Tag Archives: Advent

December 14, 2012 · 8:35 am

{Advent} When Heaven Came Down

'sky' photo (c) 2006, wonderferret - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

It was the quietest of nights.

It was the most insignificant of cities.

It was the remotest corner.

But what happened there changed the course of humanity.

No one knew when the labor pains began except for his young, inexperienced mother.

No one heard his first quivering cries, except for his father.

But all heaven rejoiced. And good news traveled on the rush of angels’ wings to light up dark skies as a corner of heaven peeked through the dark curtain of night.

And shepherds–terrified and breathless–collapsed on rocky soil, blinded by the brightness of the messengers.

The messenger spoke, shook the ground and changed everything:

Do not be afraid.

For unto you this day a Savior is born in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord.

And multitudes of angels, millions upon millions of them joined in song. The jubilant chorus poured down light on dirty sheep-tenders–those men of the earth whose beards smelled of the smoke of their small fires–transforming their rough, hard-living faces into expressions of childlike awe.

Glory to God!

Glory to God in the Highest.

And on Earth, Peace and Goodwill to men.

The curtain closed. The night sky in its velvet black closed upon them. A sheep bleated and men remembered to breathe air again.

And once again, it was the quietest of nights.

For the simple shepherds this night would be the most sacred. It was the moment heaven met them. They went to the baby, wrapped in clothes, lying in a manger in the remote corner of that insignificant city of Bethlehem. They worshipped what they didn’t yet understand. What they had witnessed was heaven eclipsing the darkness of the sky and a baby emerging into a merciless world. It made little sense, but it was worthy of quiet awe.

Thirty years passed and multitudes gathered again–this time on the shore of Lake Galilee and in the temple courtyard and on the side of the ancient mountain.

And the multitudes listened and followed and begged for help. They ate and they questioned and they praised with branches of palm. Could it be possible that a shepherd from that night long ago found a place among the crowd?

And then the multitudes gathered again.

It was Passover in Jerusalem and the crowds came in sets of families and clans. They saw the babe, now a man known to claim that he was the Son of God. He gave them signs and miracles; he gave them forgiveness and truth and healing. But he failed to be the king they were seeking. He was a Nazarene, and nothing worthwhile came from Nazareth. He was an insignificant sham. The crowds gathered as storm clouds, piling up, rumbling and seething. The multitudes shouted demands that the innocent man be traded for a seasoned criminal named Barabas. Who would listen now to a shepherd’s tale of singing angels and the infant promise of the prophet Isaiah? The mob pulsed with fury. The exchange was made: a criminal set free for the price of innocent blood.

And they scattered into the darkness again.

For it was the darkest of days.

And just at the moment that Heaven might have sewn the drape of Heaven shut, it was torn in two. Dawn came with the nervous clamor as the women’s sandals climbed the path to the tomb. The multitudes were gone. The shepherds tended flocks, the farmer plowed, the fishermen talked of returning to their nets, but the women came bearing the spices of the dead.

They were met with the brilliance of heaven and words that shook the earth:

Do not be afraid.

The One you are seeking is not here.

He has risen from the Dead.

***

Advent is looking for the “Coming, especially someone of importance”. What do we look for? A baby in a manger? A victorious king? A kind man? A miracle worker? Or, do we look for a risen king? What leaves us breathless in expectation?

Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus will receive his glory and coronation because of the cross. One day the multitudes of millenniums will bow at the name and glorious title: Jesus Christ, King of All.

Friend, we are the criminals set free for the price of innocent blood! That is the gift of Christmas. We have that old, old story etched on the scrolls of history and retold myriad times in the lives redeemed by the baby of Bethlehem.

We have only to turn to the word to pull back heaven’s curtain to see the glory of the story of Jesus, to hear the angel’s song in our dark souls, to peer into the empty tomb and watch him ascend into glory. We would have no Christmas season without that precious book and the story of our Savior. Read Luke 2 as if you’ve never heard it before. Like the shepherds of old who gazed and wondered at the host of angels and the helpless baby, run to the One who was born that night and make today the day your knee will bow and your tongue confess that Jesus Christ, is Lord.

Blessings,

Alyssa

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December 2, 2012 · 4:13 am

{Advent} Come to the Party!

You are invited to the party.

Your name is on the list.

“Come unto me” – Matthew 11:28

Nothing you have ever done or might ever do can retract the invitation. It is written in the palm of the hand of Jesus, in the Lamb’s book of life, etched with the blood of Jesus, the one who is called the Passover Lamb and the Good Shepherd.

Christmas is the invitation. It is the grand story that reaches into all human thought and imagination. A hazardous journey, a baby born healthy against all odds, a sky emblazoned with angels, simple shepherds and philosophers alike worshipping. Visits from heaven’s messengers, a midnight run to Egypt, a lost boy in Jerusalem, a voice from heaven over the man dipped in the River Jordan. A rag-tag group of followers, the forgiven and the healed, conflict with positional leadership. Multitudes calling for a healer, a leader, a hero. Multitudes shaking fists and an innocent man dying. All along the way his life spoke the word: Come!

And then the divine collided with humanity and the baby born against all odds in a cold, harsh stable became the man, crucified by the harsh Roman regime, not bound by death like every other man. Here was the empty tomb and the stone rolled away. Here was the resurrected Savior, speaking gentle words to Mary and sharing breakfast with confounded travelers.

And it is in that divine collision that we hear again the invitation: Come. Come and see the One and Only who defeated death. Come and receive the free gift of salvation. In the name Jesus, we receive life, love, forgiveness, freedom, peace, joy.

Come and see. Come and receive every good and perfect gift that comes through the name, Jesus. 

The story of Christmas indeed holds plenty of drama and good story-telling. A story alone isn’t compelling enough to build a religion around. The compelling factor is what we see when others who have responded to the invitation, “Come”, and now walk in freedom and peace, loving and spirit-filled and changed! It is the stories of the lives, millions upon millions of us, who have been redeemed and irreversibly changed by the First Story of Christmas.

///

(Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, December 16) The cry of the Christian religion is the gentle word, “Come”. The Jewish law harshly said, “go, take head unto thy steps as to the path in which thou shalt walk. Break the commandments, and thou shalt perish; keep them, and thou shalt live.” The law was a dispensation of terror, which drove men  before it as with a scourge; the gospel draws with bands of love. Jesus is the good Shepherd going before His sheep, bidding them follow Him, and ever leading the onwards with the sweet word, “Come”. The law repels, the  gospel attracts. The law shows the distance which there is between God and man; the gospel bridges that awful chasm, and brings the sinner across it.

From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory, the language of Christ to you will be, “Come, come unto me”.

As a mother puts out her finger to her little child and woos it to walk by saying, “Come”, even so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow Him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall hear His animating voice calling you after Him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, His sweet words with which He shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be– “Come, ye blessed of my Father”.

And further, this is not only Christ’s cry to you, but, if you be a believer, this is your cry to Christ, “Come! Come!”. You will be longing for his second advent; you will be saying, “Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus”. You will be panting for nearer and closer communion with Him. As His voice to you is “Come”, your response to Him will be, “Come Lord, abide with me. Come, and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to Thy service”.

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December 8, 2011 · 10:49 pm

{Advent} A Shade of Things to Come

Beautiful painting of the lone cypress by William Prosser

The heavens declare the glory of God {Psalm 19:1}

I awoke early.

The house was quiet and still with sleep. Night slowly pulled back the curtains on the lavender light of dawn.

The room I shared with my husband and kids was a monochrome of lilac-gray. I silently picked my clothes from the suitcase, grabbed a sweatshirt and shoes and opened my sister-in-laws front door.

That sliver of lavender-lemon sky I spotted through a crack in the curtains washed over the sky like watercolor. Tall eucalyptus and redwood trees rose like sentinels, their gray spires scraping the ever-lightening arch of sky. I stood in the chilled morning air, still heavy with its night blanket of fog, closed my eyes and listened.

Morning had broke in the east and darkness faded above me, but I stood listening in the shadowy, coastal neighborhood and  waited for ocean sounds to meet me. Like a child placing conch to her ear, I strained to hear the roll of the surf.

There it was! It called to me amidst the whisper of branches and the call of crows and gulls. I began to walk. I followed it’s silver sound until I found it, the Pacific Ocean in myriad shades of azure and turquoise, flashing metallic when it catches sun rays.

On the shore, I removed my shoes, faced the vast blue and cried. The morning sun warmed my back with golden light, the sand brushed my feet and my breath caught in my throat. The sound of the ocean had led me to it’s side, all I needed to do was listen and follow.

///

For centuries, four hundred years, there were no prophets to Israel. After Malachi, the heavens were silent. The Hebrew people were left to wait and watch for their Messiah. Perhaps God felt he’d given them full disclosure through the prophets, perhaps he was allowing time to pass and Rome to rise in power.

In a sense, though God was silent, he never really is silent at all. The heavens, and the incredible creation on earth, truly declares the majesty of God. Are we listening? God preserved his word over those centuries, while the priests discussed and pondered and debated, his word and promises were past on from father to son to son.

And like a child holding a conch shell to her ear, some followed the prophets and waited and listened.

When the angel Gabriel visited Zechariah, he said that God had heard his prayer. Had Zechariah been merely praying for a son, or had he been praying for the promised hope prophesied by Malachi, the one who would “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous”?

{Luke 1:5-17} In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous– to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.“ 

It must have been disheartening for God’s people to wait in silence. Sometimes it can be discouraging to pray the same prayer over and over, year after year. But our God is not silent. He is faithful and he hears our prayers. I believe that even though Zechariah doubted God’s message that he and Elizabeth, both elderly people, could actually have a baby, he didn’t doubt God’s ability to fulfill his promise of sending a messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord. We can learn from Zechariah to believe in God’s personal promises, that his truth is not just for the corporate body, but for each of us individually. He hears our prayers, he is faithful, he will answer.

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December 6, 2011 · 6:56 pm

{Advent} The Shepherd from Bethlehem

Micah 5:2-5
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”

Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.

