A Hero Found in a Baby

Whenever I look at babies, especially after becoming a father, I think about how our Savior came into this world as a baby. The preciousness. The innocence. The fragileness. The vulnerability. All these describe any and every baby that is born. It doesn’t matter if they were planned or not. They are all just waiting to be nurtured.


Jesus came in the form of a human, starting out as a baby. He came from a heavenly palace to an earthly sin-sick shack. God may have asked Jesus, “Hey, I need for You to leave here, go down to earth, experience pain, temptations, trials, and heart-ache for people who won’t appreciate it and who will abandon you. Are you up for it?” You and I would probably never agree to that kind of a deal. Humans have a hard time giving up their parking space for someone else, let alone giving up their life. However, thankfully, He did.


He came down to earth and He was found in an unexpected place – a manger. Our King, in a manger? Our hero, wrapped in His blanket? No paparazzi was covering this event, snapping pictures at each available opportunity. This was a quiet setting. This was God, the Son, coming down from His throne, abandoning His home. This was Him who was great becoming the least, coming to a world that needed a fix. Why did he do it, it was all for you and me.


Have you ever looked at a baby and wondered how God could have allowed His only Son to leave Him to die? What about thinking how Mary must have felt knowing that when she kissed Jesus, she was kissing the “face of God”? It seems so surreal to think about how Jesus came to be our hero. It seems difficult to comprehend how one could die to take the place of every single person who is born. It is unfathomable that the worst of criminals and the most respected citizen “all sin” and are doomed to suffer eternal torment if that unlikely hero, found in the baby, doesn’t grow up, remain innocent and die for the sins of others.


How many people would do that? Maybe a few would consider it, but how many would follow through with it? Only one needed to and He did it for you and me. May the hope that comes through the hero, found in a baby, make your Christmas a little merrier this year!


(article inspired by the song “How Many Kings” by Downhere)





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Excitement Behind a Birth

Last week, I learned that a friend of ours had a baby.  We knew the mom when she was a teen.  She meant a lot to us.  We didn’t even know she was pregnant, so the news of her having a baby was a total shock.

Because of her closeness to us, I gave her a call.  She is not married and lives with her parents.  She’s had ups and downs in her life.  I don’t think she’s been baptized, and has struggled with her faith.  Regardless of her past, the present is that she is now a mommy.  The father of the baby will most likely not be in the picture.  With all that being said, you couldn’t help but to hear the excitement in the mom’s voice, along with the grandma’s voice.  It seems it doesn’t matter how babies arrived on the scene, there is a lot of excitement when someone has a child.

The nice thing about the near-40 week gestation period is that there is plenty of time for excitement to build.  First, comes the news.  Next, comes the “baby bump”.  Thirdly, the palpable kicking/moving.  Finally, the birth.  All can’t wait for the time when that baby is out to hold and nurture.  The news runs wild.  Now, with electronic intervention, the news is spread even quicker. 

Nearly twenty centuries ago, there was an announcement that was made about a birth that would take place.  This announcement would change the world, literally.  This announcement was telling of a Savior.  This Savior was born to a lowly peasant girl who was getting ready to marry.  Her soon-to-be husband almost left her to be a single mother. (Can you imagine how that would have played out?) This birth, like all, was exciting.  He wasn’t born in a hospital or a nice room, but in a “barn”.  He was laid in a manger, but that didn’t stop any of the excitement.  People came and visited and the excitement rang out.

This time of year is a great time to be excited.  People are thinking about the birth of Jesus.  Look around to see how you can join in with their excitement to be able to share with them what He means to you! It is a season of open doors, so don’t be afraid to walk through them!

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What Did You Expect?

My wife is very expressive. It is one of her great traits. I am not so expressive. It is one of my...traits. We tend to joke about this area from time to time because we are very different. Luckily, Oliver is more like his mommy in this area.

Since I tend to not be as expressive, I hate to open gifts in front of people. I love to receive them, but do not like to open them in front of people. The main reason is, I’ve been known to be very unexpressive when I open something that maybe wasn’t what I wanted or expected.

I can’t help but wonder if the people of Jesus’ day were much like I am about gifts? Their ancestors had passed down the prophecy to them. It was always a waiting game, “Could it be this year?” At the time of Jesus’ birth, they had experienced about 400 years of no contact from God. What we know as that time between the two Testaments. God had not sent prophets to shape up the people. So, very few even knew that the time of a Messiah being born was a possibility. Especially, those outside the Jewish faith.

However, once He did come on the scene, how many people thought, “This is it? A child born in Bethlehem? In a manger? From a peasant family?” Joseph wasn’t the Rockefeller of his day, nor was he the Heisman winner of past. He was from a common family. Mary, she was no princess, by heritage. She wasn’t a former Miss Israel. She, too, was common.

Jesus came in common form, to common folks, for a common purpose. He may not have come in a form that some people were expecting. They may have gruffed at the fact that He arrived the way He did, to whom He did. However, regardless, Jesus was the gift that we needed, even if it didn’t look like it in the beginning. Jesus was what they expected, just in a different look. May we praise God for the things that we’re given which we didn’t expect!

