If you have ever been to the beach, you have undoubtedly seen the ridge of sand that lies between the beach and the land behind it. Sand dunes are formed over many years when windblown sand gets trapped by beach grasses or other vegetation. These dunes play a vital role in protecting both the adjacent beach and the inland areas behind them. In addition, dunes provide nesting habitat for coastal and migratory birds. In some areas, man-made dunes are created by bulldozing piles of sand to the back of the beach. At the beach that was nearest our home in North Carolina, each year local residents were asked to drop off the Christmas trees that would then be used build up and fortify the dunes.

We all have personal sand dunes, helping to protect us from harm. We put on suntan lotion to keep us from getting sunburned. We use bug spray to keep us from being bitten by mosquitoes and other insects. We wear hats and gloves in sub-freezing weather to avoid frostbite. To protect our yards and homes we install fencing and security systems. Hopefully you wear your seat belt when riding in a vehicle. Kids riding in cars must be secured by car seats, seemingly these days until they are freshmen in high school. I am inclined to do dumb stuff; so, thankfully, I have a wife who repeatedly acts as a dune, keeping me from harming myself or others.

One danger that many of us fail to protect ourselves against is the enemy of God, known as Satan; also referred to as the devil. The Bible uses other names as well. Here are just five – accuser, adversary, evil one, father of lies, thief. How Satan came to be Satan is for another day, but in my opinion, the Bible is clear that Satan does exist, and loves nothing more than to trick us, tempt us, and draw us into sinful behavior; behavior that ultimately harms us and others.

The vast majority of us have dunes in place to keep us from committing murder or robbing a bank. Where we often fail is in those things we categorize as “little” dangers; things like gossip, lust, greed, pride, stealing Post-It Notes from our employer, little white lies. Those little dangers (sins) are dangerous, no less so than the ones we consider to be big. And often when we are at our strongest, it is those times that we are also at our weakest spiritually.

A good illustration of this is King David. As king, he was enjoying unprecedented success, fame, and wealth. He was seemingly invincible. Or so he thought. I am sure you are familiar with the story found in 2 Samuel 11 in which as David stood on his rooftop he saw a beautiful woman bathing, and if you know that story (even if you don’t), it went rapidly downhill from there.          

Think of it like this. We all know to lock our front door to provide safety from the big and obvious dangers. But, so often, we fail to lock our back door, thus allowing Satan quiet, and often unnoticed, access to our lives. If you are a Jesus-follower, every single day you are in a spiritual battle for your soul. Thankfully, you do not fight that battle alone. God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is your personal sand dune, protecting you from Satan’s dangers. We find these words in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 – “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

Jesus, in showing us how to pray, offers this – “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

The apostle Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God as a sand dune against the schemes of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-17).   

So, as you jump into this new year, do you have a sand dune built into your life to help keep you safe? And, because life erodes away at that dune, will you continually strive to keep that dune built up and fortified? Right now, ask the Holy Spirit to be your sand dune while keeping your eyes and ears open, looking for, and fleeing from, the dangers that lurk all around you.

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With the year coming to an end today, many of us will be celebrating New Year’s Eve with family or friends. And at every party there is always that one person who knows that Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter or who can solve Rubik’s Cube in less than thirty seconds. They seem to know every answer to all the questions in the trivia game and all the party-goers marvel at this person’s knowledge.

But those who know this person best say that he or she doesn’t have the common sense to come in out of the rain. This person helps to cement the idea that highly intelligent people are not always good at the practicalities of daily living. It is this same person who regularly loses socks somewhere between the dirty clothes hamper and the washing machine, and sees no problem with wearing mismatched ones. I sometimes wonder if humanity at large is “common senseless,” needing very specific reminders to keep us safe. I once saw a sign on a beachfront rental unit that read: Caution – Please be aware that the balcony is not on ground level. Hmm?      

Now think of that person who, while they might not know all the trivia game answers or that Pi is an irrational number, always seems to know just what to say and do in most any situations. You have probably thought to yourself, “I wish I had their wisdom.”

The difference between the first person and the second is really nothing more than the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is simply the accumulation of facts and data while wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge in a way that useful and helpful. It is not enough just to “know” that the burner on the stove is hot, you also need to apply that knowledge of the burner being hot so as to not put your hand on it.

Now let’s turn to gaining God’s wisdom. It is not enough to know the contents of the Bible. Reading and memorizing your Bible is a good thing, but we need to know how to understand and apply God’s Word into daily life. The Bible tells us that God gave us the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to give us wisdom. The Holy Spirit has many roles, but today we are just looking at this role of counselor. Jesus promised this very thing to His disciples (and ultimately to us). In John 14:26 we read, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you.” Now that is real wisdom. No textbook or instruction manual can ever come close to teaching you those things!

And again, it is not enough that God gave us the Holy Spirit to gain wisdom. We must spend time in His Word, allowing it to penetrate so the Holy Spirit can teach us. John 16:13 tells us, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

The Bible is one of the ways God self-discloses Himself to us. We find the authors of Scripture telling us that God’s Word is both inspired, useful, sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and alive and active (Hebrews 4:12).   

