My friend Norb Aalsma went home to be with the Lord last night. I knew this day was coming, ever since I said "goodbye" to him at the end of December. I hurt for his wife, Faye, and the kids, as well as his brother Norris (& Lois) who have endured the long ordeal, but I'm happy for Norb...his suffering his over.
I met Norb 30 years ago when I was selling insurance, and when I became pastor at 1st Congregational Church in 1977, Norb & Faye came with their family to the church shortly after. We made an immediate connection.
I remember running a daytime discipleship course once a week. Norb, who was a dairy farmer, came in and we grew closer.
Norb was infected by the grace of Jesus. Raised in a fairly strict Reformed church tradition, he fell in love with the freedom that comes by the grace of God. He often spoke to me about the realization of God's grace...that he was acceptable to God because of nothing more than God's love for him and not because he obeyed the law. This was his greatest delight that he never recovered from...Praise God!
I don't think I ever had a conversation with Norb that did not at some point result in his referring to the wonder of God's grace, and the love of Jesus.
My, how I miss him.
Norb and Faye asked me a while back if I would lead his funeral service. My message will be short: He Lived to the fullest, He loved Christ, His family, and Friends, and He leaves a legacy of Faith that I pray his children and children's children will embrace.
Recently, another friend, Jim Watters (who was a part of that same church once) wrote a blog where he reference this old canticle...I'm using it here because it says so much of what Norb is and did, thanks Jim:
Teach us, dear Lord, to number our days;
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Oh, satisfy us early with Thy mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;
and establish Thou the work of our hands, dear Lord.
Goodbye Norb...I will see you soon!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
2007 -- Here We Go Again
I've watched this amazing video on You Tube called "Here We Go Again". I really like it, because of it's creativity and amazing choreography. You can watch it at.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI. I love the idea of "Here We Go Again".
It's 2007 -- for a week now -- and I thought about the movement from one year to another...here we go again!
The writer of Ecclesiastes (probably Solomon) described the futility (better word than 'vanity' that the old King James had translated) of life lived repetitiously without a sense of either the sacred or the significance of living intentionally.
By "intentionally", I think I mean "choreographed".
The guys who put together "Here We Go Again" took creativity to an artistic level and instead of something repetitious and boring, it had beauty and creativity.
I'd like to imagine that my life in 2007 will have some creative choreography to it. I don't mind repetition...in fact, I usually love it...but I do mind boredom. So, with God's help..."here I go again."
It's 2007 -- for a week now -- and I thought about the movement from one year to another...here we go again!
The writer of Ecclesiastes (probably Solomon) described the futility (better word than 'vanity' that the old King James had translated) of life lived repetitiously without a sense of either the sacred or the significance of living intentionally.
By "intentionally", I think I mean "choreographed".
The guys who put together "Here We Go Again" took creativity to an artistic level and instead of something repetitious and boring, it had beauty and creativity.
I'd like to imagine that my life in 2007 will have some creative choreography to it. I don't mind repetition...in fact, I usually love it...but I do mind boredom. So, with God's help..."here I go again."
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Advent Meditations for Week 4
The final week of Advent includes meditations that go through Christmas...so it's actually 9 days long. I've always enjoyed Advent, and feel saddened by the lack of the celebration in the evangelical and charismatic churches that I've mainly identified with. It's that one time of the year when I almost wished I was in the main line churches.
What Advent means to me is the ability to focus my attention on the reason why Jesus came into the world as the God-man. I know that he came to die for my sins...but there's more to his coming than the cross. He also came to make the Kingdom of God a reality. Most of the time the church has celebrated the death of Christ, without recognizing the significance of the Kingdom. Yet, here is the major theme of the scripture. So, I hope those who read these enjoy the season of celebration the church calls Advent.
*************************************************************************************
Wednesday – December 20th
What Advent means to me is the ability to focus my attention on the reason why Jesus came into the world as the God-man. I know that he came to die for my sins...but there's more to his coming than the cross. He also came to make the Kingdom of God a reality. Most of the time the church has celebrated the death of Christ, without recognizing the significance of the Kingdom. Yet, here is the major theme of the scripture. So, I hope those who read these enjoy the season of celebration the church calls Advent.
*************************************************************************************
Advent Meditations – Week 4, December 17 – 25
The final week of Advent has as its theme: LOVE.
The previous three weeks had as their themes: PROMISE, FAITH, AND HOPE. God had promised to
Those who trusted in God had faith to believe the unbelievable; and their hope was that God would do what he had promised.
What they longed for, and looked for, was one who would come to deliver them from their Roman oppression. What they didn’t understand, perceive, or believe, was that God was going to send his Son through a virgin as a baby – hidden from everyone save a few shepherds and a young poor Jewish couple.
All of this was an act of God’s love. He came to bring His Kingdom upon the earth, and to make a way through the obedience of His Son to sow the seed of His Kingdom – a seed, like yeast in the dough that would grow and grow until the whole world confesses Jesus Christ is Lord.
This is the final week in our Advent journey. There are two extra days added to this week and it will take us to Christmas Day.
Sunday – December 17th
Reflect on this: The heart of Jesus’ coming is that it comes “at just the right time” and demonstrates the simplest and most profoundest thing: God has sent his son as a display of his glorious Love. The old Negro spiritual exclaims: “Love Came Down…let’s dance!” Not a bad idea, even if you’re like me and dancing is not one of your most enjoyable thoughts.
When you go to Worship today you might not dance, but open wide your heart and allow this thought to invade your heart and mind – “God came down…for me…” and go ahead, tap your feet!
Lord, you have said “I am the Way” —
not that we shall never be confused.
You have said, “I am the Truth” —
not that we shall have all the answers.
And, “I am the Life” —
not that we shall never die.
Teach me to know you here on earth,
in its tangled maze of pathways.
To know you as the Way in its unanswerable mysteries.
To know you as the Truth in the face of suffering and death,
To know you as the Life.
Thank you, Lord, for not offering us a method,
saying “This is the Way.”
Thank you for not granting us a set of propositions,
saying, “This is the Truth.”
Thank you for not delivering us from being human,
saying, “This is the Life.”
Thank you, Lord, for saying instead, “I AM,”
and for giving us yourself.
— Elisabeth Elliott
Monday – December 18th
Joseph is at the end of a long line of people! Think about it, we live in a day that many people get excited by the discovery of their genealogical history. Who is it that is in your line? Mine were all Germans from
Matthew spends a great amount of energy telling us the human line of Jesus’ birth…all the way back to Abraham. That reminds me, us, that God knows us. He knows where we come from, and He knows who we are – through and through.
Look at the list – not everyone in this list is known for doing great things: Jacob, who deceives; Judah, who sleeps with Tamar; David, who bore Solomon, but very clearly took Uriah’s wife to do that (notice Matthew doesn’t say Bathsheba). There’s Uzziah, who makes a huge mistake and suffers the consequences of his sin, and Manasseh (no one was called more wicked as a ruler in
It’s Joseph that the final chapter of God’s knowing the geneaology that will become Jesus’ earthly dad.
It’s Joseph that doesn’t understand what in the world is going on until the Angel of God visits him in the night.
It’s Joseph who hears God in another dream and takes him to
It’s Joseph who fades into oblivion from the life of Jesus in the story of the Gospel.
What happened to Joseph? How long did he live? Did he get to see Jesus the Man, or did he fulfill his purpose in Jesus the Boy?
We don’t know…but this we do know, God Knows. He knew the right time, He knew the right people to entrust his gift to the world, and He knows you and me too!
An Advent Meditation,
This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
“Out of
by Joan Vinall-Cox
It was a dark time -
Mary had wanted to be glad
Joseph had chosen her
but that strange dream ...
and old
calling her blessed, saying a
Child was growing in her
too, yet she’d never...
except in that strange dream;
and she had swollen
and Joseph,
angry and sad and puzzled,
had planned to hide
her disgrace, but he dreamed too,
and married her but slept apart and would not look at her.
It was a dark time.
It was a dark time -
the rulers had decided
to count them all where
their ancestors had lived
so Joseph and Mary must walk
for days, weeks, and her so
large and tired, and both so
puzzled and hopeful and fearful.
Could the Holy One really have chosen them?
Still they must walk,
as the rulers
demanded, in the cold,
in the darkening time, they must
walk into Bethlehem, this ancient
town, filled with others obeying
the rulers who wanted to count them and did not care
about walking, or a room for a
young woman with her time
pressing on her,
with the Holy One’s Gift demanding
His time on earth,
and no room for this family
It was a dark time.
There was light at His birth -
light in Mary’s eyes and
light in Joseph’s smile and
light flowing out, pulsing out
around the wondrous Child
light that brought the amazed shepherds,
and star light that
brought the Wise Ones from
afar to worship Him
and light that the eyes in
the dark could see, whispering to
a man with too much power
that he was nothing
beside such Light,
and the Holy One sent another
dream to guard the Light, to
hide it in a foreign land
and Mary and Joseph fled
into
away from the darkness of
Herod’s massacre of babies.
It was a dark time.
It was a dark time -
waiting in a foreign land,
watching Him grow, and learning
patience and trust, waiting
for a new dream, yearning for
home
and then
out of the dark time,
the dream came.
Tuesday – December 19th
I think most people are inclined to skip over genealogical records – unless of course it’s there own family. The story of Jesus is the story of God’s promise coming “at just the right time”.
As you meditate on this passage today, think about God’s work “at just the right time” in your own life.
Here’s the words of a Michael Card song:
The Lord God said when time was full
He would shine His light in the darkness.
He said a virgin would conceive
And give birth to the Promise.
For a thousand years the dreamers dreamt
And hoped to see His love.
But the Promise showed their wildest dreams
Had simply not been wild enough.
The Promise was love
And the Promise was life.
The Promise meant light to the world.
Living proof “Jehovah saves,”
For the name of the Promise was Jesus.
Michael Card
“The Promise”
I love the words, “For a thousand years the dreamers dreamt and hoped to see His love, but the Promise showed their wildest dreams had simply not been wild enough.”
What is it in your life that you’ve dreamt of concerning God’s promises?
Have you ever thought that your dreams have not been wild enough?
Let’s go back to Mary’s response to the Angel’s message – “Nothing you say is impossible”
Wednesday – December 20th
Did you see the verse in John’s Gospel that says Jesus “tabernacled” amongst us… He “took up residence” is what the NIV translates the Greek words as.
The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the unique Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:14
It is a great thing to meditate on the glory of God coming to live among his creation. Calvin Miller wrote a meditation on this – God’s glory coming into our midst.
THE GLORY WE BEHELD
The glory we behold in Christ is the light of grace and truth. Consider this great trinity of words: glory; grace, and truth.
Glory! It is the state of being that transcends our poor, dull, ordinary lives. It implies a dazzling illumination, a splendor in seeing, a heightened euphoria, a state of elevated reality. Glory is that moment of elation when truth and reward come together to kneel before the grand approval of God. Have you never felt His exhilarating glory? Then you have never confessed your sin and turned your face toward the wonderful face of your Redeemer. Glory is the glistening garment of God—a garment that He is all too eager to throw around us, to welcome us into His everlasting light. Glory is the food of the believer. Eat it once, and a kind of joyous addiction is born in your life. One taste and you must eat it forever.
Grace! It is the unmerited smile of God. If glory is our dance with God, grace is the ballroom—wide and free. But grace is not a tiny little dance with thin music and stingy steps. This dance never constricts. It is set to the open steps of elation. Grace saves with celestial music and redeems us, with Christ as our life partner.
Truth!.This is the mortar that binds grace and glory together. Truth is Jesus; He never told a lie. He never sinned. He is never out of love with those for whom He died. Truth says that when you take any action, needing God to be there, He will be there. Truth says that if Jesus has said it, it is settled; you may count on it.
Jesus was revealed to us in glory. That glory is full of grace and truth. The moment you received Christ, all three—glory, grace, and truth—were united as a trinity of lovers to rule from the throne of all your dreams.
AN ADDITIONAL READING – 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18
We have grown so accustomed to this particular coming of Christ—this baby-in-a-manger coming, this wise-men-and-shepherds coming—that we sometimes forget to be watching for His next coming. What keeps His next coming from being a more real part of your life? ‘What is here now that won’t be so much better then?
PRAYER:
Lord, I have beheld Your glory; full of grace and truth. What a life is now mine—glory, grace, and truth bulging in the same small space I once gave to dullness, stinginess, and deceit. And what a life now awaits me—glory, grace, and truth in greater measure than I have ever imagined. I love You for filling my heart with Your presence, for being just what my dull heart needed.
Excerpted from: The Christ of Christmas By Calvin Miller
Thursday – December 21st
Two Advent articles that I ran across have wonderful reflections on the idea of waiting for the Son. Advent is a season of prayerful waiting for Christmas to arrive; but it is anchored in the hope of Jesus’ second coming also. I’m going to use these over the next two days.
This first reflection is called “Waiting for His Son”.
Waiting for His Son from heaven. This is what the Christian life is about—waiting for His coming, remembering the longing of the Old Testament faithful for the promised Messiah, and learning to share that longing, stirring up the dying embers of a cold heart with the little glimpses of glory that wake you from complacency and contentment with too little.
What does waiting look like? First, we are to live out of a faithful discontentment. Things are not the way they should be. That needs to settle in your gut and be formative for the way that you function. So you begin to live that way. But then you hear the Satanic whisper: The world is OK, don’t overreact—relax and enjoy yourself. This is a world that has a lot to offer. The battle is to reply to that whisper: No, I am not at ease in this world. The corruption of this world is not normal. God’s world is certainly filled with good things, and even now we enjoy them. But they are not what life is about.
Waiting is also working. In light of what we know, now, in this era, we work hard. Paul says, “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:22). What does fruitful labor look like? It depends. It may mean doing another load of laundry, or playing Candy Land again with your 4-year-old daughter. It’s a relationship pursued strategically for the sake of the kingdom. It’s your job in the marketplace done well to please the Lord, or a conversation carried out deliberately, alertly, bringing words of encouragement or challenge to those who need them. In this era you do the work the Lord gives you to do.
Last, waiting is praying. Our prayers have an essential, God-appointed role in His bringing about the completion of all that He will do. Does this surprise you? Life is about praying. That unproductive addendum to life, that activity of the margins, turns out to be the heart. We pray for the realization of the purposes of God. In the end it boils down to a one-word prayer, Maranatha. We wait for the Son.
Friday – December 22nd
The second of these Advent meditations about “Waiting for His Coming” was one I found on an internet page on “Praying Advent”. The article was anonymous but it captured my focus when it came to the title: “The Three Comings of Jesus”
| While Considering One, We Prepare for Another Advent Meditations – Week 4, December 17 – 25The final week of Advent has as its theme: LOVE. The previous three weeks had as their themes: PROMISE, FAITH, AND HOPE. God had promised to Those who trusted in God had faith to believe the unbelievable; and their hope was that God would do what he had promised. What they longed for, and looked for, was one who would come to deliver them from their Roman oppression. What they didn’t understand, perceive, or believe, was that God was going to send his Son through a virgin as a baby – hidden from everyone save a few shepherds and a young poor Jewish couple. All of this was an act of God’s love. He came to bring His Kingdom upon the earth, and to make a way through the obedience of His Son to sow the seed of His Kingdom – a seed, like yeast in the dough that would grow and grow until the whole world confesses Jesus Christ is Lord. This is the final week in our Advent journey. There are two extra days added to this week and it will take us to Christmas Day. Sunday – December 17thReflect on this: The heart of Jesus’ coming is that it comes “at just the right time” and demonstrates the simplest and most profoundest thing: God has sent his son as a display of his glorious Love. The old Negro spiritual exclaims: “Love Came Down…let’s dance!” Not a bad idea, even if you’re like me and dancing is not one of your most enjoyable thoughts. When you go to Worship today you might not dance, but open wide your heart and allow this thought to invade your heart and mind – “God came down…for me…” and go ahead, tap your feet! Lord, you have said “I am the Way” — You have said, “I am the Truth” — And, “I am the Life” — Teach me to know you here on earth, To know you as the Way in its unanswerable mysteries. Thank you, Lord, for not offering us a method, Thank you for not granting us a set of propositions, Thank you for not delivering us from being human, Thank you, Lord, for saying instead, “I AM,” — Elisabeth Elliott Monday – December 18thJoseph is at the end of a long line of people! Think about it, we live in a day that many people get excited by the discovery of their genealogical history. Who is it that is in your line? Mine were all Germans from Matthew spends a great amount of energy telling us the human line of Jesus’ birth…all the way back to Abraham. That reminds me, us, that God knows us. He knows where we come from, and He knows who we are – through and through. Look at the list – not everyone in this list is known for doing great things: Jacob, who deceives; Judah, who sleeps with Tamar; David, who bore Solomon, but very clearly took Uriah’s wife to do that (notice Matthew doesn’t say Bathsheba). There’s Uzziah, who makes a huge mistake and suffers the consequences of his sin, and Manasseh (no one was called more wicked as a ruler in It’s Joseph that the final chapter of God’s knowing the geneaology that will become Jesus’ earthly dad. It’s Joseph that doesn’t understand what in the world is going on until the Angel of God visits him in the night. It’s Joseph who hears God in another dream and takes him to It’s Joseph who fades into oblivion from the life of Jesus in the story of the Gospel. What happened to Joseph? How long did he live? Did he get to see Jesus the Man, or did he fulfill his purpose in Jesus the Boy? We don’t know…but this we do know, God Knows. He knew the right time, He knew the right people to entrust his gift to the world, and He knows you and me too! An Advent Meditation, This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of by Joan Vinall-Cox It was a dark time - Mary had wanted to be glad and old and she had swollen It was a dark time. It was a dark time - for days, weeks, and her so Still they must walk, It was a dark time. There was light at His birth - light that brought the amazed shepherds, and light that the eyes in and the Holy One sent another and Mary and Joseph fled It was a dark time. It was a dark time -
the dream came. Tuesday – December 19thI think most people are inclined to skip over genealogical records – unless of course it’s there own family. The story of Jesus is the story of God’s promise coming “at just the right time”. As you meditate on this passage today, think about God’s work “at just the right time” in your own life. Here’s the words of a Michael Card song: The Lord God said when time was full The Promise was love Michael Card I love the words, “For a thousand years the dreamers dreamt and hoped to see His love, but the Promise showed their wildest dreams had simply not been wild enough.” What is it in your life that you’ve dreamt of concerning God’s promises? Have you ever thought that your dreams have not been wild enough? Let’s go back to Mary’s response to the Angel’s message – “Nothing you say is impossible” Wednesday – December 20th