This One will be our peace.

Micah the prophet wrote these words to God’s people 700 years before Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem.

Micah wrote of a small clan, a town that never amounted to much and a woman in labor; then he writes of a Ruler, a Shepherd, our Peace and the one whose greatness would be known to the ends of the earth. What a contrast!

God isn’t impressed by what impresses us. Positional leadership doesn’t catch his eye, nor does power derived from position, wealth, even hard work. 

The One who will be our peace, whose greatness is known to the ends of the earth was compared to a shepherd. Remember the “shepherds abiding in the fields”? They were simple, uneducated men; not men of influence or renown, but humble, hardworking commoners.

http://www.wherejesuswalked.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/shepherds-field1.jpg

“He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord.”

Another version says he “shall stand and feed”. Jesus lived every moment in the strength of the Father. Over and again he stole away from the crowds to pray, only to return to minister, heal and teach. Jesus never questioned the value of his work or the majesty of the God who sent him. He engaged the crowds, involved the disciples and shepherded his flock always in the strength of the Lord.

Jesus always turned to God before he acted out. He always remained, abided, in the strength of the Father so he continued in his ability to do his work.

Have you ever heard of the acronym H.A.L.T.? It’s often used by Alcoholics Anonymous to help people understand the things that trigger a relapse. Hurt, Angry, Lonely or Tired–HALT. It’s an amazing little series of questions to ask ourselves when we are discouraged. Did I say those mean things to my husband because I was hurt? How do I act when I’m lonely–needy, critical, despondent? And how many times have I lashed out at my kids because I was tired? When we answer honestly, we will see that our bad behavior is often precipitated by hurt feelings, anger, loneliness or fatigue.

God isn’t concerned with our sphere of influence or our past (or the past few minutes!), however sordid or accomplished. God is concerned with us abiding in his strength so that we can, like Jesus, find our purpose in serving God and others. Sadly, Christmastime becomes a season of striving, but it’s meant to be a time we focus on and learn from the One who will be our Peace. Let’s turn to him to receive the strength we need to stand up and care for others. Let’s stop the striving and lean into God before we make the mistakes from our shallow wells or hurt, anger, loneliness and fatigue.

We can be more peaceful when we are abiding with Jesus our Peace, instead of abiding in our past, our power or our position. 

Make this Christmas your Peaceful Season!

Blessings,

Alyssa

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December 5, 2011 · 9:53 pm

{Advent} When the Morning Star Rises

For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets.

You must pay close attention to to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines  in your hearts.

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own what understanding, or from human initiative.

No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. {2Peter 1:16 – 21}

What and experience it must have been for Peter to see his friend, his teacher, transfigured on mountaintop. This man he knew so well in human form, who grew hungry, tired, thirsty, who laughed, cried, joked and reasoned stood before him in full heavenly glory. At the time Peter wasn’t sure what to make of what appeared before his eyes and eagerly offered, “It is good for us to be here. I can build a shelter for you, and for Moses and for Elijah.” It wasn’t until later, when Jesus had ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit came to all believers that Peter began to see clearly. He then realized that the scriptures he memorized as a young boy, the day he met Jesus by the seashore, the night he betrayed his friend and teacher– it all came together in the name of Jesus. His experience on the mountaintop became a light he chose to share with others, like you and me.

Peter wrote that the words of prophecy that speak of Jesus are “like a shining lamp in a dark place.” Lamp refers to a flickering candle or a small lamp and darkness refers to a squalid, dank darkness.

On our honeymoon, my husband and I toured an old lighthouse on the central California coastline. We climbed dozens of stairs to the light deck where a single, small lightbulb shone. Wrapped on all sides of the bulb was a great collection of over a hundred pieces of glass, each mounted in a wire frame. The docent told us that each piece of glass was hand-polished and they were fitted together to form the Fresnel lens. This collection of lenses allowed that single bulb to cast it’s light across the darkest, foggiest night to guide the ships away from the rock-strewn coast and on to safety. When the night was at it’s blackest, the captain depended on the beam to lead his vessel and crew to safety.

Peter described prophecy to be much like a Fresnel lens and the world we live in, this dark place, like the murky fog and dark, dangerous waters of the rocky coast. We need to depend upon the light of scripture and look for it for salvation.

Jesus left his heavenly home at just the right time and fulfilled the prophets of old. He became the Light the world needed and his life changed the trajectory of humankind. His death paid for our sin and his resurrection led the way for the Holy Spirit to live with everyone who calls on the name of Jesus as Savior. His life was the light this world needed, and still needs.

One day, we will look again for him and his advent, his coming, will be like the rising sun — it will end all darkness. We will live in the light of his glory. A star appeared in the sky and rested over where the child, Jesus, lived. That very light glimmered a prophecy about the Light that is coming again.

Make your life an advent season for the return of Jesus, not as a baby, but a heavenly king. When you see your experiences with new understanding, like Peter did, and you be able to tell others about the mountaintop moments when Jesus met you!

Blessings,

Alyssa

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