CamDevo

I’m not sure why, but we lie to our children about Christmas in the United States. It seems like an innocent and delightful lie, but in reality it puts kids through a lot of unnecessary hardship and eventual heartbreak.

We tell them the lie that Santa Claus exists.

This means, as a child, I have to make a list of what I might like Santa to bring me, formulate a letter enclosing my list, and then figure out how to get it mailed when I don’t have his address, money to buy stamps, or the wherewithal to make a trip to the post office.

Maybe instead I have the opportunity to see him in person, but Mom groans at the idea of a trip to the mall where there is a long line. And when I finally get to Santa’s lap, he seems a bit tired and smelling of onions. Will he remember? He didn’t even write down my request.

On top of that, I stay up nights sweating over every bad thing I may or may not have done that day. I wonder if Santa saw. And I hope he saw that I ate all my vegetables without being asked. Where am I on that naughty and nice list?

And then on Christmas night I’m supposed to put out cookies and milk. I don’t know what kind of cookies Santa likes. We only have a few Oreos. And won’t the milk be sour by the time he arrives? Will he turn around and leave without giving me anything if that happens?

Such a burden due to an innocent and delightful lie.

Eventually, every child finds out the truth. It is surprising and possibly humiliating if I’m the last to know the truth among my friends.

But at the same time, the Santa burden has finally ended. No more lists or cookies or mall lines. No more stressing over what Santa did or didn’t see.

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭32‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Jesus was not taking about Santa in this verse, of course. He was taking about sin. The truth about sin.

We are told that when we do bad things, we should feel ashamed. In fact, one bad choice can label me forever. I become my sin. If I steal, I am a thief. If I lie, I am an untrustworthy liar. If I have the wrong sex at the wrong time with the wrong person, I am a hussy. A strumpet. A floozy. A harlot. A slut. (Why are there so many words for women in this position and none for men?)

The point is, society boxes me in with my sin so that it is very hard to get out. I start believing the lie that I’m no good. I believe my friend’s parents who say I’m a bad influence. And I continue in my shame and my shameful behavior, because that’s who I am.

That’s the lie about sin.

The truth is I am not my sin. In fact, Jesus threw open the door and said, “Come on out of there, you beautiful child of God!”

Thanks to Jesus, that’s the only label I need to accept. I am beloved. I am washed clean. I am highly treasured. I am a child of God, precious in His sight. And that’s the truth.

Dear God,

Thank you for supplying complete forgiveness and freedom to everyone who calls on your name with sincerity and repentance. Thank you that I have a new identity in you — one of a child of God instead of a slave to shame and sin. Thank you for your glorious redeeming love!

God loved creating the world. I believe He clapped with joy when the first daisy popped out of the ground. And when He was done, He rested. He enjoyed His creation. He walked in the cool of the garden with Adam and Eve (before they rebelled.)

Likewise, God created me to enjoy certain activities. He wants me to work with my passion the way He did. And when I am done, He wants me to take His example and rest and enjoy.

“For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God created me with specific talents, skills, interests, and passions to accomplish certain tasks and meet certain needs during the specific time of my life in the all places I go during that lifetime.

It’s a little mind-boggling, but I’m exactly what He planned for where I am right now.

The key to unlocking that beautiful plan is staying in touch with Him (“Pray constantly.” 1 Thess. 5:17) and seeking His will in all situations (“Seek first the kingdom of God….”Matt.‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

I will have peace with God when Jesus returns because I accepted Him as my Savior. That will be the final, beautiful rest.

In addition, if I pray, seek His will, obey it, and work toward accomplishing the things He created me to do, I can have the peace of God now. I can enter into His rest now because doing His works is an easy, light burden. He created me to do them.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me a purpose as well as the skills and desire to fulfill that purpose. Forgive me for trying to meet some other purposes that I wasn’t designed for because society told me I should go that direction. Continually remind me to return to your plan for me because you love me and know me. Your goals are the right ones to give me peace today.

The tradition of the encore is interesting. At the end of most concerts, the audience applauds, and the performers leave the stage. If the applause continues with enough exuberance, the musicians may return to perform one more song, the encore. Some performers hold their most popular songs for the encore. And sometimes there is even a second encore. Occasionally there is no encore at all, disappointing and befuddling the audience.

To people without concert-going experience, this may seem a bit confusing. It seems as if the concert has ended. The music listed in the program has all been performed. The musicians have left the stage. Why is the audience still standing around and clapping?

To people who don’t know Jesus, life is like the concert without an encore. It has a definite end. They wonder what Christians are hoping for? Why are we not looking at death as the final act? They see us standing around clapping for Jesus to return and are confused and befuddled.

“Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Followers of Jesus know there will be a glorious encore.