Did you see the verse in John’s Gospel that says Jesus “tabernacled” amongst us… He “took up residence” is what the NIV translates the Greek words as. The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the unique Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:14 It is a great thing to meditate on the glory of God coming to live among his creation. Calvin Miller wrote a meditation on this – God’s glory coming into our midst. THE GLORY WE BEHELD The glory we behold in Christ is the light of grace and truth. Consider this great trinity of words: glory; grace, and truth. Glory! It is the state of being that transcends our poor, dull, ordinary lives. It implies a dazzling illumination, a splendor in seeing, a heightened euphoria, a state of elevated reality. Glory is that moment of elation when truth and reward come together to kneel before the grand approval of God. Have you never felt His exhilarating glory? Then you have never confessed your sin and turned your face toward the wonderful face of your Redeemer. Glory is the glistening garment of God—a garment that He is all too eager to throw around us, to welcome us into His everlasting light. Glory is the food of the believer. Eat it once, and a kind of joyous addiction is born in your life. One taste and you must eat it forever. Grace! It is the unmerited smile of God. If glory is our dance with God, grace is the ballroom—wide and free. But grace is not a tiny little dance with thin music and stingy steps. This dance never constricts. It is set to the open steps of elation. Grace saves with celestial music and redeems us, with Christ as our life partner. Truth!.This is the mortar that binds grace and glory together. Truth is Jesus; He never told a lie. He never sinned. He is never out of love with those for whom He died. Truth says that when you take any action, needing God to be there, He will be there. Truth says that if Jesus has said it, it is settled; you may count on it. Jesus was revealed to us in glory. That glory is full of grace and truth. The moment you received Christ, all three—glory, grace, and truth—were united as a trinity of lovers to rule from the throne of all your dreams. AN ADDITIONAL READING – 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 We have grown so accustomed to this particular coming of Christ—this baby-in-a-manger coming, this wise-men-and-shepherds coming—that we sometimes forget to be watching for His next coming. What keeps His next coming from being a more real part of your life? ‘What is here now that won’t be so much better then? PRAYER: Lord, I have beheld Your glory; full of grace and truth. What a life is now mine—glory, grace, and truth bulging in the same small space I once gave to dullness, stinginess, and deceit. And what a life now awaits me—glory, grace, and truth in greater measure than I have ever imagined. I love You for filling my heart with Your presence, for being just what my dull heart needed. Excerpted from: The Christ of Christmas By Calvin Miller Thursday – December 21stTwo Advent articles that I ran across have wonderful reflections on the idea of waiting for the Son. Advent is a season of prayerful waiting for Christmas to arrive; but it is anchored in the hope of Jesus’ second coming also. I’m going to use these over the next two days. This first reflection is called “Waiting for His Son”. Waiting for His Son from heaven. This is what the Christian life is about—waiting for His coming, remembering the longing of the Old Testament faithful for the promised Messiah, and learning to share that longing, stirring up the dying embers of a cold heart with the little glimpses of glory that wake you from complacency and contentment with too little. What does waiting look like? First, we are to live out of a faithful discontentment. Things are not the way they should be. That needs to settle in your gut and be formative for the way that you function. So you begin to live that way. But then you hear the Satanic whisper: The world is OK, don’t overreact—relax and enjoy yourself. This is a world that has a lot to offer. The battle is to reply to that whisper: No, I am not at ease in this world. The corruption of this world is not normal. God’s world is certainly filled with good things, and even now we enjoy them. But they are not what life is about. Waiting is also working. In light of what we know, now, in this era, we work hard. Paul says, “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me” (Philippians 1:22). What does fruitful labor look like? It depends. It may mean doing another load of laundry, or playing Candy Land again with your 4-year-old daughter. It’s a relationship pursued strategically for the sake of the kingdom. It’s your job in the marketplace done well to please the Lord, or a conversation carried out deliberately, alertly, bringing words of encouragement or challenge to those who need them. In this era you do the work the Lord gives you to do. Last, waiting is praying. Our prayers have an essential, God-appointed role in His bringing about the completion of all that He will do. Does this surprise you? Life is about praying. That unproductive addendum to life, that activity of the margins, turns out to be the heart. We pray for the realization of the purposes of God. In the end it boils down to a one-word prayer, Maranatha. We wait for the Son. Friday – December 22ndThe second of these Advent meditations about “Waiting for His Coming” was one I found on an internet page on “Praying Advent”. The article was anonymous but it captured my focus when it came to the title: “The Three Comings of Jesus”
Saturday – December 23rdToday is the last day of this week, but there are two more Advent meditations to follow – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thus I’m going to make this a light day – one reading, and a time to express this in prayer. Consider this: Joseph is the man God chooses to be his Son’s earthly father. Why? Perhaps a clue up front is that Joseph was obedient enough to God’s word that he was going to give Mary a release from their marriage commitment, and humble enough to be teachable when God showed him what was going on. A Prayer time might be to ask God to help us be both obedient and humble in our response to Him. Sunday – December 24th, Christmas EveIf you and I could have picked up the Jerusalem Post Newspaper on this day, what might have we read in the headlines of the day?
