Come, Let Us Adore Him

The busyness of Advent and Christmas season is over. We start the new year by putting away the decorations, writing thank-you cards, and focusing on the routine of life. But wait -- we sure don't want to lose out on the lasting lessons of the season, do we?  I think not. One of the main lessons of Christmas, I believe, is

Advent truths

A newsletter pointed me to this poem by Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest. These statements contrast what we think, or perhaps despair of, with the truth of God's word about the Word of God. The daily concerns of Jesus' day are remarkably similar to the situation today, aren't they? But we can be glad for something: the worries about our doom are seen as less than real in the light of the reality of Christ! He came to set it all straight, and truly he did, even if we don't see it often enough. Let's spend a little more time in Advent before we rush off to the New Year: 

http://www.journeywithjesus.net/PoemsAndPrayers/Daniel_Berrigan_Advent_Credo.shtml

The Glory of God

"So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son" (John 1:14).

 

Moses asked to see God's glory, and he did get

Silent Night, Holy Night

This was written by a friend of ours and shared with us, and with her permission I'm sharing with you. I hope you enjoy it!

~ ~ Silent Night, Holy Night ~ ~
Whether your Christmas Eve will be noisy and filled with fun or having a more quiet but meaningful gathering with special people, whether it will be awkward or sad or even silent and alone, it can be a Holy Night.
I see Holy as meaning

Home for the Holidays

The Lovely Joanne and I are finally back in our house after four months to the day of renovations and six months to the day from the original damages. We've learned a lot this year from the experience! As we reflect on the story of Jesus' birth, I'm struck once again by the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, coming to live in a 'home' of human flesh. Giving up the perks of perfection and peace in heaven, he entered our chaotic and threatened

He's Been Here Already (a rerun from 2009)

Christians are waiting for the return of Jesus to rule the nations. That's completely legitimate, because He said He was coming back. But "back" means He's already been here once. And both of those points are the message of the traditional four weeks of Advent -- that the Son of God visited us once, and that He's returning. ("Advent" means "arrival," as we see in the name "Seventh-Day Adventists" who emphasize the Second Coming.)

The first week of Advent wraps up the entire year of Christian teaching and celebration, by telling us of that blessed, joyful return of our Savior to the world. Typically, the message of that day in song and sermon and prayer gives us reasons to lift up our eyes in hope of His return, and to be encouraged as we continue to work with Him on the earth now.

But of course, Jesus couldn't return unless He'd been here once already. The next three weeks of Advent teach us some of the many lessons of the first coming. Those include the fact that humanity needed His sacrifice for sin. But Jesus didn't just come here to die -- He, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, perfectly joined God with humanity for the first time. Because He did that, He healed the breach that was opened up in Eden and continued on to that time. All of the angels were waiting for that new beginning, and they celebrated at His birth (Luke 2:8-14) just like they had at the creation (Job 38:7).

Hebrews 9:26-28 gives us both ends of the Advent season when it says this: "But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."

Do you have goose bumps yet? I do, every time I think about the magnificent, all-inclusive scope of that passage. He's been here once; He dealt decisively with our separation from God; and He's coming back to finalize what He started a long, long time ago. I've got every reason that I can think of to celebrate. How about joining me?

Too Much Trouble?

Life has its share of trouble. Illness, injury, natural disasters, even something as simple as tangled fishing line, can make us wish life was simpler. I've told friends that the last few years have been hard on The Lovely Joanne, as she has experienced some kind of disaster every summer, and we want next year off! But what if God had been put off by the amount of trouble