SEASONS - THOSE GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLES THAT COME AT CHRISTMAS TIME

PONDERING THE GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLES FOR 2016

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Every year I look for them: those glorious impossibles!  

Glorious impossibles are those things you know God made happen just especially for you; the things of wonder and joy that are surprising; those things you never even expected.  

So!  Have you found the wonder of Christmas this year?

Have you found your "glorious impossible" yet?

If not, there is still time.  

A whole new year lies before you.  What will you do with it?

God always does this; your know?  

He has a way of putting His glory into your impossible and making miracles.

They seem to happen most often at Christmas time, so every year during the Christmas season I deliberately look for the glorious impossibles!

I've never ever been disappointed.  

He always shows me something.  

One year it was a yard full of red birds.  One year it was a famiily I gained overnight.  One year it was the secret of how to make Christmas out of nothing at all.  

In 2014 it was a new granddaughter arriving, a house full of laughter and discovering the fact that that grown children never really actually grow up!  

In 2015 it was a precious toast made by my grandson Vinny when he said "I'm thankful for my family."  It was receiving my father's last gift to me; that of putting me in touch with a precious writing partner that I have had the privelidge of writing a radio series with because of her being in the waiting room during his final hospitilization.  It was the joy of my husband and my daughter's boyfriend finding peace and forgiving one another for old and forgotten problems of the past and starting a new and happy relationship together.  It was the joy of achieving a whole family vacation for the first time ever since the kids had become grown up and ventured out on their own.  My goodness how this famiily has multiplied; and all but one made it to our gathering!  Now it has become an annual tradition!

Many years in the past held the miracle of simple things and the miracles of presence over presents!  So many "glorious impossibles" have come straight down from heaven over the years, and I love recounting them and reviewing them after every Christmas passes.  No year is ever the same but each year is blessed in its own unique way.  

The glorious impossibles for 2016 were awesome!

These glorious impossibles teach us things we never forget.  Christmas is such a teachable time!  There is always something new that God shows us.

What has God shown to you this Christmas Season?

Most of these lessons from God revealing the glorious impossibles seem to come when you least expect them.

They always come at the most unusual times and places.

This is often such a striking unfolding of events when you look back,  like finding solid gold or pure diamonds in the middle of a mundane dessert landscape.  

You never really know that they are going to be there.  You are not really expecting them; but after years and years of solid discoveries, you learn to keep your eyes wide open in eager anticipation.  

The glorious impossibles are always made up of the special within the ordinary.  

That is where God loves to hide until He can surprise you at just the right moment and give you the gift of a memory you will treasure forever.

It is hard to say that they are all done at our house for this year!  There may be many more "glorious impossibles" because for us Christmas is only half over.  

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our Alabama Family; two of our daughters, our son-in-law, one of our daughter’s boyfriend, my mother and my sweet little granddaughter.  

Our other daughter, her husband and our two grandsons will not make it to see us until New Year’s Day because they now live several states away and needed to be home with their two little ones on Christmas Day.  

So the glorious impossibles I’ve seen so far may have many more added on to them in the coming week!

These family members coming later are part of glorious impossible number one for 2016 though!  

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER ONE FOR 2016:  The very first glorious impossible blessing of 2016 was the arrival of our little Lennon, a perfect little grandson born the day after Rosh Hashanah!  He is awesome and I can't wait to get some holiday time with him this weekend!  The world is a much better place since Lennon has arrived!  We are extremely blessed!

Our family is growing!  I've also learned that the more your family grows the more glorious impossibles you encounter!

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER TWO FOR 2016:  The next glorious impossible thing about the present year has been that of having the opportunity of starting my own freelance writing business.  WordCastle Publications LLC is now open for business and thriving!  We will plan the official public launch soon.  This business is not some new idea I woke up and chose for myself one day; it is what God chose for me because of who He made me to be!  I got a late start and had a few delays along the way; but all of the writing has been slowly growing into something substantial over the last five years.  The whole world may not yet realize what an official writer I have become, but SOME of the world has discovered it is true.  I have taken great pleasure in filling my days with the purpose I know God created and designed for me.  I feel like the Velveteen Rabbit who has finally become REAL!   The company will grow slowly in stages.  In a few years when I retire from my present day job; I will be able to devote full-time to writing.  I can't think of a better way to retire.  Right now I write from 4 a.m. till 8 a.m. and from 7 p.m. till 9 p.m. four or five days a week.  To me writing is like breathing; just another part of my day that I can't put aside or ignore. It isn't ALWAYS profitable; but it IS ALWAYS good.   I am so very thankful to be owning and operating my own freelance writing business and to give the fruit of all my labors of love a chance to pay off in retirement and look forward to growing even more focused in the future.  