And more of the same…But was anyone noticing the movement of a young couple riding a donkey from their home town in Today, all around the world, people will gather in churches, cathedrals, basilicas, and even houses, and the purpose of this – to celebrate the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior. John Piper wrote this meditation for Christmas Eve and it’s worth contemplating on all over again. A BIG GOD FOR LITTLE PEOPLE - Luke 2:1-5 Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5 shows), and that He so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah's mother and legal father were living in Nazareth, and that in order to fulfill His word and bring two little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town? Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of 4 billion people, where all the news is of big political and economic and social movements and of outstanding people with lots of power and prestige? If you have, don't let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake but for the sake of God's little people. The little Mary and the little Joseph who have to be got from
Monday, December 25th, Christmas DayMerry Christmas to you! Advent is a time of waiting, and now our waiting is over…almost. We have waited through these days to meditate on the coming of Christ, our Lord. We have rehearsed God’s Promise to us, and understood the Faith, the Hope, and the Love of this journey – both ones – the one from God through his son to this world, and the one from our heart back to God in salvation. As you open presents and exchange the joy of what God has done in your life, remember the gift of God that has given us in the birth of His Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The angels message that first Christmas day is worth repeating: Luke 2:14 (NIV) So, who are these people on whom his favor rests? The shepherds…common, everyday workers…coffee shop, waiters, janitors, secretaries, bus drivers, and more of the plain and the nameless. His favor rests on all of those who receive the gift of his life. You. Me. Merry Christmas beloved…Merry Christmas friend! Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Jesus was born into our history - at a fixed point in time in the past. Jesus comes to us now, in a whole variety of ways. Jesus promised that he will come again in glory, at the end of time. The Incarnation: Jesus has come. This is not the coming we await. The first coming of Jesus has already happened. Our preparation to celebrate his birth is the occasion for our deeper reflection. On the first level, it is so important that we really let ourselves experience the power of the Incarnation: God is with us. That God became one of us means that "human" is one of the ways God can be. The deeper we contemplate this mystery the more we enter into the grace of "God with us." The more we let ourselves be touched by this mystery, the more we see the connection between Christmas and Easter: all of this is "for me" - for my salvation - to free me from the power of sin and death. My Life Now: Jesus comes to me. When we open our hearts and our mouths and plead, "Come, O Lord," we are most directly experiencing our desire for the Lord to come to us and touch us with the grace of salvation - that we might live it with greater freedom and peace. Jesus is present whenever we need him to be present: actually, whenever we turn to him - even with empty hands. Jesus is alive and active in us when we read God's Word and let it into our hearts. Jesus promised to be present with us whenever two or three are gathered together in his name. And, we know Jesus comes to us whenever our sacrifices and our sufferings unite us with his own mission. Advent is a special time to experience our longing for the presence of Jesus with us now - in all the places we need him most. Our Future: Jesus comes again, in glory. One of the most transforming graces of Advent is given us as our longing deepens. The more grateful we become for how God saved us in Jesus, the more deeply we enter into the mystery of how Jesus is with us now. The closer we come to experiencing joy at how our Lord, Jesus Christ came into our world, faithful to God and faithful to our life journey in the flesh, the closer we come to experiencing the mystery of salvation in our everyday lives. And, as our longing is filled with the utter fullness of God's gift to us, we begin to long with the ultimate freedom: we long to be with Now we watch for the day, |
Saturday – December 23rd
Today is the last day of this week, but there are two more Advent meditations to follow – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thus I’m going to make this a light day – one reading, and a time to express this in prayer.
Consider this: Joseph is the man God chooses to be his Son’s earthly father. Why? Perhaps a clue up front is that Joseph was obedient enough to God’s word that he was going to give Mary a release from their marriage commitment, and humble enough to be teachable when God showed him what was going on.
A Prayer time might be to ask God to help us be both obedient and humble in our response to Him.
Sunday – December 24th, Christmas Eve
If you and I could have picked up the Jerusalem Post Newspaper on this day, what might have we read in the headlines of the day?
- “Ceasar’s tax decree create scarce accommodations for travelers”
- “Herod decrees new taxes”
- “Roman Army moves on
- “
And more of the same…But was anyone noticing the movement of a young couple riding a donkey from their home town in
Today, all around the world, people will gather in churches, cathedrals, basilicas, and even houses, and the purpose of this – to celebrate the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior. John Piper wrote this meditation for Christmas Eve and it’s worth contemplating on all over again.
A BIG GOD FOR LITTLE PEOPLE - Luke 2:1-5
Have you ever thought what an amazing thing it is that God ordained beforehand that the Messiah be born in Bethlehem (as the prophecy in Micah 5 shows), and that He so ordained things that when the time came, the Messiah's mother and legal father were living in Nazareth, and that in order to fulfill His word and bring two little people to Bethlehem that first Christmas, God put it in the heart of Caesar Augustus that all the Roman world should be enrolled each in his own town?
Have you ever felt, like me, little and insignificant in a world of 4 billion people, where all the news is of big political and economic and social movements and of outstanding people with lots of power and prestige? If you have, don't let that make you disheartened or unhappy. For it is implicit in Scripture that all the mammoth political forces and all the giant industrial complexes, without their even knowing it, are being guided by God, not for their own sake but for the sake of God's little people. The little Mary and the little Joseph who have to be got from
| Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm, All is bright, Round yon virgin, Mother and child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, Sleep in Heavenly Peace Sleep in Heavenly Peace | Silent night, holy night. | Silent night, holy night. Son of God, loves pure light, Radiant beams from thy holy place With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord at thy birth Jesus, Lord at thy birth |
Monday, December 25th, Christmas Day
Merry Christmas to you!
Advent is a time of waiting, and now our waiting is over…almost. We have waited through these days to meditate on the coming of Christ, our Lord. We have rehearsed God’s Promise to us, and understood the Faith, the Hope, and the Love of this journey – both ones – the one from God through his son to this world, and the one from our heart back to God in salvation.
As you open presents and exchange the joy of what God has done in your life, remember the gift of God that has given us in the birth of His Son.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
The angels message that first Christmas day is worth repeating: Luke 2:14 (NIV)
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
So, who are these people on whom his favor rests?
The shepherds…common, everyday workers…coffee shop, waiters, janitors, secretaries, bus drivers, and more of the plain and the nameless. His favor rests on all of those who receive the gift of his life.
You.
Me.
Merry Christmas beloved…Merry Christmas friend!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
Monday, December 11, 2006
2nd week of Advent
For all who have ever wanted to skip the Christmas season, because they hated the commercialism and innane Christmas music that pipes over ever station, Advent is redemptive. This season that originates from the sixth century takes the "season" of Christmas and over a four week period takes the believer on a journey through the scripture in order to reflectively embrace Christmas in all of its mystery and wonder.