So, as you prepare for 2025, ask the Holy Spirit to help you see and understand from God’s point of view. Ask Him to help you come in out of the rain.  

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One of my deficits from my stroke is the inability to distinguish between listening and hearing. A properly functioning brain knows, for example, how to singularly listen to another person’s voice when having a conversation with them, while only hearing all the surrounding sounds and noises. My brain, as it continues to re-wire itself, wants to actively listen to all the sounds it hears, which creates overstimulation and chaos in the auditory cortex of my brain’s temporal lobe. What follows that chaos is often not pretty.

Hearing is the passive perception of sounds. Listening is the intentional action of comprehending the sounds heard. Hearing can be done without thinking, thus, it is an inactive word, whereas listening is active, you must think about what you are doing.

Let’s be honest. With all the noise in us and around us, it is difficult to truly listen, even if your brain is functioning properly. It is hard to pay attention to what is, or at least should be, our focus at any particular moment. Not only does the noise and clutter impede us truly listening to the voice of others, isn’t it true that as we listen, rather than listen to understand, we only “hear” what someone is saying because we are already busy forming our response, our answer, our rebuttal.   

Our Father wants us to talk to Him, but as importantly, maybe even more so, He wants us to listen as well. We must first be able to not only hear His voice, but also then listen (discern) to it as well. While it is true that God very rarely “talks” to us as someone else talks to us, in an audible voice, God does speak to us. God speaks to us today in several ways; some of which are through His Word, through His Son Jesus, through nature, through other people, through music, through life circumstances and daily activities, through the Holy Spirit, and through prayer.

To know God’s will, we need to first seek it. To digest what it is God is trying to say to us, we need to actively listen. And to walk with God and live out His plan for our lives, we need to be a responsive listener. In other words, seeking, listening, and doing all go hand in hand.

Psalm 81 is intended to be used in the celebration of one of Israel’s feasts, most likely the Feast of Tabernacles. It begins with a call to worship (vv.1-5) and then in vv.6-16, we find a first-person oracle from God, in which he pleads with Israel to listen to Him so that He can pour out the blessings of the covenant upon them (nation of Israel). We find these words in v.13 – “Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!”

While those words were spoken directly to the nation of Israel, I believe there is a similar plead to us today as well. Scripture is clear that God speaks to those who humble themselves in His presence, who intently listen, and who in response, obey what the Lord has said. 

As we prepare to turn the calendar to 2025, I ask you and I ask me – Are you (Am I) hearing God’s voice? Are you (Am I) listening to God’s voice? Are you (Am I) asking God, in order to accurately understand, to help you (me) discern what you (I) have “heard”?

And then, most importantly how are you (how am I) responding?

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Growing up in the 1960s, in Columbus, Ohio, our neighborhood was “one big happy family.” People felt safe leaving their doors unlocked. Neighbors often just knocked and walked in. Everyone knew everyone’s name. Kids could ride bikes and play outside without worry of being abducted, often being out of sight of the adults. When it was time to come home, each family had a way to call their own kids. My parents called me and my brothers home with a whistle. A neighbor whistled three times to call their kids. It was a much safer time.

In college we often left our dorm room door unlocked. If we needed something in a friend’s room, we usually just knocked and walked in. If you wanted privacy, you locked your door. But if you locked your door, you could expect to be “pennied” or have isopropyl alcohol poured under your door and lit on fire. Thankfully due to its fast evaporation, the alcohol burned itself out quickly. But one time not before my treasured Farrah Fawcett poster was a victim of such a prank. What boy in the 70s didn’t have this poster on his wall? We felt safe without having to lock our doors. It was a much safer time.

These days, people lock everything, often having two or three deadbolts on their doors. Security systems, handguns, apps on our phones, and “Beware of the Dog” signs, are commonplace, all intended to protect us, our possessions, and keep out unwanted guests.

You hear a knock on the door and before you open the door you pull the curtain back just a tiny bit to see who is there. If it is one of those young men in a white long sleeve shirt and skinny black tie, you probably quickly turn off the lights and whisper to the kids to be quiet, hoping those knocking don’t know you are home. These days, people do not dare walk into someone’s house without first being invited in. We just don’t enter anyone’s space without them inviting us in.

Jesus is the same way. He only enters your heart if you invite Him in. He never knocks and then just barges in. He never kicks down the door and pushes His way in. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, John writes seven letters to seven literal churches while exiled on the Greek island of Patmos. The Church at Laodicea saw themselves as rich, prosperous, and needing nothing (3:17). However, this is what John hears Jesus saying to that church, to those people – “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (3:15-16).

While this warning is directed to the Church in Laodicea, it also warns us today that Jesus despises lukewarmness. In that day, room temperature water was viewed with suspicion. Cold water suggested a flowing spring or river, thus “safe.” Hot water had been boiled and cleaned of potential bacteria, thus also “safe.” I believe Jesus is warning those of us who are his followers that He is saddened by us just “going through the motions,” Maybe your once burning hot faith has all but burned itself out.

Do you know that the seven warnings to the seven churches are considered circular? The seven cities are in a circular trade route. And while each church receives a specific warning addressing relevant to its specific situation, the warnings are to the community of believers at large. And to us today.

What does Jesus say is the answer to turning lukewarm into red hot? A few verses later, still to the Church at Laodicea, Jesus says this – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (3:20).

Notice in this painting which depicts Jesus knocking on an overgrown and long-unopened door that the door has no handle and, thus, can only be opened from the inside.

So, in these remaining days of Advent, will you open, or re-open, your heart to Him? The very One who can be your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Immanuel, God with us. 

This will be my last writing until after Christmas. I wish you and your family a very joyous and merry Christmas!

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In today’s culture, a word that gets thrown around is the word “peace,” most often used in the context of conflict or violence. It conjures up a picture of Hippies flashing peace signs as they protested the Vietnam War, opposing nations sitting down at a table to sign a peace accord (that will not last) to stop their fighting, someone being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, or maybe spouses trying to make peace after an ugly argument. The world fights for peace, it negotiates for peace, sometimes even buying peace, but ultimately the peace found in this world is only temporary.

In John 14:27 we see Jesus saying this, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Here Jesus is not talking about the world being free of conflict, but rather the peace He is speaking of brings a state of tranquility, serenity or quietness to your soul, a calmness of confidence in God. This peace is not the absence of turmoil. Instead, it is the presence of the One who carries the quiet, the peace with Him. We can learn to be still, and quiet our own souls in the presence of God.

When Isaiah was prophesying about the birth of Jesus, some 700 years before His birth, one of the names he gave to the coming Messiah was Prince of Peace. Do you know the other three? Read Isaiah 9:6 to find out. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, brings a different kind of peace than is found in the world. He does not fight for, or negotiate for, peace, but instead, freely gives it away to all who trust in Him.

Isaiah also talks of being kept in perfect peace: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (from Isaiah 26:1-4). This perfect peace is not something we achieve. Rather, it is a place kept for us, a place of peace. It is finding peace in God, and the promise of peace for those who trust in him. A peace that the world cannot take away.   

When the angels announced the birth of Jesus, here is what they proclaimed – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

This verse seems to indicate that with the birth of Jesus, who is the long-awaited Messiah, glory is to be given to God and that some new kind of peace is promised to those who are pleasing to Him.

So, just what does it mean to be pleasing to God? In my opinion – to live a life in obedience to God and in accordance with His will. When we live like this, we are pleasing to God. And as we saw in those Isaiah verses above,  Romans 5:1 tells us that we make peace with God when we commit our lives to Jesus and Philippians 4:7 promises us that we will have the peace of God when living a life pleasing to Him.

In this season of expectant waiting upon the coming Messiah, will you allow His lasting peace, His perfect peace, a peace that passes all understanding, to guard your heart and mind? A peacefulness and calmness even better than sitting by a trickling brook or watching snow blanket the ground.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

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I originally wrote this back in 2003. I repost it every year in the days leading up to Christmas.

I think it important that we look beneath the words found on the pages of scripture and not simply gloss over them, missing the power and beauty of the where of Jesus’ birth.

We can all describe the classic nativity scene. A baby laying in a manger wrapped in a blanket in a barn surrounded by his parents, animals, shepherds, and three wise men. The barn is dark and dingy, the floor covered with straw and mud. I love the simplicity of the traditional manger scene. We have several displayed in our house. But, is it accurate?  

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

That verse notes there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn. The Greek term for inn is “kataluma,” which is translated as guest room, meaning a place of lodging for travelers, usually with no payment expected. Think spare bedroom. Only two places in the New Testament is the Greek word “kataluma” used – here in Luke’s birth narrative and in the Last Supper text (Luke 22:11; and parallel passage, Mark 14:14). In contrast, elsewhere in the New Testament (Luke 10:34) we find a different Greek word for “inn,” this time used in the context of a public lodging place. Maybe the equivalent of a modern-day hotel.  

What is a manger? A manger is a feeding trough for animals. So, you find feeding troughs in the barn, right? In ancient Middle East cultures animals were not kept in a barn or left outside. The family animals were always kept inside the house, usually on a lower level from the main floor. This helped to protect them from theft, disease, weather. 

Using that line of thinking, I see a very powerful picture being painted. One of the Messiah King born in a way that all could have access to Him. If He had been born in a castle or temple, only the wealthy, the noble, or the religious could have access to Him. Instead, this Savior, born of humble parents in a humble and ordinary setting, offered access to all. He does the same thing today – no matter our circumstances our Savior is willing to enter into our “house” and be born in us.   

What does all this mean? I believe Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem only to find Joseph’s ancestral home full of people. They ended up in the lower level of the house and laid baby Jesus in the feeding trough because there was no room upstairs in the guest rooms.

So, if Jesus was not born in a detached barn or a stable, He was likely instead born in a house. Quite possibly a peasant house, maybe the house or a relative, or maybe even the house Joseph grew up in. Regardless of the actual house, it is very probable that Jesus was not born in a detached dwelling as our modern nativities portray.

Jesus began his life in a “lower room” of a kataluma and ended His earthly ministry in the “upper room” of a kataluma. Coincidence? Think about it!

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