Monday, December 24, 2012

Jeremiah 29


Jeremiah 29:11-14

11“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.14 I will be found by you”

This week I heard on talk radio how it just doesn’t “feel” like Christmas. In the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, and the conclusion of the vitriolic national and local elections, the looming fiscal cliff, and lack of snow I can certainly relate. Add to that the usual “holiday” stresses of finding the right gift for everyone, dealing with relatives that we may not get along with, even just finding time to decorate and wrap the presents soon it becomes overwhelming. And for those of us with younger children we get the added pleasure of “holiday” parties at school, and making sure there are no nuts in whatever food we send in to the party.

So where does God fit in to all this? Well if you’re not sure God tells you to “call on Him” because “he knows the plans he has for you”, plans of “hope”. If you have lost sight of God in the brightness of the Christmas lights, or wrapped up His hope with your presents, then I tell you stop; pray and seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. And when you find Him reflect His glory in all that you do, take time love your neighbor, and pray and worship and soon you will feel the Holy Spirit filling your heart again. If you remember why we celebrate Christmas, it will start to feel like Christmas.

Matthew 1:22-23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel””

Two days from now we will be opening gifts from loved ones and Christmas will be over, and we will still be enjoying the greatest gift we ever received; Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us. Amen.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Jesus Wept


John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” The shortest verse in the Bible but it says so much, and we turn to Jesus and His example as we weep for the children; both the ones that have passed and the ones who survived this tragedy.

The following is a prayer written by Scotty Smith taken from the Gospel Coalition web page

Dear Lord Jesus, we abandon ourselves to you today—we come running with our tears and our fears, our anger and our anguish, our lament and our longings. We collapse in your presence, with the assurance of your welcome, needing the mercies of your heart.

Some stories are just too much for us to absorb; some evil just too great to conceive; some losses beyond all measurability. We need your tears and your strength today. That you wept outside the tomb of a beloved friend frees us to groan and mourn; that you conquered his death with yours, frees us to hope and wait.

But we turn our thoughts from ourselves to the families who have suffered an unconscionable violation of heart and all sensibilities. Bring your presence to bear, Lord Jesus, by your Spirit and through your people. May your servants weep with those who weep and wail with those who wail. Extend your tear wiping hand—reach into this great tragedy with an even greater grace.

We cry out on behalf of the children of Newtown, those most directly affected by this evil, and for children throughout our country and the world, whose little hearts are reeling with fear and terror. Give parents wisdom and kindness, as they seek to love their children well, this night and in the coming days. Raise up gifted counselors and care givers to serve those most traumatized.

Lastly, Lord Jesus, we cry out with a loud voice, How long, O, Lord? How long before you return to eradicate all evil, redeem all tragedies, and make all things new? How long, O, Lord, how long? Your Bride weeps and waits for you. In your merciful and mighty name we pray.

 

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Second Coming


“Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent: one waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other – things that are really of no consequence – the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.” ~Dietrich Bonheoffer
This quote was written by Dietrich Bonheoffer to his fiancĂ© during Advent in 1944 while in prison for speaking out against Hitler. He was later hanged for his treason. His letters to his fiancĂ© and family were inspiring and always hopeful; you can read some in the book I took this inspiration from called “God in a Manger”. Jesus; helpless babe, and sovereign Lord, in a manger, come to take away the sins of the world and open the prison cell door.

In Luke 4-18 we see Jesus quoting Isaiah 61
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed.
 He has sent me to tell those who mourn
that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,…”
Jesus then proclaims, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”

 Notice where Jesus stops in the scripture, he does not read the rest of Isaiah 61, because he has not come to seek vengeance and to restore Israel fully. Rather this, the first advent, He came to take the vengeance that we, because we are sinners, deserve… so that someday, he could come and destroy evil and suffering completely, without destroying us. Now we are in the Second Advent, waiting the second coming of the Lord, when he will come with vengeance on all evil, and will bring peace on earth. We wait like prisoners until “Kings will come to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:3).

And just like Isaiah prays in chapter 62 for the returning of His glory we too shall wait upon the Lord and pray.
“Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem,
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
 The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.”

 When we pray, we should be praying like prisoners waiting for the door to be open, realizing all else is just “this and that- things that are of no consequence” other than waiting upon the return of Lord. Ultimately in the biggest sense of the word, this is all that matters. We pray as if we will live forever; for in Him we shall, and we pray as if we will die tomorrow, ever hopeful ever waiting. We pray all men shall come to know the peace of the Lord, how long O Lord shall we wait?

“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen” (Rev 22:20, 21)

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Small Miracles and Faith


The following is a true story, a true story of faith and small miracles. It’s about a faith that matters and a small miracle that some will say doesn’t matter, but I say is of utmost importance; to me at least, having been the only witness of this particular small miracle. So why bother telling of it? To some reading this story I will seem to be a fool, maybe even deranged, but my hope is that someone will read this and learn to see the small miracles in their life.

 We must start off defining a small miracle, for me it is a thing either in nature or in the supernatural which remind us of the biggest miracle, that God loves us. Small miracles could be as simple as a magnificent sunset, or that we sat up in the morning and put our slippers on, or the smile on a child’s face upon seeing their favorite toy. These things are all around us and we daily seem to take them for granted. There is, sadly, a finite point to how many of these miracles we will see in this lifetime, and we never know which miracle will be the last one we see, so I intend on never wasting one.

 Reason and definition having been explained let us get to the story of the small miracle; remember to keep an open mind, and an open heart.

 I was walking down the sidewalk during a light snow and I see from the corner of my eye a snowflake which has seemed to defy gravity midflight and is now hovering a few feet above the ground. All while other snowflakes continue to fall all round it, why does this one not fall?  As I take a step closer to see it starts to dance, up and down, side to side in a rhythmic pattern like a ballerina on an oversized stage. Soon it is joined by another snowflake and then another, am I dreaming? Am I dead? Is this my gentle but amazing welcome to heaven?

 I stare for another moment or two before realizing I am still quite awake and alive, surely the cold numbness in my nose and toes would not bother me so much in heaven. But I cannot deny that now nearly a dozen snowflakes are dancing just for my eyes, part of me wants an explanation for this glorious exposition, but part of me does not. I resolve to not interrupt their dance, and while I don’t want to leave I have things to do, responsibilities to keep. I praise God for sending those tiny dancers, showing me that around the corner there is always a small miracle waiting. I was there standing for but a few more seconds, the dance was beginning to end and just  as I moved on He showed me the single fine thread of a spiders web from the tree to a stick on the ground on which He had captured the dancers on.

 Shortly after I walked away from my small miracle the snow had stopped. And I thought to myself,” no one else will see that”, “if I tell about it no one will believe me”, and then I thought “I don’t care. It was awesome; in all my life I have never seen such a thing”.

 My short paragraph recalling the event does in no means do it justice, the sequence of events paired with the feeling I had; tied with the week of struggles and joy. It came upon me like wave of reassurance seeing this small miracle; when you see one you’ll know what I mean. It’s like God patting you on the back saying “Yes I’m still here”

 Now I’m sure many of you will say "see that’s no miracle" or "there’s no God in that" but I say when was the last time you saw a dozen snowflakes dancing in unison in the wind...no matter the method.