Advent Awakening

“. . . when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” Ps 17.15      

We are less than a week to Christmas day! This week the pink candle joins the two purple candles. Why a new color? Why break the uniformity of the purple theme? There is a good reason! The pink candle calls us to “rejoice” as we look forward to celebrating both the first coming and as we look forward to the second coming of Christ. You may recall the words from Handel’s “Messiah”, borrowing from Scripture, they boom out, “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see Him.” Do you long for His appearing as those at His first appearing and now as we await His second appearing? Surely, it will be a mighty, awesome and terrifying day!

To behold the Lord is our great goal of life. On this side of glory, glimpses of this reality are evidences of what we term “awakenings” or “revivals”. To be “awakened” means to be arrested and alerted to a deeper appreciation of the truth, goodness and beauty of God. But the most attractive and endearing realization is that this awakening is an encounter with infinite Love. So we can say that at the birth of Christ, Mary and Joseph, lived in a home of perpetual revival! God come to dwell with His people. If architecture is frozen music, the baby Jesus was infinite love in solid form – God incarnate. He is Immanuel, the eternal Son of God manifest in time and space and as we await Christmas day we humble ourselves and also rejoice in the mighty mystery of God and His plan of salvation.

As you prepare for Christmas I would suggest that, just as the pink candle breaks out from the norm, you ask the Lord to break in to your usual routine and awaken you to a deeper experiential knowledge of His great love for you. All of us are looking for love and God wants us to know how much we are loved by Him. Maybe, like me, you might ask Him to ignite your soul with His love so that our communities will be brightened and illuminated even more by Christ’s presence in us in 2013.

Open Heart, Open Home

 “. . . and took Mary home as his wife.” Matt 1.24 

“If Jesus came to my house and knocked upon the door, I’m sure I’d be more happy than I’ve ever been before”. These are the opening words to my wife’s treasured children’s book entitled, “If Jesus Came to My House” by Joan Gale Thomas (today's colored image imitates Thomas' illustration from the 1951 publication of her book). King Jesus condescended when He placed himself in the care of two simple folk; Mary and Joseph. Though a King, He was not raised in a palace by royalty. God humbled Himself when He came in person to our world. Just think if Joseph had declined when asked to take Mary as his wife. In that culture she risked being stoned for being pregnant out of wedlock. With some heavenly coaching, Joseph opened the door and welcomed her into his home. This Christmas, we all have the opportunity to again welcome our Lord and King into our home.

The Jews had great expectations for their coming Messiah. He was to be their ruling King who would set things straight again and restore the Kingdom. But God would confound their wisdom. The Messiah came and was born in a very ordinary setting to a poor family. He was not trained up to be a famous military leader. God showed us that very often He is most present when He is most hidden! We often go looking for the credentials of worldly greatness and He shows us the path to greatness is a descending one. In His Kingdom we must descend to greatness.

Jesus has come and He will come again but this Christmas our personal challenge is to welcome Him into our hearts. Every Christmas is an invitation for us to say “yes” to Christ and to renew our love for Him. Will you not tell Him He is most welcome in your home and your heart? Embrace the Savior of the world, thank Him for the holy family that accepted the greatest invitation to express hospitality. Notice that so very often it is in the simple things and simple acts of life that He is so very present – His great love embracing us even in the unseen places of daily life.

ADVENTageous

 “Do not be afraid.” Luke1:13,30    

Advent means “coming”. Many of us are probably familiar with the fact that, beginning last Sunday, we are now in a four week period that prepares us to welcome the birth of Christ on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Hundreds of thousands of Christians all over the world observe this season of Advent and mark it as the beginning of the new Church calendar year.

