Category: Blog

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Holy Week runs the gamut of emotions from high celebration on Palm Sunday, to loss and bewilderment on Good Friday, to amazement on the day of resurrection. If I were one of the disciples watching this drama unfold, I am sure I would have felt completely overwhelmed and utterly confused. Here is Jesus, friend and teacher, who everyone hoped would develop a strong military campaign for reclaiming the nation of Israel, in which he would overpower the Romans and take back the inheritance rightfully belonging to the twelve tribes.

But what happened to him instead? Jesus is captured, beaten, and killed. Pilate acknowledged him as the King of the Jews, but in a mocking, taunting wort of way. Not with the pomp and commanding magnificence usually associated with a king. No one wanted to claim as theirs the bloody mass on the cross anyway. A person convicted of blasphemy and hanging between two thieves did not qualify as trustworthy leader material.

It looks like God’s mission failed. He’d sent the Messiah, the one promised to the Jews for their rescue. But this Messiah had only managed to get in trouble with the Jewish Law and was now dying a criminal’s death.

Where was a disciple to look for fulfilled hopes of restoration? Following Jesus might have been a waste of time. Peter returns to fishing. John takes Mary home. Darkness falls.

The cross was actually the best place to look for those dreams of restoration. Friday afternoon with its agony and suffering ushered in a new order. Redemption came as a vulnerable gift, not as a royal decree imposed by force. Saturday’s silence filled with questions hung as mystifying as the torn curtain in the temple. God’s Son had died. The way was now clear to approach him. Maybe this is what those startling events of the past week were all about. Everyone could view the Holy of Holies now, not just a consecrated priest.

The images from Friday probably played through the minds of the disciples over and over again. The verse from the hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross captures what the disciples surely would have felt.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet. Sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did ever such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Sorrow and love. The two qualities of Christ’s crucifixion. It was the best of times for these disciples, knowing their Lord loved them enough to die for them. It was the worst of times, knowing the intense suffering sin caused, and then grieving the loss of him. No one would ever take Jesus’ place. The end had come.

But then Sunday morning arrives. Mary runs into town with the astonishing news of an empty grave. Angels had greeted her with the announcement, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples” (Mark 16:6-7).

Jesus is risen. He conquered death and the grave. Salvation is freely given. Men and women from every nation can receive the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus paid the price. The work is done.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

This is a blog I wrote last January as we looked ahead to a new year, so I thought I would share it again as we look ahead to 2019.

She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. –Luke 2:37-38

Nothing stood in the way of Anna loving God. She lived in a time and a culture when women—especially widowed older women like her—faced many obstacles.

The political government and religious community of the day would have looked upon women like Anna as inferior and second class. As a result, she would have been marginalized to the outer fringes of society.

And yet Anna still loved and worshiped God. Even more, God loved and honored her. Anna was known as a prophetess because of the obvious mark of the Holy Spirit on her life. Her testimony of devotion to God shines through her holiness and chastity.

Love for God is what gave her word legitimacy when the baby Messiah came to the temple and she spoke about him to all who anticipated his arrival. Anna’s life teaches us that the religious and political rulers might make the laws and enforce them, but God’s spirit operated outside of or perhaps in spite of man’s structures.

We can’t impose limitations on God. Anna’s devotion asks this question—do we get caught up in adhering to human rules, or are we going to recognize where God is working?

The Christmas story answers that question with proof that God works completely free from power structures, social customs, or religious laws.

Jesus was conceived outside the social customs of marriage.

He lived outside Herod’s palace.

God promised Zechariah a child outside the limitations of old age.

The Holy Spirit appeared in the life of Anna, outside the boundaries of gender roles.

Luke’s account of the Christmas story shows that God is in the submissive, open heart of Mary. He is present in the quiet vulnerability of humble surroundings. His word can be found in the righteousness of obedience and prayer. His delight is in the life of devotion and worship.

All these things—submission, vulnerability, humility, righteousness, obedience, prayer, and worship have the same thing in common which is love.

The love of God transcends any obstacles, barriers, or limitations. Love is where freedom is found. Our love for God and his love for us is the place from where power, value, and peace flow.

Are you longing for freedom today? If so, I encourage you to stand with Anna in the temple—the place of worship and prayer, and offer yourself with new devotion to God’s plans and his purpose for your life.

In my fascination with the angels in the Christmas story, I turned to the last mention of the angels in the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, and pondered how their appearance affected the life of Joseph.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Matthew 2:13, 19

The appearance of Gabriel earlier in the story brought announcements intended to prepare the listeners for the events God was about to perform. Babies were on the way to Zechariah’s and Mary’s households. Believe and get ready. The Lord is coming.