I've celebrated Advent, and to a certain extent so has our family, for over 15 years now. I can't tell you how much I look forward to the coming of the Advent season. I remember a few years ago wondering if I might have an Advent book inside of me...just because I love this season so much and long for believers to "enter into" the joy of what it is all about.
This year, I began to write a series of Advent meditations. I meant to post them last week at the beginning of Advent, but frankly got lost in the busyness of other things. Personally, my times in the morning are sacred, and so I was able to do these reflections myself, and I prepared them for the students in our Training Community.
It's with that in mind that I post these today for this week. If you were on the mailing list, you'll notice that this was what I sent out last week. Yet, this is now the second week of Advent, so these meditations are for the following week -- beginning yesterday on Sunday, the 10th.
Thursday –
I've celebrated Advent, and to a certain extent so has our family, for over 15 years now. I can't tell you how much I look forward to the coming of the Advent season. I remember a few years ago wondering if I might have an Advent book inside of me...just because I love this season so much and long for believers to "enter into" the joy of what it is all about.
This year, I began to write a series of Advent meditations. I meant to post them last week at the beginning of Advent, but frankly got lost in the busyness of other things. Personally, my times in the morning are sacred, and so I was able to do these reflections myself, and I prepared them for the students in our Training Community.
It's with that in mind that I post these today for this week. If you were on the mailing list, you'll notice that this was what I sent out last week. Yet, this is now the second week of Advent, so these meditations are for the following week -- beginning yesterday on Sunday, the 10th.
Advent Meditations – Week 2, Dec. 10 - 16
And Ransom Captive
Who mourn in lonely exile here
Until the son of God appears.
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel
Shall Come to thee, O Israel.
In the first week of Advent we celebrated the PROMISE of His Coming. His promise is based on our need. We were made in his image, but there is emptiness in our soul that is the result of the Fallen nature of sin. We lit the first candle to remind us that the promise of God is that the one who would come as Messiah would come to a people “in darkness” and that he would be a “great light” (Isa. 9:1-6). Jesus came as the “light of the world”, the one who would take away the curse and the darkness around us.
Read: Psalm 100
O come ye, O come ye, to
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Monday -
Did you notice in the readings how God’s promise is to change that which causes sadness and loneliness into something that is joyful and secure. How?
“He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.”
“Christmas month begins. And again I find myself watnting to reach out to help people who can’t, by themselves, “unwrap” Christmas. It is, you know, “wrapped” for many:
- Wrapped in the bandages of bygone hurts and disappointments
- Wrapped in the plastic of sophistication which shuns childlike wonder
- Wrapped in the tinsel of materialistic binge
- Wrapped in the confetti and streamers of empty partying
- Wrapped in the busy-get-ready preparations
The ghost of Christmas Past returns to haunt numberless now-redeemed members of the Father’s forever family, but without the beneficial results produced by Scrooge’s specter.
The wrappings represent the cluttered residue of a man and woman’s childhood pain. Christmas ruined in other times, at other places. Sadly, the impact carries on, souring year after year. I’m speaking of people who –
- Had a heartbreak in their family one year and now associate Advent more with the pain than with Christ.
- Have been burned out over family stresses surrounding the holidays, so that now these days are dreaded instead of anticipated with joy.
- Have become wearied with the carnality of superficial gift giving and the have-to-get-something-for…. That becomes dread instead of joy.
How many people? How many varieties of death wrap a God-appointed celebration of faith and hope and love?
I come to you today, my disappointed friend, in Jesus’ name. And I come with this word: “BE FREE!”
Confront and reject these false thieves of the past. Through Jesus – the baby become King, the Son become Lord, the child become Christ – in his mighty name, lay hold of this season by faith. Refuse to let the prince of darkness smother this season of light. The one who sought to murder the Baby in
Resist him with JOY, with resting in the security of His mercy, His love, His grace.
Be untied. Be unfettered. Be Unwrapped!
Take my hand and together let us “go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Tuesday –
Go ahead….WONDER!
How Jesus the savior, did come for die
For poor ornery people like you and like i
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky
When mary birthed Jesus, twas in a cow stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
And high from gods heaven a starlight did fall
And the promise of ages, it then did recall
If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of gods angels in heaven to sing
He surely could’ve had it, cause he was the king
That you came is a wonder to me –
That you came in a manner so lowly,
Came to the earth to live; came your life to give.
That you came changed all of history.
That you came brought the glorious word –
Son of man, named Jesus, the Savior.
What a gift the Father gave,
His only Son He sent to save me.
That you came changed my destiny.
That you came is a wonder to me!
A Prayer:
“Father, I have grown up…forgive me. I have become sophisticated and dulled by what is normal, the routine. I ask you in the name of Jesus, to open my eyes to Your world – full of wonder. I ask you to show me the child within me. Lord, if growing up means I’m no longer surprised; that I am routine and my faith is hollowed by the world that I’m fixed on, then please birth me again…in wonder and joy, that leads to more wonder and more joy! Make me a child again…give me a tender heart, a childlike trust; let my spirit be reborn. I want a faith for you Father – and your heart – that believes in me. In this Advent season, make me a child again.”
