The peanut brittle is dwindling, the eggnog has been drank, soon Christmas lights and Christmas trees will be taking up their regular spaces in basements, attics, and sheds. The season is over, soon we’ll be greeted by Valentines Day displays as we walk through Wal-mart and the mall. The holiday may have ended but Christmas can stay with you through out the year.
When we look at one of the proclamations concerning Jesus birth we see the Prophet Isaiah quoted by Matthew making a powerful statement.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
- Matthew 1:22-23:
God with us.
God constantly assures us that he is with us though we often do not recognize it. His presence is God’s promise, his gift, that we often have failed to grasp. Part of the reason we take time to practice the Remembrance of Advent is so that we can bring the reality of God’s presence, as evidenced by our past experience, into our present situation and take it with us as we forge ahead into the future.
Hope of Christmas
Hope, the confident expectancy that God is working things in our favor. Even as believers we face time and time again, moments where we may not feel God’s presence, there are times when life doesn’t go as planned, times when bad even terrible things happen, times when we are powerless and our hope is this that in that state, God is working on our behalf. That this situation will not be the defining moment in our lives, that God will keep his word and will come through for us in the end. God does these things, time and time again and that is why we have the hope that we do.
Love of Christmas
The truth of God’s love for us is that without God’s love there would be no hope. Love is the reason for the season. Love is why he came down leaving his place in Heaven to put on flesh and blood. To talk about God without talking about love is presenting only half the picture, to talk about love without talking about God tells only half the story. Love is vital, we not only need it we do best when we have the opportunity to share it.
Joy of Christmas
The joy of Christmas comes because we have firmly latched onto the idea that the rescue is coming. That God’s love it real and we have experienced it. Joy is the realization of the hope we have in Christ. Joy for Christians is an emotional expression but it is also much, much more. It is an attitude, a deep inner assurance, it is also a choice.
Peace of Christmas
Peace is the ultimate gift between God and man, to know that the eternal wrong of the sin in our lives that separates us from God has been forgiven and covered brings us peace with our Lord. Living our lives in submission to his will brings us peace as we avoid the trappings of sin and death that destroy our lives.
These are what Christians all over the world reflect on and practice during this Christmas time. For me however I was able to walk through these weeks focusing on these topics in a very real and very personal way when my wife’s cousin Stephen was faced with a life threatening illness.
Stephen’s Story
This is the email I received from Bridget's cousin Mindy Wednesday Dec 1st while I was at work:
Friends & Family,
My brother Stephen (39) was taken to Good Sam in Lafayette by ambulance. He is very critical. Please be in prayer for his healing. He is in congestive heart failure and has pulmonary edema. He is on a vent and is completely sedated. He came out of a cardiac cath procedure early this morning. We are in shock at how rapidly his condition has deteriorated. He needs a miraculous touch!
I was taken by big suprise, Steve is 39 years old. How could this be? I immediately felt this huge burden on my heart and I kind of just fell into a chair. No sooner did I bow my head to pray than two friends I worked with showed up out of the blue for a meeting that wasn’t going on. They must have discerned something was bothering me and asked me about it, so I told them about what was happening to Stephen. And they immediately sat down and we prayed for God to move, we prayed for a miracle. I shared the request with my church family as well, and the prayer started growing picking up steam as person by person, people began to share this request and God’s people called out on Stephen’s behalf.
But he was still sick, if there was ever a dark time it was this one. You could say that they were clinging to hope. The doctors told them they could have cautious optimism, but the outlook was still grim. After doing some procedures to help his breathing one doctor told a caregiver that her time would be better spent else where. They gave him very little chance to survive, Stephen’s heart was beating at just 5% capacity. He was alive though none of the medical professionals knew why.
I received this email Dec. 4th and it shed some light on the seriousness of his situation:
Hi Family & Friends,
We continue to needs your prayers. Stephen is making slivers of progress, but remains very, very ill. We still are uncertain of the cause of this. It seems like it happened so quickly. The good news is God was not taken by surprise by any of this AND he knows what the future holds. We trust Him completely.
