The Advent Calendar - Pt. 4

 

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:9-13 ESV).

 

Come on… everyone knows that a shiny new red tractor on Christmas morning makes you excited! Well, at least it did this young farmer-in-training. Seriously, children get excited at the coming of the season, and often we might feel a bit of a charge through experiencing their amazement, although the difficulties of facilitating their excitement are often the very things that rob us from knowing the wonder for ourselves. That’s especially true this year. It is harder with the additional concerns of the pandemic effects. The truth is that Christmas ought to provide us with the hope for such excitement. The question is how do we locate that experience amid the distraction and disillusionment of this December, 2020? 

 

The wonder about hope is that just as total darkness can't hold back the light of a tiny flame, so does even the smallest increment of hope provide joy and purpose. The writer of Hebrews helps us with that concept: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Don’t miss the parallel between "things hoped for" and "things not seen." It’s certainly a great paradox. Applying "assurance" to something your five senses can't detect is a challenge. However, the truth is that hope, through Christ, is available to us no matter what you see, hear, or feel. It's above your circumstances (cf. Romans 5:3-5).

 

And this hope has nothing to do with expectations. Hope has little to do with our expectations. In fact it is not what our natural minds would conceive. The end of our journey, whenever it shall come, is one of the most improbable experiences imaginable. To think that after all our failures, our good intentions, or our starts and never-finshes we would arrive in a place that is beyond the imagination good and glorious with a place prepared for us specifically by the hand of God for our eternal habitation is crazy! But it is also true; and, merely awaiting the appointed time. Now, that’s better than a red tractor any day, isn’t it!

 

The Advent Calendar - Pt. 3

 

My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer me! (Psalm 108:1-5 ESV).

 

“Santa’s making a list and checking it twice to see who’s been naughty or nice” goes the popular children’s Christmas song. The thought is that if you’ve been nice you will get a nice gift from Santa, but if not, then it is a piece of coal! Perhaps that once was a legitimate motivational tool for children to be nice, at least through the holiday season; however, there is another list that is much more important. We ought to be as concerned about "God's list" for our lives. We should carry His life plan for us in our heart and mind as we live each day, constantly making choices and decisions in light of that list. We should guard it like the treasure map of eternity that it truly is.

 

Just knowing the plan God has for me does not guarantee success. I must do the plan. That is where the choice to obey comes in. An obedient heart is a “fixed” heart and may very well be the gift God wants from us this holiday season. That what the psalmist makes reference to in our reading today. A “fixed” heart is a determined heart, a steadfast heart that is rightly focused on God and His will, His plan. When we choose to follow God’s plan, the desires of our heart will line up in obedience to that plan. We will find our greatest joy in pleasing God, in doing His will because that is what we were created to do.

 

At the outset of this Christmas season, isn’t it a good time to stop, go back over the list, review those life lessons we have learned, checking to see where we really are in our walk with God? God does not demand our obedience in order to grant us forgiveness through the grace of Christ; however, He has made it very clear that our obedience is a worshipful gift to offer Him (cf. Romans 12 :1-2). The great love God has shown us in becoming flesh in order to be the sacrifice necessary for our restoration ought to prompt us to that kind of worship.

 

Maybe today is the perfect time to revisit the manger to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by giving Him the gift of obedience. “Sing and make melody with all your being!” can be our theme this year!

 

The Advent Calendar - Pt. 2

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:22-30 ESV).

 

Some of our Christmas traditions are just that, traditions. Jesus was probably not born on December 25^th; and, the Christmas tree is based on the celebration of the reincarnation of Nimrod. The ancient Babylonians burned a “Yule” log in the fireplace, and the next day a symbolic evergreen tree was placed inside the house. In fact, this pagan ritual is hinted at in Scripture (cf. Jeremiah 10:1-4). However, before you decide to write a scathing response to this, take a breath. If you were to visit my home you’ll find the largest fresh cut Christmas tree that will fit in our family room. I’ve included a picture of last year’s tree with this devotional. And, remember that Martin Luther thought it was fine; he had a Christmas tree inside his home also.

 

Our reading gives us even more direction in what we should do with these traditions. He was faced with a festival that had a lot of tradition, some of which may have been true and some not. He was in the temple for the Feast of Dedication, also known as the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah. You won’t find it in the Bible anywhere; it dates from the period between Old and New Testaments. But Jesus was celebrating Hanukkah, and He used the Festival of Lights to shine the light on who He really is. So, let me suggest that we follow His example. You can say, “Bah, humbug!” You can get “Santa Claustrophobic.” You can run from it. Or you can use it to shine the light on who Jesus really is.

 

People are singing the words to Tannebaum, O Christmas Tree as a reminder of the lines: In our gift giving and our merriment with our family and friends and loved ones the real and true meaning of Christmas the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can redeem it by reminding them. It doesn’t matter WHEN He came… it matters THAT He came. When you gaze at the tree that is probably already up in your home, remember that grace has come! Jesus was born in Bethlehem to be the Savior of the world, God with us!

 

 

The Advent Calendar - Pt. 1

 

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:10-14 ESV).  

 

Of all Advent traditions, the Advent calendar is probably the best recognized. The concept of the Advent calendar may have originated in Germany during the 1800s. Christian families would use chalk lines on doorframes, lined-up small wooden blocks, or lit candles to number the days from December 1st to Christmas Eve. The first Advent calendar as we know it today was likely printed in 1908 by Gerhard Lang who worked at a printing office in Munich. Early on, printers made the calendars of cardboard with twenty-four cut out doors that hid Bible verses and biblical images. Some also held treats, like small chocolates, presumably to keep the children’s attention. Over the years, this tradition spread throughout Europe and North America. It came to a brief halt during World War II, when paper, cardboard, and candy became scarce due to strict rationing. But once the war ended, printers and families picked up the tradition again and shared it around the world.

 

Today, there are all kinds of Advent calendars from the traditional, to pop-culture themed countdowns, or to purely decorative ones. Some calendars are web-based, while many continue in print with the twenty-four little doors or pockets hiding an ornament or a piece of candy. Many of these variations, however, lack the calendar’s original purpose of orienting people to the beauty and significance of Christ’s coming.

When used toward this end, Advent calendars can be a meaningful way to help you reflect on Christ’s birth and watched-for return throughout the season.

 

It is my desire to use the next few weeks to look closely at the biblical narrative of the promise and event of the birth of Jesus. We’ll see daily verses and the devotional centered on this theme. Whether from the Old Testament prophetic declaration of the coming of Jesus or the actual account from the writers of the New Testament, my hope is that it will help you to savor the season we are beginning. I also hope it will help you see that the best is yet to come.

 

Today the simple key is in the prophetic naming of this child – Immanuel. That translates “God with us.” The impact cannot be clearer. God is with us, everywhere and all the time. We need that message today. We find it in Christ!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23 ESV).

 

This year is not going to be terribly different than previous years as far as our family gathering for Thanksgiving is concerned. Because of the distance that separates us from our other children and grandchildren, we’ll be spending it with Kyle and his family. Lots of food will be involved, plenty of football, and the anticipation of Faith and Logan’s 17^th birthday, which is tomorrow. Just now, writing that thought makes me want to regress and remember past celebrations; however, I must be disciplined to save that for another time. Today, my desire is to simply say, “Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all!”

 

So, let me take you to one of my favorite psalms. Our reading today was written by David during a time of great peril. Yet, he reminds us of God’s incredible ability to be the perfect host. He throws parties with the things we love: great food, great people, warmth, and laughter. God’s parties are lavish, extraordinary.

 

Traveling through the desert, God’s people pictured a promised wonderland “flowing with milk and honey” (cf. Exodus 13:5). It’s no surprise, then, that Jesus describes the kingdom of God as a joyful banquet (cf. Luke 14:15). John describes life with God in heaven as “the wedding supper of the Lamb.” (cf. Revelation 19:9).

 

The main image of Psalm 23 describes the Lord as our shepherd. But the picture of God as our ultimate host also reveals to us the Lord’s generous care. The psalmist has been rescued from trouble, even in the presence of enemies. Though enemies may surround him, God’s grace has rescued him. God has preserved and cared for this loved one, inviting him to enjoy the goodness of God’s blessings even in the midst of disturbing troubles. No one is worthy to dine at God’s eternal banquet. Our shepherd–host knows that on our own we cannot qualify to attend. Yet God never says, “I have given you a second chance; now do it right this time.” No, Jesus does everything necessary to ensure that we remain on the guest list and we can live with him forever. That’s the heart of my Thanksgiving… I hope it is yours! Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all!