2012 Advent Readings

I wrote these for our weekly advent readings at Blue Mountain Community Church. I wanted to share them with you.

 Prophesy – Week 1

Like a child waiting for Daddy to come home, or a pregnant woman ready to meet her child, a time of waiting is most marked by the arrival of what we have been waiting for. The time can be frustrating, agonizing or distracting. However, this time can also be exciting, filled with possibility and wonder, and a building sense of joy. How do you choose to wait?

Since the beginning of time, generations have waited for the coming of the promised one. The delight of God’s promise of freedom from sin, of a reunion with Him, were worth waiting for. But how long would He be? Thousands of years pass with no promised one, then God seems to be silent. Could He have forgotten his promise?  Sometimes, in the darkest of winter, hope is the only thing we have to know that spring is coming. And come he did, though not in the way that most people expected. Many people from all over the world were watching and waiting and yet when Jesus came, few took notice.

For thirty-three short years the wait was over and the Promised one came to earth and did what God promised he would do. He leaves us with another promise, “I will come again.” And so we return to waiting. Another couple thousand years of waiting. Perhaps there is something in the waiting: something that teaches us to hold on to hope and promise, that encourages us to always be preparing for the fulfillment of our longing, to keep us from thinking we have arrived and settle into complacency. Perhaps this waiting is core to the very nature of Christ- followers, of Messiah seekers.

So another winter has come and before you break into celebrating, pause and remember that the best celebration is yet to come. Embrace the wait and prepare your heart to see Christ as you’ve never seen Him before.

 

Peace – Week 2

There is nothing quite like the sound of snow falling. It makes no noise at all and yet, it has a palpable presence. When the snow begins to fall, it seems as though all the world stops. Plans change, people look up at the sky or settle in to something warm. If there’s enough snow, an unplanned holiday takes place. Schools and businesses close and a whole new world of possibilities open up. Suddenly our schedules cease their clamor and we can simply be.

It’s those moments when we are quiet, when we simply are, that God speaks. Or maybe it’s then that we can really hear him. As with the shepherds on the hillside, our encounters with God can forever change us: our perspectives, our desires, our priorities. One of his gifts in these encounters is the gift of peace. Not an absence of striving kind of peace, though that may be true, but this peace is a fullness of purpose, a sense that things are as they should be. A peace that settles in, just like a snowflake on a field.   

In our culture, quietness and peace are a rare commodity, a luxury few can afford, a short term reward for completion of a major undertaking. What if the truth is that peace is a necessary foundation, an integral part of what makes us human and a more fitting home base than busyness? What if peace was at the core of who you were this Christmas, instead of an exhausted afterthought? What would be different? What would stay the same?

Let’s approach this Christmas with the peace that God intends for us. Yes, there are presents to buy and wrap, cookies to bake and relationships to invest in. Those things can still happen, but the focus can change if you let God’s peace settle in and “be” Christmas instead of “doing” Christmas.

 

Joy – Week 3

Is there anything more beautiful than seeing the joy on a loved one’s face when we give them the perfect gift? Something that they have desired for a long time, yet could never have bought for themselves. Made more precious by the fact that this treasured item is now connected to a valued relationship.

Can you imagine the excitement God had in making his plans to send his Son? It is the perfect gift. Just what we needed and something we could never have even thought to ask, it cost so much. We could never have got it on our own. Made more precious because it gives us a relationship with God that we could never have without this gift.  Imagine His delight as you opened his gift and realized that it is just for you.

Better yet, as much as this gift is designed specifically for you, it is equally designed for the person next to you: your neighbor, your family, your friend. And God asks you to share it with them. You can keep it and give it at the same time. You can share God’s joy as you see others receive the gift.

And yet, how much of your life shows this joy, gratefulness for this perfect gift? Smack in the middle of the busy Christmas season, would those who looked at your life be able to see joy?

That’s what the angel was talking about when he said in Luke 2:10, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” This joy is radiant, life changing, bursting delight that comes from God, through you, to others. This joy is uncontainable, unexplainable, unbidden. It is the joy that started with one Christmas night, in a manger in Bethlehem. Gifted first to a husband and wife, then a strange mix of kings and shepherds, eventually a loose group of followers and finally the whole world.

 

Week 4 – Love

The heart of Christmas is love. A.W. Tozer once said, “I can no more do justice to this awesome and wonder-filled topic than a child can grasp a star. Still, by reaching toward the star the child may call attention to it and even indicate the direction one must look to see it. And so, I stretch my heart toward the high, shining love of God so that we may be encouraged to look up and have hope.”

God’s love is amazing, unconditional, transforming, sacrificial, humbling, uplifting and more. How does one even begin to describe it? It is offered, even to those who reject it over and over. It is abiding, even when circumstances overwhelm and sadness lingers. It is always choosing the best for us, even if that best is hard or unfamiliar. It is unending, unquenchable, celebratory and solemn. And it reveals itself just when we need it most.

Human love is often self seeking, emotion driven, changeable as the wind. How comforting to know that God’s love is not like ours. But God’s love could be ours, if we learned from him how to really love our world.

Imagine how it could be if each of us took the people around us and loved them like God does. How could we influence our neighborhoods, our families, our schools, our friends if we saw each situation through God’s love and used that as our guide. How would your relationships be different? How would you spend your time?

And that may be the biggest miracle of Christmas: that God, through Jesus, showed us how to love our world and re- create it to be as he first imagined it. That his love through us would change hearts and minds and actions, propelling us to be kinder, more compassionate, more accurate reflections of Christ. And as we explore that love, we call others’ attention to it, as a child grasps for a star.

 

 

Christ Candle – Christmas Eve

He came. In fulfillment of the promise and in honor of the waiting generations he came. In response to the obedience of teenagers he came. To the lowliest of places he came. During political occupation he came. Heralded by angels and shepherds, not kings or emperors, he came. From perfection and beauty and light and love to brokenness and horror and darkness and hate, he still came.

And it changed everything.

Because he came, we can know God. Because he came, we have peace. Because he came, we are free. Because he came, we have purpose.

Jesus’ coming shows us how humanity was meant to be, how we could be if we trusted and believed God. He shows us how God wants to interact with the world: intimately, individually, personally. Jesus’ coming not only tells us of a better day coming, but also includes the possibility that today could be a better day.

Christ is our model, our teacher and our hope. He is God as well as being the fulfillment of humanity. He is the first one among us, yet he valued the least ones. He is the cornerstone of our faith, the rock on which we stand.

Because of Christ, we have Christmas.

Remembering Grandma

I Will Rise
by Chris Tomlin

There's a peace I've come to know

Though my heart and flesh may fail

There's an anchor for my soul

I can say "It is well"

 

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name

No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near

When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome

And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name

No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,

"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

 

This song came to me as I was walking the other day and it reminded me of my Great Grandma Myrtle whjo went to be with Jesus last week. It reminded me of the truths of scripture that for my grandma, the day has come, pain is gone and she has risen to be with Jesus. Even though my heart and eyes will miss her, I can say, “It is well.” Great Grandma Myrtle lived her life well and fully. She completed her mission here and left quite an amazing legacy.

 I remember two special things about Grandma Myrtle that I wanted to share with you. As a young teen, I spend much of one summer in Happy Camp with the grandparents. One week Grandma Myrtle and I taught VBS together; A 12 year old and a woman in her mid seventies teaching 9 and 10 year olds. This taught me that God can use anyone at any age to share his love. For the first time, I felt like a leader and a teacher and that is a major part of who I am today. Grandma was not disappointed by my lack of experience or my youth. She saw it and me as a great asset, a valuable partner and modeled for me leadership, compassion and dedication.

The second memory that sticks with me even now is of the day my husband and I got engaged. It just so happened that Grandma Myrtle was staying with us and was one of the first people to know. She was so excited for us and blessed us with her words and her support. And that’s just the kind of person she was; incredibly supportive, always encouraging, seeing and rejoicing in the best life had to offer.  I only hope that I can do as well.

Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah 61:3 New Living Translation (NLT)

³ To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

I always read this verse and thought, “What a beautiful figure of speech. God takes the broken, destroyed things in my life and can make them beautiful.” What I didn’t know is that God does it physically too. Last week, a huge ash cloud settled over our valley, ash drifted through the air, in what moviemakers show to be the end of the world. It swirled around and collected on cars, railings, sidewalks. My family felt it with every breath – headaches and weariness consumed us. Our world was grey and dim and felt so heavy. My eyes burned from just being open and I was quite prone to tears – not that that’s a big stretch normally, but I could feel the difference. In the midst of this gross depressing atmosphere, my child said it best,” Wow, the sun is so amazing. I can look directly at it and it’s so beautiful!” And it was. A glorious orange ball in the day.  Awe inspiring pinks and purples as it set. I could see the outline of the sun and, for a few seconds, look it straight in the face. What a wonderful illustration of God.