Dear God,

Thank you for your promise of your rest that is to come. A rest from evil and pain, from sin and its consequences, from confusion, darkness, and death. I look forward to peace and rest for eternity in your glorious presence.

My cousin’s neighbor, Michelle, is the kind of person who collects strays. And I don’t mean dogs or cats, although she has collected a couple of those as well. I mean children.

These children aren’t out wandering the street alone necessarily, the way a dog would be, but they are strays nonetheless.

Michelle has children of her own, and she frequently hosts their football team and various other groups and school events at her house. She notices those kids that seem to be lacking food, clothes, love, and attention. She’s trained her own children to keep an eye open for kids who are falling through the cracks, for whatever reason.

Because of that she has helped dozens of children out of sad and dangerous circumstances. They have stayed with her family, sometimes for lengthy periods of time and sometimes with no notice.

I admire this kind of open-door generosity so much. What a beautiful gift Michelle has given to these children!

When I think about doing something like that — inviting strangers to live in my home — I think about my belongings, I’m ashamed to say. I don’t have any expensive jewelry, and the rest of my stuff isn’t great, to be honest. But I still think about things being stolen and damaged.

“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬ -20 CSB‬‬

Between Michelle and me, Michelle is the one living out Jesus’s command, not me. She is the one living in love. She isn’t worried about her earthly junk, like me. She’s building up vast treasures in heaven.

Dear God,

Thank you for women like Michelle. Thank you for the wonderful things she does for lost children. And thank you for the example she has set for people like me. Please forgive my fear and selfish desire for privacy. Thank you for the house you have blessed me with. Show me the ways you want me to share my resources today and give me the courage to follow through.

Choices have consequences. Bad choices have bad consequences. At least that’s how we want the world to work, especially when it’s someone else dealing with those consequences.

When a car speeds past me on the freeway, and later I see that car on the side of the road in front of a police car with strobes flashing, I think, “Serves them right.”

When someone is thrown in jail for robbing a bank, I think, “The justice system is working.”

When a co-worker gets fired for embezzlement, I think, “It’s about time.”

How do my judgments change when I’m the one who sped or stole and got caught? I think I deserve a second chance. I know my circumstances so I call it a justifiable mistake. Or I admit to my bad choices but still think I deserve to skate past the consequences.

Fortunately, we have a God who thinks so too. When the Israelites rejected Him and worshipped other gods and disobeyed Him in almost every way, God left them to their horrible consequences. For a while. But then…

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and gloom and broke their chains apart.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭107‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God saved them. Even though they deserved their gloom and darkness.

And He does the same for me today. For anyone who believes in Jesus.

He sent Jesus to take the gloom and darkness that I earned so that I don’t have to.

Dear God,

Thank you so much that instead of saying, “It’s about time,” or “Justice is working,” or “Serves her right,” you forgive me when I cry out to you. You are so generous with your love. Thank you for bringing me forever out of the gloom and darkness I deserve.

Religion is hard to define. And the word gets used in all sorts of ways. There’s religion vs. “organized” religion. There are religions with gods and without gods. Shinto is a religion unique to Japan. Hockey is a religion in Canada, so it is said. You can get religion, do religion, have religion, and be religious about almost anything.

There are estimated to be 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, and yet there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.

Oxford Languages defines religion as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods.”

Merriam-Webster’s first definition is “a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity.”

That’s a mouthful. Many definitions go on for pages and pages.

What does the Bible say about religion?

“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

That’s pretty simple. God really likes to keep things simple. It’s we humans who make it complicated. Even Jesus summed up all the Law with the simple command to love God by loving others.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for making my job simple. It may not be easy, but obeying you is definitely not complicated. Teach me today how to look after the vulnerable people in my society, the ones with few resources of their own and no voice or power to acquire any. And protect me from the stains of this world. Thank you for washing me each day in the blood of the Lamb as I confess and repent of my failures to love. Give me the strength and wisdom to do better today than I did yesterday.

There is an acting class exercise where one student draws a “situation” from a hat and walks across the stage according to what they read. No dialogue is allowed. The other students guess at what is going on in the walker’s life, what the actor is trying to express.

The situations can include any number of unusual situations.

“A child embarrassed by their clothes on their first day at a new school is walking across the front of a classroom.”

“A man going through a messy divorce who just lost his job is walking over a bridge.”

“A mother waiting up for her teenage child who has missed their curfew is walking to answer a knock at the door.”

They are fun exercises. Kind of like charades but only with walking.

It’s amazing what just a walk can convey. The watching students may not understand that the actor is a child at a new school, but they easily see embarrassment and anxiety in their walk. The audience may not be able to discern the reason for it, but they will see the desperation and hopelessness of the bridge-crossing actor’s walk. And they will sense the anger and trepidation of the waiting mother, not necessarily knowing it’s a mother or what she’s waiting for.

