Monthly Archives: December 2020

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Merry Christmas! God With Us!!!

A Colorado “Wilderness” Manger scene! Do you see the Bighorn Sheep? How about the Elk/Deer? What’s that other animal behind the manger? A Fox, a coyote, maybe a mountain lion?….. You tell me.

All these “animals” were made from scrap pieces of firewood. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder I guess. As I was moving the scrap wood one day, I thought to myself, this piece looks like a fox with a bushy tail. Hey, there’s a scrap piece of firewood that looks like a bighorn sheep. (I looked really hard, but couldn’t find a bear or an alpaca in the scrap pile 😉 )

You’ve seen all kinds of manger scenes over the years. They usually have Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus. Most of the time there is a camel, or donkey, or some wise men and maybe even an angel or two. I’ve even seen an manger scene with a cowboy and his horse kneeling in front. Oh yea, and the one where Santa Claus is kneeling in front of the manger. (Not sure how my theology friends deal with that one.)

When I was just a child our church (Shout out to Goodwater Baptist Church) had a LIVE nativity scene. We dressed up as Mary, Joseph, Wise men, Angels, etc.etc. AND WE USED LIVE ANIMALS!! I vaguely remember our mule getting scared and pulling one of the posts down. Seems like some angels fell from the rooftop,……screams,… chaos, spilt hot chocolate…some of ya’ll will have to fill me in on the details. Ha!

In the Colorado Wilderness we don’t have camels. But we do have elk. In this wilderness, we don’t have sheep (like in the Bible), but we do have Bighorn Sheep. In the Colorado Wilderness we don’t have what’s in other parts of the world, but we do have Baby Jesus!!!

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which being interpreted is, “God with us”). Matthew 1:23

Now that’s a Merry Christmas right there! The story is such a mystery! But somehow in God’s Divine way of thinking, He chose to send our Saviour Jesus Christ into this world as little bitty baby. Born in a little bitty stable, lying in a little bitty manger. I got it figured out. God did this so that my little bitty brain could understand that even though God is all knowing, all powerful, and all EVERYTHING,….. He still wanted to be WITH itty bitty me!

If you can see a fox shape in a culled scrap piece of firewood, I’m thinking that you also can see that God wants to be WITH you! If you “see” a sheep or a deer in my wilderness manger scene, I’m thinking that you just look at those pieces of wood an well, there it is. No need to analyze, compare, measure or take a DNA test. You just look and say, “I believe that looks like a fox”!

God chose to send Jesus to Earth as a little bitty baby. HE did this because He wants to BE with You. Such a strange way to wave the world. You can be with God simply by believing in Him. Such a strange way to save your own life.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Now that’s Merry Christmas right there!

Maybe you yourself need to “Kneel” in front of your own manger scene and tell God that you believe and are thankful that He wants to be with us. God is with us! He’s with us in the good, and the bad. His overflowing peace, joy, and Love is there with us. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas!!

“Dear Jesus, I thank you that you came to Earth to be with all us itty bitty folks. Thank You. Happy Birthday Jesus! I pray for those out there who are dealing with whatever “bad” things that are happening in their lives right now. I ask for the comfort you give, the peace that comes from you, the forgiveness that is needed. I’m so glad that you came to BE with us! WE love You. Amen.”

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Dealing With The Fear and Hate **(language warning)

Two young ladies, in their early thirties, pony tails bouncing, dressed in fashionable “exercise clothing”, wearing those expensive “walking shoes” and wearing those ear pods to listen to their music, are ahead on the trail. It’s pretty obvious they are from the big city, and I’m guessing out for a day hike in nature. Behind them is this sixty year old man, disheveled, wearing work clothes and boots, probably smells of the chainsaw that he’s been using to clear downed trees in the area. The older guy picks up something from the forest floor and begins chasing these attractive young ladies. Is this me? Well, let’s just say “I have this friend” 😉 Let’s listen to what the conversation is between the two girls. The old guy is close enough that he hears the conversation as well. It goes like this………

