Light: Rescued From Darkness, A Christmas Devotional

 I got to share the devotional this morning at our church's women's ministry Christmas party.  It was a sweet time with my sisters from my church family.  I thought I'd share the thoughts here on my blog as well: 

One of my very favorite things about the Christmas season are the decorations.  Not so much the cutesy, schmaltzy, cluttery ones, but the beautiful, shimmering, glittering, brilliant lights as they glint and shimmer in the all the gold and silver and glass. We all have our preferences for what makes for beautiful decorations, but for me, I’m partial to white lights and candles and the gentle twinkle as those lights shine on the tree, reminding us of the starry night sky. Lights play a big part in our Christmas decorating. For us in the northern hemisphere, Christmas takes place in the winter with its long, dark nights, and we light up our homes with shimmer, lights, and shine as we try to push back the darkness with wonder and beauty as we await all the things that make Christmas wonderful for us.

What I like to ponder while I sit in the quiet of my living room on early December mornings and watch the beautiful twinkle of lights on the glitter and glass on the tree is how that beauty points to an even greater, more immense, more significant, brilliant, and glorious beauty – Jesus, who is the light of the world.

The motif of light is quite prominent in the arc of the scripture. When God creates the heavens and the earth, what is the very next thing He creates? LIGHT! “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”

In this first opening chapter of Genesis, we get a picture of what God will do spiritually for the rest of the ages – after mankind falls into darkness, when we disobey and reject God and become marred by sin and plunged into spiritual darkness – God, in His grace and mercy, sets into motion the rescue of His people from the darkness of sin and rebellion to bring them back to His light.

The history of mankind is rife with evidence of the darkness our sin causes in this world. Every one of us has sinned and rebelled against our Creator and felt sin’s devastating effects in our world and our lives. And yet, God gives us the light of His Word so that we may know Him, so that those who walk with God can walk in light. In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet gave hope to God’s people, Israel: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”

Many years later, in Luke 1:78-79, John the Baptist’s father speaks a beautiful word of prophecy reflecting that Isaiah 9 prophecy, about the Messiah who was soon to come, the One for whom John would be the forerunner and prepare the way, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

 Fast forward to Luke 2 when the brightness of the glory of the Lord shines into the darkness of the night and startles a group of shepherds outside Bethlehem with the good news of great joy that a Savior has been born, and the heavenly host sings, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” And in Matthew 4:16-17, we see the prophecy from Isaiah fulfilled in Jesus. Matthew quotes that Isaiah 9 prophecy and then says, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”  Truly, could it be any clearer that it is through Jesus that God’s light shines on those of us who have been in darkness?

And then we have John 1:1-14. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the Light of the World; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

In John 10, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication – this is what we know today as the Festival of Lights, or Hannukah – and at a festival of lights, Jesus so clearly identifies Himself as the Messiah that the religious leaders understood He was claiming to be the Son of God and in their unbelief they took up stones to stone Him. He clearly is claiming to be the One prophesied to bring the Light.

In Revelation 21:22-24, the New Creation is being symbolically described, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” Hallelujah – here we find the fulfillment of what I said at the beginning that God rescues His people from the spiritual darkness our sin plunged us into and brings us to His light – He brings us to Himself.

We only have time for a brief look at light in the Bible this morning, but if you want to dig a little more you could probably do an interesting word study on light that I imagine would be very encouraging. There is one more passage I want to share before I share some practical application and close. For the past, I’m not sure how long, I have been sporadically, far too slowly, trying to memorize the book of Colossians. These verses in Colossians 1:9-14 have become precious to me: “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

I know that the holidays, and especially Christmas, can be a difficult time for many. When so many voices and movies and TV shows and music all around us are so loud about the so-called perfect Christmas, the pressure to have the perfect holiday can feel dark and overwhelming if your reality is vastly different from the worldly expectations or when you do not have what you wish you could have to make this Christmas perfect. Holidays can be very lonely when life's events make us weep.

My friends, my encouragement for you this Christmas – whether you will have a houseful and all the holiday cheer your heart desires and all your expectations are joyful, or on the other hand, perhaps you may be feeling lonely, disappointed or bitter with the weight of the difficulties of life in this fallen world, or maybe you’re feeling burdened and overwhelmed with some sin that has robbed your joy, or perhaps maybe you don’t even understand what I’m talking about today if you haven’t yet met this Jesus and come to find the peace that passes all understanding when you come to trust Him as your Lord and Savior – wherever this Christmas season finds you, may I encourage you to take time to look away from the world’s empty promises of what the perfect holiday, the empty promises of what the perfect life looks like, and let the lights and all that comes with them in this season point you to the true Light. Jesus has come! And He has come to redeem you from your darkness. Most importantly, because Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s Law, when we could not, because Jesus died as our substitute to pay the debt our sin deserves, because Jesus rose again and is ever interceding for His people, because of this, in Jesus we can be reconciled, brought into right relationship, to God. When we come to Him, confess our sins and repent and trust in Jesus alone for our salvation, we can be made right with God and walk in His light. In Jesus, broken expectations, disappointments, and even grief, can be put into proper perspective. Let the forgiveness, peace, and love Jesus brings draw you near to God and into His light. Let your focus this Christmas be so much less on what the world would promise Christmas is and so much more on Jesus, whose promises never fail and who is the true Light of the World.

The Communion of Saints

 

“Christ is risen!”

“He is risen indeed!”

Social media has its downsides, and they are many, but it also has some pretty cool upsides.  One of my favorite things about social media happened yesterday, as Christians all over my newsfeeds shared the traditional Easter greeting with each other. One would post, “He is risen!” Then many would respond, “He is risen indeed!”  All day, all over social media this was repeating, and it is glorious. That declaration expresses our shared hope, joining myriad Christian brothers and sisters together in precious communion and shared faith that has continued and been passed down across the centuries, it joins us with the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before and will join us with the generations of believers to come.   This is our hope.  Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

One of my very favorite things about Easter is joining with my fellow believers, my church family, my brothers and sisters in the faith, as we sing with joy about the foundation of our faith and rejoice in the Resurrection, which, honestly is what EVERY Sunday is celebrating, but in a very focused way on Easter Sunday. Yesterday was no exception.  Singing songs that affirm our faith, praying in expectant hope and faith, listening and responding to the Word faithfully preached, Sundays are vitally necessary refreshment, and yesterday is still singing in my heart.

But I do have one, very gentle thought I can’t help pondering today. I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church, so I’m no stranger to it. We have not been members of an SBC church in a long time, though, having joined other solid, Bible churches the past many years, and, truth be told, I didn’t really ever expect to be a member of an SBC church again. Lesson learned, never say never, and we found the right church for us here where we live now is a precious Baptist church and we love our family here, and are grateful to be members of this little church, thankful for the rich community and faithful teaching and weekly refreshment we find here. However, yesterday something happened that sort of reminded me how weird we Baptists are.  The worship leader welcomed the congregation yesterday morning by declaring, “He is risen!” To which I and a few others I’m guessing, though I didn’t hear them, said, “He is risen indeed!” Mostly what I heard was a bunch of jumbled, “Amens,” and, “Yes,” and even a “Hallelujah,” or two, all of which are definitely appropriate responses and heartfelt emotions, but a part of me found it jarring that the congregation didn’t seem to know the traditional response, the response that millions of Christians were responding all over the world yesterday. I love my Baptist people. We love Jesus, truly, deeply, we love His word and teach it well. But having been a part of different biblical Christian traditions recently, I can’t help but feel like we are poorer and we miss something by being so fiercely autonomous that many of us are basically ignorant of ancient traditions and we seem to have an almost allergic disdain for knowing anything about the rich beauty of the creeds, which were a product of, sometimes quite literally, the blood, sweat, and tears of earlier generations of believers to carefully set out and guard the right understanding of the biblical doctrines of the faith.

Part of the wonder of Christianity is that we are the Body of Christ. When we read that wonderful passage in Hebrews about the great cloud of witnesses who surround us, it’s a reminder that we are joined with the great invisible church, the saints who have loved Christ through the ages, those who have gone before us and passed the faith down to us and from whom we can learn so much, those faith filled brothers and sisters around the world today, and those who will follow behind us in future generations until Jesus returns, the saints from all ages with whom we will join around the throne with our gaze fixed on Christ, our voices joining with the multitudes from every language, tribe, and tongue in singing, “Worthy is the Lamb!” for eternity. We really need to be careful not to be so autonomous in our church vision that we forget that the Body of Christ is bigger than just our local church, we are part of something awesome that spans the ages and the nations. Christ is building His Church, and we get to be part of it, our little local congregation is a part of the multitude of living stones that Jesus is raising up, and we do well to remember and appreciate all who have gone before us, to appreciate the rich heritage we have in the faith, open up our eyes and learn from those who have gone before us, appreciate what they have contributed to the rich heritage of faith,  and turn our eyes to our Savior in wonder, love, and praise.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded, by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus,  the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2

Not the Same

I have some thoughts I’m working through during this “safer at home” or “stay at home order” time we find ourselves in. 

Mainly what I’m thinking about today is how tired I am of people trying to cheer us up about not being able to meet together as a church with words like, “The church is not the building, it’s the people.” “The church isn’t empty, it’s been deployed.” “We are the church.” 

True.  All of it.  Church is truly not that building on the corner where we gather. The church is truly the people who love Jesus and belong to Him, and we are to be actively following Him as we go about our lives out in the world.  We rejoice because the grave is empty, HALLELUJAH! Yes and amen.  

But what is bothering me is that it feels a little like people are rebuking me for not thinking it is enough to settle for virtual fellowship. It is right to grieve not being able to be the church gathered anymore during this time.  I am not wrong to grieve what we lose when we cannot be physically with the people who are the church. I miss my church family.  While I am immensely thankful for the technology that allows my little Bible study group to meet via video conference, it is NOT the same as being with them in the same room.  And while I am also immensely thankful for the technology that allows our music directors and pastors and elders to live stream a version of the Sunday morning service each week, and thankful for how beautifully they are doing it because it is better than not being able to meet at all, it still is just not the same as being together in the same location lifting our voices and prayers together in the same place. 

We are embodied people, created for fellowship. We need this. Look at all the “one another” commands in the Bible and all the encouragement to not neglect the meeting together to stir one another up to love and good works.  We do the best we can under the circumstances we find ourselves in - yes, even from love of one another in this time of global pandemic - and stay away physically for a time.  But it is not the same.  And it is right to grieve this. It is right to miss being the gathered church.  And, yes, we can and do worship Jesus from our living room, separated from others.  Indeed, He hears our prayers and He is with us.  But still, something in us longs to see our brothers and sisters in person and join together to lift our praises to Him and encourage and stir each other up in praising Him.  It is right to long for this. 

There is something intangible, almost indescribable about the energy that comes from standing in a room with other people who really truly love Jesus and believe what they are singing and praying with all their hearts that lifts all of us closer to the throne when we jointly worship our King. I miss that. And it is right to miss it.  

The day that we lose that hunger to fellowship as the gathered church, the day we no longer grieve that loss, is the day lose something beautiful and we begin to drift from a real understanding of what it means that we are the church.  

Another thing this has brought home to me in a way I’ve never been able to appreciate before is that we have brothers and sisters in areas of the world where not being able to gather with other believers is the norm because of persecution and other hardships.  This temporary time of separation from our local church families ought to give us a heart and burden to pray for our persecuted brethren around the world in a way we never have before.  

So, for now, we settle for virtual fellowship, because for now we must.  But let us never think it is enough. And maybe even let’s stop being so quick to shut down that grief over it not being the same and not being enough when someone expresses it. It’s ok to grieve. We are the church, yes. And we miss each other.  Also true. 

And here is another thought I had about all this: Can you just imagine how when the restrictions are finally able to be lifted and we are free to meet together with our local church family again, what a celebration that’s going to be? Can you just anticipate the joy in our singing, the urgency in our praying and the joy our pastors will have to be able to speak face-to-face with the people again instead of preaching in an empty room before a camera? Don’t you think it’s going to be just a pale glimpse of what Heaven will be like? And doesn’t this just make you long for that day? And in that way, even on the best days when we are able to be together here on earth, won’t it fuel even more our longing for the ultimate gathering of the saints when Jesus comes again?

Just think what it’s going to be one day when this vapor of a life is over, and all the saints are gathered together and we finally get to see Jesus face to face. We will finally know Him as we are known, the veil fully gone and we will worship more deeply and more fully than we’ve ever been able to before. We will forever sing the Hallelujah to our Savior, the risen Lord Jesus who has loved us and forgiven us and saved us and made us His forever. 

Yes, this Easter will be a different sort of Easter. But the grave is empty.  Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed!  Let our worship be sweeter for the longing. Our joy is real, and deep, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Nothing can separate us! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah! What a Savior! 

Let this time of separation be a time to draw near to Jesus. Once again, the song, “Is He Worthy” spoke to my heart today.  The words, “Do you know that all the dark won’t stop the light from getting through,” gripped me. Even the dark of coronavirus and the fear and anxiety of the people around us will not stop the light of Christ from getting through. Even the dark of our isolation will not stop the light from getting through.  Draw near, love Him more, and let it fuel our longing to be together again with those who love Him. And when we are together again, let it be fuel for our greater longing for His return. Because Christ is our hope in life and in death.  

Maranatha!  Come, Lord Jesus. 

Not the Half Has Been Told

Hebrews 13:13-15 

“Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.  For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.  Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to our God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” 

1 John 3:2-3 

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

1 Corinthians 2:9

But, as it is written,

‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him - ‘“

My daughter and I were sitting together yesterday in the living room and looking at the Christmas tree with the pretty presents around it. She mentioned that she agrees with the character in a book we’ve read and enjoyed together when he said that he likes Christmas Eve best, better than Christmas morning because on Christmas Eve there is a sense of wonder and anticipation, and everyone is singing and worshiping Jesus and focusing on the truth and reason we celebrate when we are together at the Christmas Eve church service, and looking forward to Christmas….so much so, that sometimes the actual Christmas morning can almost feel like it’s over too quickly. We got to talking as we sat there looking at the pretty presents, with me knowing what is in most of those presents and knowing that for many the anticipation is more exciting that what is actually in them and how quickly that anticipation ends once they’re all opened and we have the clean up to deal with next, and we got to thinking that that could almost be a parable for how unsatisfying all of our idols ultimately are. Anything in this life that we look to other than Christ Himself for satisfaction will ultimately disappoint. That’s one reason I can't stand the worldly sentimentality of most secular Christmas music and movies.  It builds up this impossible expectation of the perfect holiday, perfect family time, that nothing could possibly live up to, and it leads to increased depression and hopelessness at a time when we should be focusing on the greatest hope of all, because so much of how our culture celebrates Christmas is devoid of any contemplation of Jesus and why He came, but focused purely on earthly idols that cannot fully satisfy when we rest too much hope upon them. Not that family and the joy of being together isn’t a good thing in itself, it is, but it is not where our ultimate hope must rest. As I’ve seen quoted from Tim Keller, “Idols will always break your heart.” 

My daughter and I got to talking about how there is only one thing that we can anticipate and hope for that when what we’ve been looking forward to and anticipating is fully known, we will not be disappointed. When we see Jesus, we will not be disappointed.  When we see Him and know Him as we are known, when we are eternally freed to worship Him without the taint of our fallen nature, well, we can’t even imagine what that will be like. Everything else pales in comparison.  Do you remember that old song that New Song used to sing about ‘Not the Half Has Been Told’? I’ve been thinking about that a lot today, and finally had to go find it and listen to it. Jesus is where our focus needs to be at Christmas and always, so that we are free to love our neighbors and to sing our songs in such a way that it will be obvious that we know and belong to God, our Abba Father, our Savior, and so that no matter what temporal disappointments we face in the everyday of our lives, our hearts beat with the cry and our actions are motivated by the thought, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” 

A Very Musical Monday

Isaiah 9:2-7

“2 The people who walked in darkness

         have seen a great light:

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

        on them has light shone.

3 You have multiplied the nation;

       you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

       as with joy at the harvest,

       as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

4 For the yoke of his burden,

       and the staff for his shoulder, 

       the rod of his oppressor,

       you have broken as on the day of Midian.

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

       and every garment rolled in blood

       will be burned as fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born,

       to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

       and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

      Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace 

      there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

      to establish it and go uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

       from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah 9:2 is one of my favorite verses, when you take time to really think about what it is saying. A friend of mine shared this song on Facebook today. I had not heard it before, but I very much liked it. As I listened, these words struck me and brought me to tears of wonder: “He who is mighty has done a great thing, taken on flesh and conquered death’s sting, shattered the darkness and lifted our shame….holy is His name.” Shattered the darkness and lifted our shame….oh ponder the magnitude of this! We no longer have to walk in darkness and sin and shame! 

