All Walks of Life

Watching sunrise with my sonshine🌅🏖️

From ALL WALKS OF LIFE💝💖

More than 50 years ago "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was first broadcast on American television. Some network executives thought it would be ignored, while others worried that quoting the Bible would offend viewers. Some wanted its creator, Charles Schulz, to omit the Christmas story, but Schulz insisted it stay in. The program broadcast every year since 1965.

When Charlie Brown, the frustrated director of the children's Christmas play, is discourage by the commercial spirit of the holiday season, he ask if anyone can tell him the real meaning of Christmas. Linus recites Luke 2:8-14 including the words, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Then Linus says, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

During this season filled with our own doubts and dreams, it's good to ponder afresh God's great love expressed in the familiar story of Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus and the angels who announced the Saviour's birth.

Peer pressure is part of everyday life. Sometimes we base our decisions on what other people will think or say rather than on our convictions and on what will please God. We're worried that we'll be judged or made fun of.

The apostle Paul experienced his fair share of peer pressure. Some Jewish Christians believed that Gentiles should be circumcised to be truly saved (Gal.1:7). However, Paul stood his ground. He continued to preach that salvation is by grace through faith alone; no further works are required. And for that, he was accused of being a self-appointed apostle. They further asserted that his version of the gospel had never received the apostles' approval.

Despite the pressure, Paul was very clear about whom he served Christ. God's approval mattered most, not man's He made it his goal not to win the approval of people, but of God.

Similarly, we are Christ's servants. We serve God whether people honor or despise us, whether they slander or praise us. One day "each of us will give an account of ourselves to God" (Ro. 14:12). That doesn't mean that we shouldn't consider what people think or say, but ultimately, we make pleasing God our main concern. We want to hear our savior say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Suffering often helps us to redirect our focus. It shifts our thinking from immediate circumstances so we can listen to God concerning His work in our lives. Life as usual is replaced by a spiritual schoolroom.

In the Old Testament, we read how the psalmist maintained a teachable heart even during painful circumstances. He accepted them as orchestrated by God, and in submission he prayed, "In faithfulness you have afflicted me" (Ps. 119:75). Isaiah the prophet viewed suffering as a refining process: "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isa.48:10). And Job, despite his laments, learned about the sovereignty and greatness of God through his troubles (Job 40-42).

We are not alone in our experience of pain. God Himself took on human form and suffered greatly: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps"(1 Peter 2:21). The One with nail-scarred hands is near. He will comfort us and teach us in our suffering.

We learn the lesson of trust in the school of trial.

"The squeaky wheel gets the oil" is a popular proverb. As a biker I rode my bicycle for long distances between home and a high place, and the squeaky sounds of the wheels drew my attention to the need to lubricate them.

In Luke 18, the widow's persistent request to the judge for justice againts her adversary made her sound like a "squeaky wheel" until she got the result she needed. Luke explains that Jesus told this story to teach us the need to pray continually and not to give up, even if it appears that the answer to our prayer is delayed.

God is certainly not an unjust judge who must be harrassed before He responds to us. He is our loving Father who cares about us and hears us when we cry to Him. Regular, persistent prayer draws us closer to Him. It may feel like we are a squeaky wheel, but the Lord welcomes our prayer and encourages us to approach Him with our cries. He hears us and will come to our aid in ways that we may not expect.

As Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:5-8, constant prayer does not require long periods of "an abundance of words". Rather as we bring our needs before God "day ajd night"(Luke 18:7) and walk with the One who already knows our needs, we learn to trust God and wait patiently for His response.

Don't give up, God hears you when you pray!

I'm a Type-Y😂 .

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