That is what it looks like when you have nowhere else to turn but to the Lord. When all you have to cling to is hope. It is a very vulnerable moment. Stephen was very sick, the rest of the email read like this:
The critical care doctor told us tonight that he had Stephen classified as "catastrophic-critical condition" upon his admission and gave him about an hour to live. The next day he upgraded him to "critical-critical condition". Today he was upgraded to "critical condition". Baby steps, but we are glad to have it, no matter how small the progress. We are just so very grateful for the many prayers and generosity and love that has been shown. Please keep praying. He needs a miracle. Good thing for us, our God is in the business of miracles!
The family maintained hope, and the number of people praying began to increase daily, people who didn’t even know the family were now calling out for him on a regular basis. There were literally thousands of people across the county calling upon God to work a miracle in Stephen’s life. He continued to make little slivers of improvement, but it was like 2 steps forward and one step back. At one point his blood pressure was 240/140 and his pulse raced to 180 bpm. Every time they touched him to check his blood sugar, every time they moved him to bathe him, his vitals spazzed out. Then we got this email:
Hello,
Stephen's wife, Lisa just called and asking for all to pray. Stephen has a high fever that must be controlled. He is receiving more sedatives and is still on a vent. He has been making small improvements for 24 hours now, but is by no means out of the woods. He is still considered unstable & critical. We know our God is able. Jesus, if it be your will, we ask for healing!
Stephen’s wife Lisa was his champion and she had to fight for him, she urged people to pray and the medical staff to do their part as well. She was on a first name basis with the medical staff, through the whole ordeal she never left his side. People heeded her call to prayer and by the end of the day we received this email:
Praise Jesus his fever has come down! Its been a very emotional afternoon. The doctor is cautioning us to not have too much hope for his survival. We know we serve a mighty, powerful God and NOTHING is too big for Him.
Through out all of this, The family clung to a certain passage of Scripture:
Ps. 91 (Read passage)
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the Lord, who is my refuge—
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.” 1
When you read this right away you see that God provides peace in the midst of the turmoil. He doesn’t necessarily deliver us completely from it, but he walks with us though it. God reveals himself through our trials, to quote C.S. Lewis
“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”
- C.S. Lewis
God was able to speak to many through out this whole ordeal. There are many many details to this story, many more emails came to update the family on Stephen’s progress. This one though, is my favorite:
Family & Friends,
Hope you all are doing well and enjoying all the blessings this season brings. I know its been a few days since you have gotten an update on my brother, Stephen. I am surprised when I think that this all started almost 3 weeks ago. We are so grateful where HE has lead us, GOD is so very, very good. In a nutshell, Stephen's progress is amazing the doctors. Love it! Many of his doctors, nurses & respiratory therapists have come to tell him that he is their "Christmas miracle patient" this year. They have been honest with him that they were certain that he was going to die & how happy they are that his children still have their Daddy. Only our HEAVENLY FATHER knows the number of our days, right? They are now taking bets on the extent of improvement in his next echo-cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart). He will have that test done soon and we are anticipating good results as well. The plan was to send him to acute rehab for 4-6 weeks or so. Now, it looks like he will not need to go at all! He even walked from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor to see his docs & nurses from ICU last night. He may just be in his own bed in time for Christmas. Wow! PRAISE THE LORD! We don't want to take anything away from the wonderful doctors and nurses Stephen has had, but truly, this was DEVINE HEALING. There will be a lot of work & adjustments ahead of he & Lisa. He still has some confusion from all the medications. The doctors say this will eventually resolve. We are still concerned about his fever & pancreatitis. His heart needs much strengthening yet. The cause of all of this is still unclear. We know that GOD knows and HE is in control, we trust HIM fully. Be sure to read Psalm 91. It has become our family's theme scripture. Thanks to everyone who has prayed on our behalf, sent cards, flowers, food, visits. GOD has blessed our family with the most awesome extended family, church family & friends. I hope you all enjoy a very blessed Christmas, celebrating IMMANUEL, indeed, GOD with us!
It was great to read that update, but it was even better to hear from Steve himself.
I share this with you as a reminder that prayer does work, God hears and answers prayer in a mighty way, God still does miracles. I also share this because we all need to know that this gift wasn’t just given to a few. Jesus died for us all. The gift of his life as our sacrifice is the gift of all mankind given not because of our merit, anything we have done, but because he loves us.
Miracles are either an interruption into our cold reality or a glimpse into a another beautiful reality, the one God intends for us.