When we are in the midst of ash, our world grey and we can hardly breathe, God is there – visible in a way that is unique and beautiful. Does it make the ash go away? No, but this magnificence is only possible because of the combination of ash and God, of destruction and light. This is true in my life. I never see God so clearly as when I am coming through trouble. And I think God knows this, cause he made me this way. He lets the wreck happen until we come to him. Then he says, “Now watch and see what I will do.” So we watch, look God in the face and see him as we’ve never seen him before. It gives us hope and joy and an overwhelming appreciation and love. We see the beauty that comes from the ash.

And that’s, I think, part of the answer to why God allows suffering in the world – in innocent lives and unexpected places – so that he can show us how he can redeem even the most horrifying of events, how ash becomes beautiful.

This story happened almost nine years ago.  I was just finishing up my final year in college.  Nick and I had been married only a few short months, but we had plans.  I was to take a year off of school, then go back to get my masters and begin a teaching career.  It was a beautiful plan for my life. 

Only one problem: I might be pregnant.  It was possible, but not likely.  I remember worrying about the possibility one Sunday morning, when I heard God speak to me.  Only a few times in my life have I actually audibly heard the voice of God.  This was one of those times.  What He said was, “It will be okay.  I will take care of you.” So naturally I believed this meant that I was not pregnant.  It threw off my whole life plan to be pregnant now.  Surely God knew that.

Do you ever take the words God says and twist them to mean what you want them to?  I was pregnant, I discovered to my shock a few weeks later.  Now you have to know that we had no way to provide for this child.  Nick has just left a terrible job situation and was looking for employment.  I had just graduated and was working at a retail store as a temporary thing.  We had planned to move back closer to our families after a year.  How could we continue to live this way when we were going to be responsible for another human life?

But I remembered the words of God “It will be okay.  I will take care of you.”  Piece by piece, things started falling into place.  Nick got a job, our church family supported us as well, if not better than our biological family.  Although it was a new plan, I recognized that it was God’s plan and relinquished my own timetable. 

At 8 months, my child stopped growing and the doctor became concerned.  Something was wrong and we went through several tests to find the problem.  For some reason, her intestines hadn’t fully developed and the chance that she would need surgery right after birth was high.  I was terrified.  God had told me that everything would be okay.  I changed my stubborn heart and rejoiced in this child, this gift from God that just might be taken away.  What was God playing at?

36 hours after our Kaeldra was born, she began to throw up everything she had eaten.  Our worst fears were confirmed.  We would have to fly her to Spokane for surgery.  I was, as you can imagine, a complete mess:  seeing my daughter in the incubator bed, knowing that her life was in jeopardy and that there was nothing I could do about it.  My family came to support us during this time and the church rallied and prayed.  But nothing changes that moment when you’re all alone with this helpless child, facing the thought of losing her just after you’ve met her.  You ask God why, not an angry why or a justified why or even a self righteous why.  This is the honest confused cry of a human to her maker because she cannot see around the corner.  But God had promised me that it would be okay.  This was not in my definition of okay, but it was in God’s.

Since many of you know Kaeldra, you know that this story has a happy ending, though not all stories do.  She is well and healthy and a blessing to my life.  Because of her, we stayed here in Walla Walla and I have found a calling and a passion that was never part of my original plans.  Two years after her birth, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – another story for another time.  But I know that God gave me my child at the healthiest time in my life when I could have a baby without severe pain.  That was a gift that I didn’t know I needed.  My greatest crisis produced a new grateful time in my life and I know that I am no longer the person I was.

I don’t know where you are in life, but I guarantee that there will be a time when your back is against the wall; when you find yourself in dangerous circumstances not necessarily of your own making.  At that time I want you to know that God’s promises never fail.   He may speak a word to you, or you may read it in the fabulous promises of the Bible.  But either way, that promise is just for you and is the strength you will need to stand through the storm.  God knows what He is doing, even and especially when it looks like all hope is lost.  Trust who God is and His care for you and He will carry you through.  I don’t know the answer to the question why, but I do know that God will be there with me, and use who he’s made me to be for his good and his glory.  Somehow that makes the why not so important. 

That’s how you can bloom where you’re planted.  You see, for a seed, the planting process is traumatic.  You are buried underground, unable to see the light of day.  Then you get drowned, drowned so much that you begin to break apart.  You are dying.  You die completely and form your death new life sprouts forth.  This new life grows and grows and looks completely different than the seed, though they both share the same DNA.  But a seed is just a seed, full of unrealized potential.  A living plant is realizing its true potential and producing fruit – fruit that nourishes others.  It also produces more seeds. 

This is a concept Jesus taught with his life.  He died to bring us a new kind of life, so we can grow into the kind of people God had in mind in the Garden of Eden. People who die to their seeds, and sprout up with his life, bearing fruit and new seeds, until soon you have a whole garden of blooming, living, nourishing people.