BERNARD SHUFORD

I’m ready.  I’ve done virtually everything possible to make sure we make it through this snowstorm and the likely power outage without excessive complications.  I’ve got heat, we’ve collected water, we’re stocked on food and drink, we’ve got a way to cook.  We’re even charging the GameBoy and the Nintendo DS.  Hopefully nothing is forgotten. 

I’ve gone onto stage before to perform and felt “ready”.  I’ve also done it and felt very “unready”. 

Where does my spiritual condition lie on such a scale?  Am I ready to show the love of Christ at a moment’s notice?  Do words of grace just naturally fall from my lips?  Have I paid my dues, have I done my homework, and have I been on my knees begging God to make me more LIKE CHRIST?

Like

Unlike

A good friend of mine – a real world friend (I do actually have some of those, but most of them are too ashamed to admit it…) – posted a question on Facebook yesterday.

“Do you say Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays?”

So, I’ll answer. 

I say “Merry Christmas.”  I don’t think the words “Happy Holidays” have ever left my lips as a serious greeting, although I’ve said it a few times in a sarcastic fashion.

My opinion is this – If someone wishes me “Happy Holidays”, I’m going to assume that they mean it.  I’m going to assume that they want me to have a good time between Thanksgiving and New Years.  I’m going to ignore the possibility that they don’t know about Christ or that they don’t like Christ, and assume that they are wishing me well.  I will utter, in return, a genuine “Merry Christmas”, but just for fun, I might say “Happy Holidays”, simply because Christmas IS a holiday and New Years’ Day IS a holiday, and I hope they have a happy time then as well.  If someone says “Happy Holidays”, I’m going to regard it as an opportunity to be Christlike, even though I’ll probably fail miserably. 

When a cashier bids me adieu with these words, I will consider the fact that she is probably simply trying to keep her job so that she can buy Christmas presents for her kids, and I will not subject her to a tongue lashing for saying the wrong words.  I will allow for the fact that this decision has been made at a level FAR above her pay grade and I will simply say, “Thank you! Merry Christmas!” and try to show her the love of Christ in whatever way I can, even though I’ll probably fail miserably. 

In other words, while I understand that there’s a huge debate about this, Christ will NEVER be removed from MY Christmas, whether I use “X-mas” or “Happy Holidays” or simply “Good morning, mate!”  I will never forget the child that came so that I can be forgiven of my sins, and I will never forget that He came so that the people who say “Happy Holidays” can be forgiven of their sins.  I refuse to stop celebrating the birth of Christ simply because someone says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. 

I hope that a LOT of people wish me “Happy Holidays” this year. 

Happy Holidays – let’s celebrate the birth of Christ!

Like

Unlike

So, yesterday I redeemed some mutual fund stock at around $12 per share that I paid something like $18 per share for.  This was necessary to pay a complicated little thing called property tax.  <frowns>

Last week, our pastor at Crossroads resigned.  <sad>

Today, the “CHECK ENGINE” light on the dear little red Jeep has decided that illumination is preferred to darkness.  Of course, this means that said little red Jeep will not pass the North Carolina emissions inspection.  Of course, February is the month that the exisiting inspection on the little red Jeep expires.  <growls>

Something around half the workforce at my place of employment has been laid off.  The hourly workers at a major lociation of our primary customer have been cut back to thirty hours per week.  We have received zero orders for work that I do in a LONG time.  <nuff said>

I’ve got zillions of things to be thankful for, too.  However, the negative things in our life demand a lot of attention.  It’s easy to let important things slip, simply because these negative things are really good at being important.  Even though I’m blessed in many ways and I’m specifically careful to thank God specifically for those blessings (or at least SOME of them – there aren’t enough hours to really thank Him for ALL of them), those blessings aren’t the things that lurk in our mind.

So, for those of you out there like me – you know you’re blessed, and you really do trust God to handle stuff, but you still have a lot of negative things that weigh heavily on your mind, let’s make a really focused effort to spend at least SOME time today putting those things aside and truly worship Christ.  Not because of the fact that He can fix our stuff, and not in some mis-guided effort to trick Him into hearing our prayers.

Let’s worship Him because He is our King and we love Him.  No other reason.

Like

Unlike

I find it very interesting that the United States of America has existed for a shorter period of time than the period of silence between Malachi and Matthew.

That’s not a political statement. It’s an observation of wonder regarding that period of silence.

It’s also an expression of amazement regarding the Godliness of Simeon (Luke 2:25-33) and Anna (Luke 2:36-38) in waiting for the coming of the Christ and recognizing Him when He appeared.

Four hundred years, give or take.

Like

Unlike

I’ve pointed a few “old” acquaintances toward this website in recent days. Friends from twenty years ago. Friends who knew someone who I feel is a different “me”.

I wonder what goes through their minds when they prowl around the site. I’m a bit of a dork, but I’m socially capable, and I make friends easily. While I was once a “rebel” of sorts, I was a total introvert, with little social skills and a very non-exsitent degree of coolness. I’m now a fairly comfortable public speaker, and I’m much less intimidated by human faces than I once was.

But to share my real heart, as I sometimes do here, is a risk. This is truly a world wide web, and there’s a huge possibility of sharing something that could be held against me later. In many ways. There’s always a personnel director or a hiring committee that has the web savvy to explore and find everything written by and about a given candidate. Perhaps a future employer would have no wish to employ someone who largely agrees with Mark Driscoll and John Piper. Perhaps the opinion of my current employer could become tainted when they realize that I have evangelistic “designs” on my current co-workers.

What do those who know me face to face think of me when they read what comes out of my mind? Jesus went so far as to say, basically, that it’s what “comes out” of a guy that really tells us what he’s like, as opposed to what “goes in”. In other words, a dirty heart will let out some dirty stuff. A rotten mind will produce some rotten writing.

I hope that all of you see Jesus Christ through what I do here. Without that, there is no purpose.

Like

Unlike