A few years ago I realized my glorious impossibles were coming in the form of new beginnings and now with the official launch of this business I am seeing the fruit of those new things come to maturity.  It has been a lot of hard work and it has taken diligence on my part; but  I've never been more grateful and for me; there is no looking back.    I am soaking it all in and cherishing every moment while I still have breath and I am asking all those important questions that come along with change:  Am I giving as much back to others as they have so graciously bestowed on me? Do I care enough about my readers and supporters?  Am I taking the time to let this happen well?  What should I do different in the coming years in order to fulfill the destiny of the words of my heart that I'm putting down on paper every day?  Am I missing any special elements that I need to make the best of every possible aspect of this special time that God is allowing me to enjoy?  Am I realizing all the things I have to be thankful for?  

I ponder these things as I go along recognizing every glorious impossible item and the answers are all different every year because every year brings me to a different stage of life.  This year I have focused a lot on the fact that I want to leave a legacy of love behind for those that have given me so many happy years of a beautiful family.  Each one is so special in their own unique way; and I have certain memories that I wish to enforce with each of them as this year passes on.  They are all quite different, my family members, but they each hold their own sense of the loveliness that defines life.

 

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER THREE:  I caught myself looking at my beautiful little granddaughter during our Christmas family time and thinking; what does she really need from me that she cannot get from everyone else in this room full of loving family members?  When she comes and curls up beside me on the sofa after a long exciting and joyful day at our house and she lays her pretty little head on my shoulder and I feel her peace and quiet joy at the end of a beautiful day, suddenly I know the answer.  There is a certain sense of stability that grandparents give to their grandchildren that they cannot receive from anyone else.  This is what I hope to give to her and to my two grandsons. They know how unconditionally they are loved.  They know they can make mistakes and mess up and still have our full hearts.  They know we are going to be there for every possible moment that they want us there with a smile and a hug and we know that this love is the last thing we want them to remember about us, even when we are not there in the future.  "Getting" this knowledge from first-hand experience is such a blessing!

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER FOUR:  The first glorious impossible of the season came to me when I saw this same granddaughter playing with the manger scene.  She clearly knew who Jesus was (as much as a two and one-half year old child can know)  and she was introducing Him to her "frozen" dolls, telling Him all of their names and telling each doll that Jesus loves them.  She would sneak in to the kitchen where we had a manager scene set under a lighted tree and she would have imaginary conversations with Jesus, Joseph, Mary, the Angels and the Shepherds and the Wise Men and The Animals for hours on end.  I quit worrying about the glass figurines getting broken and let the heart of a child do its work.  Sweet glorious impossible!  I loved my first gift of the season.

It was like God focused on this little girl this year as an instrument to let His light shine through in our home.  

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER FIVE:  The next glorious impossible came when my mother came over on Christmas Eve and I saw this little two and one –half year old take her hand and lead her on a tour of the house that we had allowed her to help us decorate for Christmas.  

She pointed out every little detail to her great-grandmother.  

She had a little story or comment about each item and my Mom seemed thrilled to hear these little stories. 

 I silently thanked God for giving us that time together to decorate the house.  I knew some memories had been made that would never be forgotten.  I loved how she was passing them on to the others that she loved.  The next wonderful glorious impossible!

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER SIX:  I had made my husband a nice set of photo books filled with the memories made by our family over the last year.  

We (my granddaughter and I) put them inside a pretty little box with a card and I let her help me take it to him.  He loved the gift, and they sat down in a chair together to look at the books.  Before we knew it they had spent a few hours remembering together!  They talked about our last Christmas, this past Thanksgiving, her two year old birthday party, and our family vacation to the beach. 

 I’ve never heard so much laughter!  

