When my friend Ann lost her firefighter husband on 9/11, she received stacks of mail from NYC advising her on ways to cope. Ann searched the Scriptures to see what said said about coping, and…
To see what she discovered, click over to Laced With Grace for the rest of the post.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or so the song says, the happiest season of all. Norman Rockwell images dance in our heads, or across the TV anyway. And a ball in the pit of our stomach starts to grow like a snowball careening down a mountain.
Today over at Circles of Faith, check out my Top Ten list of stress-busting choices to help us “keep the main thing, the main thing” during the upcoming Advent season.
photo credit: murilocardoso via photopin cc
Thank you for partnering with me in this ministry. I pray you’ve been encouraged with me to sense the eternal amidst the earthly. May your Christmas be blessed with His peace, and may your 2012 be filled with His presence.
Enjoy the lyrics of this powerful song inspired by “The Story” Bible. Make it your prayer. I made it mine.
*Luke 2:14 & Eph. 2:14
My friend experienced a horrific family tragedy this year. Yet miraculously she glows with the grace of God. When I told her this, she simply shrugged and said, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing. So I’m with Him.”
Another friend with ongoing family heartbreak told me about a sermon that spoke to her, “There’s a miracle coming out of that mess!” That sermon’s title? “Emmanuel, God With Us”
Mary, an unwed pregnant teenager. Her betrothed, Joseph, about to divorce her. An angel appeared assuring him that this miracle Child would fulfill the prophesy that the virgin’s child would be named Emmanuel meaning God would be with us.
Yes, He came to be our Savior.
Yes, He came to be our example.
Yes, He came to give us life, abundant life.
But, He also came simply to be with us.
To be with us in the tragedy, providing grace and peace through the storm.
To be with us in the joy, multiplying it and giving it meaning.
To experience life with us that we might experience life with Him. Glorious!
Are you with Him?
Ummm, because He said that if you’re not, then you’re against Him. Ouch!
So if you don’t sense that you are WITH Him – seek Him without delay.
Seek Him with your whole heart.
Repent of anything that would hinder His presence in your life.
He came to be with us.
Anything less is less than best.
From Jesus Calling ~
“When you sit quietly with Me, the process I went through is reversed in your experience. As you identify with Me, heaven’s vistas open up before you – granting you glimpses of My Glory.”
I pray your CHRISTmas is filled with His presence, the greatest present of all!
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Today is the first day of Chanukah which officially began last night at sundown. Chanukah was one of my favorite times growing up.
As the eldest child in my family, I lit the menorah candles. First, we lit the tallest candle (the Shamash). Then the Shamash lit the other candles from right to left, lighting one the first night, two the next, and so on for eight nights. As I lit the candles, I said the following prayer:
Little did I know that the menorah and its candles were a beautiful reflection of the Light of the world that was to bring me from darkness to light.
Chanukah is often overshadowed by the many Christmas activities. It is not a particularly important Jewish festival, and not mentioned in the Old Testament. Chanukah, the Feast of Dedication is an eight day celebration commemorating the revolt and unlikely victory of the Jewish Maccabbees over the powerful Syrian Greeks who had invaded and oppressed Israel in 167 – 164 BC (the period of time between the Old and New Testaments).
Jesus observed Chanukah (John 10:20-30), and it was during this Feast the Jesus publicly declared Himself the Messiah by proclaiming “I and the Father are One.”
Celebrating Chanukah includes the telling of the story of how the Syrian ruler, Antiochus, brutally oppressed the Hebrews, forbidding the practice of Judiasm and desecrating the Temple by sacrificing pigs on the altar. Mattathias and his 5 sons, including Judah (nicknamed Maccabbee, the Hammer), led a rag-tag army in guerilla warfare for 3 years, retreating to the hills after each battle.