What does my walk say about me? When I walk through my day, what emotions, concerns, and beliefs are communicated?

“This is love: that we walk according to his commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: that you walk in love.”
‭‭2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Do people see my hope? Do they see my love for God and for them? Do they recognize my obedience to God and trust in Him?

I know I can’t convey all that with a simple walk. The “walk” in this verse means more than the literal walking I do. It’s how I live and do everything I do, the words I choose or avoid, the places I go or stay away from, who I invite along.

What do the watchers in my life see when I walk through my days? I hope they see my love, born from obedience to God.

Dear God,

I know my walk often does not convey love or obedience to you. I’m sorry about that. Please forgive me. Teach me to walk according to your command to love — in everything I do. No self-absorbed shuffling and slouching but purposeful strides toward helping, encouraging, and supporting others.

The “self-help” aisle of bookstores and libraries (physical and virtual) are filled with books trying to convince weary people of the importance of a healthy work-life balance and to teach them how to accomplish that. Before all those books were written, Jesus modeled this balance for His disciples.

Jesus sent out His disciples on their first missionary journey. They went out into the surrounding villages to teach, heal, and comfort the people the way Jesus had been showing them. I’m sure this was an exciting adventure with many highs and lows. They returned, excited to tell Jesus about all that had happened to them, but they were clearly exhausted.

“He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place,”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The crowds of people were still hungry, confused, and needing healing, but Jesus knew the value of putting aside their demands for a while. He knew the disciples needed a quiet break.

He knows I need this too. I’m no better than the disciples. Despite what society says, I don’t have to run myself ragged to be successful or productive. I wasn’t created to function 24/7. I should build meaningful and restorative breaks into my schedule, surrounded by trusted friends.

But it’s important not to over-correct. God’s mission must come first, and it can be demanding work. Sloth is not acceptable.

Obedience followed by rest is the recipe. That’s Jesus’s wise advice and better than any self-help book ever written.

Dear God,

Thank you for taking care of all my needs, even my need to rest. Forgive me for working too hard and losing efficiency and effectiveness. Also forgive me for resting too much and being too lazy to do your will. Teach me the right balance today.

It’s rare when someone asks me to help carry a bag or box or package for them. But I am almost always happy to help.

However, I am frequently asked to help carry someone else’s emotional “baggage”. And I realize that I am almost never happy to help with that.

When sitting on a plane, I put on my headphones so I don’t have to listen to the person next to me talk about why they are traveling, what they are worried about or excited about.

When I’m in a store and someone tries to strike up a conversation with me, I smile and try not to engage lest they mistakenly think I would enjoy hearing about what or who they are shopping for and why.

Even with friends as we gather to play tennis, I get annoyed if there is too much chit chat between games.

For an introvert like me, listening is a burden. And when the story I’m listening to is upsetting, sad, or frustrating, it’s a heavier burden.

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

But listening is loving, kind, and generous. Listening is exactly what Jesus modeled for me during His time on earth. He listened to people. He heard their problems. He cared.

I can’t imagine Jesus turning away and putting headphones on when He sees a leper approaching. That is not the Jesus I read about in the Bible.

And it shouldn’t be me either.

Dear God,

Please forgive me for my selfish habit of keeping to myself to protect myself from other people’s burdens. I trust you to give me the strength to bear them. Remind me to open myself to people I encounter and to be ready to listen and to help, if only with an encouraging smile and a patient demeanor.

One of my favorite places is Joshua Tree National Park. Fortunately I live fairly close and can visit often. I like it because it is so unusual looking. It is like no other place I have seen and definitely not at all like the landscape I grew up in. Between the Joshua trees, that look like they came straight from a Dr. Seuss book, to the fascinating round boulders in bewildering formations, I always feel like I am visiting another planet.

Those alien rock formations exist because millions of years ago magma bubbled up from fault lines below and cooled, creating very hard rock pockets deep in the ground. That hard rock was very resistant to erosion. When wind and water washed all the dirt, sediment, and other rocks away, all it did to the hard gneiss and granite was wear away the edges a little, making them rounded.

“Trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God is a rock even harder than those magma-formed boulders. Wind and water has no effect. He never changes. His corners don’t wear away. He never changes shape and is never dislodged from His place. Millennia pass, and He is exactly the same — my loving and holy God.

If I stand on God, I can be sure I will be safe and secure, exactly where I was before the storm and the flood and the earthquake came. Forever. And ever.

Dear God,

Thank you for your permanence and consistency. It’s a hard thing to understand because everything in your creation seems to change. Thank you for the example of granite rock formations and mountains. Thank you also for assuring me that you are even more solid than the hardest rock on earth. Teach me how to stand on you with every decision I make today.