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Posts Tagged ‘Meditations’

Lenten Meditation from the third week in Lent:

God’s Holiness and Grace AND Our Repentance, Redemption, Reconciliation, and Restoration

Scripture readings include Isaiah 55:1-9, Luke 13:1-9, and 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Tom Oden writes the following:

“The terms of salvation are conditions of the personal appropriation of God’s saving action—repentance and faith. They are the simple terms of the earliest Christian preaching: repent and believe.” ~~Thomas C. Oden, Life in the Spirit (HarperCollins, 1992), page 79.

“The Order of the Terms of Salvation. The characteristic order of the apostolic teaching of the call to salvation is as follows:

• Repent
• Be Baptized
• For the remission of sins
• Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

“Regrettably the term salvation has been cheapened by an extensive history of abuse. To understand what it means to be saved, one must first understand what it means to be lost…  True contrition cannot be feigned. Nor can it lack the intent to forsake sin altogether… Repentance requires a decisive reversal of the previous sin-laden course of mind, heart, and will.” ~~Thomas C. Oden

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:1-9

On Isaiah…

Vs 1 — “is anyone thirsty?”

** infers “anyone” must recognize their need (take note in the similarity of the blessings found in the Beatitudes of Christ; blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the humble/meek… We are “blessed” when we recognize our need for Him, that we are “broken” and in need of a Rescuer-Savior). We need the “WATER” that will truly satisfy our spiritual thirst; Jesus.

Vs 2 — “listen to me…”

** infers obedience is a necessary prerequisite

Vs 3 –- “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen and you will find life.”

** emphasizes the point made in vs 2, and again infers that obedience is a necessary and prerequisite qualification to enter into the covenant. The covenant exists and is open to all who would come, but to “come” requires recognizing “our” need…and responding with obedience and repentance (as we will see).

Vs 6 -– “seek the Lord (while you can find Him); call on Him (while He is near).”

** infers action is required on the part of the human; “he” must seek God, “he” must “call on Him.” Also indicates that our action has an urgency driven by an unknown timeline-deadline (while you can find Him- while He is near).

Vs 7 -– “wicked change their ways”

“banish their evil thoughts…”

“turn to the Lord.”

“turn to our God.”

“He will forgive…”

** Once again, the inference is that action is necessary on the part of the human. “He” must “change,” “banish,” and “turn…” True repentance precedes forgiveness (Lk 17:3).

Scripture Reading:

• Luke 13:1-9
• 1 Cor. 10:1-13

On Luke…

• (vs3) “…and you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.”
• (vs5) “…I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish too.”

Further considerations (all passages should be considered in their full context):

• (Luke 13:6) – The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
• (Mark 11:12) – Jesus Curses the Barren Fig Tree
• (Luke 8:9) – The Parable of the Sower
• (John 15:1) – The “Chosen” are expected to bear fruit for God…
• (John 3:7) – “Repent and turn to God…produce fruit in keeping with repentance”

On 1 Corinthians 10…

• (vs1-5) “Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
• (vs6-11) “These things happened to them as examples for us…”

My thoughts (jb)

I think, on the whole, most “professing Christians” are deluding themselves with a false sense of security; not unlike the ancient Israelites to whom Paul refers in the passage from 1 Corinthians 10. My personal experience and observation are that we do not bear the fruit that is expected of us. Survey after survey and poll after poll indicate that we (Christians) are no different than non-Christians. Simply put, we are not bearing godly fruit. There are exceptions to this rule, and that is indicative of Jesus’ words (Matthew 7) that the gate is narrow and “few” find it. So yes, there are some Christians who bear the fruit that is lasting and glorifying to God. However, there are many (most) that are not. These are the “professing, but non-practicing, Christians to whom I refer. I realize my judgment here sounds sanctimonious, but it is not. Our role as believing (practicing) Christians is to recognize a tree’s fruit (Matthew 7:17-19) and to help that tree to bear good fruit (1 Corinthians 5:12 and James 5:20).

“Be careful how you treat God, my friends.  You may say to yourself, ‘I can sin against God and then, of course, I can repent and go back and find God whenever I want him.’  You try it.  And you will sometimes find that not only can you not find God but that you do not even want to.  You will be aware of a terrible hardness in your heart.  And you can do nothing about it.  And then you suddenly realize that it is God punishing you in order to reveal your sinfulness and your vileness to you.  And there is only one thing to do.  You turn back to him and you say, ‘O God, do not go on dealing with me judicially, though I deserve it.  Soften my heart.  Melt me.  I cannot do it myself.’  You cast yourself utterly upon his mercy and upon his compassion.”

~~D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival (Westchester, 1987), page 300.

Or, you simply become so hardened by your sin that you never turn back to God at all.  (Heb. 3:12-14)

The point that is evidencing itself through my meditations this week on this collection of Scripture is that repentance is the key. There is no following Jesus or forgiveness of sin without repentance; harsh, but true. And, even harsher is this truth, most professing Christians have not repented… this is a problem. The message of grace is the message that most professing Christians love to hear preached, but God’s grace is not a limitless checking account to be squandered on the idol of self (Hebrews 10:26-31). It is a dangerous thing to think that our selfish actions are going unnoticed (Galatians 6:7). For this reason, Paul warns us that we should not have attitudes like those of the ancient Israelites who thought because they were “chosen,” because they were “delivered,” because they ate the spiritual food, and drank the miracle water…they were ok. They were, after all, God’s people… “We’re golden! Yay!” Not so. The facts are that their bodies were strewn through the desert and they died because they did not honor God; they never repented of their own selfish ways…and sought only to satisfy their own needs. Jesus reminds us of the dire consequences if we do not heed the warnings; “…and you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God” (Luke 13:3) and “…I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish too” (Luke 13:5). As we are reminded in the passage from Luke 13:6-13, Jesus argues for our defense. He wants us to bear fruit and has complete confidence that we are capable of producing lasting fruit for God. Humble repentance is the “Miracle Grow®” we desperately need though… submission to pruning and Christlike fertilization of our heart is our only hope; without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin (Luke 17:3).

John Cassian and Dietrich Bonhoeffer remind us that…

“True repentance refuses to be comforted until the work of conviction is thoroughly experienced. It is a radical act of self-examination reaching into every chamber of the house of willed experience.”

“O that I could repent!

O that I could believe!

Thou, by thy voice the marble rent,

The rock in sunder cleave.

Thou, by thy two-edged sword,

My soul and spirit part;

Strike with the hammer of thy word,

And break my stubborn heart.”

~~Charles Wesley

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Further Meditations in Genesis 15

^{My Comments (jb)} …this week has concentrated on dependence upon God, trusting God, and following Jesus. I started the week with Genesis…it just seems fitting to end the week with it as well.

God makes an incredible covenant promise to Abram that included protection, an heir, descendants numbering as many as the stars, “great” reward, land, and a long healthy life… Awesome stuff indeed! But wait; what about the process of getting there, to all those awesome blessings? Abram = Yay! Descendants = not so much. God also assures Abram his descendants will be “slaves” in a foreign land where they will be oppressed for 400 years. Wait for it… Let that sink in a bit… 400 Years.

Sure, they (the slave descendants) had Abraham’s covenant promise conveyed upon them…but people were born, lived, and died without seeing anything but slavery and oppression. I can’t help but wonder if Abraham’s knowledge of the 400 years was passed along to his descendants as part of their “blessing.” In other words, did they know they were going to be enslaved for this long?

400 Years…

Their emancipation was no cakewalk either… chased by an Egyptian army into the desert wilderness, they failed to trust God. An entire generation was “blessed” to die in their “desert of distrust” as part of their reward. Fortunately, we finally see the privileged inheritors of God’s promise walk across the river into land God had given to Abraham… YAY! But wait; these “people of the blessing” who were unskilled in the art of war, knew little in the ways of societal governance, and had little in the way of supply-line resourcing… were going to have to fight/war for every square foot of land that had been “promised” to them.

There’s more to this story, and these long periods of silence from God and oppression of His people have a disconcerting manner of repeating themselves… “Yeah, but that was the Old Testament, back when God was mean and people were primitive and ignorant” Right? Jesus ushered in an era of blessing and brilliance… Right? Of course he did, but not in the context most of us like to think about. Remember, all but one of the “Twelve of Jesus’ Disciples” met violent deaths. Most, if not all, followers of Christ were ostracized, oppressed, persecuted, and often killed because of their “blessed” status. It wasn’t until the fourth century before this level of oppression began to let up.

“Anyone who talks about spiritual things without any experience in them is like a person who is lost in the desert, dying with thirst… If you try to tell me about the Christian life without any personal involvement in it, you will mislead me. You will tell me fictional things, mistaken things.” ~Pseudo-Macarius

…the story continues, but we’re talking about trust, dependence, and following Jesus. What really is the cost, and what really is the blessing? How are these really measured? Can I trust God…? Am I willing to release my own self-reliance and independence to follow the unseen future led by the Invisible God?

“Deliverance can come to us only by the defeat of our old life… God rescues us by breaking us, by shattering our strength and wiping out our resistance. Then he invades our natures with that ancient and eternal life which is from the beginning.” ~A.W. Tozer

The picture I painted of the plight of “God’s people” is pretty terrifying and doesn’t look all too inviting to us from our perspective, but what if we glimpse how God looks at this:

I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. (Amos 2:8-10)

“God who is everywhere never leaves us… Yet He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present.” ~Thomas Merton

What if I’m one of those “400 year” people? What if I’m one of the persecuted, poverty stricken, disease-infested, natural disaster called Christians? Will I follow Him? Will I trust Him? Am I willing to depend upon Him?

“To live for the lesser things of life is to risk not really living at all.” ~Joan Chittister

“God says, when I toss My children into the air, terror comes before delight. Put yourself in the place of My people in Daniel’s day. They felt thrown into the air with no safety net beneath them. They couldn’t see their God ready to catch them.” (from 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God that Invites You into His Story by Dr. Larry Crabb, ©2009.)

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As I mentioned in previous posts, I’m trying to be more intentional about my meditation through Scripture and focus on the liturgical year. We are currently in the season of Ephiphany as we rapidly approach Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season. My posting on the blog regarding my meditations has tapered off a bit, but my personal devotions have not… It may sound weird or contrived, but I have never felt so spiritually alive and awakened in all my life; with each new day it seems this awakening becomes even more profuse. This is not to say that I don’t have times of fatigue, doubt, frustration, sorrow, grief, anger…etc, but I’m learning that God, the Holy Spirit, is leading, teaching, and revealing Himself in the midst of every nano-atom of matter, life, time, space, and eternity. If I am alert and intentional in seeing Him in every instance of life…in every moment of time…I do; see Him. I “hear” Him. I am instructed, and discipled, by Him all through my day. This is truly Ephiphany; the great “awakening” and walking in this heart, soul, mind, and strength attitude seems that each day is even more ephiphanous or epiphanic.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” ~~Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16)

And isn’t this what an “awakening” or revelation (epiphany) is about; showing it and revealing it to others? New life. Awakened. Reborn. Recreated. Redeemed. Reconciled. Restored. Reunited. I get excited just writing these words. How much more should our excitement be to reveal the HIM in us to the world around us? Honestly, can we keep HIM in us from being revealed? I don’t think so.

It was with great delight then when I read the following excerpt from this post from my “new” friend, John Armstrong’s blog:

“But apparitions, in the sense of purely private revelations intended for private use, seem to me to be unknown in Scripture. All epiphanies include a message for the whole community of God, underscoring the nature of Christian faith as personal and communal but never private and gnostic.” ~~John H. Armstrong

I “discovered” John through one of the blogs (euangelion) that I regularly read. This particular post was reviewing his upcoming book, Your Church is Too Small. I am thrilled to say that I will be reviewing and posting my thoughts from this book in the near future. Until then…continue to live in the revelation and let the LIGHT of HIM in you be revealed and displayed before the world. Praise Him!

and for your “earworm” pleasure that will do your “heart” good…try this from the CD “HYMNED” by Bart Millard of MercyMe

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Here is a collection of quotes that I have read over the past few weeks.

“God is a clever designer of crosses. Some are heavy as iron or lead. Others are as light as straw…In spite of their great variety, crosses have two things in common. They are hard to carry and they crucify.” ~Francois Fenelon

“Blessed are those whom God corrects; …For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.” (Job 5:17-18) “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; He has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” (Hosea 6:1)

Then I read this “jaw-dropper” from Martin Luther today…

“When God wants to build people up, He first tears them down. When God wants to heal, He first breaks in pieces. Whom God wants to bring to life, He first kills.” ~Martin Luther

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Bible Reading 2010

“Bible Reading 2010” almost sounds like a title for a sci-fi thriller…at least to my “40-something” brain. Nonetheless, I thought I’d share my “high-tech” plan for Bible reading this year. My approach might be a little unorthodox and might even seem like overload to some personalities, but it works for me. I am a somewhat choleric (high-task) personality and I find that I work best with multiple goals, filters, and systems in my daily routine; it helps me focus and maintain a forward progress.  Multiple layers (my filters) help to ensure that I stay on track with my daily reading too. If I miss one “filter” there are other layers to keep me connected to the daily word.  My personal rule of life follows this structure and Bible reading is part of my rule of life, and so…

Bible Reading Plan 2010:

Revised Common Lectionary – Cycle C: I’m actually using two tools to follow the Lectionary. I’m using a book I enjoyed last year, Ancient Christian Devotional, as well as Living the Christian Year. Both of these books utilize the Lectionary which also tracks the cycle of the church calendar drawing from Old Testament, Psalms, Epistle, and Gospel readings through the week. The Ancient Christian Devotional also brings with it excerpts from the writings of the church fathers. These writings are among the classic Christian writings of church and Christian history. I am using the Lectionary readings as my lectio divina style of contemplative-meditative reading.

One Year Chronological Bible – NLT: This Bible seems to be one of our “family preferred” methods of reading the Bible. As part of our morning family devotions (Mon.-Fri.) we read chronologically. I love to read the Bible chronologically. It helps me (and us as a family) stay in the thick of the Biblical narrative…the story that is God and man; ultimately the story that is God and us. If you noticed, we join in family reading Monday thru Friday; we are responsible to “stay up with the story” reading the weekend texts individually.

The Wesley Study Bible – NSRV: I purchased this Bible last year with the plans to use it as my primary “reader” this year. I used the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible last year as my primary reader and prefer to change translation versions year-to-year in order to keep my brain confused (insert self-deprecating joke here).  Personally, I think we can get used to a preferred version very quickly and our reading can become “lazy” or complacent. I don’t want this to happen to me, so I shake up my yearly reading with alternating translation versions. Another pleasant by-product of this approach is that it helps me with memorization. I remember where passages are by book, chapter, and verse because I am forced to by virtue of changing Bibles. When I was using one Bible as my primary tool, I got used to turning to a “certain page.” I’d look for a certain passage in a certain corner of a page or think, “it’s somewhere in this section…” Reading from multiple translations and Bibles helps me to overcome this deficiency. Another helpful aspect of this approach is that it keeps the language and interpretation fresh…which ultimately, helps me to be a better story-teller and communicator.

I continue to use a number of other tools for my reading and study, but these are my BIG THREE approach for this year. So, what plan or approach are you following? And, what versions or tools will you be using? Please feel free to share here in the comments section of my blog; I’d love to hear from you!

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A Final Christmastide Reflection: Clearly – Appeared and Revealed…

Epiphaneia

2 Timothy 1:8-11

“He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”

Today marks the day of Epiphany and the conclusion of the church Christmas season (Jan.5^th). Today, and for the next season in the cycle of the church calendar, we celebrate and reflect upon the revelation of God made man in the person of Jesus Christ…the appearing of the Incarnation. This Epiphany is extremely significant in what it represents. Not only does it recognize the coming (appearance) of the Christ, but also his manifestation to the gentiles (the Eastern wise men aka Magi) and his manifestation as Son of God to the world at his baptism in the Jordan River. His first miracle, turning water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana, (another manifestation and affirmation of his deity) is commemorated during this season of reflection and wonder as well.

Isaiah 60:1-22

¹ Arise, Shine; For your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. ¹⁶ You shall know that I. the LORD, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. ¹⁸ …You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. ¹⁹ …The LORD will be your everlasting light, and your GOD will be your glory. ²² I am the LORD; in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

What happens when we realize the truth and gravity of what has happened among us? How does this affect and change us? What does it really mean to us when the “glory of the LORD has risen upon you”? I am reminded of the words from Thomas Merton who writes the following:

“We who have seen the light of Christ are obliged by the greatness of the grace that has been given us to make known the presence of the Savior to the ends of the earth…not only by teaching the glad tidings of His coming; but above all by revealing Him in our lives… Every day of our mortal lives must be His manifestation, His divine Epiphany, in the world which He has created and redeemed.”

Epiphaneia: to cause to appear or to bring to light…

“Come and See…” “Go and Tell…” (Mark 3:14)

A great and marvelous light has come into the world. Jesus is that light and it amazes me that He desires to make his abode in the likes of me, but the writings of Paul to Timothy tell me this was the plan of God before creation and time…  “So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.” (2 Ti. 1:8-11). I want this to be the only thing I live for; my consuming desire…to bring Glory to Him, My God, Savior-Redeemer, Jesus.

I have been praying a prayer that I found from Columbanus for the last couple of days; I will continue to pray this prayer daily for at least the remainder of the week. It follows:

Lord, I pray that You may be a lamp for me in the darkness. Touch my soul and kindle a fire within it, that it may burn brightly and give light to my life. Thus my body may truly become your temple, lit by your perpetual flame burning on the altar of my heart. And may the light within me shine on  my brethren that it might drive away the darkness of ignorance and sin from them also. Thus let us be lights to the world manifesting the bright beauty of Your gospel to all around us. Amen. –Columbanus

“May all kings fall down before Him, all nations give Him service…” (Psalm 72:11)

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Christmastide Reflections: LIFE and The Great Light…

John 1:1-18

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The LIGHT shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it… ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God –

“He was made man that we might become God…” St. Athanasius

John 17:20-26

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³ I in them and you in me…”

Ephesians 3:1-12

² Assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you… ³ God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. ⁵ God, by his Spirit, has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. ¹⁰ God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. ¹² Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

“Come and see…” “Go and tell…” Jesus

~Pay attention ~ Be astonished ~ Tell about it ~ Mary Oliver

My soul is exploding…my intellect cannot contain the revelation of the Great Light that has come to us. I do not pretend to fully understand the Incarnation…but my soul knows that it is real! I am alive at the core of who I am in Him. The prayer of my God and Savior, Jesus, is alive in me. His Life gives me life; I can feel His heart beating as my own and I am filled with incomprehensible, indescribable, and infinite joy! But then the paradox of Love wraps its fingers around my throat and begins to choke my joy…while His Kingdom of wisdom, power, peace, and love is as kindled embers in my heart, the bonfire of His Eternal Kingdom is something “remembered forward.” The Kingdom is here, but it is not here. And, tears come to my eyes. I know people who don’t know the Great Light. I know people who are still stumbling in the darkness…and I feel like a traitor. How is it that I can rejoice and celebrate in the Light when so many are blind to this joy? I only stand on the promise of my Savior, the Light, who said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… and Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” I pray for comfort. I pray for the Kingdom in full. I pray for boldness to proclaim the Truth of the Great Light who is my Lord, my Savior, me Jesus…the God who Saves. Come and see the Great Light. Go and Tell about the Great Light. May the words His Spirit gives me awake deafened and blinded hearts to this wonderful and glorious Light that has come into the world.

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Christmastide Reflections: The Passionate Commitment…

Isaiah 9:2-7

⁴ You will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders… ⁶ For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… ⁷ His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The *passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen.

*Passionate Commitment is a translation for the New Living Translation. In other versions it is translated as “zeal.” Looking up the definition of zeal in several online dictionaries was enlightening to me. The following reflects the sum of my findings:

Zeal: Fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence; ardor

Synonyms: intensity, passion

I love that… passionate commitment; zeal; enthusiastic diligence, intensity…passion. This is the description of our God, the Creator-Savior-Redeemer, Jesus. The Rescuer who has come to save, reconcile, and restore us. He does this with passionate commitment. He determined that HE WOULD MAKE THIS HAPPEN with enthusiastic diligence and ardor (intense devotion, eagerness, and/or enthusiasm; burning heat). I love this!!! He would see (and did see) that the burden of sin, the yoke of slavery to the broken flesh, would be lifted! His peace and our reconciliation would never end! Our redeemed and restored relationship would extend ETERNALLY! Why? Because HE WAS-IS Passionately Committed to His creation and His children. Thank God! Immanuel. God is with us!

“Each day proclaim the good news that He saves…” (Psalm 96:2b)

At His birth the world changed. The pregnancy of Hope and the conviction of divine possibility were joined. God is with us…Immanuel. The physical birth of Jesus is exponentially larger than a baby in a manger. Christmas marks the coming of a whole new world. As modern day Christians we know that Christmas is the precursor of the cross. Christmas and the cross are truly a single event. With the fulfillment of God’s promise for deliverance come in Jesus, humanity was invited to coexist with deity for eternity… Immanuel… God with us, God among us, and God in us: Redemption, Reconciliation, and ultimate Restoration. Hallelujah! He Has Come. Immanuel.

“God makes the first move, one of sheer grace; the next move is theirs (ours)…” –Bobby Gross

“Christmas is meant to take us to the level of spiritual maturity where we are capable of seeing in a manger the meaning of an empty tomb.” –Joan Chittister

Isaiah’s prophecy describes the character, conscience, and countenance of Jesus…”The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…” This is the Image by which we were created (Genesis 1:27) and it is the Image to which we are being transformed (Romans 8:29). Christ himself, has prayed (John 17:22-23) that we (the sons and daughters of God) would be instruments and reflections of His Glory. The image we should radiate and reflect is the same description as depicted by the prophet Isaiah; wisdom, power, love (agape), peace (shalom). As I reflect upon these truths and meditate upon all that it holds for us as “awakened” children of God, I am stricken with a somber dose of reality… I think about the quote from Bobby Gross (above) speaking about the lowly shepherds to whom God announced through His angels the arrival of Messiah Jesus. God did make the first move and the shepherds responded with joyful obedience. I wonder about those who do not respond to God’s move… Ironically, the arrival of Jesus in the flesh of humanity not only signaled life-eternal, but brought with it death as well (Matthew 2:13-18). So, to this end, I ponder… the fulfillment of Promise and Life sealed darkness and death for many. Sadly, I think it does still for those who decide to ignore “God’s first move.” I am reminded of an observation made by the ancient church father, Jerome; “The Lord is born on earth, and he does not have even a cell in which to be born, for there was no room for him in the inn. The entire human race had a place, and the Lord about to be born on earth had none. He found no room among people…” O, Dear God, please…please may this not be the case about Your people today. My prayer today is for us who know you and for those who do not…

Almighty and everlasting God, you have revealed the incarnation of your Son by the bright shining of a star, which the wise men saw, and offered costly gifts in adoration; let the star of your justice always shine in our hearts, that we may give as our treasure all that we are and all that we posses, to your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

From before time was, Your plan was to manifest Your image in all you create and now You have provided us the way and the means to this completion through rebirth and re-creation. May we be as the shepherds and respond boldly to Your move; Your invitation to grace and shalom. I pray, O Lord, for the blindness and arrogance of my brothers and sisters…that their hearts might not be hardened, but they would be melted to joyful submission and receive this great gift of salvation from Immanuel… You, who are, God With Us. It is your passionate commitment and merciful magnificence that brings men to repentance… I pray that darkness is dispelled and death destroyed for the sake of those who still do not know or refuse you… may they greet you with adoration and joy, responding to Your “first move” and passionate commitment.

Christ is born: glorify Him. Christ comes from heaven: go out to meet Him. Christ descends to earth: let us be raised on high.

– prayer written from my own words, the words of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Gelasian Sacramentary

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Book Review: 40 Loaves – Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day by C. D. Baker

The book 40 Loaves: Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I’ve spent the last 3 weeks now participating in the daily readings in 40 Loaves. Let me share a summary from the back cover of the book before sharing my own thoughts; the daily readings ask questions such as these…

“Why don’t I have more faith?”

“Why am I so bored with Jesus?”

“Why are Christians so hard for me to like?”

There are many questions we’re not supposed to ask when playing by the religious rules. It makes people uncomfortable. So why is it that Jesus invited questions and even asked some of them himself? What is it that you’re afraid to ask God? It’s a risky prospect to begin asking–but far riskier to continue simply trying to get by without knowing. Author C. D. Baker asked himself 40 soul-searching questions which started a conversation in his heart and ultimately showed him more about God than He ever expected.

Can we become more honest with who we really are and find who God says He really is at the same time? Come indulge yourself in daily readings with an honest exploration of your secret fears and thoughts, and know that you will always be welcomed in God’s unconditional love.

Search me, O God … and know my anxious thoughts. (Psalm 139:23 NIV)

The book is written in a very manageable format. The daily reading begins with a question, followed with some devotional-experiential-anecdotal thoughts from C. D. Baker (author) and completes with a few introspective questions and a prayer. The actual reading and devotional time takes under 20 minutes…very doable for the active and busy person.

Personally, I’ve had a “love-hate” relationship with this little devotional book. At first glance, I thought (assumed) that the book would be “fluffy and shallow.” I was wrong. I’ve found many of the readings and subsequent meditations to be very provocative and challenging. On several accounts I was downright disturbed, and subsequently, spent most of the day pondering the questions posited from the reading. There have some occasions where I was pressed to consult Scripture to reinforce my position or find affirmation to what the author, Baker, was pushing at me. I think this is the sign of a worthy read. The subtitle reads; “Daily Readings to Renew a Hungry Spirit.” I think this rings true. This 40 Loaves is “good bread” and worthy of the 40 or so days of investment. Check out a sample from Waterbrook Multnomah. Your soul and your mind will be enriched.

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I continue to spend time meditating on this Advent season; more words are stimulating my thoughts. Additionally, the books I am reading to stimulate my thoughts have really been helpful with this Advent journey.  Words that are presently stimulating my thoughts follow:

• Parousia – (literally divine presence) refers also to the second coming of Christ or the second Advent
• Repent/Repentance
• Live
• Lament
• Exile
• Coming
• Rescue
• Hope

“Prepare the way of the Lord. What is the meaning of ‘Prepare the way of the Lord?’ It means, make ready for the reception of whatever Christ may wish to do.” Cyril of Alexandria

“It is not simply a matter of waiting and rejoicing in what Advent promises us. It is about learning to live while we wait.” The Liturgical Year; Joan Chittister (p.68)

“The life of Jesus, if it is meaningful to us, is meant to reveal the nature of God” The Sacred Meal; Nora Gallagher (p.135)

A Lament:

As I consider thoughts of Advent and the words that are “bouncing” around inside my head/heart, I am also being influenced by another book, The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher (see quote above). Something that struck me last night is that Jesus came to teach us how to live; He should know about life, considering He is the Creator of Life and the Giver of Life (we could learn a thing or two from Him). As Jesus, the Incarnation, He modeled this living-style for us. For some reason, we do not want to believe the Christ-life can be fully lived by us while in our temporal bodies. I think this smacks of heresy and in a backhanded way, pronounces Jesus a liar. I am concerned; if we do not learn to live as Christians now…we may never “Live” as Christians.

Hope and Rescue:

Jesus said…

“I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6)

“Abide (remain) in me…” (John 15:4)

“I have come that you may have life and life abundant” (John 10:10)

“My sheep follow me…” (John 10:27)

“Whoever serves me must follow me… (John 12:26)

Repent and Prepare:

Jesus came to teach us how to live. If we don’t learn how to live here and now, we may never truly live. The promise is that we can…live, today, as Christ did when He walked the earth in the flesh of man. We cannot excuse ourselves from learning to live while we wait.

Parousia ~ Advent ~ Maranatha:

“…The Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

“I will come back… we will make our home with him…” (John 14:1-3 John 14:23)

“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back…” (Acts 1:11)

Live:

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)

“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6)

If we don’t learn how to live here and now, we may never truly live.

“The voice of Advent in our ears is loud and clear year after year. Its three year cycle of Scripture winds over and around us, reminding us, assuring us, prodding us to bear Christ in our own lives.” The Liturgical Year; Joan Chittister (p.67)

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