Not a Camouflaged Soul

Author: Jon Wellman

  • Unoriginal Christmas Thoughts

    Christmas is in two days and I don’t have anything particularly witty or poignant to say about it.

    Is that a bad thing? I mean, Jesus’ birth has been lauded for over 2000 years. Am I wrong for not necessarily having an original thought?

    Lately, in my conversations with people, I have been stressing the fact that the gift God gave us in the person of His Son is greater than any gift we could ever give Him back or ever earn. I could use this space to relate the fact that I could not imagine giving my child as a sacrifice for anyone and the amount of love that is required from the Giver of such a Gift. But are these thoughts original? Relevant, yes. But you’ve heard them before, right?

    I’m almost positive there is nothing I could say in this space that is ground-breakingly, awe-inspiringly, earth-shakingly significant. (And yes, in case you are wondering, I believe that that hyphens and “ly” can make anything a word.)

    Still, in the din of the bells ringing and cash registers chiming, I pray you all take a moment to meditate on what exactly Jesus did when He was born in that stable.

    • Leaving heaven’s magnificence.
    • Voluntarily taking on a human form.
    • Limiting His outward, obvious glory.
    • Subjecting Himself to time and temptation.
    • Misunderstood by those closest to Him.
    • Plotted against by the religious establishment.
    • Despised and rejected.
    • Crucified, with all the horrors and atrocities associated with it and the excruciating anguish produced by it.
    • Separation from God the Father, the ultimate agony.

    All for the glory of God the Father and salvation for you and for me.

    The perfect Gift.

    I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! God bless you!

    Jon

  • Controversial Christmas Question

    If we tell our children there is a person named Santa Claus who rides in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, knows when they are naughty, hands out toys, and hangs out with elves at the North Pole, they will eventually find out that we were not telling them the truth.

    What will they think when we tell them there is a person named Jesus Christ who is God, knew them before they were born, died on a cross so they can live forever, rose from the dead, and will someday appear in the sky to take His children to Heaven?

    Seed for this post: Pastor Steve Weaver’s post entitled “Do You Lie to Your Children?”

  • Spoiled

    Much of what I do during church is in the realm of the senses. Specifically, how things during a worship service look and sound. So, naturally, if little things go wrong, I take exception.

    This past Sunday, the computer locked up and some of the words to one of the songs didn’t appear on the screens. We got through it, but I couldn’t help wishing that it did not happen.

    A buzz in the monitor.

    Out of tune notes.

    Lights that are too dim or too bright.

    Typos in the sermon PowerPoint.

    All, if I’m not careful, tend to annoy me.

    And the fact that these things have the potential to annoy me, well, annoys me, because it shows how spoiled I am.

    When I think of the house churches and other gatherings of believers around the world that meet in living rooms, huts, basements… no musical instruments or PA systems… no padded pews or AC/heat… no Bibles…meeting in secret because persecution, prison, or death is a real possibility… I can’t help but repent. Repent, and pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

    Anybody else spoiled? Anybody think those scenarios CAN’T happen here?

    Voice of the Martyrs website