She was telling him all about those books and saying “That’s me and Pop at ME house!  That’s me and Pop at the beach!  That’s me and Pop at ME birthday….” 

 It was adorable.  

Again I sensed that feeling of stability that a grandparent gives to their grandchild.  

I saw a sense of personal identity that came from being involved in a loving family which was forming in a little child of two.  

Another great glorious impossible!  I silently thanked God.

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER SEVEN:  The seventh glorious impossible was that same one that comes every year when those that could make it gather around the family table and give thanks to God for all He has done for us during the year we are about to leave behind.  

So many memories!  

So much to be thankful for!  

To see them all sitting  around the table and laughing and feeling at ease with each other is something I never take for granted.  

The love in the room as we share the festive meal and the care and thought that has been put into each little present and package; it is an amazing glorious impossible filled up with so many special little moments!  

To see my son-in-law appear with a huge grin on his face after a long hard day’s work with a bouquet of Christmas flowers in his arms for my house was amazing and heart warming!  

I loved watching him and my daughter play on the floor with their daughter. 

To hear my daughters laugh together and hear my son-in-law and my single daughter's boyfriend and my husband engaged in serious conversations felt so nice! 

 To see my granddaughter playfully giving my daughter’s boyfriend a high-five when he entered the room with a huge smile on his face; that was  all very touching and beautiful to me. 

To see the silly faces as they all tried on reindeer antlers and watch my granddaughter go get her princes hat for my daughter's boyfriend to wear was so funny!   I watched the three of them hold hands and dance around the kitchen laughing!  Once again I enjoyed the blessings of laughter in the kitchen!  I love that the kitchen seems to be the most "alive" room of my house.    I took it all in and I watched later as the living room was being filled up with colorful crinkles of wrapping paper and I thought this all was just a great glorious impossible all over again!

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER EIGHT:  Then comes the quiet; the time after everyone has given you their hugs and the door closes on the last visitor and it is just us left together in our home.  

We each go about picking up things here and there, putting the colorful shreds of paper into the garbage and piling the dishes in the kitchen sink.  Then we both take our places on the sofa and in the rocking chair; not having to say a word.  

The blessings of a quiet life. Each knowing the other had a fun and fulfilling day, each noticing the quiet and appreciating it at this end of yet another perfect Christmas Eve; and we finally get to do what we have wanted to do for a few weeks – rest without a schedule and simply bask in good memories and peace.  

It is one of those simple little glorious impossibles.  The peace that comes after a joyful holiday has ended and you know that everyone was well loved.

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE NUMBER NINE:  The next day my husband and I went out to see my Mom for a few more hours.  Tired of cooking and cooking; we took her to eat at the Cracker Barrel and we took our time and chatted with her for a long time. 

 We worked on a few little things going on at her house and we listened to all the adventures at the Senior Center and The Sunday School Class and what was happening with her neighbors and friends. 

 I thought to myself what a blessing it was to have her healthy and happy and well adjusted in this just two years after the death of my Dad.  

I thanked God for a healthy and happy Mother that I can still see and talk to and take to lunch whenever we feel up to it.  She spent a lot of time caring lovingly for my Dad in his last days and it was good to see her adjusting back to a happy and normal life.  

I could probably name a million more glorious impossibles if I just stop to think long enough; but I will stop here and encourage you to review the glorious impossibles of your Christmas Season this year.  

No matter what your circumstances; I promise you if you really stop to ponder God's blessings on your life you will come up with many.  You might want to try writing them down like I have done for the last five years in my blog; just so you can go back to them whenever you are feeling not so blessed and get a very good reality check.  

God is good all the time; but He just sends down so many glorious impossibles in the Christmas Season, and I'm so very thankful for each and every one.  

Those glorious impossibles just never cease to amaze me!  

Year after year I continue to count them and year after year they continue to arrive.  

Have you found your glorious impossibles this year?  They are probably right under your nose if you will just open your eyes and heart to see.

SEASONS - CELEBRATING A CHRISTIAN HANUKKAH IN 2016 - BLESSINGS AND MEDITATIONS FOR THE FOURTH DAY

TODAY WE LIGHT THE FOURTH CANDLE OF HANNUKAH:

PRAYERS:

Blessed art thou O Lord Our God, King of The Universe Who has given to us holidays, customs, and seasons for gladness. For the glory of The Lord Yeshua, Our Messiah, The Light Of The World.