Often during the Advent and Christmas season I am reminded of a conversation I had years ago with a friend from work who was a Jehovah’s Witness. She asked me, “Why celebrate Christmas? He hadn’t even done anything yet.” I remember feeling a bit astonished and kind of looking at her funny and saying, “Oh, but He had done a great deal already!” And I also explained that what we celebrate at Christmas doesn’t stop with the birth of Jesus, but we’re celebrating the whole thing - redemption, from the promise in Genesis 3:15 of a Savior, to the Cross, to the Resurrection and that He is the risen King of Kings. Hadn’t done anything yet??? Whenever I think about how blind that question was, it almost takes my breath away, and makes me so sad for my friend. What about fulfilling centuries of prophecy, the Virgin birth, God With Us - God taking on human flesh to become truly God and truly Man? The promised Savior stepped into time to redeem His people. All of Creation and all the Temple sacrifices had been pointing toward this Jesus.  Hadn’t done anything yet? Just ask the angels who proclaimed to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). Hadn’t done anything yet? Just ask Simeon and Anna in the Temple when Joseph and Mary brought the Child about that. Simeon said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)  

I agreed with my friend that day about Santa and all the stuff that gets all mixed up with the trappings of the holiday, and sadly takes precedence in the secular world at Christmas.  I can see how Christmas must be confusing to people who think The Polar Express is what we seem to think it’s all about (have I mentioned how much I hate that movie? And how much I can't stand sappy, overly sentimental shallow movies and songs? - sorry….), and that is truly unfortunate. What a shame to miss the depth and richness of what we actually celebrate at this time of year. I know, with that particular friend there was a world of difference in our understanding of who Jesus is, and Christmas was just one minor sticking point for her, but this time of year does remind me to pray for her, as I have for years, that someday she will know the real Jesus, know the true God, that the veil will be removed and she will be brought out of darkness into the light of knowing Jesus as the Savior, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace before whom every knee will one day bow. She told me that day she thought I was being a little intense. I guess I was. This matters. 

Today as I listened to that song, I was so moved by that line, I think, in part, because I’ve been reading through the book of Revelation and thinking about Jesus and His triumph. While listening to my playlist later on today, this song came on, and again, I listened to it while considering Revelation and what I’ve been studying about Jesus and His extreme worthiness and His deep love for His people, and I just had to sing out loud in my kitchen. 

Christmas is beautiful because our God is gloriously beautiful.  Let the beauty of the glitter and the lights and the shimmer of the shining decorations be but a pale reminder of the splendor and brilliance of the Savior.  The rich symbolic language in Revelation is full of such an abundance of light and color and brilliance, let the beauty of this season cause you to reflect on the majesty of our Creator. This Advent season, let yourself be reminded again just how worthy of worship our God is, be reminded how majestic His salvation is - the whole plan to redeem fallen mankind, to save a people unto Himself and show them such love and mercy, be reminded of the fact that Christmas isn’t just about the Baby in the manger, no…what we celebrate is the whole grand story of our God who is with us, our God who is for us, our Savior who died and rose again to set us free from the curse of sin and who is the reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The veil was torn in two from top to bottom and we who trust in Christ alone are made righteous and granted access to our God. 

The last song I want to share in this musical Monday post also came on my playlist this afternoon, and again I heard it through the lens of what I’ve been studying in Revelation and had to lift my hands and sing. I hope you can enjoy it, too. 

God's Promise Fulfilled

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 

John 1:1-5

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 John 1:12-14

I’ve been thinking this year as I enjoy the lights and shiny Christmas ornaments on our tree about just how incredibly meaningful Christmas should be when we strip away the distractions of the shallow, schmaltzy way the world attempts to celebrate it. I hear people bemoan how difficult this season of the year is when they focus on disappointments of Christmases past and allow that to spoil the vision of that perfect Hallmark Christmas. And I do understand that because of the way our world idealizes the sentimental and secular version of the holiday where having all our loved ones around us and having everything just perfect does make it a hard time for many. But the thing is, our world puts so much emphasis on their secularized way of celebrating the holiday, that what is actually true and what we should be thinking about gets completely, and I do mean completely, lost. 

