"Come on, Jason, hurry up and eat. I can hardly wait 'til we start opening presents," Julie announced excitedly on Christmas morning.
"Why? What do you think you're going to get?" Jason asked.
"It's not that." She got close and whispered.
#57- It’s Indispensable!
A Character story about patience.
"Come on, Jason, hurry up and eat. I can hardly wait 'til we start opening presents," Julie announced excitedly on Christmas morning.
"Why? What do you think you're going to get?" Jason asked.
"It's not that." She got close and whispered, "I can't wait until Daddy opens your special surprise."
"Shhhh. Don't you dare give it away."
"Don't worry. I won't tell. I have a few surprises myself."
"Anyone want one of these last pancakes?" Mr. Jensen asked, entering the dining room with a plate filled with steaming hot flapjacks. "They're best hot."
"I'm so full I couldn't another one," Julie assured him. "Anyway, I'm too excited to eat anything more. Let's skip the dishes and get to the presents."
"What do you say, Mother? I'm a bit too excited to wait myself," Mr. Jensen said with a smile.
"That's fine with me. But let's stack them in the sink first." The twins quickly cleared the table as Joshua toddled into the room.
"Come on, Josh," Julie said, taking her little brother's hand. "We have some special presents, just for you."
"Wait a minute," Mr. Jensen interrupted. "Before we open presents, I'd like us to read the Christmas story together from the Bible. After all, that's what Christmas is all about."
"Oh, right," the twins said, embarrassed that they had forgotten. The family turned to Luke chapter two and then to Matthew chapter two and read the story of the shepherds and the wisemen.
Following the reading, Mr. Jensen commented, "It strikes me how few people were looking for or anxious for Christ's coming. It says all Jerusalem was 'troubled' with Herod. Many people then, as today, did not accept the fact that they needed a Saviour from their sins. Yet, it's because He came, and then died on the cross, that we give to each other today."
"That's great, Dad," Jason said. "Now can we open the presents?"
Mr. Jensen chuckled. "O.K. Now we can open presents."
Each one pulled up a chair around the tree. After a "What a beautiful bookshelf, Jason; you did an excellent job on it," and a "Such a lovely scarf, Julie; it just matches my new outfit," along with several other "Wow's!" and "Thanks a lot's," there remained just two large boxes under the tree. The twins eyed them excitedly while Joshua squealed as he threw his new ball across the room.
Mr. Jensen cleared his throat and, with a grin began, "Your mother and I have been discussing for some months what presents would be both fun and useful for you two. So, we took all our present money for you, and money from Grandma, and some extra the Lord provided, and got this present for both of you. You may each open one box."
Julie was quickest. "Oh, a new TV . . . I think."
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen said nothing as Jason unwrapped his large box. "WOW! A computer! Is it really?"
"Yup. And Julie's part is the monitor."
"Thanks a lot!" Julie beamed, hugging each parent.
"Wowie!" Jason shouted again. "Wait 'til Jonathan sees this! This is neat!!"
"And, Jason, don't forget, it's for both of you," Mrs. Jensen reminded.
"I know. Thanks a lot! Come on, Julie, let's set it up on the table. Does it have any games?"
"Not loaded. I wanted to show you-," said Mr. Jensen.
"Oh, you don't need to show me, Dad," Jason boasted confidently. "I know all about these things. We have them at school."
"O.K. Suit yourself."
Jason and Julie quickly unpacked the computer and set the monitor next to it on the table. After connecting the needed cables, they plugged them both in and turn on the switches.
When the screen lit up, Julie asked, "What do we do next?"
"You just wait and it will . . . Boy, this sure doesn't work like the one at school. It always goes right to Windows. Do you know what's wrong, Sis?"
"No, I don't know," Julie confessed. "You're the one who said you know all about it."
"Dad," Jason called, "what's wrong with this anyway?"
"Nothing at all. It's working just as it is designed. I'm sure you'll figure it out in no time."
Jason pushed every key on the computer, only to get an endless repetition of beeps. When flipping through the directions didn't help, he finally called to his dad again. "I-I guess I don't know all about it after all. This is a lot different from the one at school. I can't seem to get it. Can you help us?"
"I'd be glad to," answered Mr. Jensen as he set down his new book and walked into the dining room. "What I was going to tell is that I asked the man who built it for me to leave Windows off the hard drive. I wanted to show you how to load and configure it."
"Oh," Jason responded sheepishly. "I never did anything like that before."
"Just take this CD in the box and insert it in the drive. It won't take long. You see, every computer must have an operating system. Some have DOS, some OS/2, Macs have a different system. Windows used to work in DOS, but Windows 98 has its own OS."
"OS? Oh, you mean operating system. What's an operating system do?" Julie asked.
"It's actually is a set of programs that control what goes on in the computer and how to interpret what you type in. It's like . . . well, like the Bible word 'mediator.' A mediator is a go-between to make an agreement between two parties. The operating system takes information from you and from the programs and organizes how the computer will handle it. Without it, the computer is lost."
Julie and Jason peered over their Dad's shoulders, eager to learn all they could. "You know, running this computer without an operating system is like trying to come to God without Christ. First Timothy 2:5 says that 'there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' Jesus is the 'go-between' to make peace between His holy Father and sinful people. As we read earlier, there are many who were not very excited about His coming that first Christmas. And there are many today who feel they can live, and even die without Him. Because they are not looking for God's way, many of them missed it. But, like your first attempts at running this computer, their ways will never work without a Mediator. Yet the wise men and shepherds, and a few others were glad at His coming, for they humbly recognized that there was no eternal life apart from the Saviour that had come into the world."
Ten Tough Christmas Questions:
How well do you know the Christmas story? Answer each question that is clearly stated in the Bible as T. If it is false, or the Bible does not say, answer F
1) Jesus was born at night.
2) The angels appeared to the shepherds at night.
3) The shepherds gave Jesus a baby lamb.
4) The wisemen came the night Jesus was born.
5) The shepherds saw the star.
6) There were three wisemen.
7) Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
8) Jesus did not cry when he was born.
9) Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem from Nazareth.
10) Jesus was born the night Mary and Joseph arrived.
ANSWER: All are false except for numbers two and seven.