Posted in Christian Service, Christmas, Evangelism, Uncategorized

A Better Use of a Hashtag

chick starbucks

After ordering a drink at Starbucks, Josh Feuerstein, an internet evangelist with quite the personality, became upset with Starbucks because their plain red cups weren’t decorated for Christmas as they have been in previous years and Starbucks employees were forbidden to say Merry Christmas. So upset that he took to social media to start a movement asking people to tell Starbucks their name is Merry Christmas so that when they write the “name” on their cups they now have Christ name on their cup whether they like it or not.

Okay, I have to confess that I think it’s a pretty cute technique of marketing Jesus. But still… Starbucks frustration leads to grins and giggles at the bank.  Just sayin’. I don’t figure this is “teaching anyone a lesson.” Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a coffee fanatic! But I’m not going to Starbucks, I think their coffee tastes like gasoline (not that I’ve drank gasoline) but really… quadrupling the strength of coffee and calling it gourmet is akin to sucking a lemon and calling it gourmet lemonade. It’s just nasty!

Now if you really wanted to get back at Starbucks for not allowing Christ in the Holiday that celebrates His Holy Name, here’s my suggestion. Go to Duncan Donuts, (My personal fave!) and get a cup of coffee in their cup. Drive to Starbucks and sit in their coffee shop sipping your Duncan Donuts Coffee and have a Bible Study. Or if you like Starbucks… buy their coffee and have a Bible Study in their shop. Or… don’t waste three dollars on a cup of coffee! Have it at the house and save that money to give to a poor family at Christmas who could use a can of Maxwell house, along with beans and potatoes for their kids.

Really people. Starbucks is the least of America’s problems. While it speaks volumes on the degradation of political correctness and the ignorance of those who deny God, our time can be better spent. Rather than trying to make a national scene why don’t we try to make a local scene. The nearest Starbucks in our area is over an hour away, but I have family and friends who need Jesus right in my hometown. If we spent our day talking about the goodness of Jesus, rather than the badness of Starbucks to our family it would make a greater difference for the cause of Heaven.

Even I have now contributed to the Starbucks hype with my #MerryChristmasStarbucks blog. But how about #JesusDied4U #SatanLies #JeremiahOneFive

Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

That Starbucks employee forced to write the name of Christ on a cup may not know Who He is, and likely won’t have the desire to know Him after being forced to write the name. But if you bought a cup of Starbucks, tipped that barista with a buck for themselves and shared the gospel with them, just maybe, when we gather for coffee in Heaven around the Lord’s kitchen table, that barista may be there with you.

#HashtagThatSatan #TheJesusChick

Posted in Christmas, Life Inspiration, Peace, salvation

What Happens When You Hear His Name?

Isaiah 9 6Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

That scripture brings to mind the song “This World is Not my Home,” as I read it this morning, thinking back on recent conversations that I’ve heard. The conversations of both the saved and unsaved alike are filled with anxiety and worry and then turn on a dime to apathy. They discuss end time events as if they’re imminent, yet escapable. My comments and insight are tolerated yet unwanted and I don’t know if I should shake the soup out of my family and friends, or throw my hands up in the air and walk away, yet I know the answer and so I keep talking… mostly to Jesus.

His Name shall be called Wonderful…

Sounds just like Christmas doesn’t it. The word Wonderful evokes sentiments of splendor and smiles but with the Name of Jesus, One in the same, the sentiment is different depending upon the day of the week, the time of day or the geographic location. His name also brings with it conviction, misunderstanding, and anger. But it is Wonderful if you know Him as He desires to be known.

His Name shall be called Counsellor…

But the world would rather seek advice from “educated” people who have been indoctrinated by colleges and universities that say God is an idea not a fact. I know there are good godly professionals out there, but they are few and far between and few that seek them out when they’re in trouble. It’s easier to tune into Dr. Fill me up with garbage than to fall down upon your knees to the Wonderful Counsellor Who only gives good advice.

His Name shall be called Mighty God…

Until Church folk put Him into a box on Sunday morning and perhaps Wednesday night if they can fit Him into their schedule, unless a crisis happens to occur and then He is Mighty God again, or they hope so. They don’t know so because their relationship with Him has been so obscure that they really don’t know Him that well. But He is still the same Mighty God as in Creation! He Who spoke the world into existence… unimaginable in my finite mind yet truth.

His Name shall be called Everlasting Father…

Eternal, forever and ever Amen… the way most believe their own lives to be on earth. Yet our lives are but a blip on the radar in comparison to eternity. We’re in utter despair when we lose someone we love on earth because of all the uncertainty that Satan throws into the mix. We know that scripture tells us that those who know the Lord as Savior are present with Him in death, but Satan plants seeds of doubt. And then there are those that we do not know if they knew the Lord as Savior… what about them? That is why we need to be concerned about those that are alive and well (or not so well) here on earth. For them they are still afforded the chance to know so that we all may have peace should something happen. And we can stand flat footed and call Satan the liar that he is.

His Name shall be called Prince of Peace…

Peace on earth, good will toward men? Somebody didn’t get the memo. Peace isn’t experienced where the Prince isn’t welcome. It’s the one thing that if we were all honest we’d say that we’d give up everything else in our life just to experience it, and it’s there for the asking. Perhaps not as we’d like it. We think peace is the evidence of no sorrow, or concerns in the world. But that’s not it. Peace is a feeling in the soul even in the middle of one of the worst storms in life knowing that the Prince has it under control. That’s my Jesus!

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you experience the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Prince of Peace and then share Him as the greatest gift ever given to the world.