More...Christmas Hope

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

a light has dawned

on those living in the land of darkness.

You have enlarged the nation

and increased its joy.

The people have rejoiced before You

as they rejoice at harvest time

and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.

For You have shattered their oppressive yoke

and the rod on their shoulders,

the staff of their oppressor,

just as You did on the day of Midian.

For the trampling boot of battle

and the bloodied garments of war

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child will be born for us,

a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on His shoulders.

He will be named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.   Isaiah 9:2-6

The last decade or so has seen a shift in home decorating trends.  Decorating with words is now a thing. Perhaps you’ve noticed. During Christmas in particular we see words like “peace,” “joy,” “jolly” and “believe” plastered everywhere.  I too have succumb to this decorating trend. “Joy” hangs on my refrigerator year round as a reminder that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)  A “Peace” ornament in white hangs from one of my cabinet doors to remind me “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”  (Colossians 3:15)  “Cafe” sits on top of one of my cabinets just for fun.

There is one word that we sometimes see around, during the Christmas season in particular, that doesn’t seem to get quite as much press as the rest.  But it’s vitally important in our understanding of the Christmas story and finding More of God in our celebration this Christmas. That word is “Hope.”  The text I’ve chosen today focuses specifically on the hope that Christ brings us in His advent.

Isaiah prophesied during some dark days in Israel’s history.  There wasn’t much hope to be found in the circumstances of the people of Israel during those days.  Yet Isaiah has encountered God (see Isaiah 6) and though circumstances look bleak, he continues to abide in hope.  After he delivers a particularly disturbing prophecy, wreaking terror in its listeners (Isaiah 8), he writes:

“But in the future He (God) will bring honor to the Way of the Sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.”  (Isaiah 9:1b)

The word “honor” in this passage is the Hebrew word kabad and literally means to “make heavy, weighty, full of glory and honor.”  It’s not a flippant word. It’s serious and pregnant with hope for the listeners of the prophecy.  You see, the kabad that God will bring is really found several sentences later:

For a child will be born for us,

a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on His shoulders.

He will be named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

The effects of the child born to us will be seen as light (Isaiah 9:2), joy (Isaiah 9:3), freedom (Isaiah 9:3-4) and peace.  (Isaiah 9:5).  He will ultimately wear the crown of the kingdom of God perfectly, something the lineage of David was unable to do.

Jeremiah actually calls him the “Hope of Israel.”  (Jeremiah 14:8, 17:13)  He writes concerning Messiah, the Christ - the coming King:

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

   is the place of our sanctuary.

O Lord, the hope of Israel,

   all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

   for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.   Jeremiah 17:12-13

The Hope of Christmas is that there is a King who came and lived as a man, who gave up His life in exchange for ours and who now lives forever as the perfect King of eternity for us.  Only He is able to bring the light out of darkness, joy overflowing, freedom from sin and peace in the world and in our hearts. Only He is able to give us More of Himself.

Today I leave you with a song by Newsong - “The Christmas Hope.”

Her wish this Christmas

Was that Christmas would just pass her by

Nothing could reach her

Or answer her questions why

She feels so alone

And she wonders if all hope is gone

Hope is a candle

A light in the window

Showing the way for

A heart to come home

Hope is a Savior

Who was born in the manger

Sent down from Heaven

To rescue our hearts

Our Christmas hope

She never imagined

That for her there was hope to find

But isn't it amazing

How God brings a heart back to life

She's smiling now she's finding out

What Christmas hope is all about

Hope is a present

A gift freely given

To all who receive

And open their hearts

Hope is a promise

For a better tomorrow

In a world filled with sorrow

We always have hope

Our Christmas hope

Our Christmas hope

More...Christmas Repentance

Zechariah was startled and overwhelmed with fear. But the angel reassured him, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God is showing grace to you. For I have come to tell you that your prayer for a child has been answered. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son and you are to name him John. His birth will bring you much joy and gladness. Many will rejoice because of him. He will be one of the great ones in the sight of God. He will drink no wine or strong drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb. And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God. He will go before the Lord as a forerunner, with the same power and anointing as Elijah the prophet.

Luke 1:12-17

Preparations are well underway at my house for Christmas.  The Christmas tree and decorations are up, Christmas music is blaring from our digital speaker and I’m baking cookies...lots of cookies!  Christmas will come whether or not I have finished the preparations. It always does. But my heart and household feel so much richer because the time has been taken to make those arrangements.  It builds anticipation and longing for all of us. This is so much like the real life Christmas story.