Finally, the Jews defeated the mighty Syrian army and returned to Jerusalem to find the Temple all but destroyed and the oil for the lampstand gone, except for a tiny amount enough for one day. The eternal flame of the Temple Menorah, central to Israel’s worship, was extinguished. Although it would take eight days for the priests to consecrate more oil, by faith they lit the Menorah. Miraculously, the one day’s supply of oil lasted those eight days. Judah Maccabbee declared that these events would be commemorated annually at the Feast of Dedication, the Festival of Lights, Chanukah. A special menorah would be used that had nine candles, rather than the seven branched lampstand in the Temple, one for each of the eight days and one Shamash candle.
The lights of the menorah are symbolic of our relationship with Christ, the Light of the world. The tallest candle is called Shamash which means “Servant.” The Servant candle lights the other candles yet loses none of its own light. Likewise, Jesus who “came not to be served, but to serve” (Mk 10:45) imparts His light to us and loses none of His own. He is the Light of the word (Jn 8:12), but He says that WE are the light of the world (Mt. 5:4).
The Temple in Jerusalem no longer stands, but God’s Word declares that WE are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and the light of the world. How is our oil burning? Sometimes an oil change is necessary. Or perhaps we are a quart low. Maybe we feel like all we have left is one day’s supply. Isn’t it reassuring to remember that the Bible teaches that more oil is always available when the undying flame has been ignited in our souls!
When we spot a menorah, let’s remember that we have been illuminated by the Shamash, the Servant, and we have an eternal supply of oil to keep the Light of the world burning brightly in our hearts throughout the year.
Thank you Jesus for imparting Your light to us. May we reflect You, bringing light to people still in darkness. Thank you for the miracles 2000 years ago, and the miracles today!!
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Hurry. It seems that’s all we do lately. And so we are encouraged to slow down, be still. I said so myself just a few weeks ago. Shhhh the activity!
And yet there is a time to hurry-
~Zacchaeus, filled with curiosity, hurried ahead to climb a tree so he could see Jesus.
~The father, filled with compassion, ran to welcome his prodigal home.
~Mary and the women, filled with confusion, ran to the disciples – who ran to the empty tomb.
~Philip, filled with the Spirit, ran to the chariot to share the Word with the Ethiopian.
And the shepherds, filled with wonder after their heavenly host encounter, hurried to Bethlehem, ran to see Jesus.
When should we hurry?
~When it is running to Jesus!
~When it is hurrying to show compassion.
~When it is eagerly sharing the Word.
After they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.
Then they returned [to their neighborhood, their work, their environment] glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Solomon said, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” I’m going to boldly add to his list in Eccl. 3:1-8:
There is a time to hurry and a time to be still.
Oh that we would know the difference!
Do you (like me) ever confuse when to be busy and when to be still?
What do you do about it?
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Later she recalled, “It’s T’was Night Before Christmas.” Oh. Ok, there may be other stories that are popular at this time of year. But is there really any other Christmas story besides the one in the Word?
No there isn’t.
Sure there are plenty of movies and books about Christmas-time. Poems and prose. Sweet, sentimental stories. Children’s cartoons and classic movies. Comedies and dramas. We have our favorites, and new ones are written and released each year. But with rare exception, these are not Christ-mas stories. They are Christmastime stories – seasonal stories that touch our hearts or make us smile.
The real Christmas story is found in 4 chapters of God’s Word. The first two chapters in the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke tell us the enthralling report of the people and events surrounding the birth of the God the Son. We don’t need to add anything to the story. In fact, we’re commanded not to (Prov. 30:6, Rev. 22:18).
Now there’s nothing wrong with most of these Christmas-time stories – unless we mistake them for the true Christ-mas story. And there’s nothing wrong with shopping, decorating, baking, and all the other activities we do leading up to December 25th – unless we mistake doing them for celebrating Him.
God chose the simplest, humblest way to usher in the Messiah. He didn’t add anything. In fact, He subtracted!
No royal throne for the King. Just a manger filled with hay.
No prestigious entourage – well unless you count the heavenly host filling the night sky ;D
I pray your next two weeks are filled with the real story, adding only that which would enhance your worship rather than distract from it.
What do you think??