What I’ve been pondering is that, instead of wallowing in our disappointments in the made-up traditions and obligations and distractions, what if we focused on the truth? Christmas begins way back in Genesis with two shattered people whose eyes were suddenly opened to the devastation they had brought upon themselves and mankind when sin entered the world. But God, in His mercy, in the midst of telling them of the consequences of that sin, in pronouncing the Curse, also gave them the greatest of promises – that there would be a Savior, that ultimately things were going to be made right. Adam, in naming his wife Eve because she was the mother of all living, demonstrated his trust in God’s promise. When devastation once again crashed upon them as Cain killed Abel, once again, faith in God’s promise was demonstrated as Eve gave birth to Seth and said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” Then through the ages, as we read the Scripture, we have the record of God setting apart a people and bringing into the world His Messiah, the Savior of the world. We watch the unfolding of further revelation as God keeps His promise. 

When the shepherds heard the message of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased," and when Simeon in the Temple held the Child in his arms and blessed God, and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel,” and when the Magi from the East saw His star, journeyed to worship Him and rejoiced with great joy, in all this we see that God keeps His promise. Then Jesus grew, lived a perfect and sinless life, died on the cross and experienced the wrath of God that our sin has earned for us. He did that on our behalf, and then after He died, He rose again, and the Temple veil was torn from top to bottom; the way is now open for sinners to be reconciled to a Holy God. God keeps His promise! 

How about, instead of looking around us and how disappointing and empty our worldly Christmas celebrations ultimately must end up being, instead of wallowing in past disappointments, we look up and we strip away the distractions and the trappings that pull our attention down to the temporal things that cannot satisfy, and look up and behold Jesus, the Light of the world. THIS is Christmas. He came to reconcile broken and sinful people to Himself and to make all things right. This life is not the all there is. My sins are forgiven! I have been made right with God! I get to spend eternity with Jesus, eternal life, free from my wretched sin. I was once lost, now I'm found, I was blind, but now I see! No earthly disappointment must blind me to this - hope, joy, peace, forgiveness, JESUS - this is hope, this is Christmas, this is joy, even in the midst of sorrow. 

As I was thinking about these things, I kept coming back to a sermon I heard back in May that has made a deep impact on me. You know, I hear a lot of sermons in a year, and while I’m listening I don’t always realize at the time that this one will be the one I keep on pondering and thinking over for months later.  Joshua Smith preached about finding joy in a fallen world back on a Sunday morning last May, and in it he talked about recognizing God’s portion for you and finding contentment. As I’ve been pondering the depression and lack of satisfaction many of us seem to struggle with so much at Christmas, I kept coming back to that – find joy in God’s portion for you, stop trying to make Christmas something it isn’t meant to be, and cannot ever measure up to be, stop buying the world’s lies and shallow outlook, and LOOK UP. Look to Jesus. Anymore, all I want is to strip away the lies the world is selling and to fix my eyes on Jesus, to enjoy what He deems is best to give me, and to learn to trust Him when my portion sometimes seems difficult.  I’ve linked the sermon at the end of this post, which I went back and listened to again this morning.  PLEASE take time to listen to it.  It will be well worth your time. 

We do live in a fallen world. But praise God, He keeps His promises. The promise to send a Savior is fulfilled and is yes and amen in Jesus Christ. THIS is what we celebrate at Christmas, and THIS and only this can redeem even the most depressing of memories and allow us to find joy in the present Christmas. 

Merry Christmas!

Finding Joy in a Fallen World from Believers Fellowship on Vimeo.

The Silence Was Broken

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power, After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” 

Hebrews 1:1-4

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." 
Isaiah 9:2

I have an admission to make. “Silent Night” has never been one of my favorite Christmas carols. I never really knew why, but it just hasn’t been up there on my top list of favorites. I think I know why after thinking about it some recently. For one thing, I’m not a fan of schmalzy sentimentalism, and this song has a bit of that. I mean, was it really silent and calm? Probably not. But I understand the point and I’m not saying I won’t sing the song with gusto every Christmas, because, “Alleluia to our King. Christ the Saviour is born!” Yes, and amen, I love the last lines. And “Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,” what a glorious truth, even in the midst of the sentimentality. So I’m not suggesting it’s a bad song or that I won’t sing it out. I just like some of the other Christmas carols better.  

Kevin DeYoung posted this yesterday, and the first line in the song, “It was not a Silent Night,” resonated with me. I can’t say I like the song he posted as much as he seems to, though it’s a good one,  but it got me thinking. 

No, it wasn’t a silent night, for the reasons mentioned in the song, but in an even more significant way. Here’s where I went as I pondered yesterday.

It had been about 400 years since the last prophet had received a word from God to share with Israel. Think of it. 400 years of seeming silence from God as the people waited for the fulfillment of His promise to send Messiah to save His people from their sin. Many were looking for Messiah and hoping in God, the time was right, and those who knew the Scriptures, were waiting. Then, suddenly the silence was broken, not by another prophet, but by the cry of a baby, the baby, and the announcement of angels to a group of shepherds in a field, the angels were praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) The silence was broken when God sent His Son into the world to redeem His people. He, Himself, came to rescue His people from their sin. Simeon in the temple was one of those who waited, and He recognized Him, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2: 29-32) Hallelujah! 

Christmas isn’t just about the baby in the manger. What we who know Him are celebrating isn’t just the manger, but the Cross and the Resurrection. We celebrate because Immanuel, God With Us, came to live among us and live out the law that we could not and be righteous, fulfill all righteousness, for us. He is our ultimate Passover Lamb, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:16-21).

The silence was broken when the Word became flesh (John 1:1-4). “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13). 

This is Christmas. This is what we celebrate. This is why we celebrate!

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

John 1:9-18

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ” 16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

“When we were undone, with no will or ability to return to Him, He came, God-incarnate, to save us, as man to die our death, to shed His blood on our behalf, and work out a perfect righteousness for us.

O God, take us in Spirit to the watchful shepherds and enlarge our minds, let us hear good tidings of great joy, and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, and adore. Place us with the oxen and sheep in that stable, to look with them upon our Redeemer’s face and know ourselves delivered from sin in Him. In Him, you have given us so much that heaven can give no more. (Adapted from Valley of Vision).” - from our Christmas Eve service at Parkside Church last night.

Merry Christmas! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Far As the Curse is Found

Revelation 21:1-8

“1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ 

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ 6 And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’ “

Revelation 22:12-14

“12 ‘ Behold I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”

Revelation 22:20

“20 He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

I’ve been thinking quite a bit the past several months about relationships. There are several reasons for this pondering, but one is that I read a book recently called, Unfriend Yourself: Three Days to Detox, Discern, and Decide About Social Media by Kyle Tennant. I wrote a little about the book on my book list page, and I’m not writing a review of it here since it isn’t the final point I’m wanting to make today, but that book has done what it was meant to do and started me thinking a little more about how and why I use social media, which has also helped me continue thinking through relationships in general. What came out of reading that book for me is that I’m really trying to spend less time with Facebook - reading and posting. I think that we impose expectations on social media that it really isn’t designed or able to fulfill. Social media is helpful and can be good for networking and maybe staying in contact with people when, like my family, you have to relocate often. In that way social media has been a blessing and I’m not ready to completely give it up. But, on the other hand, social media can hold some dangers in that sometimes we can expect it to provide closer relationships than it is actually capable of delivering. 

A couple of observations I’ve noticed along these lines to sort of lay some groundwork for the point I really want to make is that, first of all, we can be tempted to assume that if we interact often on Facebook that we have a close friendship, or that we’ve sort of done our duty to care for our friends. This an especially attractive temptation for those of us who are more introverted and not as naturally outgoing. The sad thing is that, though that kind of friendship is a type of relationship and sweet in its own way, it isn’t as close as real, face-to-face, in-the-flesh relationship. It just can’t be. Online communication cannot substitute for the more vulnerable, frankly messier but so much more fulfilling ultimately, nature of in-the-flesh relationship where we talk face to face and share life together. Mediated friendships allow us to carefully control how we present ourselves and how others perceive us. We can edit and delete posts that we think show something about us that we don’t want others knowing or thinking of us. Face-to-face, it’s much easier to know the real person, but it’s also a lot scarier because we may find out that we do not seem as perfect or flawless as we want people to see us, and we have a whole lot less control over that carefully crafted image while sitting across the table from someone than we do behind a computer screen. Another thing I’ve noticed is that because so many of us aren’t as careful as we maybe should be about remembering our whole audience of social media ‘friends’ and the varying levels of intimacy we’ve earned in those friendships when we post our every thought out there on the internet, sometimes we end up knowing more about mere acquaintances than we would without social media. We have a false expectation of intimacy because of this - and it opens the door for more hurt feelings and misunderstandings, in my opinion, because we assume a level of friendship that isn’t actually there because of how much we think we know based on what we’ve read on Facebook.

