So That...

I have a good friend who recently tweeted out a question that I have been pondering in the back of my mind.  "Would love to see a statistic revealing how much people spend at Christmas ON THEMSELVES.  Wondering if it might be MORE than on others."  @nathanoates 

It so easy at Christmas (or perhaps more easy) to allow the influence of this world to cloud our Christian hearts and minds to think that all of these blessings are for us.  We spend time being grateful and celebrating the beauty of gift giving, but we forget that Emmanuel was never intended to just be for us.  God's plan has always been to create a people He could use to bless the whole world by bringing salvation to it.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us— so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. (Psalm 67:1-2 NIV)

These verses from this morning's Psalm reading, and in particular that little phrase so that, are a powerful reminder to us of this plan.

May I recognize this Christmas that I am never intended to be the end recipient of everything God's pours out for me.  I am simply designed to be a conduit of that grace.  I receive, so that I may share.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Light Dawns

Yesterday I preached from Isaiah 9:1-7.  One of the things I didn't take too much time to highlight was a phrase in verse 2.  "For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine." (NLT)

What I discovered when I looked into the original language of that phrase is that Isaiah uses the same word that David uses in Psalm 23 - the land of "the shadow of death."

For those who are living in the land of the shadow of death, light will dawn.

Allow me to simlpy use my strength of Connectedness (from Strengthsfinder) to go from dot to dot.

I led my 15th funeral in 2014 yesterday afternoon.

Dot.

It has been raining almost non-stop here for weeks.  (For which I am grateful!)

Dot.

That means we haven't seen the sun in weeks.

Dot.

The sun came out today!

Dot.

Light is dawning.  

Dot.

Hope is coming!

Dot.

Death and despair don't get the final word!

Dot.

Thanks be to God, for those who are living in the land of the shadow of death, light is dawning!

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

The God Who is Here

For today's Advent reflection, I offer this quote:

Father God,
Why is it that I think I must get somewhere, assume some position, be gathered together, or separated
       apart in the quiet of my study to pray?
Why is it that I feel that I have to go somewhere or do some particular act to find you, reach you, and 
       talk with you?
You're presence is here
       In the city - on the busy bus, in the factory, in the cockpit of an airplane; in the hospital - in the 
       patients' rooms, in the intensive care unit, in the waiting room;  in the home - at dinner, in the 
       bedroom, in the family room, at my workbench;  in the car - in the parking lot, at the stoplight.
Lord, reveal your presence to me everywhere, and help me become aware of your presence each 
       moment of the day.
May your presence fill the nonanswers, empty glances, and lonely times of my life.  Amen.
                                                                  From A Thirty-Day Experiment in Prayer by Robert Wood

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Waiting With

I spent a lot of alone time in the car yesterday (had some district meetings), which can often be fun because it means I can catch up on some of my favorite podcasts!  (I know, total geek!)  However, one of those podcasts yesterday reminded me of a nuance of Advent that is really powerful.

Because we live in the time of the "in-betweens" - in between the first coming of the Christ and His second coming - we have a very unique perspective.  Theologians often refer to this time as the-already-but-not-yet.  We already have the presence of Christ with us through the Holy Spirit, and yet, we know this world is still hurting and broken, longing for Christ to return and make everything new.

During Advent we are a people who are waiting, but because we are celebrating Advent during the in-betweens, we actually wait for God, with God!  We already have God with us - He is Emmanuel.  And yet, we are still waiting for Him to return in all of His fullness and glory.

This is the in-between Advent.  We wait with God, for God!  

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

(And thanks for waitng with us!)

Call Waiting

Youu know the drill.

You're on the phone and that little noise chirps in your ear - another call coming in.  On my phone, a menu pops up offering me choices of how to respond.  End current & answer new?  Ignore new?  Hold current & answer new?

Most of the time the way I respond has to do with who the new caller is.  Either boy or their schools in the middle of the day - hold & answer.  Unrecognizable number - Ignore!  The person who is watching vigil with someone in their final hours here on earth - End & Answer.

But what if there is always someone calling?  What if they are just relentless?  Where's the block option?

"The one who is calling you is faithful and will do this. (1 Thessalonians 5:24 CEB)"

This verse got me thinking about this call waiting idea this morning.  God is always faithfully calling us.  Relentless.  And He is determined to grant us the power to accomplish all that He is calling us to do.

His relentless pursuit of us isn't to bug or cajole us, but to meet us, to walk with us, to fill us so we can live into the fullness of who we are in Him!

Thankfully, Advent is a reminder that He's calling, and waiting, for me to answer.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

We wait...with hope.

"All you who wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage." (Psalms 31:24 CEB)

We are people who wait with hope.  In this world of pain and brokeness that is so very obvious, we are people who live hopefully in Advent.  

Our Lord is coming.

The words of Charles Wesley help us express this hopeful waithing:

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,

Born to set thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us;

Let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,

Hope of all the earth thou art;

Dear desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,

Born a child and yet a King,

Born to reign in us forever,

Now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal spirit

Rulle in all our hearts alone,

By thine all sufficient merit,

Raise us to thy glorious throne.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Flowing Grace

This morning I was explaining the season of Advent to a young man, describing how it is a season of anticipation - that our King is coming.  But we live in a fascinating time (the in-betweens) when we know He has already come, and yet, is still going to come again.  As a result, if we are willing to have open eyes and hearts, we can actually see evidence of His coming already.

This year our church community has been full of grief.  My wife said just the other day, "I feel like this has been a year of death!" As a result, there are a number of people who have been, and are walking through the "valley of the shadow of death." This morning I heard a story of Flowing Grace between some of these grieving people.

One member of our church family who has just recently entered the valley, shared with me that another member of our community who is a little futher into that valley (but not much!), brought over a meal!  Grief reaching out and ministering God's grace to grief.  I was blown away!

But I suppose I shouldn't be as surprised as I am, after all, this is the essence of Advent.  In coming to our world, Christ changed everything, including the grieving process, and has blessed us with each other to be tangible instruments of His flowing grace between us!

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

And help me not miss the evidence that you are already here!