Blessed art Thou, Lord Our God, Master of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our fathers in those days at this time.

We kindle these lights to commemorate the wonders and the miracles and the saving acts that You have performed for our forefathers, in those days at this time, by Your Holy Priests.  And all throughout the eight days of Hanukkah, these lights are holy and we are not permitted to make use of them, but only to behold them, in order to offer thanks and praise to Your great Name, for Your miracles, for Your wonder, and for Your salvation.

MEDITATION:

Luke 11:34:  The light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thy eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

Acts 26:18:  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are unsanctified by faith that is in me.

THOUGHTS AND MEDITATIONS: 
(by Sheila Gail Langraf)

There is such a deep, deep message in these scriptures for our world today.  It is a message about being a missionary of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The light of Hannukah was to help us see.  

Those early worshipers of God saw, as we do today; that He was a God of miracles.  Yet; there is MORE to see now!  

When we light those candles we use the tallest candle, the servant candle to bring the light to all the others one at a time one day at a time; and with this act we think of Christ and how God gave Him to the world to save us from our sins.   

A King came as as servant to serve us in order to bring the light of God into the world!  

It is a great miracle!  It is an eye-opening miracle that brings light into the soul.

Having the light; the concern is to use it for sight.  

Why would we be living in light and not see?  

I am not sure how people can do this; but they do.  

They do not see the obvious works of God all around them.  They see and use the evil instead of the true things from God that are good and help us to live.  

The light of the soul is its understanding and judgment and its power to discern between good and evil, truth and lies.   

God has given us great light!  

Let us open our eyes to see!

Brothers and sisters be sincere in your seeking of truth and be ready to receive it in the light and love and power of God, not in the same way of the men of this generation to whom Christ preached who never sincerely desired to know God’s will.  There are many living, even right now, who are also deceiving others and pulling them away from The Kingdom of God.  No wonder so many walk in darkness.   To walk in the light we must display pure truth.  

When I was a young girl I was very active in a missions group called Acteens.  I made many lifelong friends participating in that little group and attending summer camp with them each year.    We had a lot of fun and we learned a lot about life and living in the The Kingdom of God together.  

We learned about the message of the light of Christ!

Way back then the Acteens had a theme song which is an old hymn sometimes sung in churches today.  That old song comes to mind as I light the fourth candle today.  It seems so relevant to the message we have presented here at the lighting of the fourth candle of Hannukah.

I did not even understand Hannukah back then; but the theme of the message was in my heart in the things that we did in Acteens.  It was a message of truth and light!  The words of this old song are still inside my heart and they seem even more significant now than ever:

Let those who know Christ and worship The One True God of Heaven and Earth go forth and proclaim the message of truth and the light to all the earth.

SEASONS PRAYER AND MEDITATION FOR THE SECOND FULL DAY OF HANUKKAH 2016

Strange photo for Hanukkah?  Not really, I'm trying to get you to notice the light in everything this season.  Ironically enough this building that reflects the light so beautifully is called "The Peace Center."  Nothing could be more appropriate when we think of The Light of The World.  

PRAYERS:

Blessed art thou O Lord Our God, King of The Universe Who has given to us holidays, customs, and seasons for gladness. For the glory of The Lord Yeshua, Our Messiah, The Light Of The World.

Blessed art Thou, Lord Our God, Master of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our fathers in those days at this time.

We kindle these lights to commemorate the wonders and the miracles and the saving acts that You have performed for our forefathers, in those days at this time, by Your Holy Priests.  And all throughout the eight days of Chanukkah, these lights are holy and we are not permitted to make use of them, but only to behold them, in order to offer thanks and praise to Your great Name, for Your miracles, for Your wonder, and for Your salvation.

Have you ever considered scattering the light of your Hanukkah table all over the table with the servant candle standing tallest in the center?  Not to take away from the sacredness of the Menorah (which I love) but to make the point of how little beacons of light scattered here and there are capable of lighting up the whole world when you are looking from a distance?  Something to ponder as you set the table and begin to think about how important the light of Christ is to all of us, whether near or far or scattered.  The next day with the Menorah in tact we notice with great significance how of beautifully and perfect God brings all those who have been scattered into one body forming unity and peace.

MEDITATIONS:

(By Nelson Mandela)

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves:  Who am I to be 

brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking

So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

(By Martin Luther King, Jr.)

When people are placed in darkness,

Crimes will be committed.

The guilty are not just those who commit the crimes,

But those who cause the darkness.

(By Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Let us go about our day today shinning like the lights on the candles of the Menorah.  Let us be a beacon of Christ the King to those living within a dark world.  Let our lives reflect the Messiah that the hope of the miracle of the oil on the first Hanukkah prophesied to us.  Let the light of Christ shine out from you as another great miracle and go change the world from the inside out today.

SEASONS - LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE ON CHRISTMAS DAY

A MEDITATION FOR LIGHTING THE CHRIST CANDLE ON CHRISTMAS DAY

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Christmas is here! 

We have arrived at our destination after a long, long journey! 

What miracles we have discovered along the way; but today brings the greatest miracle of all!

Today we light the four outside candles first; these candles that have spoken to us of hope, love, joy and peace. 

Next we light the large white candle in the middle!   

This is what we have been waiting for so long!

This is The Christ Candle.  

This candle speaks to us of the promises of God fulfilled, that came in the form of a child to save us from our sins and give us eternal life with God forever. 

On our way to this place of lighting the last candle we have pondered many things. 

Today we will ponder the greatest miracle of all; the miracle of Jesus coming to Us! 

Our wait is over! 

He is here! 

Emmanuel has come;

Christ is with us! 

Hallelujah! 

We give glory to God for sending us a Messiah in the humble form of a little child named Jesus!

God sent Christ to give us all the things the other candles spoke to us about:  hope, peace, joy and love. 

Today we thank God for sending us Jesus.  

He is the Messiah for ALL people, not just those who sought God so long ago. 

Just as He came to save the shepherds and the wise men who sought him then; He has also come to save those of us who seek Him now. 

Just as He was born to Mary and laid in a manger; He is born today inside our hearts. 

Let us come to Him rejoicing and bringing our gifts of love. 

God has given us the gift of Jesus!

O come let us adore Him!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace! (Isaiah 9:6)

SEASONS - PRAYER AND MEDITATIONS FOR HANUKKAH ON THE NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS EVE IN 2016 EXPERIENCING GOD IN THE FIRST FULL DAY OF HANUKKAH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

It isn't required that you read meditations each day as you light the Menorah for Hanukkah; but we enjoy the exercise and feel it helps to give the season more fulfillment inside our hearts; so we chose to do so at our house; and invite you to join in with us.  

If you are reading these meditations each day as you are lighting the Hanukkah candles on your Menorah, I hope that you are keeping one very important question in mind.  Are you experiencing Hanukkah within your heart and in your own days, or is it just an ancient story to you?   

Is The One and Only True God being daily renewed in your life, replacing all the false and untrue things that the world tries to force upon us?  God's Holy Days and the two occasions of Mosaic Holidays each year help us, remind us, and teach us to do just that.  

There are no set rules or prayers for making this meditation each year; it is simply about remembering the Presence of God among His people in times of hardship and struggle.  

In the world that we live in now; what could be more timely?  Every newscast is full of false prophets proclaiming there is no more hope.  We need the truth to fall on our ears and find its way into our hearts again this year.  

So many seem to have lost the way to hope; yet these days hold out pictures of our hope like a perfect gift wrapped in gold.  They are free to all who want to believe and understand.  They are reminders of our greatest gifts; those sent down from our heavenly Father!

The fact that the first day of Hannukah  falls during and on Christmas Eve in 2016 makes it even more significant.  Do we remember Christ in EVERY celebration EVERY year?  He IS the light of Hanukkah.  He IS the miracle!  What we celebrate as Emmanuel on Christmas Eve is what the miracle of Hannukah foretold.  It was a prophesy of the coming Messiah!  The miracle of the light spoke of the coming miracle of The Light Of The World.  

 He is the Christ Child we look for at Advent.  He is the Savior we honor with Christmas Day.  He is the fulfillment of all of God's Holy Days.  He is what the Mosaic Holidays point to.  The Hanukkah story just points to more of the miracles that happened because of Him.    

It is all about remembering that God gives us the hope and a promise of a good and everlasting future, no matter how dark or bleak the winter we are living through may seem.  

For so many of us Christmas Eve brings disappointment.  This is not intended disappointment; it happens when we put our faith in the things of the world and not on the things of God.  

If your focus is straight, your heart will celebrate in all circumstances; just like that very first Hanukkah when the great miracle happened.  When we ponder the miracles of God during this time, our own selfish and human complaints seem to disappear and they are replaced with God's joy in our hearts at the things that He has done for us, and not the things that the world has done to us.  

This MUST have been the way that Mary was able to get through such an unexpected change in her life; a miracle from God that did not look like a miracle.  From the worldly view, it seemed like trouble.  Mary's focus was straight, and so was the focus of those who cleansed the temple on that very first Hannukah when God gave the miracle of light as a sign that Messiah would come!  

These ancient worshipers celebrated in spite of their lack; and God provided more than they needed!  He brought forth a symbol of the Light that we now know as Messiah.  

In this season that occurs during the darkest and shortest days of winter we are reminded that spring is coming again, and with spring comes new life from God.  The things that will grow into spring lay hidden in the ground right now; but they are still there; just like hope that is always ever growing but not always visible to the eye.  There ARE hidden miracles at work and God still has control of everything!  

It all starts in the darkness of winter and silently grows in God’s ever abiding Presence when we remember that He Alone is the God of great miracles.  So make your prayer and light your candles in a gesture of faith, and please remember and experience the moments. 

Religion is not merely to be observed, but in its highest state it must be expressed!

Do you not feel an existential awareness of God’s Presence as you observe the things that honor Him in your life?  

Are you not being totally honest about your relationship with God as you light the candles that point to the hope that reveals The Light of The World?  

As the days are building, one candle after another and they increase in light as the time goes by, is your soul too expanding wider in order to incorporate all the things that God is showing you and teaching you in this life?  Are you living out your days as if each day were the lighting of yet another candle and another way to worship the God you love?  

If you are not content that you are constantly dwelling in the light of God; do you have a dream and a vision of coming closer and closer in the future?  

Are you taking those small steps every day that open the door wider and wider to the work of God within your heart?  Babies take small steps in the beginning before they are able to run.  We come to God with the heart of a child if we come honestly and willingly.  As we take small baby steps of faith; our hearts grow wider and fuller of The Light of The World we know as Messiah.

It is hoped by the end of Hanukkah, when all eight candles have been lit and set back into their place, that the room will fill up and glow with the Spirit of God and we all will feel His Presence as close as the flames of the candles and as warm as the love that lasts through all of eternity.  

The smoke of the candles send up our prayers.  

God sees our hearts and knows. 

This year at Hanukkah please make a point of invoking God’s Presence each time you light the candles.  It is as easy as saying a heart-felt prayer and believing that He who has promised will be faithful.  

As a matter of fact; I think those very words may be the words we speak this year with each day of our candle lighting:   "HE WHO HAS PROMISED WILL BE FAITHFUL!"  It will be a reminding prayer that the light lasting for eight days was a glorious shadow of The Light Of The World called Christ who first came as a child and will soon come again as a King.  Each lighting will remind us of these three miracles of past, present and future in God's Kingdom!    

On the first full Day of Hanukkah as you see the new light, be prepared to not only observe God in your life, but to experience Him with each new breath that you take.

He will speak to your heart if you are only prepared to listen!

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 149 THE NINTH COMMANDMENT

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

It appears that we will still be pondering the fact that God and Abraham were up on that mountain discussing the Ten Commandments all the way through the Christmas season and right up into the coming of the New Year.   

At least we will be starting off the new year with the commandments of God fresh in our memories and in our hearts!  This will be good and worth all the study and meditations that we have done. We only have two more commandments to look at.

If one thing about the coming year is better because we have studied and committed ourselves to keeping these commandments; the world will be a better place in which to live!

There is SO MUCH to be said about each of the commandments that we can only touch partially on all the points of each one in the brief space of these blogs.  We could actually discuss the facts surrounding these passages for weeks and weeks.  There is so much to consider! 

Today we will ponder the ninth commandment that God gave to Moses.  We can read it word for word from Exodus 20:16.  The New International translation reads:  “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”  Some other versions read:  “false witness” instead of using the words “false testimony.”  They all mean the same thing.  It is actually very simple.  When you speak of someone else; be truthful! 

 There are various degrees and reasons as to why this particular commandment matters so much to God. 

Sometimes getting to the total truth of a situation is a life or death matter!   

You can falsely accuse someone of something and they can be convicted for things that they did not do!  The consequences of this can be astronomical.  God’s own son died such a death.  Many of God’s beloved people have died such deaths.  If you hurt God’s people, it is as if you have wounded the heart of God.  He does not take this lightly.

One little slip of the tongue, whether intentional or by mistake, can change someone else’s life forever.  The tongue is a horrible weapon if used in the wrong way. 

Have you ever had someone commit slander against you? 

I grew up in a small town and moved away later.  Sometimes I am amazed to hear the false tales of things I never did; things that come back to me from a few true and loyal old friends who still live there and know better.  For many years some of these things broke my heart.  God has healed those broken places now; but maybe because of such experiences this commandment speaks to me of a Father who loved his children so much that He warned them ahead of time that such things would happen, and He even cared enough to chisel a law down in stone to forbid it.  How well our Father knows us.  How well His provision of love covers us and heals us and makes us whole.  All we have to do is listen and obey.    

People can pay dearly for mistakes they NEVER made because of ugly gossip and rumors from jealous and revengeful people.  It is very sad; but this happens all the time.

Have you ever had such a situation happen to you? 

Unfortunately, most of us can name at least one very hurtful time when our neighbor gave false witness against us.  In most of these situations we never really know all of the reasons why such things happened just the way they did.  There is usually some unknown factor at play.  Human nature is very strange and hard to figure out; but God understands this.  Rarely do people have enough integrity within themselves, without the prompting of God's Holy Spirit, to confess their mistakes and ask forgiveness.  Perhaps that is part of the reason God gave this commandment.  He wanted to make sure we understood that this is NOT okay.

 We all can name times when we stood innocently by not understanding why things were like they were because we were unaware of some false testimony floating around in the background among our friends and neighbors, even affecting those that we hold most dear.   More often than we like to know, the very innocent are often stained and shunned for years because of such incidences! 

Bearing false witness is a horrible sin, and God doesn’t let these things go unnoticed.  He is watching.  There is an old saying that is very true regarding this commandment:  “Beware for your sins will find you out.”

God is probably looking at all of us and shaking His head constantly, wondering when we will ever grow up and grow into a Kingdom way of life that allows room only for truth and love. 

God NEVER wants us to give false testimony against our neighbor. 

Innocence is a very beautiful thing; but it can quickly be destroyed by people who act like a pack of vicious wolves prowling around trying to destroy all that is good.  In today's world this really is an ugly fact as we think about elections and various untruths that have been presented from both sides of the fence during election campaigns.  There sometimes seems to be a new prevailing philosophy called "win at any cost."  This commandment counters that type of living and puts us back into a world based on reality.  What makes some people think that it is okay to lie in order to bring about some Utopian theories that are based on only partial truths?  Because someone said something is so in order to bring about circumstances that benefit their platform does not mean it is truth.  The end never justifies the means.  Lies, rumors and untruth keep people from having a level playing field.  It is not just and that is not the way God conducts His business. This is the logic of murderers and thieves; not sane people.  All that God's people say and do is to be based on solid truth.  

Truth is ALWAYS the best policy; even when it hurts.  

Without direct truth one little fib leads into another and another until it takes at least 100 lies to recover from that one little tale.  Christian people are not to live their lives like this. 

If you do not know the truth, it is best to remain silent.  As Jesus once said; “Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.”  The truth is always less complicated and much easier to explain.

The God of the Universe is a fair and just God.  A false witness perverts justice.  It tries to make lies truth and truth lies.  This often happens as a means to achieve power, greed or to cover some secret crime of the one who perverts the truth.  If we are to imitate God in all that we do; we must have truth in order for justice to prevail in the land.  Yet often in today's world, it is the one who lives out truth that is accused and slandered.  How should this be handled by the godly?