- Tom McComb
Life without God is a cold reality, something I am glad I do not face. Many do face it though, it is one of the great tools of the Deceiver to try to make us believe that God does not care about our troubles or that he doesn't exist and can't make a difference anyway. He would have us believe that God can't/won't see us in our distress, hear or answer our prayers, or work on our behalf and for our good. Those are lies, plain and simple. In Stephen’s story we have all the proof we need to the contrary. All they had for his life was the HOPE that God, out of his LOVE, would hear and answer these requests and we received JOY as we heard the stories of how God did the miraculous. And we have experienced his PEACE as a result. Stephen's story is proof to me that Jesus Christ really is Immanuel: God is with us.
Grace and Peace,
Kelly
P.S. - Stephen still has a long ways to go before he is back onto the road to health. He and his family still need your prayers and support. You can follow his progress here at his personal website, http://www.stephendye.com
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Advent Week 3: JOY
Joyful, joyful, Lord we adore thee...
Joy to the world...
These are the proclamations carolers and choirs sing surrounding this season, and it is for good reason. As a parent of three small children I recently heard a new Christmas song on our favorite cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. In a twist of irony, the villainous Dr. Doofenshmirtz sings a lament named I Really Don’t Hate Christmas, a song about how about how not even he, an evil mad scientist, can hate Christmas. I honestly can’t think of any other holiday that brings so much joy to the entire world.
Joy is the focus for this third week of Advent. Joy, as it is traditionally defined, is an emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Children are conduits for joy, finding and sharing it many places that we as adults forget to look. Very few things are able to make more people smile than the sound of a young child laughing. At an after church event a few years ago my youngest son, Rhett, began laughing uncontrollably. A small crown began to gather and soon everyone within ear shot was laughing as well. (I caught the last of it on video, click here and see if you don’t find yourself laughing as well!) But, as with all emotions, the laughter stops, the joy begins to fade, and we find ourselves looking for that next joyful experience only to realize that upon finding it, it too will soon subside.
Such is the nature of all emotion. Our emotions ebb and flow. God designed us to experience the full spectrum of emotion; joy, anger, sorrow, even boredom are all part of God’s plan. God has a desire for you to find and experience Him in all the highs, in all the lows and in all the spaces in between. We tend to spend so much of our time seeking joy that we miss some of the big lessons that can be found in sorrow. The Psalms are full of examples of the author crying out in sorrow and in praise. So much so, that a colleague of mine and I once discussed if King David may have had a mood disorder. (My conclusion is that David, like many musicians, was deeply connected to his feelings and that he used music and poetry to work those emotions out, but was otherwise mentally sound.) Psalm 6:6-7 is a prime example of David in a low point in life.
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
How much worse can it get? Being worn out from his groaning, flooding his bed and couch with weeping and tears., this is obviously a low moment for the king, but these moments didn’t rule over David’s life. Compare those five lines with Psalm 8
1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
There is quite a difference between these two works, the first describes a man at his lowest, the latter finds the same man barely containing his elation. Many people who often struggle with the spectrum of emotions ask some serious questions: Does it really have to be this way? Why can’t we just be happy or joyful all the time? Because we need the contrast of our emotions in order to fully comprehend them.
I had the pleasure of playing football from fourth grade until my junior year of college when injury and a desire to graduate on time ended my career. I experienced undefeated seasons, blow out wins and losses, edge of your seat thrillers, and come from behind victories. But perhaps the sweetest win I ever experienced in all my years of playing football came in my senior year of high school, the year of my worst record in football where we went 1 and 9. What made that one win so sweet? Simple, it was the nine losses. It was the fact that no one thought we could win because we hadn’t all year. It was the bitterness of those losses that made the victory so sweet. That was where I learned the joy of just playing the game whether or not the outcome was in my favor. Of course I still hated (if the word hate is strong enough) losing. But I learned it really is how you play the game, those who disagree, who only focus on winning may have some serious self esteem issues. On some of the teams that had a stronger record, the wins were just expected. Of course we would win the game, we were the better team, we worked harder, and made fewer mistakes. Winning was the only option available in our minds, losing was what other teams did and was far from our minds. We were above that.