It had been four hundred years since anyone had heard the Voice of God.  A very long time...five generations...had come and gone. Nothing...until one day when an unsuspecting Zechariah drew the lot for temple service in the Holy of Holies.  He was going about his duties when suddenly an angel appeared to him. (Ever notice that’s how angels always appear...suddenly?) He’s overwhelmed and afraid. Keep in mind he’s in the Holy of Holies.  He’s already out of his comfort zone!

But the message was personal and reassuring.  “Don’t be afraid, Zach! You’re going to have a son!  You’ve waited forever and ever. You’ve prayed a long time.  And now God is ready to show you His grace by giving you a son.  And not just any son! This one is going to be special! He’s going to prepare the way for Messiah!!”  (paraphrase is mine)

God could have skipped this part.  He could have just announced to Mary and Joseph then later to the shepherds or magi.  But instead He chose to bless a couple in their old age, answer their prayer and assign a boy (who would grow to be John the Baptist) the job of preceding Messiah!  The angel was very specific. “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even while still in his mother’s womb. And he will persuade many in Israel to convert and turn back to the Lord their God.”  (Luke 1:15b-16a)  Zechariah’s son, John, moved by the Holy Spirit, would prepare Israel by turning back to God (repenting).  His ministry would be one of repentance.

Israel had turned her back on God.  Sure, the religious order of the day was quite meticulous when it came to religious traditions, but they were not necessarily God’s traditions.  And God wanted hearts right and ready to receive His Son when he appeared on the scene in ministry. John, himself, put it this way, “I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”  (John 1:31)

Preparation isn’t everything, but it’s so worthwhile and necessary!  Our hearts wander so easily. We don’t readily receive Jesus into each our days as our Papa God would like us to do.

Remember our friend, Zechariah.  He was given hope to hold onto while he awaited and prepared for the birth of his son.  The message of repentance was part of that hope. As we prepare for the holiday of Christmas, ask yourself this question:  where has my heart wandered and what do I need to repent of? Take some time. Meditate on it. Look for disconnect. Repent.  I guarantee you won’t be disappointed to turn back in wholehearted devotion to God this Christmas season and, indeed, every season!

More...Christmas Listening

Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your

God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want -

as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.”

But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I will not test the Lord like that.”

Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough

to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?  All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).   Isaiah 7:10-14

How well do you listen?  Do you listen well enough to follow through on what you hear?  “Wait,” you might say, “I thought I was reading a Christmas message?”  You are. A lot of listening happens in the Christmas story, actually. Mary listens and responds, “may it be done to me according to your word.”  (Luke 1:38)  Joseph listens and responds by taking Mary as his wife and ensures she will still be a virgin at the Baby’s birth even though by all appearances she has made a fool of him.  (Matthew 1:24-25)   The shepherds listen and after the angels leave them, they find the Baby and leave glorifying and praising God.  (Luke 2:16-20)  If any of these participants in the Christmas story had not listened well, they would have missed the wonders of what God had planned for them.

But the very first participant in the Christmas story didn’t listen well at all.  Perhaps you’ve never heard this part of the story. King Ahaz had frozen with fear.  His father, Uzziah, had died and he now found himself on the royal throne. And now, when the kings of Aram and Remaliah show up to do battle with him all he can do is quake with fear.  God, in His goodness shows up through the prophet Isaiah, saying, “Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands.”  (Isaiah 7:1-4)  You’d think that message would quell Ahaz’s fears.  After all, God is telling Him not to fear; He has it all under control.

Remember how I told you that Ahaz didn’t listen well?  Yep. You got it! That message didn’t stop his shaking.  So God tells Ahaz to ask for a sign. “I won’t do it!” Ahaz declares.  His fear is magnified with this request. He doesn’t want to put God to the test, or so he says.  He’s really just too afraid to ask.

“Okay,” God replies (my paraphrase), “but I’m going to give you one anyway.”  And God proceeds to tell him a little story. “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  

“Okay, God.  That’s a pretty fantastic story.”  A virgin having a baby? Impossible.  But that’s the point. God is God over even the impossible.  The exclamation point for Ahaz is the name - Immanuel...God is with us.  If God is with us, the impossible becomes possible.  If God is with us, there is a way through the pain, the difficulties, the rejection. Add your own issue.  If God is with you, that issue isn’t impossible. God has it under control. But there is a catch.

Ah yes, you knew it was too good to be true..right?  Wrong! Remember our character, Ahaz? God asked him to ask.  He wants you to ask. Are you listening? He is with you.  Immanuel did come.  God is with us. And He wants us to ask.  So do it! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

More...Christmas - Holy Spirit

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come

upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the

Son of God.   Luke 1:34-35

As we enter the Christmas season much attention is given to the Baby, to angels and to the manger.  But before we can have any of that the Holy Spirit must be present. The Holy Spirit is the workhorse of the Christmas story.  He does His work behind closed doors, out of sight, not drawing attention to Himself. Not at all unlike the way He continues to work today.  Let’s put the spotlight on the mightiest of entities in this Christmas story, but also the humblest.

I began my morning, as I often do, reading a short devotional study and the accompanying verses. Today I came across a couple phrases that made me stop in my tracks.  The devotional content was not Christmas (I haven’t started those yet) but suddenly the Christmas story was jumping off the page at me.

So, salvation and our free access to God’s presence is what

God has done for us through Jesus. The way we receive it,

the how, is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The words of Jud Wilhite, pastor of Central Church in Las Vegas, in a short devotional shared on YouVersion Bible entitled Uncaged, took me whirling to these words from the Christmas story: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. (Luke 1:35)  What God did through Holy Spirit in bringing about the virgin birth is beyond comprehension!  It’s sensational, miraculous, amazing! There were no physical relations like you see echoed in Greek mythology (while those stories are fantastic, they don’t touch what God does in the Christmas story through the Holy Spirit!).

Holy Spirit is not physical.  Indeed, the Greek word Luke uses in the telling of this event is pneuma - wind or breath.  What happens goes far beyond physical comprehension.  It’s a miracle. One moment, no baby; the next, Holy Baby!  This is the same Spirit who was “moving over the surface of the waters” in Genesis 1 (Genesis 1:2b), the One who worked out God’s creative power in the creation of the universe.

This is the One who is at work in those who believe in the name of Jesus Christ today.  Luke uses the Greek words “eperchomi epi” which we translate “come upon” to describe to Mary how Holy Spirit will interact with her. This phrase literally means “to arrive over in a position of authority.”  The Holy Spirit was over Mary.  He is in us!

Think about this.  If God, through Holy Spirit is able to accomplish such a miraculous event as the virgin birth by the Spirit over Mary (as He was in Creation), imagine what He can do in us! Give yourself time to celebrate this amazing reality!

Mary surrendered to the Spirit and look what happened! Today let us all surrender to the Spirit’s work in our lives.  Ask Him to come in and do “greater works than these” (John 14:12) through us.  And believe.

More...Forgiveness

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate

hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one

another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each

other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above

all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were

called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:12-14

I grew up in a home marked by grudges. My father was notorious for holding grudges. He refused to release those who offended him (and he seemed to be offended often). Even as a young child without much training in the wisdom and discernment that God teaches in His Word this didn’t seem to line up well with what I knew about God. But in the minds of my parents it was acceptable to hold grudges, perhaps because they wanted everyone to  consider them perfect. I don’t know exactly where this line of thinking materialized or why people who held so stiffly to God’s Word would ignore command after command to forgive. And forgive. And forgive again and again and again. (see Matthew 18:21-35) Perhaps they thought that “perfection” excused them? But that doesn’t make sense given that Jesus regularly forgave people and commanded it as well. (Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 9:1-13, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 11:25, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 7:41-50, Luke 17:3-4, Luke 23:34, Luke 24:44-48, John 8:3-11) And He was certainly perfect!

I was not free from this scorn. Blame was frequently laid upon me even when I was not the offending party, along with any commensurate punishment that was deemed appropriate - usually a spanking with a three-inch, doubled-over, heavy leather strap used to hold milking machines. I don’t remember too many days I wasn’t the recipient of the strap! How does one respond to that, especially given that my emotional wound resurfaces over and over again? The answer in the Bible is clear. Forgive. I preach this to myself even as I write it and and do so after a particularly difficult emotional weekend with so much heartache resurfacing.

Forgiveness is not an easy mandate. I know this all too well. But it is life-giving. And here’s why.

Forgiveness acknowledges the sin. I’ve heard people say that if they forgive then it’s like saying they weren’t sinned against. Contrary to that line of thinking, if forgiveness is needed it is because a wrong has been done. Forgiveness is the act of relinquishing claim for an offense committed. You let go. Letting go is life-giving; holding a grudge lends to making you bitter, mean and cantankerous.

Forgiveness is based neither on the sin nor the sinner. It would take super-human effort to do so. Rather forgiveness is based on the One who forgave us. That is why Paul can so confidently exclaim, “if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:13) Forgive as Jesus forgave. This leads to the next point.

