The Radical Gift of God

Isaiah 7:14 tells us;

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

This verse has touched my heart many times over the years and yet I am still amazed. True, this passage is a prophetic one, it is a fine passage for the Christmas season, and it is a passage that most are familiar with. However, this year I am focused and drawn to the name Immanuel. As most know this means “God with us or God united with us” and that alone is so comforting, so encouraging, but this year there is more.

This passage speaks to the incarnation of Christ and what a radical gift that is. You have to stop and think about it for a while and as I do I become more amazed and in awe of our loving God. Of the incarnation, Benjamin Warfield said; “The glory of the incarnation is that it presents to our adoring gaze, not a humanised God or a deified man, but a true God-man - one who is all that God is and at the same time all that man is - and that means this: one on whose almighty arms we can rest and to whose human sympathy we can appeal.”

I just love that and want to say; Christ, thank you for being our God-man in whose almighty arms we can rest. What a gift indeed!

There is a familiar story I once read that provides a little perspective on this;

“The land of Persia was once ruled by a wise and beloved Shah who cared greatly for his people and desired only what was best for them. One day he disguised himself as a poor man and went to visit the public baths. The water for the baths was heated by a furnace in the cellar, so the Shah made his way to the dark place to sit with the man who tended the fire. The two men shared the coarse food, and the Shah befriended him in his loneliness. Day after day the ruler went to visit the man. The worker became attached to this stranger because he "came where he was." One day the Shah revealed his true identity, and he expected the man to ask him for a gift. Instead, he looked long into his leader's face and with love and wonder in his voice said, "You left your palace and your glory to sit with me in this dark place, to eat my coarse food, and to care about what happens to me. On others you may bestow rich gifts, but to me you have given yourself!”

This Christmas can you see beyond the material gifts of the season? Can you see beyond the commercialization of the season? Can you see the radical gift of God; the gift of Himself through Christ! Amazing. Merry Christmas everyone…

Grace and Peace!

On His Shoulders

The older I get the more I truly enjoy the Christmas season; not in a gift getting kind of way, but in a meditative, reflective kind of way. Isaiah 9:6 tells us;

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the Government will be on His shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This Christmas season I have been focused on this verse and really amazed by the statement that the Government will be on His shoulders. I am so comforted by that thought; I picture our Savior carrying the burdens of this world on His capable shoulders. I am in awe that on His broad shoulders rest the operations of all things; on His caring shoulders rest each and every one of my burdens, concern and issues; on His loving shoulders rest my many sins and I rejoice!

A theologian explaining the phrase; will be on His shoulders, said that all things were laid on Him as a load for him to bear. My heart cries out; thank you Christ for bearing the load!

Pastor Scotty Smith said of this verse;

“You are our Broad-Shouldered King. Knowing the government of the whole world already rests on your shoulders settles and centers me. This truth melts my fears and fuels my faith. It fills me with a joy only second to knowing your shoulders fully bore the sin of the world, including mine. As this day begins, I raise my shoulders and face to bask in your unparalleled beauty and sovereign reign.”

As Christmas approaches may we all be filled with the joy of knowing our Savior and knowing that our Broad-Shouldered King is there for each of us and there to bear the load!

Grace and Peace!

Advent

As you might know, we are in the middle of the Advent Season. I don’t know about you, but I really have never contemplated what that really means and how I should truly apply it to my life. As usual, I started with one of my favorite websites; thefreedictionary.com.

The Free Dictionary defines Advent as; the coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important; an arrival or coming, especially one which is awaited; the liturgical period preceding Christmas, beginning in Western churches on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and in Eastern churches in mid-November, and observed by many Christians as a season of prayer, fasting, and penitence.

So to me, Advent is a joyful, hopeful, expectant, forward looking spirit within believers. It is the knowledge that Christ will return and all will be right in the world, all will be restored, all will be completed. It is the expectant hope that the One who came will come again bringing peace and joy to all God’s children.

I see such a clear picture of this in Isaiah 11:6-9;

6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Oh, isn’t that worth longing for; isn’t that the hope of Christians? So this Advent season may we all begin to live joyfully, hopefully; longing for the Advent of Christ! Amen and Amen.

Grace and Peace!

Thankful by Definition

Can you believe that the holiday season is upon us? What a year we’ve had! And as we approach the holidays I think it appropriate to pause and reflect. As we do I think one word would summarize my feelings – Thankful.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that the word thankful has 3 intents.

First, thankful means that we are conscious of benefit received. I think if we all just stop and think about it we can all be conscious of benefit received. With unemployment levels at historic proportion, I don’t know about you, but I am conscious of the many blessings in my life; I am conscious of the benefit of living in the greatest country known to man; and I am conscious of the benefit of the freedom to worship our great and glorious God. While I am at it, I am conscious of the benefit of a good church, family, friends and this Florida lifestyle.

Second, thankful means being expressive of thanks. So let me express my heartfelt thanks for all things; every breath, sight, smell, relationship (I guess you get the idea). 2 Corinthians 9:15 says; 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we just remained in a state of being thankful; expressing thanks in all things?

Third, thankful means being well-pleased and I have got to tell you I am well-pleased. I am extremely well-pleased when I reflect on all of life’s blessings. I am well-please when I think about all that Christ has done. There are so many negative influences in the world, but if we focus on what is really important in life shouldn’t we all be walking around in a state of being well-pleased. Not in a prideful, arrogant way, but in a humble and happy state of thankfulness. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reminds us; 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When you really stop and think about it, being thankful should be easy for each of us. So on Thanksgiving 2010, let’s end with a Thanksgiving Poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson;

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Grace and Peace!