Advent is a season where we reflect on the extremes of the emotional spectrum. The first week is spent reflecting on hope. Hope is confident expectancy that something good is going to happen. It comes with the assumption that we still remember what it is like to cling to hope, to be completely at the mercy of someone else to come to our rescue. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the martyred German pastor and theologian said it like this:
“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes ... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Sometimes I wonder if some long time believers even remember what life was like before their conversion experience. Or maybe they have always grown up in the church and can’t remember that lost-without-Christ or hopeless experience. It is almost like God being for them and working things to their good is taken for granted, as if they subconsciously are thinking “Of course he does, look at how awesome I am.” The beginning of Advent asks us to figuratively put ourselves in the darkness for a time, to try to imagine what life would be like apart from His love and grace. If we can do this we are soon reminded of the truth found in Romans 3:23, that all are fallen, and come short of the glory of God. And in Hebrews 11:16 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you can picture yourself without that saving faith, doomed in your sin struggling in futility to be “good enough” on your own then, soon you can begin to remember what it is like to cling to hope, to be surrounded by the darkness knowing nothing you can do on your own could ever fully pull you out. But then you also recall the moment where you see a light, then a hand that reaches down to lift you up, arms that embrace you. And as you are confronted by the fullness of Christ’s love and holiness you confess your dependance on, need of, and belief in Christ as Savior. Then, best of all, you know that you have been rescued.
For Christians, joy is the celebration of the realization of hope. It is when we find ourselves in the middle of the greatest trials of all kinds and we are not in complete despair. Rather we find ourselves, through God’s grace, embracing His promise to never leave us or forsake us. Deep in our hearts we know that the reality of God’s love is more powerful than our present situation. Through faith we know he will come through, he will keep his word and will continue to be our Redeemer mending broken hearts and healing shattered lives. A most beautiful example of this was recently shared with me by my grandfather.
Four years ago, my Grandmother passed away. It was painful for us all, but as her life long husband the pain for Grandpa was much more difficult to bear. When we have sat together reminiscing about her. He retells much of the story of their courtship and of the early days when they first started the church they pastored together for over 50 years. The memories are sweet but they only punctuate her present absence. I will never forget her funeral, it was a packed house, as a pastor’s wife and long time school teacher she was a dearly loved woman. There were several speakers, there was music, and there was something else there that isn’t usually associated with funerals. It was joy, a unique brand of joy I have only seldom encountered. It was palpable and seemed to be shared by all in attendance, and it defies all common logic. Who goes to the funeral of one of the most substantial people in your life and walks away feeling... happy?
Our hearts were broken, our spirits rent, but there was knowledge brought on by our most certain hope that one day we will be reunited with our Lord. She will be there as will other loved ones. No matter how bad it gets here on earth we hold tightly to that promise. We also know that the blessings of the Lord are not merely for another world after this life, they are for the here and now. Isaiah 61:1-3 says it well:
Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
We know this to be true, we have had these experiences. Grandpa recently told me that when he starts to get down, when he pines for her the hardest, his mind drifts to that funeral for comfort. Of course he remembers so much else of the time he spent with her but it is the funeral that brings him hope. That hope brings him comfort and joy as he dreams of the reunion to come. As Christians our joy is not fully attached to emotion, although it is often expressed that way. It is an attitude, a confidence, it is deeply tied to our faith in Christ as Savior knowing that we are not only saved later at the end of life, we are saved now. Living this type of faith life is how we flesh out John 15:9-11
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
This Christmas take time for joy, not just the feeling but the attitude and assurance that comes from living in Christ. This assurance is the gift of God, the promise that if we will only believe, we will have salvation. Now that is something that should make you happy!
Grace and Peace,
Kelly
Joy to the world...
These are the proclamations carolers and choirs sing surrounding this season, and it is for good reason. As a parent of three small children I recently heard a new Christmas song on our favorite cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. In a twist of irony, the villainous Dr. Doofenshmirtz sings a lament named I Really Don’t Hate Christmas, a song about how about how not even he, an evil mad scientist, can hate Christmas. I honestly can’t think of any other holiday that brings so much joy to the entire world.
Joy is the focus for this third week of Advent. Joy, as it is traditionally defined, is an emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. Children are conduits for joy, finding and sharing it many places that we as adults forget to look. Very few things are able to make more people smile than the sound of a young child laughing. At an after church event a few years ago my youngest son, Rhett, began laughing uncontrollably. A small crown began to gather and soon everyone within ear shot was laughing as well. (I caught the last of it on video, click here and see if you don’t find yourself laughing as well!) But, as with all emotions, the laughter stops, the joy begins to fade, and we find ourselves looking for that next joyful experience only to realize that upon finding it, it too will soon subside.
Such is the nature of all emotion. Our emotions ebb and flow. God designed us to experience the full spectrum of emotion; joy, anger, sorrow, even boredom are all part of God’s plan. God has a desire for you to find and experience Him in all the highs, in all the lows and in all the spaces in between. We tend to spend so much of our time seeking joy that we miss some of the big lessons that can be found in sorrow. The Psalms are full of examples of the author crying out in sorrow and in praise. So much so, that a colleague of mine and I once discussed if King David may have had a mood disorder. (My conclusion is that David, like many musicians, was deeply connected to his feelings and that he used music and poetry to work those emotions out, but was otherwise mentally sound.) Psalm 6:6-7 is a prime example of David in a low point in life.
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
How much worse can it get? Being worn out from his groaning, flooding his bed and couch with weeping and tears., this is obviously a low moment for the king, but these moments didn’t rule over David’s life. Compare those five lines with Psalm 8
1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
There is quite a difference between these two works, the first describes a man at his lowest, the latter finds the same man barely containing his elation. Many people who often struggle with the spectrum of emotions ask some serious questions: Does it really have to be this way? Why can’t we just be happy or joyful all the time? Because we need the contrast of our emotions in order to fully comprehend them.
I had the pleasure of playing football from fourth grade until my junior year of college when injury and a desire to graduate on time ended my career. I experienced undefeated seasons, blow out wins and losses, edge of your seat thrillers, and come from behind victories. But perhaps the sweetest win I ever experienced in all my years of playing football came in my senior year of high school, the year of my worst record in football where we went 1 and 9. What made that one win so sweet? Simple, it was the nine losses. It was the fact that no one thought we could win because we hadn’t all year. It was the bitterness of those losses that made the victory so sweet. That was where I learned the joy of just playing the game whether or not the outcome was in my favor. Of course I still hated (if the word hate is strong enough) losing. But I learned it really is how you play the game, those who disagree, who only focus on winning may have some serious self esteem issues. On some of the teams that had a stronger record, the wins were just expected. Of course we would win the game, we were the better team, we worked harder, and made fewer mistakes. Winning was the only option available in our minds, losing was what other teams did and was far from our minds. We were above that.
Advent is a season where we reflect on the extremes of the emotional spectrum. The first week is spent reflecting on hope. Hope is confident expectancy that something good is going to happen. It comes with the assumption that we still remember what it is like to cling to hope, to be completely at the mercy of someone else to come to our rescue. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the martyred German pastor and theologian said it like this:
“A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes ... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Sometimes I wonder if some long time believers even remember what life was like before their conversion experience. Or maybe they have always grown up in the church and can’t remember that lost-without-Christ or hopeless experience. It is almost like God being for them and working things to their good is taken for granted, as if they subconsciously are thinking “Of course he does, look at how awesome I am.” The beginning of Advent asks us to figuratively put ourselves in the darkness for a time, to try to imagine what life would be like apart from His love and grace. If we can do this we are soon reminded of the truth found in Romans 3:23, that all are fallen, and come short of the glory of God. And in Hebrews 11:16 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you can picture yourself without that saving faith, doomed in your sin struggling in futility to be “good enough” on your own then, soon you can begin to remember what it is like to cling to hope, to be surrounded by the darkness knowing nothing you can do on your own could ever fully pull you out. But then you also recall the moment where you see a light, then a hand that reaches down to lift you up, arms that embrace you. And as you are confronted by the fullness of Christ’s love and holiness you confess your dependance on, need of, and belief in Christ as Savior. Then, best of all, you know that you have been rescued.
For Christians, joy is the celebration of the realization of hope. It is when we find ourselves in the middle of the greatest trials of all kinds and we are not in complete despair. Rather we find ourselves, through God’s grace, embracing His promise to never leave us or forsake us. Deep in our hearts we know that the reality of God’s love is more powerful than our present situation. Through faith we know he will come through, he will keep his word and will continue to be our Redeemer mending broken hearts and healing shattered lives. A most beautiful example of this was recently shared with me by my grandfather.
