch they still are!

Joy to the world, 

 the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King!

Blessed is the one who finds peace 

with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Good Friday-When Darkness Precedes the Light of Victory

The Friday that Jesus was crucified is called good Friday. Why, when the skies grew dark, the earth trembled, and it seemed that Christ had been defeated? In the gloom of Golgotha, called The Place of the Skull  and Calvary, the Lord Jesus was lifted up, nailed onto a heavy cross as a failure and a mockery of hope.  

     The Lord of all creation had been stripped, beaten, and spat upon. Lifted up, he bled and his tongue ached with thirst as soldiers gambled for his robe, untouched by the struggle above them. People below Him watched the stark exhibition of the grip of darkness. Or so it seemed, as the Lord of lords, King of kings, Ruler of rulers, and Leader above all nations hung on display. 
     Others, obsessed by worldly matters, considered that Friday (if they noticed it at all) as good riddance of a growing and unsettling delusion. They thought it good that the Man would live no more to trouble anyone.   

  

The crucified ones would be pronounced dead before evening. Who knows how many crosses stood on the shadowy dung heap outside the city of Jerusalem? Considering three specific crosses, holy scripture tells that the Lord, the Center, hung below a sign nailed as an after-thought: "Behold, the King of the Jews." 

     At one side of Jesus hung a criminal who denounced Him in sinister rebuke.

     On the other side, a thief clung to a personal hope: "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

     The suffering Savior answered: "... this day you will be with Me in Paradise."  The willing, though dying, criminal would be redeemed, by faith in the Lamb slain for the sins of the world.

     
On Sunday, Resurrection Day, followers of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, would rejoice in the light dawning upon them on that third day. Joyous Easter followed a dark and hopeless  "good Friday"; the victorious radiance of God in Christ had defeated death forever...for any who would believe on Him, Jesus. 
     When good appears to be defeated, believers scan gloomy skies for rays of hope that God will reveal in His timing. Thanks be to God! Believers have on any dark day a "good day." We live in the goodness of Christ on the Cross. 

    

   

Copyright (c) 2013 Opinari Writers- Jean Purcell

New Year's Relief for Citizen Newshounds

A new globe icon in the Ambox style (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

January 1, 2013

If we do not need to follow news and analysis for professional reasons we can drastically change the landscape of our thinking for the better in 2013. 
     The scope of frustration, even anger, experienced by regular people that zealously follow news makes the point. 
     Having lived under the influence of the nation's capital city for a long time, I have received most news from The Washington Post. Now it has become...well, an odd kind of challenge: the enjoyment has gone. In recent months I have realized that I find even the top section, A, to contain less news and more editorializing within news items. That's a significant drift; yet, I've continued to read the paper daily... almost religiously. 

Even a favorite WashPost book reviewer recently disappointed, barely questioning the reasoning behind a new book about the personal life of Charles Dickens that makes wild claims of exceptionally bad fathering and other personal weaknesses or differences. The question of why his children loved him and most did well in their lives, on their own, was not raised.         
     There are TV news programs to do without as well, unless one enjoys hearing what is spoken only for the benefit of those who agree.

What if we newshounds take a break from our unnecessary over-attention to reading or watching news reports for a while? We might take many deep breaths of relief. I have a deep suspicion that the life our our minds would improve under influence of increased meditative, appreciative, enjoyable, and peaceful thoughts ...rarely found in the news.
    Dear Reader, I hope you are having a good new year's beginning. Special thoughts to all who are in hospital. This includes, in our family, a loved one in Florida. Hoping for a good recovery soon. We continue to follow updates from family and friends.  


Copyright (c) 2013 Jean Purcell and Opinari Writers. If you enjoy this blog, join, tweet, facebook, like, or recommend it. 

What Christmas is about...Charlie Brown and friends

Snoopy and Charlie Brown (Image source: Amazon.com)

Charlie Brown is a famous little guy from the drawing board and wisdom of artist Charles Shultz. In 1965, the cartoonist permitted Charlie and friends to tell their Christmas story in "Charlie Brown's Christmas," where our little hero bemoaned the commercialism at  Christmas.

Recently, Colorado Springs, USA, drew attention to its own Charlie Browns and friends. The city labeled local Christmas workers of the Salvation Army "panhandlers" and pushed them off their usual Christmas cheer spot.

The Salvation Army remained ready and soon the downtown Wyndham Hotel heard of their plight. "There's room for you with us, on our property, at our inn,"  the Wyndham said.

As Salvation Army's bells and donation kettles moved to a welcoming place, lots of Christmas hospitality extended again, around Colorado Springs, through the bell-ringing, kettles, and generous donations of shoppers. Many proud recipients of that hospitality will enjoy especially prepared holiday warmth, food, and toys for the children among them. Many will enjoy the goodness of friends.

It's the Charlie Brown, Linus, and friends... thing to do.  

Here's to your Christmas joy no matter how small the tree or the gifts. Here's to your Christmas cheer no matter how many or how grumpy the cynics.  (watch-7 minutes, 24 seconds)

Copyright (c) 2012 Opinari Writers. Do you like this blog? Join, Tweet, FB, Like, or Recommend it? Thank you. 