The host of angels appearing to the shepherds was the height of the Christmas story. They bring the news Zechariah and Mary had prepared for. The baby has come. The Messiah is born. Glorify God.

These appearances of the angel to Joseph carry a different tone. Danger lurks. Act now and act quickly. The angel that appeared to Joseph is unnamed. Unlike the use of Gabriel’s name in Mary’s and Zechariah’s stories, the Bible mentions this angel only as the angel of the Lord. This may imply that the vision Joseph saw was the Lord appearing in angelic form. The message Joseph receives carries urgency. “Get up . . .escape . . .stay there, hidden, until I tell you.” Jesus’ life is at risk. If he is found, the ruthless and tyrannical Herod will murder him.

Joseph seems to me an ordinary, quiet man who would not stand out in a crowd. He was a small town boy, a carpenter, someone who worked with his hands. Drawing attention to himself didn’t find a place in his character. But deep faith did. Descended from the line of King David himself, Joseph was royalty. He knew it. Growing up in his family, he’d heard the stories from Israel’s glory days. Patriarchal lineage would’ve been rehearsed in his hearing enough for him not to just memorize it, but to embrace it to his core as part of his identity. His ancestors were kings, and now his Son, conceived by God, was to be a king too.

Joseph needed no education on the high stakes associated with the angel’s message. Along with the rest of the nation, he’d been reading the prophets, watching, and waiting for the Messiah.

Now he’d come. He’d come into Joseph’s tribe, into his life, and into his very home. And the responsibility to protect him belonged to Joseph. The time had come to let go of all of his expectations for a quiet little life raising his family, to let go of his ties and association to his ancestral land, and maybe even to let go of some of his pride, so that he might fulfill the command to leave for the foreign country of Egypt.

The angel’s directions to escape asked much of Joseph. Beginning with Mary’s pregnancy occurring out of wedlock, he hadn’t gone looking for any of the adventures that had entered his life because of this newborn child.

But God knew what kind of person Joseph was. He trusted God’s word to him. He took risks for the sake of that word. He surrendered every area of his life to follow through on the angel’s instructions.

Because of Joseph’s daring obedience, the prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled. This earthly father to the King of Kings became a beacon to the rest of the world. “Look at this,” Joseph’s life seems to say. “Jesus has come. We know this because of the prophecies spoken about him and the ways events are playing out. The Savior is here.”

The angel of the Lord and Joseph had a beautiful partnership. The angel spoke. Joseph acted. The angel gave direction. Joseph put himself and the Christ child in places that proved the word of God true.

Christmas has come and gone but I am still pondering the angels in the Christmas story. Last week’s post was about Gabriel and his call to faith. This week is about the heavenly host of angels and their call to praise.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God. Luke 2:13

This passage of Scripture reveals not just one angel acting as a messenger, but what the Bible calls a great company. Perhaps the entire angelic regiment of heaven turned out for this momentous visitation to a gang of unsuspecting shepherds. How fun to join together and crowd in on a quiet pasture where it wouldn’t take much to make a smashing sensation. The brilliance, the power, and the attraction of the glory surrounding them would have been unlike anything these common shepherds had ever seen. Not even Herod’s palace and finery could hold a candle to the pure elegance of heaven.

The lyrics of our Christmas carols have led me to assume angels sing. Perhaps they do and this is a pleasure we must wait to experience until our arrival in heaven. From what I have studied, angels spoke. They were messengers. They deliver God’s word. Gabriel spoke to Zechariah and to Mary. An unnamed angel spoke to Joseph. In Revelation 4, the seraphim say “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty” around the throne.

If this is true, then the fact that the angel of the Lord, joined by a great company, spoke to the shepherds gives the event even more weight. These angels weren’t entertainers. They were on a mission to deliver a world-changing piece of news. And they delivered it to shepherds, men who lived outside. Shepherds lived outside the ceremonial laws for religion and cleanliness. They lived outside social acceptance. They even lived in the hills, their job requiring them to live in the physical outdoors.

God appears to them. The despised and outcast are the first to hear the good news. This might have been the first hopeful message these men had ever been given. The religious authorities offered no hope to them. Neither did the social or economical structures. But God did.

No wonder they hurried off, as Luke records in Luke 2:16. They didn’t scoff at the angels’ announcement or question in disbelief. These men may have felt too down on their luck for that sort of response. All the more reason for them to “go to Bethlehem and see this thing the Lord told them about” (Luke 2:15).

Here was a new order, created and proclaimed by God himself. It restored to men like the shepherds a measure of dignity. Verse 17 says, “When they had seen the baby, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.”

For the first time ever, the shepherds had influence. Concerning the event of Jesus’ birth, cultural frameworks shifted. Now the shepherds were the ones with the authoritative message. God had appeared to them. They had seen with their own eyes the Christ child the angels proclaimed to be the Messiah.

The angels set a beautiful example for the shepherds when they praised God and declared glory to him. After spreading the word of what had been told them, the shepherds returned and did just as the angels taught them, praising and glorifying God.

The appearance of the angels in Luke 2 is a scene filled with grace. God was gracious to the shepherds by sending the angels. The angels were gracious to God in praising him. The shepherds even knew how to be gracious in believing what they heard, paying Jesus a visit, and spreading the news.

This is how praise works. It ascribes honor and worth to the one who is the subject of the praise. The angels extended the initial call to praise, and the shepherds accepted. As a result, their lives changed. Believing in the angels’ message sent them on the discovery of Jesus. Following their example of offering praise to God gave them a place in his new order. They didn’t know it yet, but these shepherds stepped into the kingdom. In this Kingdom of Heaven, they had value. God’s favor rested on them. Their praises of God brought heaven and its peace a little closer to their dark, outside world.

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.” Luke 1:19

The role of the angel in the Christmas story has always intrigued me. Those of us living in the centuries following the events of Jesus’ birth take for granted the presence of the angel. In children’s Christmas programs, someone gets dressed up in a white robe with cardboard wings and a tinsel halo and joins the other characters on stage as if the angel was the next door neighbor or a relative known to the people who saw him before the events of the Christmas story happened.

But this wasn’t the case. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and then to Mary out of nowhere. If Mary and Zechariah were familiar with the stories of the Old Testament prophets, they would recognize the name Gabriel from Daniel’s experience. But no one would have ever anticipated another visit from him. Not during routine worship rituals in the temple and certainly not to a common teenage girl from a small town.

Imagine what a surprise that would have been for them. It makes sense that Zechariah’s and Mary’s initial response was fear. The angel Gabriel, second in command to Michael the archangel captain of angel armies, would have had the essence of a warrior about him. He would have shone with the pure light of God’s glory while carrying the demeanor of a fighter accustomed to victory. Beautiful and militant. Holy and intrepid. This was the angel Gabriel. Enough brilliant glory to light up the entire village. Adequate grace to speak the truth and calmly assure of God’s favor.

What would the Christmas story be without the angel? Zechariah probably would still have had a son. Mary most likely would have given birth to Jesus. John the Baptist and his cousin came into the world according to God’s sovereign plan and therefore would have fulfilled the prophecies about them regardless of the method of communication used at the time of their births.

And yet the angel’s role is vital. Associated with God’s work is his word. He speaks things into creation. Someone needed to be sent as his representative to announce into the earthly realm what God was in the process of creating.

New life in Zechariah’s family would lead to a new order. John would grow up and preach repentance. He himself would become a mouth piece for God making a way for the Lord and his kingdom to come to earth and to enter people’s hearts.

God’s work wasn’t necessarily dependent on the angel’s visitation, but it did benefit from the angel’s prophecies. God had a good reason for sending the angel ahead of time. Without Gabriel, a call to faith would not have occurred.

His words, “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news” needed to be said. They needed to be heard in order to deepen people’s belief in God. The Messiah had been promised for hundreds of years. Is this announcement by a heavenly being the one to take seriously? Did the people of Israel dare to get their hopes up and keep them there?

God spoke, and he did it through the angel he sent. His work of redemption had begun. Salvation was being made available to all. This was good news.

Gabriel’s message is for us too. He brings good news. The one to be born will be called the Son of God. Praise God for the angel. Gabriel teaches us to have hope and to believe in the new work God is doing.

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:17-19

With Christmas day less than two weeks away, we’re entering the time of year when people are making plans to travel. Some of us may only need to go a few miles to reach our destinations, while others may need to drive or fly long distances. Our reasons are all the same.

We’re coming home for Christmas.

The word home is loaded with hopes and expectations. Time spent there may include sharing a meal with loved ones or exchanging gifts. It may mean catching up on stories and news with people we haven’t seen for a while. It might also involve sharing in games or concerts and making special memories. These things are all wonderful, and we might enjoy them very much, but they still may not completely answer our longing for home. Somewhere that we can find peace. A place where we know we will never get hurt again. A space where loss cannot happen, we never have to say good-bye, and we won’t ever be forced to leave it.

Home. A place to stay for as long as we want with people we love. It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? This is what we’re all hoping for, and what we might be searching for. And yet, it seems so difficult to find. Once we have found it, sometimes it can disappear into evaporation right before our eyes. We just can’t seem to hold onto that elusive place our hearts so desperately want to have.

Mary and Joseph strayed far from home at the time their first child was about to enter the world. Their travel did not happen by choice. It was forced upon them by a tyrannical ruler in the Roman Empire. I wonder how Mary felt as distance grew between her, their families, and their home town. A young woman ready to deliver a baby would want the comfort of her mother and the trusted local midwife nearby. How she must have longed at times for Joseph to just turn the donkey around. If he’d take her back home, she could give birth in her own bed instead of along the road or among strangers.

For as uncertain as the trip may have been for Mary, a moment arrived when she came home. All the things she longed for lay wrapped in the bundle in her arms. This new baby she and Joseph named Jesus would bring her salvation. He would offer her a grace that overcame any of the pain and distress of her journey to Bethlehem. His limitless provisions of peace and love would satisfy her better than the comforts of home back in Nazareth ever could. She was welcome to stay in this place for as long as she wished. The stark manger in a musty barn probably didn’t hold much charm, but the promise of a relationship with this newborn reached into eternity. Jesus gave her a place in his kingdom that would never end. Mary never needed to leave. She wouldn’t need to say good-bye to him or sustain any loss of his favor and care. She was his and he was hers. Forever.

Are you living far from God this holiday season? Have you lost your way home or forgotten how to find it? Jesus knows your way home. He is your way home. He stands at the door ready to welcome you in.

Yesterday afternoon, I had “one of those days.” I started to feel down about many things. My optimism crashed. Satisfaction in recent accomplishments collided with discontent. Joy in the holiday season smashed into despair. My insides trembled with anxiety and worry.

Finally, after sharing a meal with my husband and talking with this stable, faithful man, the lights came back on and I started to feel better. But for a couple of hour prior to our evening meal, I had a bonafide struggle with doubt on my hands.

Have you ever felt this way? The world looked bright, cheery, and manageable a moment ago, but then our confidence or our sense of well-being sinks until we feel overwhelmed and shadowed by disbelief or skepticism.

The promises God has been making to us stick in our minds as intellectual information. We know what he said. We recall the words. But our hearts have forgotten and lost peace. I wish I could say an instant fix can perk us up at this point. But we all know that wouldn’t be true. In times like this, recovering peace, or perhaps retaining it in the first place and not losing it becomes our most important wish.

Last week’s devotional explored the story of Ruth. While she journeyed and worked in the fields, carrying on in her apparently ordinary existence, God was at work preparing for her a reward, a residence, and most importantly, her redemption.

This week’s devotional continues the series on the topic of waiting. Ruth was redeemed in her waiting. This week we see that a doubter can be strengthened in waiting. How does this happen?

Hebrews 11:1 tells us our confidence comes from faith. We hope for and find assurance in that which we cannot see. But God sees. This should bring us comfort. We know it’s true, but in those moments of shadow and trembling, a visible, concrete object is what we wish for more than elusive hopes or theories.

This is when I turn to Psalm 27. In verse 1, it calls God “light.” Here is something tangible enough to anchor us when hopes and theories just aren’t cutting it. God is light. This is something we can look for, and then recognize when it is found.

God is also the stronghold of life, giving no reason to fear. The Psalm goes on to rehearse the ways we can find strength. In verses 2 and 3, our hearts do not fear and we have confidence, even in the face of war and conflict. In verses 4 to 8, we find strength in dwelling in God’s presence and gazing upon his face. These activities are not done in a hurry. They take time, and are accompanied by the singing and making music to the Lord as referenced in verse 6, and also through learning from God’s instruction as mentioned in verse 11.

While we appear to be sitting still gazing, singing, and learning, God is at work strengthening. Like the wicked, the enemies, and the army mentioned in verses 2 and 3, our doubts and fears fall away. The light of our salvation is fortifying our inner person, and ultimately securing our victory.

I love how Psalm 27 ends. It is a true Christmas Psalm, a true Advent season encouragement as we prepare and as we wait. Verses 13 and 14 exhort us to remain confident. We will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, in the land of the hopeful, the faithful, and the satisfied. Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.

Are you in a place of despair this holiday season? Are you grieving loss or wrestling with fear? Is doubt threatening to drown out your faith and sink you into skepticism? Has your heart forgotten God’s promises and lost its peace?

Look to the Light. He strengthens you. Make good use of your situation to sing and praise. Allow him to teach you and lead you in straight paths. When we wait, we grow strong because the day is coming when Jesus will arrive. Promises will be fulfilled. Everything we’ve hoped for and dreamed about will come to pass.

Prayer

God of mercy, whenever I lose sight of you and my faith falters, whenever I am tempted to doubt your heart or misconstrue your motives, turn me again to the clearest sign of your generous mercy, your only Son, Jesus. With you, Lord, there is steadfast love. There is no darkness in you. Glory be to the father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen

Ruth is an unlikely character to introduce into a season belonging to shepherds and wise men. And yet, her story is one of waiting making it totally appropriate to the advent season. Her story has a place among the prophets and signs from heaven guiding us in how to prepare our hearts to receive the gifts of Christmas.

Ruth is mentioned in Jesus’ family tree. In the list of names outlining numerous generations, the first chapter of Matthew includes Ruth as the great-grandmother of King David. A woman and foreigner, Ruth the Moabite hints at God’s great plan to make salvation available to everyone. The story of Ruth and her mother-in-law is filled with tragedy and sorrow. For whatever reason the Bible doesn’t mention, the men in the family died. A shortage of food forces the women from their home. Naomi has nowhere else to go except her hometown in Israel, in the land of Judah, which happens to be Bethlehem, the town in which Jesus will be born.

A time of waiting has begun. In their effort to survive, Naomi and Ruth probably did not recognize the work God was doing in their lives, but he was there and active,using them to bring about his expansive and marvelous plan.

Anytime the Lord has designs on a person’s life, a joyously happy ending is in store,as we see in the last chapter of the book of Ruth. But first comes long stretches of waiting. These are times when God calls a person on a journey,introduces them to new people, and orchestrates events and opportunities.

In the book of Ruth, I detect three different ways Ruth is led into waiting on God.The first wait Ruth must endure is for reward. After arriving in Bethlehem,Ruth meets Boaz, a landowner beginning his barley harvest. Ruth’s reputation has preceded her, and Boaz commends her for the steps of faith she has taken.He says, “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

This wait for a reward required Ruth to leave behind everything she knew. Although she’d arrived in this new place, she was still the foreigner, the stranger who must make new friends and find a new purpose. Boaz helped her by including her in his harvest. He looked out for her and showed her favor.

The daily work in the fields eased Ruth’s situation as she waited for a residence. She and Naomi needed a home. As unmarried women, they had little standing in the community and no protection. A permanent home with a man as a head of their household would solve their problem.

Naomi is well aware of this predicament so coaches Ruth on how best to honor Boaz. Her interaction with Boaz requires more waiting. She must wait for him to finish his meal and go to sleep. When Ruth got the opportunity to make her request and receive Boaz’s approval, she still had to wait through the night with the matter of her need for a home unresolved.

In the morning, she returned home and waited some more. Wondering, removed from the action uninvolved, and apparently forgotten. Naomi encouraged her with the words from Ruth 3:18. “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

The men are gathered at the town gate to negotiate a solution for Ruth’s ultimate wait,the one for redemption. Boaz, as the relative of Naomi’s late husband, satisfied the role known as the kinsman-redeemer. This man was the one with the right to redeem. He was a close relative who took responsibility for protecting the rights of a family in the absence of the head of the household. Because of his willingness to marry Ruth, the family name of Naomi’s husband and sons would live on preserved and honored.

The dictionary says the act of redeeming is to get something back, to recover it.Other words associated with redemption are ransom, deliver, fulfill, and restore. This is what Boaz did for Ruth and her family. Naomi’s life, full when she left and empty when she returned, has once again been filled. All the bitterness and grief she carried from her affliction and misfortune is swallowed up in joy. The Lord gave her new meaning and a fresh start.

This is what he does for us too. Have you been waiting, maybe for a long time? Have you been praying prayers that haven’t yet received any answers? Do you feel like Naomi, empty, afflicted, or grieving? The Lord as our kinsman-redeemer takes the responsibility to protect and to restore.

Christmas is the time when he breaks into our world with a fulfillment to the promises he has made. Joy swallows up the sorrow. Hope gives us a new purpose. Christ the Savior is about to be born. In Bethlehem, and in us.