Four years ago, my Grandmother passed away. It was painful for us all, but as her life long husband the pain for Grandpa was much more difficult to bear. When we have sat together reminiscing about her. He retells much of the story of their courtship and of the early days when they first started the church they pastored together for over 50 years. The memories are sweet but they only punctuate her present absence. I will never forget her funeral, it was a packed house, as a pastor’s wife and long time school teacher she was a dearly loved woman. There were several speakers, there was music, and there was something else there that isn’t usually associated with funerals. It was joy, a unique brand of joy I have only seldom encountered. It was palpable and seemed to be shared by all in attendance, and it defies all common logic. Who goes to the funeral of one of the most substantial people in your life and walks away feeling... happy?
Our hearts were broken, our spirits rent, but there was knowledge brought on by our most certain hope that one day we will be reunited with our Lord. She will be there as will other loved ones. No matter how bad it gets here on earth we hold tightly to that promise. We also know that the blessings of the Lord are not merely for another world after this life, they are for the here and now. Isaiah 61:1-3 says it well:
Isaiah 61
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
We know this to be true, we have had these experiences. Grandpa recently told me that when he starts to get down, when he pines for her the hardest, his mind drifts to that funeral for comfort. Of course he remembers so much else of the time he spent with her but it is the funeral that brings him hope. That hope brings him comfort and joy as he dreams of the reunion to come. As Christians our joy is not fully attached to emotion, although it is often expressed that way. It is an attitude, a confidence, it is deeply tied to our faith in Christ as Savior knowing that we are not only saved later at the end of life, we are saved now. Living this type of faith life is how we flesh out John 15:9-11
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
This Christmas take time for joy, not just the feeling but the attitude and assurance that comes from living in Christ. This assurance is the gift of God, the promise that if we will only believe, we will have salvation. Now that is something that should make you happy!
Grace and Peace,
Kelly
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
In this the second week of Advent our reflection topic is love. So much of the time when we hear the word love ideas of romance or puppy love take over our thoughts. And while that is one kind of love, the love we focus on in Advent is even more grand. Word studies on love abound in Christendom, we preachers love to teach and preach on love quite a bit, and we should. Love is, after all, the reason for our creation, the reason Christ came. Love is the reason for Christmas.That being said, love has to be a part of the Christmas conversation. To talk about God without talking about love is presenting only half the picture, to talk about love without talking about God tells only half the story.
Traditionally Christians have used gift giving as a way to symbolically share their love for each other just as the Magi did when they gave the Christ child their gifts. But maybe we have put too much emphasis on gifts. Each year Americans spend, spend, spend (to the tune of $450 billion) for Christmas presents. Considering that $450 billion is almost two and a half times the Gross Domestic Product of the State of Missouri, that’s a lot of love... or is it?
How many of the gifts you or your children received last Christmas played a significant role in your life in the last month? I really loved those gift cards I received, I bought a kayak paddle... I don’t own a kayak yet but when I do get one I have the paddle. My kids can’t remember the gifts they got for Christmas (sorry Grandma’s) but I seem to recall they had the most fun with the cardboard box those forgotten gifts came in.
Of course getting presents is always exciting, I like getting them and watching others enjoy the gifts I give. But as I grow older I am finding out that the old cliche is true, it is more blessed to give than to receive. What I am also finding to be true is that the things that I hold to be most dear in life aren’t material at all. They are friendships, memories, and the common bonds we share of son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother. These gifts are relational at their core, the reason that these hold the highest value in our life is because we were created as relational beings. Maybe that is why Jesus said:
John 13:34-35 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Love is a great gift, but it's hard to wrap in a nice little package. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. One of the great aspects of the Advent season is that we are reminded in our reflections to slow down and take time. Maybe some of that time can be spent building those relationships that we so deeply want to honor by playing games, baking cookies, singing Christmas songs, or even watching those classic Christmas movies that seem to dominate TV at night. But don’t stop there, focus a little love in your gift selection too.