So, spring boarding from those observations, I’ve been thinking about relationships in general, beyond social media, because what I’ve been pondering is how even in ‘real-life,’ away from the screen, in-the-flesh, sitting-across-the-table, sharing life relationships, we still very often have a hard time really getting to know anyone else. I think part of the Curse, the Fall, is that we crave intimacy, but we also fear it and run from it even while seeking it. I think we all have walls and eggshells that we use as shields to varying degrees to protect our vulnerability. Some have huge walls, some have miles of eggshells, some have lower walls and fewer eggshells, but in the end, I think that it is very, very difficult to really know another person and truly relate to them in full fellowship. 

This is one reason that marriage is such a precious gift from God to humanity. This is also why divorce is so hurtful and capable of inflicting such deep wounds, and why it is so important for a Christian to marry a godly spouse and seek to be a godly spouse. Marriage, and to a great extent the family, is the one human relationship where we should be able to really be ourselves and not have to hide behind our walls and eggshells. Marriage, as God designed it, is the one human relationship where we should be able to be vulnerable with each other and not have to fear that vulnerability. In our fallenness and sin, even the best marriages can only hint at that, but how kind of God to give us this glimpse of what relationship should be. Marriage is also a grand picture of the gospel - Christ so loving the Church that He laid His life down for her to make her a pure Bride. 

So, what I’ve been thinking about this morning as I ponder various friendship mishaps and misunderstandings and brokennesses I’ve experienced and grieve over, I’ve been wondering if perhaps some of the tears that God will wipe away in the new Jerusalem just might be the tears I can’t help but think we will cry when we get to Heaven and we finally know each other as we are meant to and realize what we’ve missed behind our walls that we built between ourselves. That person we were so angry with, when we see their heart, when we know what we didn’t know here, what did we miss? What have I missed when I misunderstood a friend’s intent and chose not to assume the best but rather assumed the worst and was hurt and angry or bitter or distant and lost some of the intimacy that friendship could have had? What have I missed when I chose to remain hurt and hold a grudge?  What have I missed when I was indifferent to someone I should have cared about? What have I missed when I’ve harbored prejudices? What have I missed when I was just too busy and distracted or selfish to share in friends’ joys and sorrows? What have I missed when my pride caused me to care too much about what someone else thought of me, or what I perceived that they thought of me, and I kept myself at arms’ length, unable to just be and not have to carefully guard my image? And the list could go on.

This is where the gospel gives such hope. Those tears WILL be wiped away. Wrongs will be righted and misunderstandings cleared away.  But even here, even now, there is such amazing hope and grace. You see, in reconciling us to Himself, which is such amazing grace, God also grants us to be reconciled with each other. Understanding that I am, actually, just as wretched, no, even more wretched, than I suspected is actually quite freeing. Rather than having to carefully guard the notion that I’m all that and oh-so-wonderful, I can admit that I am a sinner, I am so very, very flawed, and so is everyone else. Jesus came to us while we were yet rebels, while we were ugly, pride-filled, self-centered, sinful people, and He came to redeem us and wash away our sins. When we repent of that ugly, ugly, ugly sinful wretchedness and turn to Him in grateful trust and faith, He washes us white as snow. We are freed to love others. We are freed not to have to carefully guard our image. If only I would learn this well. 

I think on this side of Heaven, relationships will always have that tension of wanting intimacy, but fearing it and feeling tempted to run from it, not really being able to lower the walls completely. But, for the Christian, we ought to be growing in grace and the ability to lay down grudges, forgive each other more easily, share in joys, sorrows, and burdens - life, in other words, and learn to really be a friend and family member who chooses to assume the best, bear with wrongs, choose to overlook misunderstandings when we’re able, give much room for grace in other people’s lives, and trust our Savior to teach us ever more to walk in His light. We are the grace people! We are Jesus’s people! We ought to be growing in that light and walking in it ever more closely. The light has dawned in the darkness and we have beheld HIS glory. 

That’s what I’ve been pondering recently.

In light of that, here are the words to one of the most beautiful, joyous Christmas hymns. Pay special attention to verse three in light of those thoughts. Jesus reigns, and He makes His blessings flow - far as the curse is found!

JOY TO THE WORLD

Joy to the World, the Lord has 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.