Wednesday –
The cast of characters in the Advent drama are few: An aged priest and his can’t-bear-children wife, a virgin teenager and her confused, but obedient husband, some shepherds on a hillside who were unlucky enough to do “night” duty, and one didn’t-have-a-clue-what-was-about-to-happen innkeeper. THESE were the people God chose to introduce his Son into the world.
It is truly a humbling experience to read back through the Old Testament and see how frail and imperfect all the "heroes" actually are. Abraham, the coward who cannot believe the promise. Jacob, the cheat who struggles with everybody. Joseph, the immature and arrogant teen. Moses, the impatient murderer who cannot wait for God. Gideon, the cowardly Baal-worshipper. Samson, the womanizing drunk. David, the power abusing adulterer. Solomon, the unwise wise man. Hezekiah, the reforming king who could not quite go far enough. And finally, a cast of not-very-amazing- people living in
Look at Zechariah…meditate on this passage.
· There were 18,000 priests and all had a chance to get selected, but the odds of one out of 18,000 is still pretty large…and yet, on the night he pulled duty to burn the incense.
· There are 30 Zechariah’s in scripture, but this one…this one is specific…the Zechariah that God knows – a child of Aaron’s line, and a man who tried to order his life around God, a man whose name means Yahweh Remembers.
· God remembers was something he had to exercise as faith…because his country was occupied by a foreign power – a mark of shame…and he was childless – a mark of personal shame.
· Angels aren’t on every page, so when they appear something usually quite amazing is being announced – and in this case, it’s Gabriel, the one angel closest to God the Father who appears.
· The announcement seems improbable to Zechariah… “You kidding me?” Personal disappointments can weigh anyone to lose sight of God and faith.
· Gabriel says, “Be Silent” then…
So…what do we do with Zechariah? An author I read said:
“It never ceases to amaze me why God could not have chosen "better" people to do His work in the world. Yet if God can use them, and reveal Himself through them in such marvelous ways, it means that He might be able to use me, inadequate, and unwise, and too often lacking in faith that I am. And it means that I need to be careful that I do not in my own self-righteousness put limits on what God can do with the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of circumstances. I think that is part of the wonder of the Advent Season.”
AND so here we are…in a season where we are challenged to ask:
Did you think you were little in the universe? Ah, look…for here God shows that he is more than capable of bringing the universe to each of us…to you! Believe this: YOU WERE NURTURED IN LOVE THROUGH ALL OF THE AGES FOR THIS TIME…BREATHE THIS IN AND RECEIVE HIS HEART, HIS THOUGHTS TOWARDS YOU, HIS PASSION FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!
Thursday –
Read: Luke 1: 5 – 22 (again)
Angels from the realms of glory
Wing your flight over all the earth
Ye, who sang creations story
Now proclaim Messiah's birth
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ the newborn King
When Zechariah met the angel Gabriel in the temple, he must have been startled, surprise, caught off guard. And, being told that his response was not what the Angel called a response of faith so he would be mute must have made him both awed and terrified at the same time.
Moses had written before: “You cannot see my face, no one can see me and live.” Did he think he was going to die?
My Prayer: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”
“O Lord…Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…and my Father…
Hallowed (Holy) are you…
When you see the world, you are not overwhelmed, like I often am…
Stir up my heart.
Let heaven intrude upon my earthly affairs to rip my attention from the world to you again.
Advent means you invaded the earth…came to set the captives free…launched an all out assault on complacency and unbelief…
So even now….I pray, stir up my heart…Immanuel, be with me and free me.”
Friday –
How long had Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child? For years? Had they given up praying? Had they said, “It’s just never going to happen, we will have to learn to be content without children.”
Did your parents pray for you?
Did your Grandmother, or someone else hold you in their heart as a promise for God?
What you got was from people whose faith may not have been all that great… BUT, you’re here now aren’t you? So, something happened…God made something happen. And what is that? That in every generation, the hearts of the fathers are turned towards the children, and the hearts of the children are turned towards their parents.
A Prayer: “Lord, my prayer in this Advent season is for my parents/my children for this…” (Finish this)
Saturday –
At the end of week 2, one last thought from Zechariah:
God keeps his word…he keeps his promises.
It wasn’t all that bad that Zechariah was mute. Embarrassing at first, and strange to those who wanted to know what happened to him “in there”.
And what do we say to the promise of that second Advent? Are we more consumed by the world around us that we cannot believe we’ve been courted for a wedding? Does the bride disbelieve the date of her wedding? No…she anticipates, prays, and dreams of what the wedding and marriage will be.
A Saturday Prayer:
Father, Grant me a heart that is pure, wide-open in faith towards you, even as I anticipate coming tomorrow together with others to worship you.
Jesus, I long for you to come…I want my life to serve your Kingdom and to await your second Advent…even as now, I celebrate your first Advent.
Spirit, Grant to me a heart full of faith and wonder. Help me, guide me into truth, and show me anything in my heart and mind that prevents me from saying yes to you Lord God, three in one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)