Saturday December 24 Christ is Born

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
With these words we learn of the greatest of all miracles, that God almighty, the God of Abraham Isaac and David, the very author of creation, who made heaven and earth and everything therein chose, for our sakes to step out of the glory which He inhabits and walk among us; not just with us, but as one of us. He chose rather than remain seated on high, to come humbly into the very world he created, defiled by those whom he created, in order to restore us to Himself. Though He was fully God, he chose to empty Himself and become as one of us. Jesus Messiah, Immanuel, God with us, the King of Glory came into this world not with fanfare or display of strength, but born of a woman, a young virgin and her carpenter husband in the humblest of settings, a cattle shed. And this is what He chose. Jesus, the only person in all of history who chose to be born and for whom birth into this world was the greatest contrast of circumstance, chose this for us, knowing what it would all entail and cost Him. Yet He chose it still.
What did it cost to come in such a way? Why, it cost Him everything. This One who knew no sin chose to step directly into the sinful world and take every sin upon Himself so as to save us and reconcile us to Himself.  This One who was of the very substance of God, chose to give up all divine power and authority and become a helpless and very human child. How did that tiny human frame contain God Almighty? How did He empty Himself of all that He is and was? The how of it, friends, is a mystery we cannot expect to fully comprehend this side of heaven. The why of it is another matter. The why is because of His great love for those He created and that includes us. Our salvation begins not by human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God (John 1:13).
Is this not cause for the greatest of rejoicing? We have a divine mediator who knows our condition with complete intimacy, not just because of His own divine knowledge of all that is, but because he has chosen to share that very condition, with all its frailty and temptation and suffering. Sit with that a moment will you? The perfect One who knows no bounds, by His own choice, because of His unlimited love, chose such a way to redeem us. We are told in scripture, that He came to reveal God to us: No one has seen God; the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known (John 1:18) In that swaddled babe we are given a true high priest who is interceding for us; able to sympathize with human weakness (Hebrews 4:14-16) We are given a perfect example that we might follow in his steps (1 Peter2:21) and learn from His ways. He provides a sacrifice, a perfect and unblemished lamb, to atone for the sins of us all. In the letter to the Hebrews we are told  he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18 ESV). As God he would not have been able to suffer death. As humankind, He would not have been able to conquer it. Yet as both natures fully integrated, He is able to present us weak and weary ones, spotless before the throne of God redeemed for all eternity. For this friends we join with the angels singing "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased" (Luke 2:14) HALLELUJAH! Christ is born!

Friday December 23 His Kingdom Come

“Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved...       

Joel 2:28-32 NLT

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Revelation 21:4 NLT

This week we have been talking about dreams as a way God may choose to communicate with us. But what about the other kind of dream...the dream planted in each of us? That dream of what is to come that we celebrate through this season of Advent. For even as we commemorate the birth of baby Jesus in that long ago cattle shed, we look forward and dream of His return in glory.  This is more than a dream. It is a promise of our great and mighty God, who made heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them. Who keeps every promise forever. Psalm 146:6 So advent is truly a season to nurture those dream seeds God has planted in each of us.  It is a time to dream of that day promised in the scriptures above, when all who call on the name of Jesus will be saved. To dream of that day when God will wipe every tear from our eyes and we will no longer know sorrow or suffering, crying or pain ever again. Can you dream of a day when we no longer ache for those we love who are suffering in body, mind or spirit? Can you dream of day when children are not hungry? Can you dream of a day when we do not watch helplessly as innocents are slaughtered by evil regimes? Can you dream of a day when Aleppo is part of paradise? Can you dream of a day when we no longer need fear for the safety of our brothers and sisters simply because of the color of their skin? Can you dream of a day when God Himself lives with us?If so, perhaps it is time to stop dreaming and start working to build the Kingdom right where you are and hasten that day He has promised.

Prayer
"God of grace and God of glory, on your people pour Your power. Crown your Church's ancient story. Bring her bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom. Grant us courage for the facing of this hour. Lo! The hosts of evil round us scorn the Christ,assail His ways. From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise. AMEN! (Harry E. Fosdick)

Wednesday December 21 Attention!

For God may speak in one way, or in another, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride. He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death. Job 33:14-18 NLT

If we accept that God created us for Himself and His purposes, surely we would accept that He wants to communicate with us. In fact, He is relentless in trying to get our attention so that we might have a true, active relationship with Him. Today's scripture affirms that God speaks to us in many different ways. The simplest and most direct way He speaks to us is through His written word, but He certainly does not stop there. He may use other people, music, circumstances, nature, and of course, His Holy Spirit residing in each one of us. Last time we talked about the possibility that God may speak to us in our dreams, and again, today's verses confirm that possibility. Of course, not every dream is a communication from God, any more than every word spoken to us from other people is communication from God. It is important to use discernment and "test the spirits, whether they are from God for many false prophets have gone into the world" 1 John 4:1 Nonetheless, as scripture tells us, dreams can be a valuable source of communication from God. He may use them to warn us of a situation that is dangerous to either our physical or spiritual selves, as He did with Abimalech when he took Sarah for himself. (Genesis chapter 20) Or He may use a dream to offer encouragement as He did for Gideon in Judges chapter 7. Consider the importance of dreams in the Christmas narrative, including Joseph's dream telling him to take Mary as his wife, or later to flea to Egypt with Mary and Jesus to  protect Him from Herod. Similarly it was through a dream that the wisemen were warned of Herod's evil intentions. How might God be using dreams to get your attention?

Prayer
Great Lover of our souls, we come giving thanks with such gratitude that no matter how distant we me become, You never cease reaching out and calling to us. Lord we thank You for the way Your faithful servants of old listened to Your communication through dreams. Help us O God, to be open and attentive to all the ways You would speak to us each and every day. We ask in Jesus' name. AMEN!

Monday December 19 Dreams

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Genesis 37:5-11 NIV

Perhaps it is because I used to have extremely vivid dreams, but dreams have always interested me.  That certainly puts me in good company. A multitude of books and articles have been written about dreams over the years and dreams have been the subject of scientific study. The ancients believed dreams were revelations from God to be acted upon,  as in the story from Genesis of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph's dreams and his ability to interpret the dreams of others were the source of both his misfortune at the hands of his brothers and his rise to power at the hands of Pharaoh. Pioneering psychologists such, as Jung and Freud, saw dreams as tools of the unconscious mind to help us work out the psychological difficulties of our waking time. More recently, neuroscientists have posited that dreams are part of memory consolidation, connecting visual,  auditory and motor experiences. Often, when this happens, scientists tell us, we are able to connect images and ideas that we were previously unable to, possibly leading to breakthroughs. And so modern science brings us back around to dreams as revelation. That modern science gives us biochemical mechanisms for the way dreams happen,  in no way dismisses the possibility the ancients embraced that dreams are communication from God.  After all God is the amazing creative source of our biochemical make up and functioning. I urge you to pay attention to your dreams. Perhaps God indeed has a message you need to hear.

Prayer
Creator God,  You have made us so marvelously! Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made, in ways that even the greatest minds cannot fully fathom. Lord we thank You for Your amazing creativity and attention to detail in creating us and sustaining us and leading us back to You. Help us, we pray to be attentive to all the ways You communicate with us, especially through the sending of Your Son Jesus, in whose name we now pray.  AMEN!

Saturday December 17 The Unseen Things

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 
For many of us, perhaps even most of us, our troubles seem anything but small or brief. Health challenges...loss of a loved one...financial need...broken relationships...wayward children...unemployment. Or just disappointment.  All of these loom large not small before us. And as our prayers seem to go unanswered as weeks turn to months and months to years it becomes very hard to hear that they won't last long. Jesus warns his disciples“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV  Trouble in this earthly realm is a promise from God. Not one we care to cash in on but a promise nonetheless.  That is exactly why Paul tells us to look beyond what we can see with our eyes to the unseen things. We cannot see the love of God,  but in a thousand ways, small and large He demonstrates that love for us especially through the act of sending Jesus. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV  While our lifetime, in our eyes, seems to be forever, we know that it is a mere speck of eternity. Perhaps this is why Mary, a young girl faced with personal ruin, was able to answer back with a song. Forever is a long time to collect the returns on the investment of a single lifetime. Hold fast to that promise and see beyond what is before you to the unseen joy of eternity.

Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, please give us eyes to see this world for what it is: a brief temporary stop on our way to our forever home with You. When we feel overwhelmed by our troubles here and now, remind us, we pray, that Jesus has already gone ahead to prepare a place for us of unceasing, neverending peace and joy in a kingdom that will last forever. We ask this in His name. AMEN!

Friday December 16 See Jesus

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:34-40

No one living today has actually seen Jesus. Or have we? These days images abound...images of families and individuals desperately trying to flee Aleppo. See Jesus! Images of children wide eyed and bloodied or staring blankly too traumatized to register outward emotion. See Jesus! Images of refugee camps teeming with displaced persons struggling daily to survive. See Jesus! Images of starving children too weak to raise their heads. See Jesus! Images of young girls forced into the sex trade. See Jesus! Or perhaps the images in our minds are closer to home. Memories of faces we have seen in the flesh. The single mom struggling to hold her family together. The lonely senior in the nursing home. The homeless person you pass each day on that same corner on your way to work. The "misbehaving" child who is actually struggling with autism. In all of these see Jesus. Yet in the parable, the king rewards not those who simply see, but those who fed or invited or clothed or visited. We may not have the power to make wars to cease or feed all the hungry people, but we can refuse to look the other way pretending we do not see. We can see with eyes of love and act with compassion, doing, as Mother Teresa encouraged, small things with great love.. And then we will indeed see Jesus...all around us...everyday.

Prayer
God of the hurting and helpless and hopeless, open our eyes, we pray, to the pain of those around us both near and far. Gift us with an ache that makes inaction intolerable. Help us to see the face of Jesus in each one, even as we offer this prayer in His name. AMEN!

Thursday December 15 Ask

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. "Matthew 13:10-17 NLT

Hardened hearts. For me these are two of the scariest words in the Bible. The thought that a person could get to the point, through their own actions (or inactions) that the Word of God and the love of Jesus could not penetrate is nothing short of frightening and Jesus explains why in this passage. Not only would we not be able to understand more, but even the understanding we do have would be taken away. The result is getting to a place where, so Jesus says, we are no longer choosing to ignore Him, but in fact we are no longer able to understand, nor turn to Him. The consequence of this is that we cannot accept His healing. A dire consequence indeed, not only for this life, but more importantly for the life to come, when we need to be healed of our sins in order to dwell with Him rather than be eternally separated and cast into darkness. Fortunately, the converse is also true... to those who do listen and turn to Him, even more understanding will be given. In fact, he says, they will be given an "abundance of knowledge". We have only to seek knowledge and in humility ask for it: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 NIV  In addition we have the Holy Spirit to teach us: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth...He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. John 16:13-14 NIV Are there any of us who do NOT wish to see more of what Jesus wants to show us...to receive greater understanding of his teaching? Ask, seek and knock “For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:8 NLT

Prayer
God of all knowing, we do come to You at this time to seek more understanding. Lead us, O Lord to seek You everyday and to long for and ask You to guide us in wisdom and truth. Lord, please never let our hearts grow cold and hardened to the point that we can no longer hear Your voice, but rather nurture in us the desire for that which You desire that our hearts would be aligned with Yours. We ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN!