The Advent Series #5. God's Amazing Heart of Love

 

God's Amazing Heart of Love

Have you ever considered the question of when God knew that He would invade our world with His son? Many people assume that He made that decision when He had to evict Adam and Eve from the Garden because of their sin. Now, His perfect creation had been broken, Adam and Eve were estranged and it would take the death of His son to pay for their - and their descendants - sin. Plan A had failed so now we needed a divine rescue in Plan B. 

That would be an amazing decision on God's part. Especially in light of His creation's rebellion.

But the story is more intriguing than that. Far more!

The decision to send a savior into the world was actually made before the world was created. When God made the decision to create our planet and its inhabitants He also knew that those inhabitants would choose to rebel against Him. He knew there would a fall before there was a creation. He knew that if that creation was going to be rescued it would take a Savior. He knew that the cost of that Savior would be His Son's life. 

He knew! And yet He created this planet anyway! That is total, irrational, divine love for people who would reject Him and cost Him His Son to rescue. In His decision to create us, He was also making the decision to redeem us and that would involve His Son becoming like us, living with us and dying for us. 

In Revelation 13:8, we read this intriguing statement. "The lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made." How can that be? Very simply God had already chosen to rescue us through His Son before the world was even created. In fact, this was plan A from the very beginning!

Many of us struggle with understanding God's love for us. We feel unworthy - and we are. We know we don't deserve His love and we don't. We find it hard to believe that he forgives us for our sin but He does. This struggle with our own unworthiness keeps us from living in the center of His grace and love all too often. We don't feel worthy to be there so we tiptoe around that grace and love rather than living in its center. 

But God would say this to you: "Before I created you I knew you would sin. And I had already created a solution for that sin so that you could know me fully. It was the incarnation and the gift of My Son. That is how much I love you. That is how deeply I want to be in fellowship with you. Before you were I was making a way for you to know me."

"Before you were I had planned that Jesus would come and live among you so that you would have a perfect High Priest who understood your situation and could walk with you through any events of your life. Before you were I knew your name and wanted to adopt you as one of my forever family." 

You see, the Lamb of God was slain before the foundations of the world. For you! That is God's amazing heart of love. For you.

Father, as I celebrate this Christmas season that heralds your coming. Let me never forget the amazing heart of love that lies behind this divine Gift of Your Son. You gave him to us before we were. Thank You. And give me a heart of gratitude for that gift today - and every day. Amen.

The Advent Series #4. The Incarnation and Hope

 

The Incarnation and Hope

None of us can live without hope. When hope dies all is lost emotionally as those who suffer from deep depression know. All of us need hope in some area of life. It may be that a relationship will be reconciled, an illness cured, depression and sadness lifted or some life circumstance fixed and healed. 

The incarnation - the birth of Christ - is all about hope. Hope that life can be different. Hope that sin can be forgiven. Hope that God will stay with us. Hope that there is a future for us. Hope that God's promises are for us today. When you think of the incarnation when God became man so that man could know God, think of hope. 

On the eighth day after the birth of Jesus He was presented at the temple for His circumcision. There was an elderly man present. We read the account in Luke 2:25-35.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying:

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.

What sustained Simeon was hope. What Simeon communicated to Mary and Joseph was that this baby was the hope of salvation for all people. Both Gentiles and Jews. In fact, he was now ready to die as he had seen the hope of the world. 

The Incarnation speaks of hope for each of us. We live in the in-between time for the Savior has come with His Kingdom, yet we still live in a world that is broken and sinful. That will change with His second coming which is an amazing hope. But the coming of Jesus to enter into our lives, our messiness, our dysfunctions, our joy, and our pain gives us hope that things can be different, that healing can come, that we are not alone, and that we have an eternal future as well as a life of meaning and significance now. 

This is a real hope described by Paul in Romans 8 this way. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how well he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That is hope and it all stems from the incarnation when God chose to enter our world and our lives with His identification with us. Hope comes ultimately from God who is able to meet our needs, change our hearts and invade our lives. He came to give us the hope of Himself. 

Father, thank you for your identification with us through your birth, life, death, and resurrection. Help me today to focus not on my problems but on your presence and the hope that you make available to me. Amen

The Advent Series #3: New Beginnings

 

New Beginnings

Have you ever needed a new beginning? Needed it badly? Do you need one now? This is the story of advent. It is about hope and new beginnings for people who need it badly. Into a world of need, sorrow, disappointment, injustice, poverty, and the brokenness of life generally, a savior came to bring new beginnings. To bring hope. To renew our joy and to walk with us through the darkest days we face. And the good ones. 

In the days of the prophet Isaiah, hundreds of years before His birth, the prophet spoke of renewed hope. It is found in Isaiah 9:5-7.

"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of the Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan -

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 

For to 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. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Into the darkness and gloom, light will come. Moreover He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Think about those four names. The savior who is coming will be our counselor - providing light for our lives. He will be a father to us, the perfect father and an everlasting father. He will be the Mighty God with the power to change us, to change our circumstances and to change lives on every side. And finally, he will be the Prince of Peace. Bringing peace between us and God, between us and others, and between peoples and races that have been divided. This is the One you have invited into your life. He is those things to you today.

John chapter one mirrors this theme of light coming into darkness. Speaking of Christ it says, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness" (John 1:4).

What did Jesus bring with Him?  John says He came full of grace and truth. Grace to enter into our lives and truth to understand our need for Him, His salvation and how we should be living. This is what new beginnings are made of. This is why new beginnings are possible. Whatever you need today, you have a counselor, A God of mighty power, an eternal father and one who brings peace.

Father, Thank you for new beginnings. I need a new beginning in my life today. Bring me hope today as your light penetrates my life and my circumstances. Amen

The Advent Series #2, The Great Disrupter

 

THE GREAT DISRUPTER

God is the great disrupter! And the incarnation was the greatest disruption our world had ever encountered. A baby is born in the humblest of places to the most common of people. No Netflix series like The Crown to tell the story. This was a birth that would change the equation of our world forever. He was called "The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world." And He came "full of grace and truth." (John 1:9; 14).

This child would disrupt the world of His day and for all eternity! He would defeat the enemy Satan whose downfall was first predicted on the day Adam and Eve were evicted from the garden (Genesis 3:15). In that moment of judgment, God has also a word of grace, for one male offspring of Eve would one day appear who would crust Satan forever. Now the disrupter had come!

This child would disrupt the social constructs of our world. In His presence, women would no longer be marginalized but elevated starting with a sixteen-year-old girl who became His mother. In His presence, the poor and the children would be given honor. In His presence, all would be invited to the table to eat and drink and learn from Him, especially those on the margins of society and those that polite society did not eat with. He would leave behind the church - His family made up of every race and color, slave and free, Jew and Gentile rich and poor who together would penetrate every corner of the world with His grace and truth.

This child would disrupt the social paradigms of power and influence. No longer would the rich and famous be those who wielded the greatest influence. No, it would be people who had no power to speak of except the power of God. Paul writes, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body" (2 Corinthians 4:7-11). 

This child would turn conventional wisdom on its head. Now the blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn for their sin, the humble would inherit the earth, those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness would be filled, the merciful would be shown mercy, the pure in heart would see God, peacemakers would be called sons of God and the persecuted would be blessed and inherit the kingdom of God. (Matthew 5). This was not the way of society but this was the way of God.

And, if you know Christ, this child would disrupt your life forever, cleansing you of sin without any work on your part, giving you purpose to join Him in His work, gifting you with His Spirit to walk with you each day, and giving you hope for the future. Empowering you to live lives that break the bondage of addiction and sin and do extraordinary things on His behalf.

As you think of Advent, give thought to all the ways that the world - and your life has been changed and disrupted by the God of the universe choosing to become one of us so that we could once again know Him. That is the craziest notion in all religious notions, yet it is exactly what happened in the incarnation.

Father, thank you for disrupting the world with your presence. A baby who was actually the king of the universe, coming incognito into a needy world and our needy life to disrupt, bring life, and forever change the equation of our lives. Amen

The Advent Series #1, Emmanuel: God with us

 

The Advent Series

December 1, 2022

Emmanuel: God with Us

 

On this first day of December, take a moment to reflect on the state of our world. The cold has settled into Ukraine where the slaughter continues. In Europe, heating bills are extraordinarily high. The economy has seen better days and in our own nation, the divides are great. In addition, each of our own families has unique challenges that concern us. This year the global population has passed the 8 billion mark, and there is famine in significant parts of our globe. Covid continues to be an issue in many countries.

There was another day when life was bleak, and hope was lost. It was in the time of the prophet Isaiah that the Lord gave this promise to Israel: 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 was to be a sign of hope and that ancient sign predicted the coming of Christ into a lost and dark world full of needy people.

Immanuel is my favorite name for Jesus because it means “God with us.” With the coming of Christ, there would never be a time when God’s people would be alone and without Him. No matter what your situation today, God is with you and Jesus came to make that a reality. This is no small thing. The creator who had been rejected by His creation would come as one of the created and dwell among us so that we could once again know the creator.

Many of us lament the state of the world today. Or our personal circumstances. But the theologian Carl Henry made the astute observation that “the early church didn’t say, ‘Look what the world is coming to!’ They said, ‘Look what has come into the world.’” The coming of Immanuel changed everything. Now God was with us. He chose to become one of us. And at his ascension, He left Himself behind to live within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. You are not alone! We are not alone!

John put it this way in his Gospel. “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of Grace and truth” (John 1:14). Grace to meet us in our individual brokenness and truth to lead us to a new life in Christ. No two words better describe the One who is with us: Immanuel.

I would encourage you to make this Advent season the season of Immanuel: God with us. Whatever your situation and whatever your challenges today you are not alone. He is with you. He is Immanuel.

Father, thank you for sending one to be with me. Thank you that He came full of grace and truth. Remind me often this December that behind the lights, trees, gifts, and parties is the God of the universe who came to be with us. Amen.