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Frayed Knot or Afraid Not?

My grandmother’s favorite joke goes something like this:  A piece of rope walks into a bar and asks the barkeep for a drink.  The tender tells the rope, “We don’t serve pieces of rope in here.”  The rope walks out of the bar dejected and discouraged until he gets an idea.  He tousles the strands of fiber on top of his head and twists and turns his body onto itself.  He then proceeds to walk back into the bar, just as the barkeep exclaims, “Didn’t I tell you we don’t serve pieces of rope here!”  The rope responds, “I’m a frayed knot.”   (Pause for Thought:  “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, ‘Fear Not!  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord’.”—Luke 2:8-11  What are you afraid of missing out on this Christmas?  How are your patterns of speech, behavior, and even attitudes reflecting these fears—Are they turning you into a frayed knot?  Where do you go or to whom do you turn to hear “Good News?”)
 
I love the visual in Luke’s gospel of the shepherds “living” in the wilderness at night doing their job just as was expected of them by the rest of the world.  But on the night described in Luke Chapter 2, tending flocks, as usual, wasn’t going to suffice for their highest good.  The angel had to tell them to, “calm down, rest assured, it’s alright tonight and every night hereafter because things are changing for the better.  Heaven is coming to earth and people will be saved from themselves.”  I would think I would be startled, if not terrified, by the sight of the angel, but I think I would be more afraid to change who I am and what I’m supposed to do in light of the message the angel brought.  I would be afraid to give up control of what I know or even what is expected of me.  (Pause for Thought:  “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manager.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”—Luke 2:16-18  Why did the shepherds quit what they were supposed to be doing?  What could have happened when the shepherds stopped shepherding?  Is there something the Spirit is asking you to stop doing this Christmas?  What do you feel could be the consequences of your stopping?  Are your feelings adequate in light of God’s truth and promises to you?)
 
This time of year hits like a freight train.  I tell myself the world will be more relaxed, less stressed, and more tolerant, but each year seems worse than the last according to my physical senses and emotional responses.  Truth is, the stress comes from everywhere except the Good News, and this time of year, Christmas Time, is all about the Good News.  I choose to add to my own stress by pushing myself into a mold of my own or the worlds choosing instead of changing according to the Spirit’s directive and power over my life.  This Christmas, I will choose not to tie myself into a frayed knot.  I will choose to let the Good News transform me and send me in Jesus’ Name.  (Pause for Thought:  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”—Romans 12:2  What is the difference between conforming and transforming?  How does the Good News that Jesus saves us transform us?  How does spreading, sharing, and living the Good News transform us and others?  What will your transformation look like this Christmas?)
 

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