 

Sometimes God speaks a word to us that is too wonderful, too marvelous, too unbelievable for us to take in. In the first century the mighty angel, Gabriel, visited the Middle East to bring wondrous and marvelous news of God’s intentions for mankind. Side by side, early in the gospel of St. Luke, is the account of the angel’s visit to two surprised individuals foretelling births of a most unusual kind - John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Zechariah, a priest, suddenly encounters the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, as he undergoes his priestly duties in the temple but sadly he questions the plan and wants more information and thus displays his unbelief. Now in contrast, the young maiden, Mary, hears the most astounding plans that God purposes and her response is belief. She may not have completely understood how everything would take place but she trusted God and said “yes”.  What strikes me in these two accounts is the challenge to say “yes” to God as He reveals His good purposes for us even in the face of news that seems too wonderful and incredible for us to believe.
 

Two responses and if anyone might believe the news we would have guessed it would be the mature, spiritual Zechariah. Yet, it is Mary who beautifully responds, “I am the Lord’s servant or handmaid, may it be to me as you have said”. Today we praise God for her obedience and marvel at God’s sovereign work in her life. Observing Advent, year after year, is a powerful way of not only preparing God’s people to meaningfully celebrate Christ’s first coming, the holy festival of Christmas, but it points us to Christ’s second coming as a way of renewing our anticipation of that splendid day.   

 

Resting Prayer

“So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God.” Heb 4:9

The Thanksgiving holiday is often a very busy time: celebrating with family, church services, eating, watching sports, shopping, Christmas decorations, winterizing and . . . eating. By Sunday night many of us are actually thinking how nice it might be just to sit (maybe with a slice of pumpkin pie on our knee!). You might be familiar with an old hymn that has the refrain: 

 “Jesus, I am resting, resting

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.”

Today you are invited to rest. In fact God is calling you into a Sabbath rest! “It remains open for some to enter it”, writes the author of the letter to the Hebrews. A rest for God’s children exists but it has to be sought after and walked into. What is fascinating is that author Henri Nouwen remarks that a literal translation of the phrase “pray always” is “come to rest”. So we have this Biblical “resting prayer” that beckons us. Jesus knew this rest, He lived it out. But how do we enter into this resting prayer? Our tendency is either to take firm control and initiate something or to avoid the subject and do nothing. This form of prayer seeks to resist this tendency in order to draw closer to God.

What would it be like to find a place, maybe it is your church or a quiet spot at home, and just tell God you are there to listen and be with Him – no agenda! Eugene Peterson, the author of the Message Bible, calls this state the “middle voice”. The active voice is when we take action, the passive voice is when we receive the action of another, but in the middle voice we both act and are acted upon. It is an interesting concept and probably a practice that is not readily experienced. Try it, enter in. It is helpful because it seeks to ward off the danger of manipulation. Here our hands are open to God in a state of holy leisure where “rest” is productive. With this perspective notice how this form of contemplative prayer becomes a vehicle provided by God to find rest in Him. In this secret place we find rest for our soul and new strength.

Picture of Thanksgiving

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess 5.16,17

It was Thanksgiving 2007 that convicted me to frame a wonderful artwork depicting Jesus receiving the grateful leper, healed and now kneeling at His feet (Luke 17.17). Way off in the background you can also see the nine other healed lepers who never stopped to offer thanks to their Healer. Am I like that sometimes? Since hanging that artwork I have wanted to purposely pursue a more thankful attitude and it has visually reminded me of the priority of thanksgiving.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter six we are told to be joyful always, to pray continually, and to give thanks in all circumstances. I like the idea of joy, prayer and thanksgiving bring wrapped together. But the “always”, or never ceasing, aspect seems daunting. Is it just an exaggeration? Is it describing the lifestyle for spiritual giants only?

Many years ago the saintly evangelist and pastor, John Wesley, connected these verses to the practical outworking of a holy life. For him these words captured what a life captivated by the pursuit of God and empowered by the Spirit of God would be marked by. And here is the key for getting close to this standard which God intends for all believers - the supernatural work of the Spirit. In fact, when we seek to live a life of active and dynamic trust in our Savior the practical outworking will be praise and thanksgiving. When we practice praise and thanksgiving we are expressing our trust in God’s goodness.

In 2012 I have been reminded of my absolute dependence on God’s Spirit for a life that pleases Him and practices His revealed Biblical will in these three primary aspects of the spiritual life – joy, prayer, and thankfulness. This Thanksgiving Holiday, celebrate the freedom you have in this country by freely choosing to give thanks to God for His mercy to us.

Hi-Fi

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive.” Mark 11:25a

The 1960’s saw the inauguration of a revolution that has “changed more lives more radically than the printing press, the steam engine, the assembly line, or the atomic bomb” states Peter Kreeft. To mark the 50th anniversary of the tiny but potent change agent in this revolution Time magazine ran an article entitled, “So Small, So Powerful, and So Misunderstood.” I am referring to the sexual revolution and the hinge-pin of it: the Pill. Coupled with a new relaxed view on contraception many bought into the spirit of the Age of Aquarius where “Love would steer the stars”. As it progressed, it was clear that this form of love was mostly a kind that was unrestricted and erotic. Popular songs promoted the revolution’s optimism: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing there’s just too little of” (1965). A generation joined with the Beatles and proclaimed “All we need is Love”.

Ironically, just two years after the Beatles produced their hit they split up – a symbol of things in greater society. Now, fifty years after the revolution began we are still watching our society being dismantled by this new sexual freedom. In order to reverse this trend a constructive love modeled after God’s directives with the mortar of fidelity must be embraced. The best school for learning about fidelity is via authentic community where God’s unconditional love and forgiveness can be experienced. Of course, simply being around people is not necessarily an indication of authentic community. There has to be an openness with trusted people despite what wrongs or sins have been committed. Humility, unconditional love and compassion must be the basis of this authenticity because pride, unforgiveness and self-centeredness will only dismantle it.

The track record of the sexual revolution appears to be increasing sexual confusion and the disintegration of relationships, especially the family unit. How can you pray freely when you are enmeshed in promiscuity? Surely, a person is more likely to hide from God. Only by loving what God loves and practicing fidelity will we be eager to seek God rather than hide. This is what the world needs now, and we will watch prayer advance when fidelity is honored!

Resentment to Reconciliation

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34

A survey of Mel Gibson movies from Mad Max(1979) to the recent Edge of Darkness(2010) reveal a recurring theme of revenge. Of course, this is a classic emotive hook to our inclination for “payback’. But the gospel of Christ does not operate on this principle and our prayer life suffers when we harbor a desire for revenge, resentment or unforgiveness. These sinful attitudes are deadly to our lives and prayer life. If sin is a kind of disease that affects our souls, like sickness does to the body, then we need to view resentment as akin to a kind of deadly cancer. It is helpful to see sin as more than just breaking God’s law but as breaking His heart. Sin severs relationship and this is why it is deadly.

Forgiveness does not mean justifying or glossing over that which has offended you. Nor does it mean justifying one’s anger due to the offence as in the case of many of Gibson’s movies. Forgiveness means overlooking the sin and seeking to restore a bond of love. It is a spirit of peacemaking which values relationship. The next step from forgiveness is to seek reconciliation with the person who has offended you. Now, reconciliation may not be always possible but forgiveness is always an option and reconciliation always the goal.

Forgiveness is not a feeling, but a decision. We must decide to let go of the hurt and show this by extending loving mercy to the one who has hurt us. The Lord calls us to forgive affectionately, generously, and mercifully as the father modeled in restoring the prodigal son (Luke 15:20). Many people speak about forgiving but have a hard time reconciling. Maybe you know of a family who is split and one party will not communicate with the other? Is there someone you keep at arms length? Decide to take this person back to the place they were before the offence. Prayer that has wings is merciful. Christ was most wronged and showed us the most mercy. On the cross, with outstretched arms, Christ declared, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Outstretched arms are the symbol of mercy to those who have acted as prodigals.