“Hey, you know the old guy that we passed on the trail back there? I think he’s following us.” The the other young lady dressed more in blue than in the pink her friend is wearing, removes her ear pods and says, “What did you say?” Pink tights says, “That old man is following us!” The blue tights girl turns around and sees the old man behind them. “OMG you are right! What does he want?” She turns around again and this time the old man is waving something at her. “We need to get out of here! This is creepy!”, Blue says, as her voice begins to show fear. Pink tights girl turns around to look for herself. The old man yells something at her which she doesn’t understand. Now she is gripped with fear. Pink says, “He’s getting closer,…..let’s jog a little ways, he won’t run after us”. Pink tights and blue tights begin jogging the rocky trail…………. and so does the old man.

Now both ladies are feeding off each others fears. They know they are in the wilderness on this part of the trail. There is no phone service here in this area. They stop jogging but continue to walk. “What do we do?” asks Pink to her friend. Blue replies, “I’ve got a can of bear spray in my pack! Reach in and get it, but hurry cause he’s getting closer!” The old man is probably only 100 feet away from the two young ladies now.

Pink reaches in and grabs the bear spray. Both young ladies stop and turn to face the old man who is only about 50 feet away now. He tries to say something to them, but they cut him off. Blue yells, “You better get the Hell out of here! My friend has bear spray and if you come any closer she will use it on you!”

These two young ladies are scared to death! Again the old guy tries to say something but the girl screams at him once again………..”I SAID FOR YOU TO GET THE HELL OUT!!!!!!……………. and you know what? He did. This is how he did it.

He threw an object to them as he said, “M’am, you dropped your keys”. Sure enough it was a keyring with three keys and a car door remote on it. He immediately turned and walked away from them back down the trail, shrugging his shoulders not understanding what the big fuss was about.

Blue tights saw the key ring land about 5 feet from her. She immediately looked into the pocket of her pack. There was no key ring to be found. The old guy truly had found her keys. Both girls breathed a sigh of relief and shared a moment of nervous laughter. “Thank you sir! Sorry! Didn’t know what was going on! Thank you!” The older guy was by now long gone back down the trail. But he heard what the young ladies said.

This example is so spot on with what is going on in the world today. Allow me to explain. You and I who are believers hold “the keys” to a world that is going down life’s trail. When we try to share these keys, the keys of the Way, the Truth, and the Life with Jesus Christ, we become the objects of fear and hate. People are afraid of Christians. Why? Because they truly don’t know us. They are filled with preconceived ideas. We are different. We have something they don’t have. We have and hold the keys!

So literally we are here to “get the Hell out of……people” Let’s Love the Heck out of people, pray the Heck out of people, and throw the Heck out of all our keys God has given us to people we come in contact with on this spiritual journey. How do you and I do this? God has given us our own set of keys. Keys of hope, love, forgiveness, protection, etc, etc, on and on. Well shoot, God has given me so many “keys”, I feel like the high school janitor with his 37 keys on his belt! And,…… And the most significant thing is that God has also given His “keys” to everyone. They are just too busy to notice. They are too hurt to see. They are so full of hate and fear that they CAN’T get the “Hell” out of their lives long enough to grab God’s amazing gifts that are free for the asking. Sadly they have lost their way as well as having lost their “keys of life”. So,next time you feel like someone is wanting you to get the “Hell” out,……… by all means do it! For their sake!

Matthew 5:10 – 16 the Message version “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.  “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.  “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

So literally we are here to “get the Hell out of……people” Let’s Love the Heck out of people, pray the Heck out of people, and throw the Heck out of all our keys God has given us to people we come in contact with on this spiritual journey.

“Dear Heavenly Father, first of all Thank You for helping me find my keys. Help me to share You and your Love to all those people who for some reason or another are telling me to get the Heck out. I am so thankful for this Christmas season that’s coming up. Be with all who may be reading this. Give us protection, give us strength, and give us opportunities to throw YOUR keys to those that need them. Amen”

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher