How many things happen that are inconvenient to you, and maybe irritate you or steal your smile?
We love the times we find the perfect parking place, the store has just what we want in stock, people are on time, there's no line at the checkout, traffic flows smoothly, etc.—but how quickly the times that those things don't happen can get under our skin!
I was curled up and reading a book about Christmas recently, and the way the author worded something made me really think. How inconvenient it was for Joseph—already having his marriage and life plans thrown awry and having to wrap himself around the idea that his fiance was pregnant by God, and already having to travel with his pregnant wife (imagine if everyone in your state had to return to their place of birth at the same time!)—only to finally get where he was going with his wife showing signs of labor and then to find out there was no room at the inn!
But here's the crazy part about that too full inn . . .
. . . God, who plans the most minute details of a plant, who knows every hair on our head, who designs the intricacies of a cell and the unfathomable scope and beauty of a galaxy, had been planning that Christmas moment for over 4,000 thousands of years—likely for all of time as we know it!
Ephesians tells us that the cross was planned from before the foundation of the earth. Adam and Eve's sin didn't catch God by surprise, and the cross wasn't "Plan B." Then, from the Fall onward, Scripture is filled with prophetic details accurately giving us future glimpses of the birth of Jesus centuries before it ever took place—Bethlehem (which also means the census to get Mary there), a virgin, a name—Immanuel—and so on. And the New Testament, referring to Christ's birth, calls it "the fullness of time," which to me tells me all of time prior pointed to, focused on, and awaited that fulfilling moment of Christ's birth.
And yet, the inn was full! And a food trough for animals was the only available crib! Wow!
How could God have not known about, or overlooked, that significantly inconvenient moment?!
The thing is, there is really no legitimate way I can see to realize that the focus of the Creator had been on that moment for thousands of years, with every detail foretold, and to then not believe that He knew the inn would be full, and that a manger would be the only resting place available. Which means . . . that Joseph and Mary's "inconvenience" was a part of God's greatest plan.
And so, I need to look at the irritating "inconveniences" in my life and see what God is doing in them, because they surely don't catch God by surprise. Maybe in the next aisle or checkstand over there is a divine appointment—a person needing Christ's love. Maybe in the delay there is a divine appointment coming that wouldn't otherwise, or maybe I am being shielded from something, or it is bringing my life into contact with another's that otherwise wouldn't have happened. After all, would the shepherds have even been able (or comfortable) visiting the baby if He was in a small hotel room?
Never forget, when there are "inconveniences" in your life, that the inn was full—and that it didn't catch God by surprise.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Monday, December 12, 2016
Make it All About You!
This Christmas I want to encourage you to make it all about you!
I know. That isn't what you'd expect someone—especially a pastor!—to encourage you. I'll explain.
Christmas is often a time of being around family, friends, social gatherings, etc. In any of those environments there are often people that stretch your ability to love and be patient, or whose ways or words wound or challenge or anger you. Often there are people with whom there is a history and things hard to let go of. In this most beautiful of times, often the people we are around can strain us, and the times that should be the most wonderful can become the most ugly.
An account of a time in David's life has become one our family returns to often. It has a lot of bearing on this subject. It is told in 1 Samuel 25 and it involves a time when David sent men to an awful, rich man named Nabal, asking for food. David told his men, "And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” (verses 6–8)
Well . . . Nabal is Nabal, and he basically mocks David and sends the men away with nothing and David responds by telling his men to strap on their swords. David said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him” (verses 21–22). In David's response his heart is revealed. He did good for Nabal, but he expected something back for it. And when he didn't get something back, he got angry and set off to sin, driven by his response to another man's ugliness and rudeness and ungratefulness—in response to another man's sin. And, this is our challenge—can we keep ourselves free from sin, despite the sins of others that drive us to anger, hurt, feeling walked on, etc.?
And so, I encourage you this Christmas season, if you are put into positions where the people around you make feelings rise in you that aren't Godly—make it all about you! Focus your heart and prayers on being the one who is Godly, regardless of how those around you might be. Fix your eyes on God and yourself, and purpose in your heart that each person's actions will be between them and God—but that their actions won't cause you to sin. Make it about you. Focus on you. Say, "I will love. I will respond with gentleness. I will not sin. Regardless of those around me. I will not let them have the power to cause me to sin. I will not change who I am with Christ in me, because of who they are."
How other people act is up to them, and between them and God. How I act is my responsibility. If I let another person cause me to sin, I have let them have more power over me then God in me has at the time. You and I can't do this on our own—we are weak, fleshly, and sinful without Christ. But with Christ in us, we can do all things. Christ showed us the way. He loved when not loved back. He served when unappreciated. He lived His life in response to God and not man. And He has promised us that in Him there is no temptation too great that there is not provided for us a way out. And to sin in response to another's sin is surely a temptation we all face.
Make it about you! Focus on you and your responses. Love others, but don't give them the power to quench the light of Christ shining out of you. It is Christmas! It is a glorious time of year. It is that time when many who otherwise might have hard and angry hearts find a little softness toward the message of Christ and we can not only tell, but we can show, the good news of great joy that is unto all people! But it begins with showing that Christ in us—our glorious Immanuel Christmas reality!—is greater than the power of the world to change us.
I know. That isn't what you'd expect someone—especially a pastor!—to encourage you. I'll explain.
Christmas is often a time of being around family, friends, social gatherings, etc. In any of those environments there are often people that stretch your ability to love and be patient, or whose ways or words wound or challenge or anger you. Often there are people with whom there is a history and things hard to let go of. In this most beautiful of times, often the people we are around can strain us, and the times that should be the most wonderful can become the most ugly.
An account of a time in David's life has become one our family returns to often. It has a lot of bearing on this subject. It is told in 1 Samuel 25 and it involves a time when David sent men to an awful, rich man named Nabal, asking for food. David told his men, "And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’” (verses 6–8)
Well . . . Nabal is Nabal, and he basically mocks David and sends the men away with nothing and David responds by telling his men to strap on their swords. David said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him” (verses 21–22). In David's response his heart is revealed. He did good for Nabal, but he expected something back for it. And when he didn't get something back, he got angry and set off to sin, driven by his response to another man's ugliness and rudeness and ungratefulness—in response to another man's sin. And, this is our challenge—can we keep ourselves free from sin, despite the sins of others that drive us to anger, hurt, feeling walked on, etc.?
And so, I encourage you this Christmas season, if you are put into positions where the people around you make feelings rise in you that aren't Godly—make it all about you! Focus your heart and prayers on being the one who is Godly, regardless of how those around you might be. Fix your eyes on God and yourself, and purpose in your heart that each person's actions will be between them and God—but that their actions won't cause you to sin. Make it about you. Focus on you. Say, "I will love. I will respond with gentleness. I will not sin. Regardless of those around me. I will not let them have the power to cause me to sin. I will not change who I am with Christ in me, because of who they are."
How other people act is up to them, and between them and God. How I act is my responsibility. If I let another person cause me to sin, I have let them have more power over me then God in me has at the time. You and I can't do this on our own—we are weak, fleshly, and sinful without Christ. But with Christ in us, we can do all things. Christ showed us the way. He loved when not loved back. He served when unappreciated. He lived His life in response to God and not man. And He has promised us that in Him there is no temptation too great that there is not provided for us a way out. And to sin in response to another's sin is surely a temptation we all face.
Make it about you! Focus on you and your responses. Love others, but don't give them the power to quench the light of Christ shining out of you. It is Christmas! It is a glorious time of year. It is that time when many who otherwise might have hard and angry hearts find a little softness toward the message of Christ and we can not only tell, but we can show, the good news of great joy that is unto all people! But it begins with showing that Christ in us—our glorious Immanuel Christmas reality!—is greater than the power of the world to change us.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Holy? Yes! Emmanuel? Yes!
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your hearts are gearing up for a joyous, Christ-filled Christmas! We were able to spend part of Thanksgiving with my folks and take our traditional three-generation Christmas season picture at the Carmel bakery/coffee shop we have been taking it at for six years now. Many of you will remember it from previous years (some are here and here), and I'll share this year's for those who might enjoy seeing it . . .
Sunday I concluded a sub-series I began on holiness back in May. It is part of a larger "Rumble Strips" series I have been doing which found its heart in Ephesians 4:11–12 where it says pastors are called to equip the church for the work of ministry (which I take to mean, not just fill their heads with knowledge and no insight into its application in our daily lives and work). In this series, after I teach on a basic tenet of our faith—some statement of faith most Christians would readily agree on and even declare to others—I then develop some "Rumble Strip" questions that help us detect if we are staying centered on that path, or starting to veer toward the shoulder ("rumble strips" are the intentional marks in asphalts along the shoulder or in advance of cautions that make a sound warning drivers they are hitting them).
This Sunday the first part of the basic faith statement I concluded teaching on and developing questions for was, "God is holy" Pretty basic, pretty Biblical. As we unpacked "holy" we saw at the core of the word is much more than simply He "does good" or He "doesn't do bad." Rather, at its core, "holy" means separate, set apart. God is holy—the Old and New Testaments reveal the cry around the throne is, "holy, holy, holy." His other character traits find their majesty in His holiness. Time finds its origin in Him. Right and wrong find their definition in Him. He doesn't run parallel to anything else that equally co-exists, all things find their beginning in Him. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is holy . . . set apart . . . separate. In Him is light and there is no darkness at all.
How holy is God? Ask David who, even in his "religious" effort to bring the ark to Jerusalem got casual with God's directions and did it his own way and saw a man die because he made common (profane) a holy God by doing it man's way and not God's. Ask Herod who was consumed by worms because He allowed a glory to rest on Him that should have been on God. Ask those who will experience the judgment of God when His wrath is tread out some time in the future.
In God's holiness is the very core of the gospel. Why is there a gap between God and man that is too vast for us to cross with any self effort or "goodness" or religious deeds of our own? Because God is holy, separate, set apart . . . and between Him and us is a gap so wide that we can not fathom it because we hold onto some semblance of belief that we are good on our own, and in doing so reveal we understand little about what it truly means that God is holy (I include myself it this). Throughout the Bible when men got a glimpse of God revealed—God's holiness—they cried out as lost, fell down as if dead, cried for Him to leave them, or were killed. If we hold any hope or idea that we can cross the gap between a holy God and ourselves by our own effort we don't understand holy.
And yet, in that, we find the awe—the absolute stunning awe—of Christmas. Because only in God could the two words, "holy" and "Emmanuel," be used of the same person. Holy, which means set apart and separate. Emmanuel which means God with us. Have you ever thought of what a mind blowing contradiction those two words are? Yet, in God, they are both true! The holy God became one of us, to make a way across the gap for us, so that we could be reconciled with Him and joined with Him as His sons and daughters, in love, for all of eternity. "Behold . . . I bring you good news of great joy . . ."
One of the final Rumble Strip questions I asked believers about the truth that God is holy was whether in our understanding of God's nature, love, and relationship with us we are too Emmanuel or too holy. The temptation is to go too far to one side or the other.
1. Too Emmanuel. I recently read a western novel in which it portrayed a preacher at a funeral talking about hell to a crowd pretty clearly unrepentant and not Christ followers. Albeit the preacher was created by the author to be very insensitive and wrathful in his delivery, the irony was that while the author made him out to be a jerk later in the story there was a "good guys go to heaven" funeral, and as Christmas fell he gave pages to telling the Christmas story and people commenting how much a better message that all was then the first preacher. I found myself thinking, "Isn't that so common? We love the God with us part, the Savior part, the baby in the manger part, but don't want to hear or tell about the whole reason for it—that eternal separation from God is real and that God is holy and in Him is no darkness and we are separated from Him, and that God makes it clear that man is without excuse!" I love that God loves me. I love that He'll never leave me. I love His promises for me. But if I get too cozy with that and then casual with my life choices and priorities I make common, or profane, His holy name and nature, and I mock the cross that displays His holiness and His love for me.
2. Too Holy. We can be so aware of God's holiness, and afraid of God, that we see Him as this stern and ferocious being separated up above and just waiting for us to mess up so He can hurl lightning bolts of wrath and hell upon us. We can see Him as holding our every mistake, and be terrified to approach Him or unable to believe He could love us or be with us or be a "Abba, Father" to us. Yes, He is holy, but He is also Emmanuel, and if we don't realize that we miss the whole point of the Gospel—to reconcile us to Him, to remove our alienation, to adopt us as His beloved children, and to never be separated from us again.
Holy? Yes! Emmanuel? Yes! And doesn't Christmas take on stunning joy and awe in light of those two truths that could only find their meeting place in Jesus? I hope you have an amazing Christmas season reflecting on, and sharing with others, the love of God found in His Son—the holy One who came to us because we could not go to Him. —Erick
Sunday I concluded a sub-series I began on holiness back in May. It is part of a larger "Rumble Strips" series I have been doing which found its heart in Ephesians 4:11–12 where it says pastors are called to equip the church for the work of ministry (which I take to mean, not just fill their heads with knowledge and no insight into its application in our daily lives and work). In this series, after I teach on a basic tenet of our faith—some statement of faith most Christians would readily agree on and even declare to others—I then develop some "Rumble Strip" questions that help us detect if we are staying centered on that path, or starting to veer toward the shoulder ("rumble strips" are the intentional marks in asphalts along the shoulder or in advance of cautions that make a sound warning drivers they are hitting them).
This Sunday the first part of the basic faith statement I concluded teaching on and developing questions for was, "God is holy" Pretty basic, pretty Biblical. As we unpacked "holy" we saw at the core of the word is much more than simply He "does good" or He "doesn't do bad." Rather, at its core, "holy" means separate, set apart. God is holy—the Old and New Testaments reveal the cry around the throne is, "holy, holy, holy." His other character traits find their majesty in His holiness. Time finds its origin in Him. Right and wrong find their definition in Him. He doesn't run parallel to anything else that equally co-exists, all things find their beginning in Him. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is holy . . . set apart . . . separate. In Him is light and there is no darkness at all.
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| Yellowstone National Park. |
In God's holiness is the very core of the gospel. Why is there a gap between God and man that is too vast for us to cross with any self effort or "goodness" or religious deeds of our own? Because God is holy, separate, set apart . . . and between Him and us is a gap so wide that we can not fathom it because we hold onto some semblance of belief that we are good on our own, and in doing so reveal we understand little about what it truly means that God is holy (I include myself it this). Throughout the Bible when men got a glimpse of God revealed—God's holiness—they cried out as lost, fell down as if dead, cried for Him to leave them, or were killed. If we hold any hope or idea that we can cross the gap between a holy God and ourselves by our own effort we don't understand holy.
And yet, in that, we find the awe—the absolute stunning awe—of Christmas. Because only in God could the two words, "holy" and "Emmanuel," be used of the same person. Holy, which means set apart and separate. Emmanuel which means God with us. Have you ever thought of what a mind blowing contradiction those two words are? Yet, in God, they are both true! The holy God became one of us, to make a way across the gap for us, so that we could be reconciled with Him and joined with Him as His sons and daughters, in love, for all of eternity. "Behold . . . I bring you good news of great joy . . ."
One of the final Rumble Strip questions I asked believers about the truth that God is holy was whether in our understanding of God's nature, love, and relationship with us we are too Emmanuel or too holy. The temptation is to go too far to one side or the other.
1. Too Emmanuel. I recently read a western novel in which it portrayed a preacher at a funeral talking about hell to a crowd pretty clearly unrepentant and not Christ followers. Albeit the preacher was created by the author to be very insensitive and wrathful in his delivery, the irony was that while the author made him out to be a jerk later in the story there was a "good guys go to heaven" funeral, and as Christmas fell he gave pages to telling the Christmas story and people commenting how much a better message that all was then the first preacher. I found myself thinking, "Isn't that so common? We love the God with us part, the Savior part, the baby in the manger part, but don't want to hear or tell about the whole reason for it—that eternal separation from God is real and that God is holy and in Him is no darkness and we are separated from Him, and that God makes it clear that man is without excuse!" I love that God loves me. I love that He'll never leave me. I love His promises for me. But if I get too cozy with that and then casual with my life choices and priorities I make common, or profane, His holy name and nature, and I mock the cross that displays His holiness and His love for me.
2. Too Holy. We can be so aware of God's holiness, and afraid of God, that we see Him as this stern and ferocious being separated up above and just waiting for us to mess up so He can hurl lightning bolts of wrath and hell upon us. We can see Him as holding our every mistake, and be terrified to approach Him or unable to believe He could love us or be with us or be a "Abba, Father" to us. Yes, He is holy, but He is also Emmanuel, and if we don't realize that we miss the whole point of the Gospel—to reconcile us to Him, to remove our alienation, to adopt us as His beloved children, and to never be separated from us again.
Holy? Yes! Emmanuel? Yes! And doesn't Christmas take on stunning joy and awe in light of those two truths that could only find their meeting place in Jesus? I hope you have an amazing Christmas season reflecting on, and sharing with others, the love of God found in His Son—the holy One who came to us because we could not go to Him. —Erick
Monday, November 26, 2012
Surrender . . . Lay it Down
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My guess is that for many, now, the Christmas music and movies and decorations are starting to come out . . . or at least you have a plan for it. I know we have already watched a few Christmas movies and we are starting to think ahead to when we might go into the hills and cut a tree, about our local church family coming over next Sunday for an open house fellowship at our home, about visiting with others, etc.
I know for myself, and I would assume that for most Christians, I hope that this Christmas season I can show Christ to, and share Christ with, others. I long to have Him be the center of my heart, life, thoughts, awe, wonder, thanks, words, and deeds. And, I think that this is a lot more simple than sometimes I make it as I too often tackle the issue with all this self effort, trying harder, trying to do more, etc. I think that it is, simply, found in surrendering.
Think, for a moment, about one of the most amazing realities of Christmas. It is Immanuel—God with us. Jesus came in the flesh and walked among us. He lived completely reliant on the Holy Spirit and completely surrendered to the Father. His words and deeds were so much the Father's through Him that He could say, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father."
Then something even more amazing happened. He died, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into Heaven after 40 days, and now comes, as the Holy Spirit (God Himself!) to dwell inside every believer. If you have surrendered your life, in faith, to Jesus and received His work on the cross in your place as the basis of your salvation you are born again, a new creation, with God Himself living within you!
The Bible tells us we are the body of Christ, His hands and feet, and He is the head. How does a human body best please and represent the mind (head)? Not by its members running off on their own self effort driven attempts to do good, but by simply surrendering to the head and letting the head dictate its wishes and direction to them. It doesn't mean they are lazy or not doing anything. It does mean they are letting the head live out through them. That's a body fully functioning in the simplest human sense, and in the body of Christ sense.
God lives in us and, just like Jesus modeled in His relationship to the Father, He desires to live through us. What He needs from us is surrender. Basically, to get out of the way in a sense. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." That is the reality. As Christians, Christ lives in us. He simply wants to live through us.
How does Christ, living in us, best live through us? When we surrender and let Him. When, in faith, we rest in His presence and voice in us and let Him lead us and guide us into His plans and purposes and words.
When will the world see the image of Christ in us? When we let Him live through us and they see Him and not us at work.
This Christmas I want to get out of the way. I want to live aware of His voice and leading and nudging, and then to obey and follow them. I don't want to be so consumed by my own good ideas and self effort that I have no room, or silence, to hear His voice and sense His leading. No matter how good my intentions the world still only sees me when I am the one leading. It may even be big, religious stuff I am doing and still not be Him. Only when I let Him truly live through me will they truly see Him and not me.
That is my hope this Christmas and my guess is that, if I am able, my other great hope for this Christmas will be realized. This hope is that the awe and reality and wonder and gratitude of God coming to earth for me, and living (and dying) among us for me, would captivate my heart and break through the walls of numbness I sometimes feel to the amazing truths I preach. I long to be overwhelmed and awed and captivated by the reality of His love, and majesty, and holiness, and presence and my guess is that I will most achieve this when He is living most fully through me as, then, not only will others—but also myself—be most close to seeing the image of Christ and experiencing Him most fully.
I know for myself, and I would assume that for most Christians, I hope that this Christmas season I can show Christ to, and share Christ with, others. I long to have Him be the center of my heart, life, thoughts, awe, wonder, thanks, words, and deeds. And, I think that this is a lot more simple than sometimes I make it as I too often tackle the issue with all this self effort, trying harder, trying to do more, etc. I think that it is, simply, found in surrendering.
Think, for a moment, about one of the most amazing realities of Christmas. It is Immanuel—God with us. Jesus came in the flesh and walked among us. He lived completely reliant on the Holy Spirit and completely surrendered to the Father. His words and deeds were so much the Father's through Him that He could say, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father."
Then something even more amazing happened. He died, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into Heaven after 40 days, and now comes, as the Holy Spirit (God Himself!) to dwell inside every believer. If you have surrendered your life, in faith, to Jesus and received His work on the cross in your place as the basis of your salvation you are born again, a new creation, with God Himself living within you!
The Bible tells us we are the body of Christ, His hands and feet, and He is the head. How does a human body best please and represent the mind (head)? Not by its members running off on their own self effort driven attempts to do good, but by simply surrendering to the head and letting the head dictate its wishes and direction to them. It doesn't mean they are lazy or not doing anything. It does mean they are letting the head live out through them. That's a body fully functioning in the simplest human sense, and in the body of Christ sense.
God lives in us and, just like Jesus modeled in His relationship to the Father, He desires to live through us. What He needs from us is surrender. Basically, to get out of the way in a sense. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." That is the reality. As Christians, Christ lives in us. He simply wants to live through us.
How does Christ, living in us, best live through us? When we surrender and let Him. When, in faith, we rest in His presence and voice in us and let Him lead us and guide us into His plans and purposes and words.
When will the world see the image of Christ in us? When we let Him live through us and they see Him and not us at work.
This Christmas I want to get out of the way. I want to live aware of His voice and leading and nudging, and then to obey and follow them. I don't want to be so consumed by my own good ideas and self effort that I have no room, or silence, to hear His voice and sense His leading. No matter how good my intentions the world still only sees me when I am the one leading. It may even be big, religious stuff I am doing and still not be Him. Only when I let Him truly live through me will they truly see Him and not me.
That is my hope this Christmas and my guess is that, if I am able, my other great hope for this Christmas will be realized. This hope is that the awe and reality and wonder and gratitude of God coming to earth for me, and living (and dying) among us for me, would captivate my heart and break through the walls of numbness I sometimes feel to the amazing truths I preach. I long to be overwhelmed and awed and captivated by the reality of His love, and majesty, and holiness, and presence and my guess is that I will most achieve this when He is living most fully through me as, then, not only will others—but also myself—be most close to seeing the image of Christ and experiencing Him most fully.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Two Christmas "Compilations" . . .
I have taken the liberty to “translate” a couple of Bible verses (no I am not a Greek scholar, and I don’t claim that these are “accurate” in that sense). I hope that they bless you as they have me as I have reflected on Christmas this season. Please don’t get offended that I have taken this liberty—nothing blasphemous is meant by it, and I am not trying to say it is a true “translation” or to add to or take away from His Word which is perfect and true. These are more accurately compilations of multiple verses put together into a way that helps me, by putting different thoughts in one place, grasp just what it is I believe.
May this Christmas be filled with joy, awe, and worship for all of you as you reflect on the wonder and the awe of God loving us as much as He does, and being so near to us. Thanks for reading my blog, sharing your thoughts, and being a part of my life. I value you. To paraphrase Paul Ellis in his “Escape to Reality” blog, through God’s eyes Jesus came to earth because God loves us, so through God’s eyes, “You are the reason for the season.”
God bless you all, and Merry Christmas! —Erick
"Translation" of Luke 2, verse 5: “to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child” becomes:
to be registered with Mary, [a young, poor virgin from a no account city], his betrothed [(because he was told in a dream that her story that an angel had come to her and that it was God who had put the child in her was true)], who [had inside her frail and very human womb the One who breathes out stars, the Creator of all the universe, the One who all things find in Him their beginning and their end, the One in whom all things are held together and around Whose throne the multitude of angels and hosts of heaven hover and bow and cry “holy, holy, holy]”.
"Translation" of John 1:14a, drawing heavily on Revelation 19:11–16: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” becomes:
And the [One called “The Word of God” and “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” who will return on a white horse with eyes like a flame of fire and wearing a robe dipped in blood with all the armies of Heaven behind Him also arrayed on white horses when He returns to strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron as He treads out the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty] became [a baby, laid in an animal feed trough, surrounded by coarse straw and wrapped in rough cloths, totally helpless and dependent on a poor couple, hounded and chased from His own country] and [lived among us, getting tired, hungry, weeping, being single and homeless, rejected, spit on, mocked, beaten, and ultimately killed] . . .
May this Christmas be filled with joy, awe, and worship for all of you as you reflect on the wonder and the awe of God loving us as much as He does, and being so near to us. Thanks for reading my blog, sharing your thoughts, and being a part of my life. I value you. To paraphrase Paul Ellis in his “Escape to Reality” blog, through God’s eyes Jesus came to earth because God loves us, so through God’s eyes, “You are the reason for the season.”
God bless you all, and Merry Christmas! —Erick
"Translation" of Luke 2, verse 5: “to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child” becomes:
to be registered with Mary, [a young, poor virgin from a no account city], his betrothed [(because he was told in a dream that her story that an angel had come to her and that it was God who had put the child in her was true)], who [had inside her frail and very human womb the One who breathes out stars, the Creator of all the universe, the One who all things find in Him their beginning and their end, the One in whom all things are held together and around Whose throne the multitude of angels and hosts of heaven hover and bow and cry “holy, holy, holy]”.
"Translation" of John 1:14a, drawing heavily on Revelation 19:11–16: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us . . .” becomes:
And the [One called “The Word of God” and “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” who will return on a white horse with eyes like a flame of fire and wearing a robe dipped in blood with all the armies of Heaven behind Him also arrayed on white horses when He returns to strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron as He treads out the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty] became [a baby, laid in an animal feed trough, surrounded by coarse straw and wrapped in rough cloths, totally helpless and dependent on a poor couple, hounded and chased from His own country] and [lived among us, getting tired, hungry, weeping, being single and homeless, rejected, spit on, mocked, beaten, and ultimately killed] . . .
Friday, December 24, 2010
Loved Before the Earth Was Formed . . .
I wanted to wish each of you a very merry, joyous, peaceful, Spirit-filled Christmas tomorrow, and to thank you for sharing in my life through reading my blog, making me richer with your thoughts and sharings, and blessing me with your prayers. May God pour out His Spirit upon you this Christmas, and may the coming year be, for you, one of growing closer and closer to Him as your relationship with Him deepens and deepens.
As a simple gift to you, this Christmas, I want to share with you the thought that will be at the core of my sharing this evening at our candlelight Christmas Eve celebration. May it take you to a place of deep reflection, and may you rise from that place with a joy and security deeper than any you have ever felt before . . .
As Christians, we all know that the birth of Jesus was for a purpose—and that purpose took Him to the cross where He died for our sins. We also all know that it was love that took Him to the cross. John 3:16–18 are our guidon verses that we raise up to let others know that, ". . . God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
The Apostle John shared this recognition of God's love in 1 John 4:9-11 when he wrote, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." John shared his awe at such love when he penned 1 John 3:1, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God . . ."
I know this, and I am filled with gratitude for God's love, that He would give me such a gift. That love is, in itself, so astounding that I could never capture with words or in my heart the amazing wonder of a God who loves me that much when I have loved Him so little, and sinned so much. But, there is something that makes it even more astounding to me, and this truth is found in Ephesians 1:3-10 in which Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
The "fullness of time" is Christmas, and the cross. Galatians 4:4-7 makes this clear when it uses the same expression: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
So, when God said the time was "full" (or had come) He sent Jesus to complete His plan—to unite us with Him through Jesus. And He did this from love. And, and here's the thing that rocks my mind, He did this from a love He had for you and I before He even formed the earth! Read again those Ephesians words, ". . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ." Do you realize that before He even formed the earth—before even your grandparents a hundred generations back were born—He knew you and loved you so much that He established a plan to unite you back with Him through His Son, Jesus?
How can we comprehend such love? To be loved before we were even concieved!?!
He LOVED me before He even formed the earth! He loved me before He even formed me in my mother's womb! Back when ". . . the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep" He already knew me and loved me so much that He established a plan to bring me back to Him—a plan that would cost Him His life. Then, as He watched and waited, came "the fullness of time" and He sent forth His Son on that first Christmas morn to complete His plan to unite me with Him, still, long before I was born. Of course, that applies to you as well—not just me—He knew and LOVED you before He ever formed the earth. If that doesn't tell you and I how absolutely special we are to Him, then I don't know what will. To be known, and loved so deeply that He would lay His life down for us, before He ever even formed the earth—wow! Our God is so amazing, and His love for us so incredible—it is a revelation that should alter the very fabric of our lives, focus, anxiety, values, and aim. To be loved like that, by a God who could know and love us before we ever were born. It is a wonderful God we have to lay our lives before. All praise and glory be to Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
God bless you all. Merry Christmas! You are loved!
As a simple gift to you, this Christmas, I want to share with you the thought that will be at the core of my sharing this evening at our candlelight Christmas Eve celebration. May it take you to a place of deep reflection, and may you rise from that place with a joy and security deeper than any you have ever felt before . . .
As Christians, we all know that the birth of Jesus was for a purpose—and that purpose took Him to the cross where He died for our sins. We also all know that it was love that took Him to the cross. John 3:16–18 are our guidon verses that we raise up to let others know that, ". . . God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
The Apostle John shared this recognition of God's love in 1 John 4:9-11 when he wrote, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." John shared his awe at such love when he penned 1 John 3:1, "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God . . ."
I know this, and I am filled with gratitude for God's love, that He would give me such a gift. That love is, in itself, so astounding that I could never capture with words or in my heart the amazing wonder of a God who loves me that much when I have loved Him so little, and sinned so much. But, there is something that makes it even more astounding to me, and this truth is found in Ephesians 1:3-10 in which Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."
The "fullness of time" is Christmas, and the cross. Galatians 4:4-7 makes this clear when it uses the same expression: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
So, when God said the time was "full" (or had come) He sent Jesus to complete His plan—to unite us with Him through Jesus. And He did this from love. And, and here's the thing that rocks my mind, He did this from a love He had for you and I before He even formed the earth! Read again those Ephesians words, ". . . even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ." Do you realize that before He even formed the earth—before even your grandparents a hundred generations back were born—He knew you and loved you so much that He established a plan to unite you back with Him through His Son, Jesus?
How can we comprehend such love? To be loved before we were even concieved!?!
He LOVED me before He even formed the earth! He loved me before He even formed me in my mother's womb! Back when ". . . the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep" He already knew me and loved me so much that He established a plan to bring me back to Him—a plan that would cost Him His life. Then, as He watched and waited, came "the fullness of time" and He sent forth His Son on that first Christmas morn to complete His plan to unite me with Him, still, long before I was born. Of course, that applies to you as well—not just me—He knew and LOVED you before He ever formed the earth. If that doesn't tell you and I how absolutely special we are to Him, then I don't know what will. To be known, and loved so deeply that He would lay His life down for us, before He ever even formed the earth—wow! Our God is so amazing, and His love for us so incredible—it is a revelation that should alter the very fabric of our lives, focus, anxiety, values, and aim. To be loved like that, by a God who could know and love us before we ever were born. It is a wonderful God we have to lay our lives before. All praise and glory be to Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
God bless you all. Merry Christmas! You are loved!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
It Must Have Been Amazing . . .
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them . . .
The glory of the Lord! Wow! There they were, out at night, tending their sheep and a mighty angel from Heaven appears, and the glory of the Lord comes down also. A simple word search of the Old Testament will reveal that the glory of the Lord isn't just some "feeling" or "warm fuzzy" because an angel is around. It is the weighty, tangible presence of our holy God in some way I don't fully understand. A small sampling of the many verses in which we find it mentioned makes that abundantly clear:
Ex 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.
Ex 40:34-35 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
1 Kings 8:10-11 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
2 Chron 7:1-3 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."
Ezek 1:28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
It is no wonder, then, that the shepherds were, ". . . filled with fear." There was an angel—reason enough—and the glory of the Lord. I can only imagine that in a moment these men, who were raised under the Law and who knew much about God's holiness and justice and wrath, and little about His love, were filled with terror. His glory must have, in a moment, destroyed any pretense of their own goodness or righteousness as they were in the presence of His holiness. How their righteousness must have suddenly seemed as filthy rags, and how terror must have filled their souls. But then . . .
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people...” and the message of a Savior—One to save and not condemn them, One to do what they could not, One to free them, One to make them right with God—was given! No wonder it was proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest!" At that moment there is no chance they could have claimed any glory for themselves. His manifest presence and holiness would have stripped them of any pretense and it would have been clear to all—man and angel alike—that God alone was doing the salvation, and to Him be the glory!
How they must have been filled with joy as they went out, found this good news to be true, and returned glorify and praising God and telling what they had seen and heard! It must have been amazing . . .
Friday, December 17, 2010
For unto you is born this day . . .
"Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. . . ." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:10-14)
An article by Stephanie Samuel in the online Christian Post today gives Christians a pause for reflection. The article, titled, "Author: Most Evangelicals Believe Good People are Heaven-Bound," has some interesting quotes (you can read the whole article by clicking on the name of it above). Some of the things it says are (the words in #s 1–3 are quotes from the article):
1) The majority of Protestants and evangelicals believe that good people and people of other religions can go to heaven, according to author David Campbell. . . . surveys of 3,000 Americans, used to write the book, show that American people of faith, though devout, are very tolerant. So much so that most believers also believe that good people, despite their religious affiliation, can go to heaven.
2) Campbell . . . explained at a Thursday discussion of his book that the numbers can be explained with the “Aunt Susan” theory. Aunt Susan, he said, is the nice family member who is well-loved and is an all around do-gooder. “You know that if anyone is destined to go to heaven, it’s Aunt Susan,” described Campbell. However, Aunt Susan is of another religion. Rather than condemn that person to a lost eternity, Campbell said, most American believers choose instead to believe that that person is heaven-bound.
3) Land lamented that more evangelicals are being taught the doctrine of universalism. “It’s emphasized from the pulpit; it’s emphasized in the seminaries,” he decried. Universalism is the theological doctrine that all people will eventually be saved despite a relationship with Christ.
My Thoughts: This survey raises some interesting questions around Christmas that the Evangelicals who this describes need to answer. The first of these is, "Then what was Christmas, and ultimately the cross, about?" If a Savior was given to us, and that Savior was God's Son, and God allowed Him to suffer so ultimately for us, then why did that happen if there were other ways? How can anyone believing in Jesus as Jesus describes Himself believe that if there was any other way to save us that God wouldn't have taken that path?
Another question is about God's Word. Do you believe it is His Word or not? If you are going to pick it apart and decide arbitrarily which parts you believe and which you don't then who are you to state John 3:16 with confidence, or how do you possibly offer confident hope to someone contemplating suicide or struggling with hopelessness?
Another question, equally relevant around Christmas, is, "What were we being saved from if all people end up in Heaven?" It is amazing to me how reluctant most Christians are to talk about things God was not hesitant or apologetic talking about—Heaven, Hell, fear of God, sin, holiness, condemnation, redemption, etc. It doesn't mean that we should talk about these things with a pointing and "in their face" finger, from a platform of arrogance, but we are very remiss if we don't share what God openly shares, and do so from a place of humility and love because we know that, but for Christ, we, too would be separated from God in Hell forever.
Christmas is a message of great joy! Indescribable joy! All Heaven declares the glory of God and the news! Why? Because the bad news is so bad. Because man is sinful and fallen and there is not one good among him according to God's Word. Because eternal separation from God, in Hell, is a fate to wish upon no one. Because we were helpless to save ourselves, but God came and saved us. He didn't steal us from the devil on some "Underground Railroad" smuggling us away—He recognized Satan's lawful right to us as his slaves and He bought us from him, and the purchase price was His Son's blood . . . the only innocent blood that could be shed in another's place because we were all guilty and condemned to die anyway.
Glory be to God in the highest! He has saved us, and He has given us His precious Word to show us the way and to make sure we understand that His Way, through His Son, is the only way—and that is the message of Christmas! God, please help us to stand strong in your Word, to not be ashamed or apologetic of what you are not ashamed or apologetic of, to be filled with joy at your message, and to shed it abroad with all love and humility.
An article by Stephanie Samuel in the online Christian Post today gives Christians a pause for reflection. The article, titled, "Author: Most Evangelicals Believe Good People are Heaven-Bound," has some interesting quotes (you can read the whole article by clicking on the name of it above). Some of the things it says are (the words in #s 1–3 are quotes from the article):
1) The majority of Protestants and evangelicals believe that good people and people of other religions can go to heaven, according to author David Campbell. . . . surveys of 3,000 Americans, used to write the book, show that American people of faith, though devout, are very tolerant. So much so that most believers also believe that good people, despite their religious affiliation, can go to heaven.
2) Campbell . . . explained at a Thursday discussion of his book that the numbers can be explained with the “Aunt Susan” theory. Aunt Susan, he said, is the nice family member who is well-loved and is an all around do-gooder. “You know that if anyone is destined to go to heaven, it’s Aunt Susan,” described Campbell. However, Aunt Susan is of another religion. Rather than condemn that person to a lost eternity, Campbell said, most American believers choose instead to believe that that person is heaven-bound.
3) Land lamented that more evangelicals are being taught the doctrine of universalism. “It’s emphasized from the pulpit; it’s emphasized in the seminaries,” he decried. Universalism is the theological doctrine that all people will eventually be saved despite a relationship with Christ.
My Thoughts: This survey raises some interesting questions around Christmas that the Evangelicals who this describes need to answer. The first of these is, "Then what was Christmas, and ultimately the cross, about?" If a Savior was given to us, and that Savior was God's Son, and God allowed Him to suffer so ultimately for us, then why did that happen if there were other ways? How can anyone believing in Jesus as Jesus describes Himself believe that if there was any other way to save us that God wouldn't have taken that path?
Another question is about God's Word. Do you believe it is His Word or not? If you are going to pick it apart and decide arbitrarily which parts you believe and which you don't then who are you to state John 3:16 with confidence, or how do you possibly offer confident hope to someone contemplating suicide or struggling with hopelessness?
Another question, equally relevant around Christmas, is, "What were we being saved from if all people end up in Heaven?" It is amazing to me how reluctant most Christians are to talk about things God was not hesitant or apologetic talking about—Heaven, Hell, fear of God, sin, holiness, condemnation, redemption, etc. It doesn't mean that we should talk about these things with a pointing and "in their face" finger, from a platform of arrogance, but we are very remiss if we don't share what God openly shares, and do so from a place of humility and love because we know that, but for Christ, we, too would be separated from God in Hell forever.
Christmas is a message of great joy! Indescribable joy! All Heaven declares the glory of God and the news! Why? Because the bad news is so bad. Because man is sinful and fallen and there is not one good among him according to God's Word. Because eternal separation from God, in Hell, is a fate to wish upon no one. Because we were helpless to save ourselves, but God came and saved us. He didn't steal us from the devil on some "Underground Railroad" smuggling us away—He recognized Satan's lawful right to us as his slaves and He bought us from him, and the purchase price was His Son's blood . . . the only innocent blood that could be shed in another's place because we were all guilty and condemned to die anyway.
Glory be to God in the highest! He has saved us, and He has given us His precious Word to show us the way and to make sure we understand that His Way, through His Son, is the only way—and that is the message of Christmas! God, please help us to stand strong in your Word, to not be ashamed or apologetic of what you are not ashamed or apologetic of, to be filled with joy at your message, and to shed it abroad with all love and humility.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Immanuel . . . In and Through Us
Note: I look forward to sharing more about the issue of Christian "rights" which I wrote on last time, but today I want to share something a little different. ("Rights" being those things/promises from God we can stand on in faith because God says that they are ours since we are His.)
Immanuel . . . Traditionally the day(s) right after Thanksgiving are when we take out our Christmas stuff. It is a time the girls, especially, look forward to—eagerly anticipating the movies and music and, when we are able to get it, the decorating of the tree. This year, however, a situation in the life of some friends caused us to put that off. We wanted to spend the bulk of those days helping them and our whole family participated. I felt like God shared with me a special way to talk to the girls about it, and I wanted to share it with you.
Friday morning I told the girls that we were going to begin celebrating Christmas that day (eyes wide, smiles big, excitement there, Christmas movies envisioned) . . . but, that it might not be the way they were thinking. I then asked them what one of the names of Jesus was, tied in to the Christmas story—a name that our family has used often to remind each other of God's presence. They answered "Immanuel" and, when asked what it meant, said "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)
I then talked with them about how, while Jesus was here on earth, God was with us in bodily form through Him. But, then, something amazing happened—He died and ascended to Heaven, and His Spirit came to dwell in believers! From being in one body at one time, to being in every Christian at the same time!
Through my asking them questions and drawing them to realizations, we talked about how, when a lady in our fellowship is serving as a nurse, it is really Jesus who is loving the people through her. We saw how, when someone else in our fellowship is loving someone else at their work place, it is really Jesus loving them through them. And then, how we were going to have the privilege to allow Jesus to love our friends through us as we allow ourselves to be His hands and feet.
It was amazing how the girls got it—that Christmas hasn't ended when Jesus died, just expanded! That now God (while present, certainly, around us at all times) is tangibly with us, living through us, as His children. Immanuel has the potential to be true in and around every believer at all times and, so, that miraculous aspect of Christmas continues and expands as believers surrender their lives and allow Him to live His life and love and serve others through them!
So, Merry Christmas! Immanuel! God is with you, believer . . . and He seeks to be with others through you! What an amazing comfort and privilege that is to know!
Immanuel . . . Traditionally the day(s) right after Thanksgiving are when we take out our Christmas stuff. It is a time the girls, especially, look forward to—eagerly anticipating the movies and music and, when we are able to get it, the decorating of the tree. This year, however, a situation in the life of some friends caused us to put that off. We wanted to spend the bulk of those days helping them and our whole family participated. I felt like God shared with me a special way to talk to the girls about it, and I wanted to share it with you.
Friday morning I told the girls that we were going to begin celebrating Christmas that day (eyes wide, smiles big, excitement there, Christmas movies envisioned) . . . but, that it might not be the way they were thinking. I then asked them what one of the names of Jesus was, tied in to the Christmas story—a name that our family has used often to remind each other of God's presence. They answered "Immanuel" and, when asked what it meant, said "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)
I then talked with them about how, while Jesus was here on earth, God was with us in bodily form through Him. But, then, something amazing happened—He died and ascended to Heaven, and His Spirit came to dwell in believers! From being in one body at one time, to being in every Christian at the same time!
Through my asking them questions and drawing them to realizations, we talked about how, when a lady in our fellowship is serving as a nurse, it is really Jesus who is loving the people through her. We saw how, when someone else in our fellowship is loving someone else at their work place, it is really Jesus loving them through them. And then, how we were going to have the privilege to allow Jesus to love our friends through us as we allow ourselves to be His hands and feet.
It was amazing how the girls got it—that Christmas hasn't ended when Jesus died, just expanded! That now God (while present, certainly, around us at all times) is tangibly with us, living through us, as His children. Immanuel has the potential to be true in and around every believer at all times and, so, that miraculous aspect of Christmas continues and expands as believers surrender their lives and allow Him to live His life and love and serve others through them!
So, Merry Christmas! Immanuel! God is with you, believer . . . and He seeks to be with others through you! What an amazing comfort and privilege that is to know!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Adoration Night
On the Saturday before Christmas I was preparing our church’s announcement master for making copies, and thinking about the coming Christmas week and what it was all about, and the word "adore" kept coming to me. I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to look like—I actually get afraid of so "adoring" Jesus as a baby that we forget He is also the fierce Lion of the Tribe of Judah—but I felt we were to simply adore Him.
So, we invited anyone in the fellowship who wanted to and could to come to our home that Wednesday evening before Christmas for an evening of adoring Him and praising Him. While I wanted to end the night with asking His blessing over our fellowship, community, and nation for 2010, I felt strongly that it was to simply be a night about Him, not about us.
It ended up that Wednesday that nine of us sat in our living room, around the wood stove, with the Christmas lights on the tree, and began by sharing what Christmas meant to us in our hearts. It was beautiful to hear how the different facets of the Christmas message touched and sustained people differently. After a time we began singing to Him, hymns and carols, and then we entered a time of simply praying out loud, as each was led who wanted to—to Him, about Him. We simply thanked Him and praised Him and “adored” Him. Finally, at the end, we asked His blessing over the things I already mentioned. One lady sang a cappella that night a song declaring there to be a “sweet, sweet presence in the place,” and she was so right. Another shared with me later in the week that the presence of the Spirit was strong there that night—almost as if we should have been laying hands on one another.
I shared a little about this in passing on Facebook the week after Christmas, and a friend mentioned that she was going to a New Year’s Eve “Praying in the New Year” gathering and hoped it would be as sweet as our Adoration night which I had described. I quickly typed back an answer to her, “I find that often that sweet sense doesn't happen without intention. I really worked to keep the focus on simply praising and talking about Him, and not about our individual needs. There is absolutely a place for personal prayer needs, but sometimes I just long for the corporate focus on Him alone.”
In thinking afterwards about that quick response, I find in it a deep core of truth for all of us. While God will show up (in some way beyond simply the indwelling) almost anywhere, at any time, unexpectedly—and, while there is a time and place and need for our personal prayers and petitions—there is something about an intentional decision to simply focus on and worship Him that draws His presence. Maybe it is found in that verse that says wherever two or more are gathered in His name He is there—even when we know that He is already in us as a believer. Maybe it is a multiplication issue in some way we don’t understand. But, I find that even intentional focus and worship as an individual seems to also draw His sweet presence.
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! . . .” I take this as a reference to the temple, and to get to His presence in the Holy of Holies in the center of the temple one had to pass through gates and courts. So, it would seem, that thanksgiving and praise are the "gates" and "courts" that draw us closer to the center of His heart and magnified presence.
I really believe He was strongly among us that night, and I really believe it was so strong because, while we each had personal issues in our lives, I made an intentional decision to keep the focus on Him and not on us, and to steer it back to Him alone each time it wandered from that focus. I share this as an encouragement to you, that maybe you will find in it a seed of something you would like to do in your own life if you aren’t already. God bless you, and Happy New Year!
So, we invited anyone in the fellowship who wanted to and could to come to our home that Wednesday evening before Christmas for an evening of adoring Him and praising Him. While I wanted to end the night with asking His blessing over our fellowship, community, and nation for 2010, I felt strongly that it was to simply be a night about Him, not about us.
It ended up that Wednesday that nine of us sat in our living room, around the wood stove, with the Christmas lights on the tree, and began by sharing what Christmas meant to us in our hearts. It was beautiful to hear how the different facets of the Christmas message touched and sustained people differently. After a time we began singing to Him, hymns and carols, and then we entered a time of simply praying out loud, as each was led who wanted to—to Him, about Him. We simply thanked Him and praised Him and “adored” Him. Finally, at the end, we asked His blessing over the things I already mentioned. One lady sang a cappella that night a song declaring there to be a “sweet, sweet presence in the place,” and she was so right. Another shared with me later in the week that the presence of the Spirit was strong there that night—almost as if we should have been laying hands on one another.
I shared a little about this in passing on Facebook the week after Christmas, and a friend mentioned that she was going to a New Year’s Eve “Praying in the New Year” gathering and hoped it would be as sweet as our Adoration night which I had described. I quickly typed back an answer to her, “I find that often that sweet sense doesn't happen without intention. I really worked to keep the focus on simply praising and talking about Him, and not about our individual needs. There is absolutely a place for personal prayer needs, but sometimes I just long for the corporate focus on Him alone.”
In thinking afterwards about that quick response, I find in it a deep core of truth for all of us. While God will show up (in some way beyond simply the indwelling) almost anywhere, at any time, unexpectedly—and, while there is a time and place and need for our personal prayers and petitions—there is something about an intentional decision to simply focus on and worship Him that draws His presence. Maybe it is found in that verse that says wherever two or more are gathered in His name He is there—even when we know that He is already in us as a believer. Maybe it is a multiplication issue in some way we don’t understand. But, I find that even intentional focus and worship as an individual seems to also draw His sweet presence.
Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! . . .” I take this as a reference to the temple, and to get to His presence in the Holy of Holies in the center of the temple one had to pass through gates and courts. So, it would seem, that thanksgiving and praise are the "gates" and "courts" that draw us closer to the center of His heart and magnified presence.
I really believe He was strongly among us that night, and I really believe it was so strong because, while we each had personal issues in our lives, I made an intentional decision to keep the focus on Him and not on us, and to steer it back to Him alone each time it wandered from that focus. I share this as an encouragement to you, that maybe you will find in it a seed of something you would like to do in your own life if you aren’t already. God bless you, and Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Immanuel . . . Alive Through Us!
The day after Christmas I got a Christian magazine in the mail with a purple cover and lead ins about New Years Resolutions, and not a drop of red or green on it, nor a mention of Christmas. As I drove down Vine Street in Paso Robles (a very decorated street for Christmas!) two nights ago some people were already taking down their Christmas decorations. There is nothing wrong with any of that, it just sort of jars me because I work so hard to wrap my heart around the majesty and awe and wonder of Christmas and all that is wrapped up in our God of wonder who holds a universe in His hand coming to earth, and it sometimes seems like there isn't even a slow descent from a Christmas focus afterwards, but rather a plunge off of a cliff!
There are, actually, many aspects of Christmas that never end and which we should rejoice in and celebrate and participate in all year long. For instance, every day you enjoy your salvation you enjoy the Christmas message proclaimed by the angel to the shepherds, which is the good news of great joy of a Savior. Then there is our role in the unfolding eternal plan of God which was initiated with Jesus' birth and which we participate in by spreading the Gospel until the day of His return—a day all the hosts of hell can not stop! Every day you follow God's lead and share the good news of a Savior you share the Christmas message and participate in the "Christmas plan" of saving a people until He returns.
Then there is the one I find most stunning to me given my intimate awareness of my failings. It is the role I play in the continuance of Immanuel, which means, "God With Us." At its most basic level Immanuel obviously refers to Jesus (God) being born of a woman and living among us. Then there is the continuance of it in which the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us as our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, and seal of our adoption as God's children. But, then there is the natural extension of that which really causes me to step back and evaluate my life and how I live it, and the priorities I choose for it.
I am a part of the body of Christ. I am His hands and feet. While He operates sovereignly at times, He very often chooses to wait until His children (His body) are obedient to do His will. I, as God's adopted child, indwelt by His presence, serving as His hands and feet, am His vessel for bringing about His will and for showing Him to the world. Just as Jesus represented the Father on earth and was His image and modeled Him for the world, Jesus then sent us as the Father sent Him. As His disciples we are to walk as He walked. More than that, we carry His presence. We are the new dwelling place (temple) of God.
Stop and let that melt in to your heart for a moment. If you are a Christian, you carry the presence and image of God in to a lost world around you. You bring His presence and power with you wherever you go, you have the access to His wisdom and favor those around you need, and your actions should show them the love and forgiveness and servanthood and authority and power He embodies. You are His child, you are being transformed in to His image, you carry His name, you exercise His authority, He tells you the secrets of His heart, He beckons you to hear His voice and carry out His will—you are His body, you are the vessel He chooses to use.
You are, in a sense, to the lost around you, Immanuel. Now don't take that wrong, or blasphemously, because that is not how it is intended. We are not God, but we carry God with us. We are not God, but we reflect His image. We are not God, but we reveal God and point people to God. As His children, in whom He dwells, when we are with a person who is lost He is with us so He is, inherently, with them! You have brought to them the presence of God in you, and you are His hands and feet and mouth to follow His leading and show them His ways and speak His prophetic words to them. So, in that sense, which is humbling and awe inspiring, God has chosen you and I to continue Immanuel. Every time you carry the presence of God in to someone's "space" you live out the Christmas message of God with them. I don't know why God chooses to use frail vessels for such an awesome job, but He does, and it is pretty amazing to think that through me the Christmas message is lived out tangibly and physically every day I am among people who are lost. May every day of the year His presence in me, and my surrender to Him and His will, draw them to Him—the great Savior whom Christmas proclaims.
There are, actually, many aspects of Christmas that never end and which we should rejoice in and celebrate and participate in all year long. For instance, every day you enjoy your salvation you enjoy the Christmas message proclaimed by the angel to the shepherds, which is the good news of great joy of a Savior. Then there is our role in the unfolding eternal plan of God which was initiated with Jesus' birth and which we participate in by spreading the Gospel until the day of His return—a day all the hosts of hell can not stop! Every day you follow God's lead and share the good news of a Savior you share the Christmas message and participate in the "Christmas plan" of saving a people until He returns.
Then there is the one I find most stunning to me given my intimate awareness of my failings. It is the role I play in the continuance of Immanuel, which means, "God With Us." At its most basic level Immanuel obviously refers to Jesus (God) being born of a woman and living among us. Then there is the continuance of it in which the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in us as our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, and seal of our adoption as God's children. But, then there is the natural extension of that which really causes me to step back and evaluate my life and how I live it, and the priorities I choose for it.
I am a part of the body of Christ. I am His hands and feet. While He operates sovereignly at times, He very often chooses to wait until His children (His body) are obedient to do His will. I, as God's adopted child, indwelt by His presence, serving as His hands and feet, am His vessel for bringing about His will and for showing Him to the world. Just as Jesus represented the Father on earth and was His image and modeled Him for the world, Jesus then sent us as the Father sent Him. As His disciples we are to walk as He walked. More than that, we carry His presence. We are the new dwelling place (temple) of God.
Stop and let that melt in to your heart for a moment. If you are a Christian, you carry the presence and image of God in to a lost world around you. You bring His presence and power with you wherever you go, you have the access to His wisdom and favor those around you need, and your actions should show them the love and forgiveness and servanthood and authority and power He embodies. You are His child, you are being transformed in to His image, you carry His name, you exercise His authority, He tells you the secrets of His heart, He beckons you to hear His voice and carry out His will—you are His body, you are the vessel He chooses to use.
You are, in a sense, to the lost around you, Immanuel. Now don't take that wrong, or blasphemously, because that is not how it is intended. We are not God, but we carry God with us. We are not God, but we reflect His image. We are not God, but we reveal God and point people to God. As His children, in whom He dwells, when we are with a person who is lost He is with us so He is, inherently, with them! You have brought to them the presence of God in you, and you are His hands and feet and mouth to follow His leading and show them His ways and speak His prophetic words to them. So, in that sense, which is humbling and awe inspiring, God has chosen you and I to continue Immanuel. Every time you carry the presence of God in to someone's "space" you live out the Christmas message of God with them. I don't know why God chooses to use frail vessels for such an awesome job, but He does, and it is pretty amazing to think that through me the Christmas message is lived out tangibly and physically every day I am among people who are lost. May every day of the year His presence in me, and my surrender to Him and His will, draw them to Him—the great Savior whom Christmas proclaims.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
A Christmas Wish, Story, and Thought . . .
First, a Christmas wish. I wish each and every one of you the joy of Christmas. May the message and wonder of salvation and God's love permeate your spiritual pores until it embodies all you are and think. May it so fill you with joy and peace that no circumstance that comes your way can dent it. May you find your heart and hands and voice lifted toward heaven with uncontainable, spontaneous awe and worship and love and adoration!Second, a neat story. We spent Monday in Carmel on our "traditional" (in our family, anything twice becomes tradition) day of Christmas shopping and hanging out with my mom. We begin the "tradition" each time (this is our second time) with my dad joining us for coffee at Il Fornio, and we are batting 100% in getting the seat by the fire. You can enjoy the moment with us in our "traditional" picture, above. Last year's picture is in the right column of the blog, a ways down, if you want to see how much the girls are growing in a year (or how well I am aging—ha, ha).
Anyway, while shopping mom took the girls for a few minutes to a store so Mary Ann and I could be clandestine and get a few things. About five minutes before leaving Carmel Plaza to rejoin them, my left ankle started hurting with a real sharp pain that made it uncomfortable walking. We crossed the street and a woman passed in front of us on the sidewalk, being pushed in a wheelchair by a man whom I assume was her husband. We fell in step behind them and as I looked at her foot in a cast I thought about Jesus and Christmas and His love and power. I spoke kind of loud to them as they were a few steps ahead of us, "Can we pray for you?" They stopped and said, "Okay."
Now often people caught like that think you mean, "Can I pray for you sometime in the future or when I think about it." They usually don't think you mean "right now, on this corner, in downtown Carmel" so I quickly added "now" and moved up beside them. Mary Ann joined me and I put my hand on the woman's shoulder and we all bowed our heads there by the intersection and I asked God to pour out over them, to defy the doctors with her healing, and for it to be the best, most God-filled Christmas they have ever had. After we were done praying they thanked us and we parted. As we left them and began walking up a hill toward our rendezvous with my mom and the girls, I noticed that MY ankle pain was gone! How cool is that!
Third, a Christmas thought. I shared this in much more detail with our church on Sunday, but I wanted to share its core here with all of you as well.
When the angel appeared to the shepherds he said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lu 2:10-11). There is, in this proclamation, the foundation of our whole faith and joy. When everything else is stripped away, when theology is confusing us more than helping us, when life has broken us, there is a place of joy we can turn to.
The angels said that the birth of Christ (which would end at the cross) was:
1) Good News!
2) of Great Joy!
and it was to all the people! He didn't say, "to people of secure finances" or "to people who have a great marriage" or "to those who have it all together." No, he said that this good news, of great joy, was available to all people. Now Jesus didn't go and fix every earthly problem, but He did pay for our sins that we might be restored to our Father in heaven if we would embrace His gift and Lordship. So, this is clearly an "eternal" joy—a joy fixed on our eternal condition, tied in to Jesus' role as Savior. It shows the Father's emphasis on eternity over simply the now (though I do believe He desires us to joyfully walk in, and use, the authority He gives us to tackle and destroy the works of the devil in this life, as well).
The other day I hit a real low spot. I wasn't sure anymore what this pastoring was about or supposed to look like, or what I was supposed to be telling people, and it seemed like every "theological" conclusion I came to I was finding a verse to contradict it. I felt closer to stepping down than I have ever felt, and I was sitting by the fire with Mary Ann and I told her, "I don't know what this is about any more." She said, "Yes, you do." She then said something to the effect of, "God loves you and He sent His Son to die for you and you are His forever." It was utterly simple, and it touched and stirred something so deep in me I can't explain it. When all else is stripped away, when you feel like a failure, when life crashes in, that is the core, foundational message that it all comes back to—that is the message that never changes or leaves you—it is the good news, of great joy, that is unto me and you. This doesn't mean we take joy in clear victories of the devil, but it does mean that no matter what is stripped away there is, at the core, a place that can't be touched and which we must always return to—a place which simply is our eternal, born again, new creation life with God that can't be taken from us, and that came because His Son came to earth and died for us out of a love beyond our comprehension.
The utter simplicity and foundational essence of that reminder brought to life for me, again, the Christmas proclamation—and I hope it helps you, too. God bless each and every one of you, and Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Surrender in Christmas . . .
Hello All! I hope that this finds you well and your hearts being prepared more and more each day for the amazing day we call Christmas. We had a nice couple of days last week visiting Mary Ann's family in the Los Angeles area for a homeschool trip we took with the girls (and, yes, rest well, I was able to spend some good time studying in a coffee shop near her mom's house). We got to visit the La Brea tar pits (the outside grounds because there was a power outage and the museum itself was closed) and the Griffith Observatory (our family must have looked pretty funny counting to three and then jumping up and down as hard as we could to try and get the seismograph to register our movement!).
I put a few pictures here from our trip for you to enjoy it with us. They are: 1) The girls in front of the La Brea "lake" display, 2) Mary Ann and the girls at the observatory model of the size of some stars—our sun would be the size of one of the tiny yellow dots straight above Abigail's head if the large yellow and red balls represented some of the giant and super giant stars out there, 3) Me next to the scale that informed me I would weigh over 500 pounds on Jupiter (I
think I'm staying home!).Christmas is almost here, and as I shared with our fellowship yesterday, I just can't grasp or wrap myself around the fact that the God who breathes out stars and holds the universe in His hand is also the baby in the manger . . . that the baby in the manger is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the One before whom demons tremble . . . that God is surrounded on the throne by the multitudes of angels and hosts of heaven worshiping Him in the glory He deserves and yet He came to earth, laid in a manger, greeted by shepherds, hunted, mutilated, murdered—by choice, for us, His rebellious creation.
I can't grasp that. Any words fall so short of its majesty and love. But one thing that I do grasp about it comes from Philippians 2:5-8 which says: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Surrendering our rights is a hallmark of Christianity and the only true way we can, I believe, reflect Christ's image and truly model the heart that made Christmas. It is not easy in a society that prides itself on individual rights, but that is probably why it stands out as such contrast from everyone else when it is done. It is hard because, by the very nature of the word, they are our rights. But Jesus, who had every right as God, didn't hold on to His rights but surrendered them and came to earth as one of us to be sub
ject to our same temptations and limitations and dependence on the Holy Spirit. He who had every right to judge us, to stay in heaven where He was worshiped and recognized, to obliterate His attackers, gave it all up, by choice, of His own free will, in love. He laid His rights down at His Father's feet that His Father's will might be done and His Father glorified.I don't think we can truly capture, or model, the heart of Christmas until we capture, and model, the heart of surrendered rights. Yes, we have a "right" to be apologized to, a right to freedom, a right to be acknowledged, a right to be heard, a right to be comfortable, a right to justice when we are wronged, a right to . . . but until we are willing to lay our rights down at the Father's feet we will never live as Jesus lived. This doesn't mean, say, as parents that we contradict other parts of God's Word that tell us to be heads of our home and to train up our children, or that we contradict other parts of His Word, but it does mean that if we are to truly show the world Christ, and Christmas, we have to be willing to say, "Yes, that is my right to ____, but I chose to surrender that right and humble myself, in love, for my Father and for another." It is only when we let go of our tight cling to this life and its comforts and "rights" that we will truly live a life focused from heaven, to earth, as Jesus did. The only way to show heaven to earth, and to show the Father's heart to man, is to live as in heaven and as the Father, and that is modeled, in Christmas, with surrender.
Note: Please still consider answering my request to you in the post: So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . . Christmas. I would truly treasure your answers, and I believe others would be blessed by them as well as you being blessed by the prayer and thought it would require.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
For Me, Alone . . .
(Note: Please don’t forget about my Saturday, November 28, 2009 post, “So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . . Christmas.” I truly would value your answers to it, and I think you would be blessed in the time spent with God seeking your answer to it, and others would be blessed by what you share.)
I heard an interview on K-Love radio yesterday with, I believe, Jeremy Camp. In it he said something that spoke to my heart. I will paraphrase it since I was driving and couldn’t write it down.
Basically, he was talking about the songs he writes and he shared how he had set out to write songs that connected with and touched the people and ministered to them. During the process God told him, simply, “You write songs that touch Me, and let Me worry about ministering to the people.” Jeremy said it was so freeing because he realized he only needed to write songs for God and God would do the rest.
As a pastor I found that speaking to my heart. There is such a temptation to preach to, or at, people, and to weigh their possible reactions to things in your mind as you write them. You have to battle all of those things aggressively or they will start to be the driving force. Each week I have to bring myself back, out of that place, and simply ask, “Father, what do You have for this Sunday?”
I don’t think that the struggle is simply for those in ministry, either. I believe that we all struggle with focus and where we put our eyes. Some struggle with wanting the glory of men more than the glory of God, so they live in fear of the cost of open worship or testimony. Others struggle with ministering for God, hoping it will bring intimacy with God, instead of ministering FROM a place of intimacy with God. Many of us carry burdens that the Lord never put on us, because His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. The struggles, the pain, the doubt, the fear, the longings, the needs—the all can weigh so heavily that we sometimes forget the model of Mary, to simply take the time to sit at His feet.
So, maybe the lesson in this busy season from the Jeremy interview is this—before we wear ourselves out trying to do good all around us let’s first simply worship and adore Him, and see what comes out of that. It is truly amazing what He can and does do through a surrendered heart and life that is fixed on worshiping Him! When we let go and let His Holy Spirit lead, the world is turned upside down. It is not about not doing anything—our faith is called to be an active faith expressed in works—but it is works that come from the place of our faith, works that are led by the Spirit who inhabits our praise and worship, works that spring from a place of love for Him and others.
I heard an interview on K-Love radio yesterday with, I believe, Jeremy Camp. In it he said something that spoke to my heart. I will paraphrase it since I was driving and couldn’t write it down.
Basically, he was talking about the songs he writes and he shared how he had set out to write songs that connected with and touched the people and ministered to them. During the process God told him, simply, “You write songs that touch Me, and let Me worry about ministering to the people.” Jeremy said it was so freeing because he realized he only needed to write songs for God and God would do the rest.
As a pastor I found that speaking to my heart. There is such a temptation to preach to, or at, people, and to weigh their possible reactions to things in your mind as you write them. You have to battle all of those things aggressively or they will start to be the driving force. Each week I have to bring myself back, out of that place, and simply ask, “Father, what do You have for this Sunday?”
I don’t think that the struggle is simply for those in ministry, either. I believe that we all struggle with focus and where we put our eyes. Some struggle with wanting the glory of men more than the glory of God, so they live in fear of the cost of open worship or testimony. Others struggle with ministering for God, hoping it will bring intimacy with God, instead of ministering FROM a place of intimacy with God. Many of us carry burdens that the Lord never put on us, because His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. The struggles, the pain, the doubt, the fear, the longings, the needs—the all can weigh so heavily that we sometimes forget the model of Mary, to simply take the time to sit at His feet.
So, maybe the lesson in this busy season from the Jeremy interview is this—before we wear ourselves out trying to do good all around us let’s first simply worship and adore Him, and see what comes out of that. It is truly amazing what He can and does do through a surrendered heart and life that is fixed on worshiping Him! When we let go and let His Holy Spirit lead, the world is turned upside down. It is not about not doing anything—our faith is called to be an active faith expressed in works—but it is works that come from the place of our faith, works that are led by the Spirit who inhabits our praise and worship, works that spring from a place of love for Him and others.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . . Christmas
As I said in my last post, I am introducing something here that, if it works, I may continue at other times. It is your chance to bless me and other readers. Here's the deal:
I would value you, the reader, imagining that you have been given either the pulpit of a church (preaching to Christians), or a soapbox on a street (preaching to the lost), and you have ONE message you can deliver about Christmas. What would it be? Give it some real thought and prayer, and then send me your answer in a comment which I will review and then post (assuming it is not offensive).
So, what about Christmas, or the Christmas story, would you most want to share if you had one crack at sharing it with someone? When you reply, specify if your "message" is from the pulpit (directed to Christians) or from the soap box (aimed at the unsaved)—or send me an answer to both.
I would treasure what you have to share. I'd love to know what about Christmas, or the Christmas story, fills your heart and would be the one thing you could share if you could. Would it be different to a Christian or non-Christian? What is Christmas to you and how do you keep your heart fixed on it? Let me know, please. It would bless me to be ministered to by you and to share your heart, and I know it would bless others as well. Don't sell yourself short, God has great things to say through you!
Introducing, "So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . ."
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that thankfulness is still filling your heart as the days after Thanksgiving unfold. It is amazing, when we consider that the Word says that every good and perfect gift comes from God, how many things we have to be thankful for when we start to count EVERYTHING good in our life . . . from every breath, to every meal, to every smile we give, to every smile we get, to every bit of love we show, to every bit of love we are shown, to every piece of clothing we wear, to every night in a warm bed, to the Cross of Christ, to the Word of life, to . . .
We had a wonderful day after Thanksgiving going to a local Christmas tree farm to cut a tree for our home. An anonymous person gave our family a certificate for one free tree and we went to the farm to find hot chocolate and a tractor pulling a trailer with a hay bale on it to sit on waiting for customers. The girls had a great time running through the trees, playing with the owner's dogs, and even sitting on the back of the owner's horses. We tied our tree to the roof of the van, drove home under a cloudy sky, and got out some of our Christmas stuff. Before we brought the tree in or decorated
anything we sat in front of the fire and read the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew (chapters 2 in both) and then we set up our nativity scene (complete with the glowing star I made out of a plastic can lid mounted on an old night light, and a poster board back drop with stickers of stars and a cut out moon on it—see picture). It has been a wonderful few days as a family, and I am grateful to God for the time.Christmas is always a time in which I seek (and sometimes struggle) to grow deeper and closer to the heart and message of the Savior come to earth. Each year it seems that a different part of the story comes alive for me. Last year it was the concept Immanuel (God with us). It became the "theme" of Christmas for me and, to this day, if I'm heading in to something hard, Bethany will still whisper to me, "Immanuel" as a reminder that He is with me. I don't know what it will be this year, but I do have to say that as we read the Christmas story Luke 2:9 leapt in my heart, as I wondered what it meant, and what it looked like, and what it wa
s like to have the glory of the Lord shine around them. (Luke 2:9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.)So, this leads me to the title. I am going to post another post in a minute with an invitation to you. If this works out then maybe we'll do this more often. My heart has always been that this page would be about more than me, and here's a chance for you to bless me and the body of readers. So, read the next post, "So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . . Christmas."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day . . .
One of my favorite Christmas carols, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, did not begin as a Christmas carol, but rather as a song or poem born out of the hurting heart of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882, seen in this 1878 picture). According to the Maine Historical Society web site (who graciously has allowed me to use this picture), in 1861 Longfellow's wife, Fanny, was melting sealing wax when she set her clothes on fire and was enveloped in flames. Longfellow tried to put the fire out, but failed and she died the next day. While trying to put the fire out he burned his face and hands, and he grew the famous beard he is well known for to hide his facial scars.
I quote their web site here: A month after Fanny's death, on August 18th, 1861, Longfellow gave voice to his despair in a letter to his late wife's sister, Mary Appleton Mackintosh. He wrote, "How I am alive after what my eyes have seen, I know not. I am at least patient, if not resigned; and thank God hourly—as I have from the beginning—for the beautiful life we led together, and that I loved her more and more to the end."
The same year that Fanny died the Civil War began and in 1863 Longfellow's son, Charley, ran off to join it against his father's wishes. The United States was plunged in to a bloody war on its own soil, one that pitted brother against brother and family against family. In July of 1863, in the battle of Gettysburg alone, close to 50,000 American's died in three days. In the war Charley was also severely wounded (he would survive), and Longfellow's pain of heart for both personal and national loss must have been close to overwhelming.
Depending on which source you read, it was on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day, of 1863 that Longfellow penned the now famous words which would, some years later, be put to music by others and become the Christmas carol we now know so well. The stark honesty and questions, the doubt and fear, and the overcoming faith of this song cause something deep to rise in me. As you read it, follow its progression, and lay within the words whatever it is around you that causes you to doubt or fear or feel lost or overwhelmed. Then, remember, that we walk by faith and not by sight, and rise up in the soaring conviction of the fourth stanza—that though around us it seems hope may be lost, God is not dead, nor does He sleep, the wrong shall fail and right prevail! God is good. All the time. And He loves us so much He sent His Son to die for us, that we might live again in relationship with Him. We walk by faith, and not by sight, and we stand convinced of that which is not yet seen, but promised. Christian, He will not leave you or forsake you, and greater is He who is in you than he who paces about this world.
1. I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.2. I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.3. And in despair I bowed my head
'There is no peace on earth,' I said,
'For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.'4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.'5. Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A Christmas Memory to Share . . .
Yesterday I posted the following fun thing on my Facebook page: Okay, I've done it. The Christmas music started getting played today. Usually it is an after Thanksgiving thing, but I couldn't resist. I tried. I fought it. I know, I need help. But I couldn't hold out any longer! I love this time of year! Thanksgiving is such a beautiful time, and to have Christmas follow it is awesome! Thanks, Lord, for all your goodness in our life and for Your Son who gives us Christmas!
In addition to a bunch of fun comments on my page I received the following email, which touched me (and challenged my heart), and I asked permission to share it. It comes from one of this blog's readers, Amy, who Mary Ann and I have known for years. She came to Christ shortly before I did, both of us tremendously drawn that direction by how God was using Mary Ann in our lives as a witness in both word and life. If you follow this blog you may remember that I talk a little about Amy and a dream I had at her house when Mary Ann and I stayed there in my August 28, 2009 post Happy Birthday to Me.
Amy's email went like this:
So! Talking about Christmas carols on Facebook brought back a wonderful memory. In December of 1992 I was nearly a year old in Christ, but it was my first Christmas as His child. If you recall, I was still living in Fort Collins . . . but was housesitting in Carmel for xxx that December. That's the background; here's the memory: You two (MAZ and EAR) and I were walking around downtown Monterey at night, and there were old-timey carolers (dressed in costume) in the various historical buildings (I think—they might have been strolling and stopping at various places). It was the first time I had really heard the words to the songs. I heard, "Glory to the newborn King" and thought, "Hey, that King is MY Savior!" I heard, "Christ the Lord!" and thought, "Wow, EVERYBODY is calling Him Lord!" On and on. The words that had so automatically come out of my mouth for 38/39 years were now shining and sparkling and proclaiming the glory of God in my heart! And, as Walter Cronkite used to say, "You were there!" Love you both and the girly-girls too.
Thanks, Amy, for reminding us of the joy of our salvation, and the true PERSONAL meaning and richness of the CHRISTmas tradition, and traditions, that sometimes become more tradition and impersonal than living realization. He is OUR King, OUR Lord! I am a new creation, a new man, His child, and He is MY Father in Heaven!
As a pastor I struggle more with Christmas teachings than almost any other teaching because I am so inadequate to capture the majesty and love and wonder and awe of what Christmas means—of Creator coming in to His Creation, subjecting Himself to it, out of love giving Himself for those who have rebelled against Him. Some years back I felt God lead me to turn December over to a month of testimonies in our church on Sunday mornings. Each person I ask to share I ask to prepare with the thought, "Why is my life different because of Immanuel—because God came to earth and is with me?" After all, the ultimate end of Christmas was a people restored to their loving Creator. Christmas is, ultimately, what Amy wrote about and captured so beautifully—I am His, and He is mine, and we are no longer separated but joined for eternity. Lives are, naturally, radically different for that!
I'd love to hear others of your stories or what Christmas means to you. We can all use help keeping the joy of the Good News of the Gospel fresh and alive in our hearts! God bless you all.
P.S. MAZ is Mary Ann Zuzow. EAR is Erick Arthur Reinstedt. MAZ is what many of us who knew Mary Ann before we were married call her.
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