It can be said that a good conscience is a wall of brass that will be able to stand against a false witness.  Jesus never had to defend Himself.  He simply spoke truth and nothing else.  Keep your conscience pure before God, and He will come to your defense when the time is right.  Time proves all things. 

Do you know someone who has been falsely accused?  If you do not stand up for that person you are as guilty as the person doing the accusing. 

We should defend our brothers and sisters against false witness and be careful not to let falsehoods continue.  Remember the acts of Jonathan as he took up for his friend David against the slanders of King Saul.  It would have been easy for Jonathan to ignore this situation and not have a confrontation with a King; but the defense of his brother was important, because Jonathan had a truly loving heart. 

Those who truly love do not slander. 

To bear false witness is to sow discord among the brethren.  Solomon wrote of this in Proverbs when he said in Proverbs 6:16 that “There are six things that the LORD strongly dislikes, seven that are an abomination to him:  haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” 

A false witness undermines God’s covenant with His people.  The covenant is based and founded on truth and falsehoods distort the whole concept and present a bad, wrong and incorrect image of what should be a good and godly people living together in truth, love and righteousness.  A good witness can be destroyed in a hurry by those who plot and use such falsehoods to their advantage.  This is one of Satan's greatest tools in bringing down the people of God.  Perhaps that is why the scriptures tell us that God strongly dislikes a false witness.

It was actually a false witness that sent Jesus to the cross where He took on the burden of paying for our sins.  He was falsely accused of blasphemy.  They said He could not claim to be the true Son of God.  His resurrection from the dead became the true witness that countered the false witness.  The truth always wins, be forewarned! 

Because He was innocent and perfect we are now able to be free and cleansed of our sin, and even those who accused Him falsely, if repentant could be forgiven.  False accusations bring only death and destruction; but truth and repentance brings joy, resurrection and restoration!

Throughout the pages of the history of mankind there have been many martyrs who have died deaths due to false witnesses.  Stephen is one of the greatest examples after Jesus.  Stephen told the council that Jesus had come mainly to fulfill the law and the prophets.  For this they said he spoke against the temple and the law.  This council of Pharisees were so very wrong to perceive this!  As Stephen died they saw his face shine like the sun; and they saw the witness of heaven in Stephen’s countenance.  How different things will be in the final judgment when these same accusers will have to look upon that face again.  There will be no one to collaborate with their lies in that day.  Each man must give an individual account before God for his own sins. Every idle word will be recalled. The truth is all that will stand in that day. 

There will be judgment for those who bear un-repented false witnesses in the end of days.  There are numerous biblical examples of God’s anger against such people.  One example is that of Jezebel who had two men to bear false witness against Naboth which led to his being stoned to death.  It was all about greed, over the possession of a vineyard that she wanted King Ahab to own.  Jezebel met with a cruel and horrible end.  

As in all of the commandments that God gave to Moses on the mountain; Jesus came along later and explained them even further. 

In Matthew  Chapter 19 we read of the rich young ruler who asked Jesus what he should do in order to have eternal life.  Jesus answered him by telling him if he wanted to enter into life that he should keep the commandments.  When the man heard this he asked; which ones?  Jesus specifically repeated:  “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Did you catch the fact that in order to have eternal life we need to not bear false witness against our neighbors?  

I’m just glad that the conversation with Jesus started out with Him clarifying the fact that only God is perfect.  None of us can keep this commandment as we should, but we can try, and we can repent when we fail.  The thing we have going for us that the rich young ruler lacked is that we live in a time of grace.  We are all over here on the other side of the cross.  God is showing all of us mercy!  It will not last forever.  There will come a time when the fullness of time arrives and that last sinner has repented.  Only God knows when that will be.  It is important that we all are living in repentance and covered in the blood of Jesus when that moment arrives.  It matters that we are living in truth.

Let us turn from slander and false witnesses. 

Let us show mercy and grace and love to one another. 

Let us live as much as possible in peace with each other, and let us pray for Christ to return so that He will be able to usher in a government of peace. 

This is the season for peace on earth.  Let us be living out the words and not just singing them in a sweet little song. 

Let there be peace on earth; and let it begin with me!

Let there be peace on earth; the peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father, brothers all are we.

Let us live with our brothers in perfect harmony.