Forgiveness is sacrificial. It costs us something. It cost Jesus His life to forgive us. It may cost us the right to revenge but it gives us the ability to enjoy peace and restoration, both in happiness and relationships . But not forgiving costs more! Holding grudges causes bitterness to be a constant companion and bitterness acts like poison to your soul. My father is a veritable Eeyore after so many years of holding onto unforgiveness, suffering losses in both happiness and relationships.

Forgiveness reflects God’s character of love. It is the loving thing to do. It is what God accomplished through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It is what God does for us every day of our lives as the imperfections of our heart, sometimes visible only to Him, offend Him again and again.

And finally, forgiveness leads to thankfulness. When we forgive, we are reminded that we have been forgiven! We are made aware that we can now live in freedom!!!! And doesn’t that just make you smile?!?!

Perhaps the offense against you is particularly egregious...forgive. Perhaps you just feel animosity toward someone and you don’t even know why...forgive, both yourself and the thing that stands between you. Perhaps...fill in the blank...forgive. Forgiveness isn’t a suggestion. It is an expected way of life for a believer of Jesus. If I want more God, I need to forgive more! And that’s all the reason we need to do it!

Today I leave you with the words from a Matthew West song called “Forgiveness.”

It’s the hardest thing to give away

And the last thing on your mind today

It always goes to those who don’t deserve

It’s the opposite of how you feel

When they pain they caused is just too real

Takes everything you have to say the word

Forgiveness, forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride

It moves away the mad inside

It’s always anger’s own worst enemy

Even when the jury and the judge

Say you’ve got a right to hold a grudge

It’s the whisper in your ear saying set it free

Forgiveness, forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, forgiveness

It’ll clear the bitterness away

It can even set a prisoner free

There is no end to what its power can do

So let it go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace

The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness

More...Enlightenment

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my

prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of

glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in

the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,

that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,

what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward

us who believe, according to the working of his great might

that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead

and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.   

Ephesians 1:16-20

If I rise in the night and look out my back window I can see the outline of trees and the fence at the back of my yard.  You see, over the hill beyond where I live is a burrough that gives off a faint light that gives a lightened glow to my back yard even after the sun has made its departure from the daytime sky.  But bring on the illumination the sun delivers! It’s a game changer! Suddenly I am able to see that there is goldenrod nodding at me behind my neighbor's yard and blackberries growing again over my fence and wily weeds that have grown in the abundance of rain we’ve had.  Light reveals everything!

Paul spent over two years in Ephesus, establishing the church there.  He ministered to these believers longer than he had anywhere else. He knew them well.  When he sits down to write a letter to them he starts with a reminder to them of all the blessings they had been given in Christ.  Undoubtedly they had already been taught about these blessings. (Ephesians 1:3-14) He then writes out a prayer he has been praying to God over them.  He starts his prayer asking that God would give his readers “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.”   He essentially asks God to awaken their spirits by the power of His Spirit in bringing them illumination concerning everything they had been taught.

It is Holy Spirit who shines His light into our lives.  Paul understands this. He’s experienced it and he wants his little flock to understand it too.  There are three specific areas Paul would like to see his readers to grow in understanding.

First, he wants them to “know what is the hope to which he has called you.” (Ephesians 1:18) I suspect for all of us this is an area that is constant need of growth.  As our eyes are enlightened we are able to gain more hope and see more clearly how God is blessing us with those spirituals blessings Paul has been talking about it. Paul uses is the Greek word oida when he asks that these believers “know.”  It conveys the idea of a cherished, skilled understanding, an experiential understanding of their calling.  This is enlightenment in action!

Second, Paul wants them to know “what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.” (Ephesians 1:18) Again this is a cherished understanding he’s asking for.  He wants us to know that Christ’s death on the cross has given us the inheritance of God Himself, the greatest treasure we could possibly hope for!!

And last, Paul wants us to gain a cherished experience of Christ’s power poured out in us.  He asks that we know “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:19) We aren’t alone and we’ve got the immeasurable force of all of God’s resources with us!  When Holy Spirit shines light on all of these riches we can see the details of God’s power poured out on us.

Are you aware of all that God wants for you?  Do you understand the depth of the riches he has laid out for you?  The light that the Holy Spirit brings to the eyes of our hearts helps us gain more of God - because we’re able to perceive more of Him!  It’s the details of His heart, illumined by the Spirit that give us unspeakable joy in having Him as our treasure. If you’re not experiencing this type of spiritual vitality, I’d encourage you to pray this prayer over yourself.  Paul’s prayer is a good model for our own desire for more of God!