Presuming that God has Immeasurably Blessed Us

Image via Wikipedia

Jean Purcell

Twitter @opinaripeople

Christmas is a special time to reflect on God making Himself available to the world. Without trust in God, individuals, tribes, and nations are left with no more than human knowledge, tradition, experience, reasoning, and wits to figure life out... to try to make life--and, for nations, the world--work well and peaceably; yet, natural reserves are not enough: there is no sense of gratitude toward God or thankfulness beyond self-accomplishment or the good deeds of others; and a direct connection between good from others and God's help stays out of mind.  
     In a natural state of mind, every new day brings a precarious position in a spiritual desert. Maybe that's why unbelievers or those on the fence tend to be angry about religion and to feel defensive about open professions of belief. Minds may open, however, at Christmas. 
     Otherwise, phrases like "God has blessed them" and "God is blessing us" can seem like pictures of presumption: "to go beyond what is right or proper and excessively forward. 
     Having walked in the dry fields of unbelief, I know the terrain. I remember Christmases without prayer or church. Thanks be to God for the many years on the green side by faith in God through Jesus Christ. Each Christmas is a time of rejoicing as Christians together and individually give thanks to God for sending Jesus, marveling at the fact that He came, and as the child of a virgin, made known by holy decree and possible in a hidden mystery.   
     I think that God's inspired, written Word shows that we can be presumptuous about what He has said through the prophets and apostles. Prophets inspired by God foretold One who would come. God so loved the world that He did give that One, Jesus, to come, to live, and to die...among weak men and women during time of an outwardly powerful yet inwardly dying empire, Rome. 
     His love is never ending. The spirit within us rises to praise Him in amazement: Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name! (Psalm 103)    
     God allows us to presume that He is always faithful, based on His assurances of truth. He will never fail His own; He fulfills every promise to save, redeem from sin's power, to love, guide, bless, and help; He has pledged Himself to meet every need through belief, faith in Him.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put 

their trust under the shadow of thy wings (Psalm 36.7). 

     Jesus Christ is true. This is sacred trust from God to us. The weak are strong in Him, the commonplace made holy. With amazement and need we lean upon the intrinsic giving within the mercies of God. His loving-kindness is forever. Man's desire for wholeness, safety, and security brings him to this divine love and faithfulness. What manner of mind would refuse God's grace?
     What a work of grace, that God would leave the glories of heaven to come to earth, to walk among men and women, children and natural creation! Face to face: what a marvel, that God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to become its Redeemer!     

    Here's wishing a joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year for you and yours through Jesus Christ our Lord, the adored Messiah, who is the Savior of the world. Alleluia.  

Copyright (c)2011 Opinari Writers

Related articles

• Mystery of Christ (traskman.wordpress.com)

As Digital Grows, the Personal Touch Slows

Image via Wikipedia

 by Jean Purcell


The rap says, "As digital grows, info flows, and the personal touch goes."

It would take a while to list the many digital gadgets that we use, buy, or think about. We use them to talk, write and exchange information with each other. We write across the world or across a room...digitally! We do, you know, sometimes e-mail when we're in the same space! Never done that, but I hear it happens!

     Rupert Murdoch's digital news team and Apple's iPAD team announced and launched The Daily, the first-ever daily news service, exclusively for iPAD users, at a cost of 14 cents a day.

     I have Kindle on my Android, though I read via Kindle only when desperate not to wake my husband up by keeping a reading light on. (He tells me he doesn't mind the sound of pages turning at two in the morning. He's a great guy!)

Now I wonder if I want an iPAD primarily to become part of this expansive development for news and information. I have learned that most young people never read a print newspaper; they get their news online. For them, the iPAD development will be tempting.

   What is missing has finally fallen into place for me, a matter that I could not latch onto when looking for it with Kindle:

     It's not only that the gadgets remove a "regular" book, although I do miss the touch of paper and its rustle when turning pages. It's not that the print is on a smaller platform than most "regular" books are. 

  What's missing is... the personal touch. I can return to my e-book anytime during any day, at my leisure or time ability. The same goes for e-news. It's there for...? For me and only me! But...I not only like the touch and feel of "regular" books. I like and embrace the irreplaceable personal touch that comes from sharing titles--giving, lending, or borrowing them in hard cover or paperback. 

     With newsprint, I often pass parts along. I cut out articles to put on my husband's desk or I clip something to send to a daughter, grandson, or a friend...not often, yes, but when I do I feel more in touch, personally...because of the personal touch, the time put into that kind of sharing that way rather than the easier, digital way. 
     Is that weird? Not to me, although it is a fading practice that others also lament losing. I know how I feel on the rare occasion when personal mail with a note or a clipping comes from a relative or friend.

I would not likely pass my Kindle or Nook gadget to another person to borrow for a while! I cannot leave a part of my e-news with a friend, either, except by a link...which would work. However, it's all on my gadget. It's all for me, to take anywhere I go, to read and enjoy anywhere, but not so much to share. 
     Not to have that enjoyment of handing a book to a friend, or giving it and looking at it together, as happened at Christmas with my grandsons...that would be a loss, personally. 
     If we pass around a gadget, we know one of us will need it back. We cannot keep it for a while, to enjoy, to share, to return or keep. 
     But a book? It's transferable in special ways, between us!

Think about how much the personal and the face-to-face encounters are dwindling due to digitized living. Think about how we can reverse much of this!

     I opine: we should!

Note: To those who read this blog post earlier, thanks for bearing with me. I had to go out of town suddenly, and this posted  before I finished and spell-checked. Now it's done.

(c) 2011

Related articles

• New Kindle ad hints at death of paper book, makes reading look sexy (news.cnet.com)
• What's going to happen with eReaders and eBooks in 2011? (ireaderreview.com)
• New Amazon Kindle 'The Book Lives On' Ads Poke More Fun at iPad (cultofmac.com)
• Nook Color at top of the stack of e-readers (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Kindle users like to run around and have fun (adweek.blogs.com)
• Amazon Takes Another Swing at Apple with New Kindle Commercial (macstories.net)
• Kindle 3 upgrade released (teleread.com)