Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum.....

Dr. Mike Murphy

December 8, 2023

It is funny how the smallest of things can trigger our fondest of memories! While flipping through the channels of the television the other day I saw a commercial for an upcoming broadcast of The Little Drummer Boy.  In that split second, a smile came to my face as I remembered all the years as a young boy watching as the story unfolded on the television screen.  Before I even knew it, I found myself going online and listening to the familiar song I had grown up hearing.  

We all have heard the song more times in our lives than we can begin to count.  We all know the melody, the song, and even the story.  But how well do you know the message?

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum

A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum

Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum

To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum

I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum

I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum

That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,

On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum

The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,

rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum

Me and my drum.

When the day comes, what gift will you lay at the feet of the King?  Will you offer Him your most prized possession or the wealth you have acquired in this life?  I think not, Satan offered Christ all the wealth and riches the world would ever have to offer, and it meant nothing in Christ’s eyes.  Will you offer Him all the titles and accomplishments you have earned in your life?   I do not think so.   He already holds the ultimate title, King of Kings. When that day comes, and it will come in each of our lives, what gift will you lay at the feet of the King?

There is a gift that Christ yearns for, one each of us posses.  A gift that Christ values far above all.  A gift that carries no titles, but has a value far greater than all the wealth this world has to offer.  A gift that can be so easily given, but is way too often impossible to find. What is the name of this simple gift that Christ cherishes above all?  The gift of willingness!

Of all the gifts each of us are blessed with, willingness is by far our greatest gift. Unless we are first willing, none of the other gifts the Lord has graced each of us with is even available.  But when we are first willing, Christ will show us gifts we are blessed with that we never even realized we had.

Look at the words of the song one more time.  The little drummer boy thought he had absolutely nothing to offer the King.  But when this child was willing to offer the King all he had, a wondrous and memorable gift emerged.  A gift that all those present would be changed by.

Each of us often find ourselves in the same position this young boy did. We say to ourselves that we have nothing to offer.  “I am not very good at speaking to others”, or “I just do not know what the Bible says well enough to share it with people”, we often find ourselves saying.  When we make excuses for what we think we cannot do, we seek to limit God, prohibiting the many miraculous opportunities that may follow.  It is only when we are willing that God’s hand can move through us in ways we would have never seen possible.  When we are willing, the Lord will often put the words in our mouth we did not know we had, or give us the Biblical verse to quote we did not even realize we knew.  God can use us to touch lives in ways we would have never thought possible, but only when we are first willing!

So this season as we decorate the tree, get out the wrapping paper and the bows, and we hear that familiar ‘pa rum pum pum pum’ playing in the background, I hope each of you will wrap a small present and place a label on it addressed to Christ.  Inside place a simple piece of paper.  A piece of paper that has your handwriting on it,  and the words written, “Yes Lord, I am willing, and this year You can count on me!”.  The greatest give you have to offer cannot be purchased with your credit card, or found displayed in the most trendy of stores. The greatest gift you have to offer Christ is you!  Your time, your heart, your mind, your effort, your willingness!  All the things that reflect Christ, and make you your best!  I can promise that with this simple gift Christ will change your life in ways you would have never thought possible.  From this one simple gift, your life will be filled with more precious gifts than your wildest dreams could ever begin to imagine!  Just like the little drummer boy did, you will experience the smile from that infant in the manger.  A smile that forever changed the world! A smile, that this day, is looking to forever change your life!

May the beat of the drum find you willing this Christmas!

Pennies From Heaven(A Little Christmas Hope)

 Dr. Mike Murphy

December 4, 2023

As she watched the rain fall, she wished she could see each day of the past year washed away with every drop.  To say this year had been trying, would be an understatement.  She still found herself praying to God, but she could not deny that her faith had been shaken.  With each day, she was only left with more questions, finding herself in so many of these quiet moments asking the Lord, “why”.

She never thought her life was perfect, but is was a life she could not imagine living a day without.  A faithful, and devoted husband, that had been the love of her life since high school.  Twin, five year old daughters, that left her exhausted every night, but always falling to sleep smiling.  A loving mother, who had always been there for her since her dad had died in her youth.  And a church family, that she felt as close to as if they were her own blood.

But in a single moment, in a split second, she watched her world shatter. She could still remember the call she received that February day, but still could not tell you the words that were spoken to her.  All she heard was that Ryan, her husband, had been in a wreck, and she needed to get to the hospital immediately.  She barely knew how she had gotten there, but as she rushed into the emergency room, he was already in surgery.  He had lost control of his truck on the icy road heading to work that morning.  She would later learn that the truck had rolled as it hit the ditch, collapsing the cab of the truck onto his head. The doctors did not know the extent of the damage, but their immediate concern was to stop the bleeding.  She sat in the waiting room that morning for what seemed like hours before the surgeon approached her with news. And as she glanced into the surgeon’s eyes, she already knew what his words were going to be.

The funeral was a blur, she just went through the motions as she made the arrangements.  She did her best to explain what had happened to the girls, but she would still see their glances, looking for their father to come home.  As the funeral ended, the tragedies did not.  She soon learned that the company her husband worked for had changed their life insurance benefits, leaving her with little more than enough to pay the cost of his funeral.  It had been all the two of them could do to keep up with the bills together, so she did not have a clue how she was going to manage this with just her income.  But she rolled up her sleeves, and with her mother’s help in watching the girls, she worked every overtime hour she could get.  And as winter turned to spring, and spring turned to summer, she began to see a little shining hope again at the end of the dark tunnel.

Just as hope seemed to pop back up its’ head, hope soon found itself buried deep again.  Her mother’s arthritis had become so painful, it was all she could do just to watch after the girls.  Each day she watched as the pain grew, and the disease crippled her a little more.  As summer turned to fall, she watched as her mom was now in greater need of help herself, than of any help she could offer in watching the girls.  Every overtime hour she could get now went to child care, and with any extra dime she might find, she did what she could to help her mother.

As Christmas approached, she found her checking account with more zeros than other numbers.  No matter how hard she seemed to try, no matter how many extra hours she seemed to work, she could never get ahead.  And with each extra hour of work, she also watched as it cost her in other areas.  She found herself with little time to spend with her girls, missing memories from events in their life she would never be able to get back. And as she spent what little time she did have with the girls, she watched as her other relationships grew distant. She was at church so sparsely, she had lost contact with so many she cared for there.  Often they had called to check on her, hoping to get by to see her.  But her hours were so filled each day with the demands placed on her, that she could find no time to get with those around her.  Soon their calls became less frequent, and soon she found that the only thing left in her life besides the girls, was the struggle.

She had decided that for Christmas this year, she was going to get the girls the one thing their husband had planned on getting for them.  That from Santa this year, her husband's memory would remain alive in each of their lives. He had planned to get each a bike, as when he was six, he had gotten a bike for Christmas.  Both girls held on tightly to the stories of his first bike, and each time they saw Santa, a bike was always the one thing they wanted most.  With this in mind, she decided that no matter how many hours she had to work, no matter what she had to do without herself, her two girls were somehow going to have bikes this Christmas.

As December 23rd arrived, she still found herself a little over forty dollars short of being able to buy the bikes.  As she thought of Christmas morning, her heart sank.  Her last hope for this year was now gone, and she found herself crying tears she could never allow her precious girls to ever see.  As she made her way into the house that night to figure out what she would be able to now get the girls, she ran into her neighbor, Bill.  Trying to clear her eyes of the tears, as the rain began to fall that night, she told Bill of her situation. “Unless the Lord turns these raindrops into pennies, I will just never have enough to give my girls their wish this Christmas”, was all she could find the words to say.

Entering his house, those words weighed heavy with Bill.  Bill lived on a fixed income, retired for some years now.  If he had an extra forty dollars, he would have given it to her before she could have said another word.  His heart sank as he thought of those two girls, and all they had been through.  As he entered his door, he spoke out loud to the Lord. “If You would just show me a way, I so wish I could help”.  No more than Bill had gotten through the door, he saw the two five gallon jugs of pennies sitting on his floor.  Each day for several years, he would throw his extra pennies in those jars, hoping one day to have enough to do something special with them.  It was at that very moment, the Lord showed him just what that “special” would be.

In the early morning hours, Bill pulled the hood of his coat over his head, grabbed each of the jars, and made his way to his young neighbors lawn.  In the dark of the early morning rain, he found himself pouring out each jar, covering the grass in pennies as the rain continued to fall.  He then quietly snuck back to his house, and waited for the sun to rise.  

As dawn found its’ way to that day, Bill heard a scream.  Not a scream of terror, but one of joy.  Bill watched his young neighbor in disbelief as she found her way to her lawn, surrounding herself in the gleam of copper as the sun rose. Bill watched through tears that morning, as the young mother praised God with each penny she picked up.  He watched as for over an hour she picked up those pennies.  Each time she reached down to pick another penny up, Bill could not help but smile, as he saw a little hope returning to her face.  Enough pennies to not only get the girls both a bike, but matching helmets.  And just enough extra to make sure they got to share with their mom a Christmas dinner.  As Bill watched that morning from his kitchen window, he realized just how much the Lord had heard every word he had spoken to Him that night before.  And as Bill continued to watch, he could not help but tell the Lord a very “special thank you”, for giving him the greatest Christmas present he could ever have.

This Christmas, if you want to see a miracle, be a miracle.  Allow the Lord to use you in the most amazing of ways, and watch the miracles flow.  And with each amazing way, watch as the hope the Lord brought to the world that first Christmas night will fall on those around you like pennies from Heaven.

Praying you never forget, God is always with us this Christmas! And the greatest of hope is found in His name!