Joys of Jesus - Hebrews 12:2

One of the greatest joys that God has ever brought to my wife and I was our son. We were "forced" to wait nine and a half years before we were able to see the "pregnant" indicator on the pregnancy test stick. We will both never forget that day...May 6, 2007...a Sunday, the one before Mother's Day. What joy filled our hearts! Just tonight, I looked at him and made a comment to my wife about how surreal it still feels, sometimes, to think about the fact that this awesome little guy is our son. (You can see pictures if you scan down, on the right).

Jesus is joy. The fact that we can have forgiveness of wrongs, sometimes brings a surreal feeling. "Is that really forgiven?" we might say. Knowing the mistakes we've made have really been washed away, thanks to the Blood of Christ, just seems hard to believe. We remember the mistake(s) like they were just yesterday (and in some cases they were). How can God just let that go? Well, He desires your relationship so much that He had to make a way for you to be able to return to Him. His decision was that only a perfect sacrifice would do the trick...His solution...Jesus. WOW! That should bring us joy!

Yesterday, we looked at the joys of knowing Jesus and being in Jesus. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. What would your life be like if you didn't know Jesus? If you had never heard of Him, His name, or anything associated with Him? Some may feel relieved because you don't believe in Him. However, others of you reading this would have a life that was beyond empty. You wouldn't have that perfect example to look to for how you want to live your life. You wouldn't have the knowledge of this man who was both 100% God and 100% man at the same time who was able to die for your sins to give you a hope that is priceless! This is the message to share with others...if knowing Him brings you joy...it will also bring others' joy, as well!!!
   
2. Imagine what your life would be like it you couldn't dispose of your trash by simply putting it by the curb or in your alley dumpster. Know how disgusting meat smells after it has been disposed of? What if you had to store your trash up for a whole year before it could be taken away? I can't even think to imagine the smell of all the rotten foods and other things that would eventually cause a big stink (all pun intended). That stink that would be there is incomparable to the stench of your sins. However, being IN Jesus allows that trash to be "disposed" of properly and quickly! What an awesome concept, that we are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2) and we are restored, even when we sin! Figuratively, there are people who are keeping their garbage in their heart because they don't allow Jesus to take it away! That is part of the message of being IN Him...He takes away the garbage! Praise God!
   

If your week has started with a lot of garbage piled around it, lean on Him and let Him take out the garbage!

Laying it out at the curb...

Smiling at Daddy...

It is probably safe to say that practically every parent soaks up every smile their child gives them, especially when they are babies and just learning to smile.

Our six-month-old has been smiling for a few months now. Even though I'm not able to compare, since this is our first child, he seems to be one of the "smiley-est" babies that I've ever known. He smiles at his mom and me. He smiles at family and friends. He even smiles at strangers when they talk to him.

His smiles are infectious. I smile every time he smiles. Oliver lights up a room with his ear-to-ear smile.

Parents must love it when their children look up at them and smile. I can only imagine what God, the Father, must feel like to see His children "look to Him" and smile...it must bring so much joy to Him, too!

Look over in the right hand column for some pictures of Oliver to see his smiles.

Taking in each and every smile...

Then, She Became a Mom

She always dreamed of becoming a mom. She played “Barbies” as a child, anticipating the time when she became the young woman Barbie represented. She took care of Cabbage Patch dolls like they were children of her own, looking forward to that special day - the one when she would have a real baby to feed, burp, nurture, change its diapers, etc.

As she matured into a teen, she was called on to take care of other people’s children. By the time she was a college student, she had developed a special knack for connecting with kids. She showed and taught them what it was like to own their own faith. Kids were drawn to her. They respected her. Adults admired her. She had a personality that people, young and old, were attracted to.

A few years later, she married. She cherished and adored her husband. Anticipating the day when they would become parents. That anticipation grew and grew, but as the months, then years, passed with no baby, questions were being raised. For example, “Why am I not able to have a baby?” was one such question. After several years of praying and hoping, the optimism had just about diminished.

Then, after several years of trying, praying, and hoping, a pregnancy test revealed “two lines”! “Could it be?” Finally, she found out what many other women get the chance to experience - the feeling of carrying a baby.

Through the next several weeks, she would praise God over and over, while praying for the safety and the health of the baby.

Then, she became a mom when Oliver came into her life. A beautiful, blue-eyed baby boy. The answer to her many prayers. She took to being a mother like she had already raised several other children. He is a gift from God, but more importantly, he was given a greater gift...being blessed to be raised by the mother who had waited for years for his arrival. All the waiting was worth it, and it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving woman other than my beautiful wife.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Oliver's Pics - Updated

Friends ~

Just thought I would let you know that there are some updated pics of our new son at the following address...http://www.flickr.com/photos/21270453@N08

Have a great day!

Blessing ~

Updated Pictures

Check out updated pictures of our newborn...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21270453@N08/

Have a great day!!!

Monday Mentionings: Oliver Camden Spencer

Just wanted you to have an opportunity to see some pictures of Oliver Camden Spencer. Born January 4, 2008 at 4:04 PM. He was 8.0 lbs. and 21 1/2 inches. Mom and baby are doing great! He’s quite a blessing!!!

This is a link to a slideshow… may take a few minutes to load, depending on your connection speed…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21270453@N08/sets/72157603656716513/show/

Can’t wait to show you all in person!!!

Proud Dad ~