One of our family’s favorite Christmas traditions is picking out gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalog. It is fun to imagine a little child in a third world country receiving a bunch of chickens or a goat because my little ones thought that would be a cool gift to give. There are many such giving opportunities that can make a lasting impact not only on a stranger in a far away land, but they can make an impact in your home as well when we give those gifts intentionally. A great way to do that is through prayer, asking God to guide your decision making process. Loving this way has a transformative power associated with it, and we all need it's ongoing transformation. Arthur W. Pink wrote this about love:
“Not only do we need to get our love firmly rooted and steadily increased, but it also needs to be continually exercised. All religion is in effect love. Faith is thankful acceptance, and thankfulness is an expression of love. Repentance is love mourning. Yearning for holiness is love seeking. Obedience is love pleasing. Self-denial is the mortification of self-love. Sobriety is the curtailing of carnal love. If love is not activated and kept working, it will atrophy. The affections of man cannot be idle; if they do not go out to God, they leak out to worldly things. When our love for God decreases, the love of the world grows in our soul. Love’s constraining influence keeps us from living to and for ourselves.”
Love is powerful and when we practice it in tangible ways the impact is great. I have included some links to this article on how to help grow generosity in your children at Christmas as well as to the World Vision Gift Catalog. Our church is also raising money for the Haiti Water Project. There is literally no end to the good we could do for so many during this season. So I ask you to take some time to ask God to guide your giving, spending, and shopping this Christmas. How far can your love go? Love was the great gift of Christmas. Love is still the great gift of Christmas. Spend Less. (on junk) Give generously. (out of love)
Grace and Peace,
Kelly
Traditionally Christians have used gift giving as a way to symbolically share their love for each other just as the Magi did when they gave the Christ child their gifts. But maybe we have put too much emphasis on gifts. Each year Americans spend, spend, spend (to the tune of $450 billion) for Christmas presents. Considering that $450 billion is almost two and a half times the Gross Domestic Product of the State of Missouri, that’s a lot of love... or is it?
How many of the gifts you or your children received last Christmas played a significant role in your life in the last month? I really loved those gift cards I received, I bought a kayak paddle... I don’t own a kayak yet but when I do get one I have the paddle. My kids can’t remember the gifts they got for Christmas (sorry Grandma’s) but I seem to recall they had the most fun with the cardboard box those forgotten gifts came in.
Of course getting presents is always exciting, I like getting them and watching others enjoy the gifts I give. But as I grow older I am finding out that the old cliche is true, it is more blessed to give than to receive. What I am also finding to be true is that the things that I hold to be most dear in life aren’t material at all. They are friendships, memories, and the common bonds we share of son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother. These gifts are relational at their core, the reason that these hold the highest value in our life is because we were created as relational beings. Maybe that is why Jesus said:
John 13:34-35 - “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Love is a great gift, but it's hard to wrap in a nice little package. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. One of the great aspects of the Advent season is that we are reminded in our reflections to slow down and take time. Maybe some of that time can be spent building those relationships that we so deeply want to honor by playing games, baking cookies, singing Christmas songs, or even watching those classic Christmas movies that seem to dominate TV at night. But don’t stop there, focus a little love in your gift selection too.
One of our family’s favorite Christmas traditions is picking out gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalog. It is fun to imagine a little child in a third world country receiving a bunch of chickens or a goat because my little ones thought that would be a cool gift to give. There are many such giving opportunities that can make a lasting impact not only on a stranger in a far away land, but they can make an impact in your home as well when we give those gifts intentionally. A great way to do that is through prayer, asking God to guide your decision making process. Loving this way has a transformative power associated with it, and we all need it's ongoing transformation. Arthur W. Pink wrote this about love:
“Not only do we need to get our love firmly rooted and steadily increased, but it also needs to be continually exercised. All religion is in effect love. Faith is thankful acceptance, and thankfulness is an expression of love. Repentance is love mourning. Yearning for holiness is love seeking. Obedience is love pleasing. Self-denial is the mortification of self-love. Sobriety is the curtailing of carnal love. If love is not activated and kept working, it will atrophy. The affections of man cannot be idle; if they do not go out to God, they leak out to worldly things. When our love for God decreases, the love of the world grows in our soul. Love’s constraining influence keeps us from living to and for ourselves.”
Love is powerful and when we practice it in tangible ways the impact is great. I have included some links to this article on how to help grow generosity in your children at Christmas as well as to the World Vision Gift Catalog. Our church is also raising money for the Haiti Water Project. There is literally no end to the good we could do for so many during this season. So I ask you to take some time to ask God to guide your giving, spending, and shopping this Christmas. How far can your love go? Love was the great gift of Christmas. Love is still the great gift of Christmas. Spend Less. (on junk) Give generously. (out of love)
Grace and Peace,
Kelly
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