Advent......waiting for the Christ Child

(This is the season of Advent and I will be interrupting my current study December 1st for a special Advent study. Tomorrow we begin... it is time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ child.)

ADVENT 

Await my soul in glad anticipation--the Savior is coming! Be still my heart! 

Dance and sing in wild jubilation! The King is coming, His grace to impart. 

Veiled in wonder, God incarnate. Mystery to ponder, wisdom and love. 

Echo the angels, sing Hallelujah! Peace on earth, sent from above! 

Night of darkness banished forever, Son of God, Love's pure Light! 

Tell the nations, spread the glad tidings. Joy came down to earth that night!

I wrote this poem 10 years ago, but always think of it when Advent begins. Advent is the time of waiting. A time to anticipate the birth of Jesus Christ. I discovered a wonderful book several years ago, called simply "The Advent Book" by Jack and Kathy Stockman. This book was their family's way to 'journey to Bethlehem'. For each day in December there is a door to be opened and part of the story from scripture told for that day. I thought it was not only a beautiful book to look at, but a wonderful way to pass the time waiting for the Christ Child. 

So that year I sat down and each night as I opened the doors, I wrote my own meditations for the scriptures, as a way to travel towards Bethlehem and Jesus. It was a meaningful time for me, and last year I shared these writings with a few friends and relatives. This year, I thought I would put them in a Blog and add some suitable pictures (since you can't see the doors as I open them) and let whoever wants to read my insights, to do so. 

This is my journey, my waiting time. It may be different for you. Each one of us has to make the journey on our own, reading the scriptures, and seeing what God says to us in them. I hope you will make your own journey and not just rely on mine. 

I will start the story when "The Advent Book" starts, on December 1st and continue through until the end. I always write my meditations in the form of prayers, so keep in mind that I'm addressing God throughout. These are my thoughts and insights and you might not agree with all of them. Any poetry is mine and not to be copied or used elsewhere without my permission.

November 30....Burning hearts (double post)

Luke 24:32 “Were not our hearts burning inside us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” 

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us and opened the scriptures to us? (NIV)

 Heavenly Father,

 Burning hearts and open scriptures. This is the effect Jesus has on each of us when we walk and talk with him! When we read Jesus’ words and seek to let him explain them to us through the Holy Spirit, our hearts will light up and burn with the recognition of the Truth we find in him. This is why men spread the gospel, the Good news! Their hearts burn with knowledge, they suddenly see Truth as Jesus opens the scriptures for them. Your words, your message for us is found in "The Word", Jesus Christ. Jesus can open the scriptures for us and make us understand because he is the Word, he is the scripture we need to know. The opening comes about in recognition of who he is. We will feel our hearts burn, catch on fire whenever we get a glimpse of who Christ is and what his message is. 

Throughout the ages the greatest saints have been men and women whose hearts burned within them as Christ opened up before them. A fire can’t be hidden! Fire glows with a brightness that draws crowds of on-lookers and sends smoke heavenward. A fire ignites and spreads rapidly. Every time we truly burn with recognition of Christ we will set loose a wildfire of his power and glory! This is the Holy Spirit within , opening the Word for us to read and understand and recognize. Normally we see fire as a bad thing, but heavenly fire is the symbol of power and glory! Heavenly fire purifies and burns away the dross. Holy fire is ignited by Jesus Christ opening scripture for us to find “the Way, the Truth, the Life”. When our hearts burn within, the identifying flame of the Holy Spirit will mark us and we will be full of his power and glory. Open your Word for me, O LORD! Make my heart burn with recognition and power! Amen. 

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(Part 2) Luke 24:33-35 “They got up immediately and returned to Jeruselem…they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know him in the breaking bread.”

 “…the two told what happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” (NIV)

 “…they told the story of their walk, and how they recognized him when he broke the loaf.” (Phillips)

 Heavenly Father, 

I love it when I sit down to meditate and think that I already know what I want to say and instead you show me something a little different or new! My first focus was “immediately” and the fact that they rushed off to tell others. That burning fire in them from the previous verse won’t let them hold the news to themselves. “Go and tell”…this is your command to all of us. These men begin to do just that once they recognized Jesus. 

I like the way the NIV phrases this verse…”the two told what happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread” Wow! We start with “the two”….Jesus told us when two or more are gathered in his name we can ask anything. Here are two, in agreement in what they saw and heard, and ready to spread the news with your power behind them. Whenever two of us agree about your will, You give what we ask. 

Next “they told what happened”…this was a personal witness. Their story, very real in detail because they experienced it. Our story is the most alive when filled with details we can personally back up in our testimony. 

All of this happened “on the way”. Jesus called himself, “the Way. These men just found “the Way” first hand as they walked with Jesus. That is what we all seek. The Way is both a path and a person. The Way is the message of Jesus Christ. 

The Phillips translation says: “They told the story of their walk”….their testimony. It all happened “when he broke the bread”. When Jesus broke himself for us, the story began. We are now walking in it. Thank you! amen.

November 29....recognition

Luke 24:30-31 He took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” (NAB)

 Heavenly Father, 

Jesus gave us all the clues we needed in his life. He told us that : “I am the Bread of Life”….the “bread that comes down from heaven”. He tells us that if we eat this bread from heaven we will live forever…”this bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:48, 51) He stressed this again with the disciples in the upper room right before his death…”this is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 

Each time he first blesses the bread and then breaks it. He gives thanks for the bread….just as we do. The bread is blessed and dedicated to God. Jesus’ whole life was dedicated to his Father’s will. Breaking the bread, breaking his body was the next step. He “distributes” this broken bread…his body…to all of us. The two men immediately recognize Jesus when he follows this familiar pattern they have seen him do before. They “remember” just as he intended that they would. 

Coupled with all Jesus had spoken to them and explained to them, they finally put the clues together and “their eyes are opened and they recognized him”. Jesus wants us to now him. He wants to be recognized. Reading scripture, putting all the clues together, thinking about them, seeing the familiar in a new way, all lead us to recognition of who Jesus Christ is. We have to take time to sit down at a meal with him. We have to desire heavenly bread. We have to take the broken Bread when he hands it to us. We have to hear the blessing he speaks over the broken Bread. The blessing of eternal life, found in the heavenly Bread, given for all of the world. If we accept it, recognition will comes. If we take it, we will be saved. Thank you, Bread of Life! Amen.

November 28....he went in to stay

Luke 24:29 “Stay with us. It is nearly evening…the day is practically over.” So he went in to stay with them.” (NAB)

“Abide with us…he went into tarry with them.” (KJV)

Heavenly Father,

“Stay with us.” I guess that is every Christian’s plea…don’t leave us, stay with us, abide. Jesus promised that if we abide in him, he will abide in us…”we will come to him and make our home with him.” Jesus wants to stay, to be invited in. We have to issue the invitation. As soon a we say….”stay”…he will enter. 

This is an invitation of enthusiastic hospitality. These two men were so impressed with all that Jesus was explaining to them as they walked along, that they aren't ready for him to leave. They have become attached to him, drawn to him, they want to continue the discussion. They “urged him strongly”….they “constrained him.” Hospitality is important in the middle east, but this was more than that. They weren't just offering him a bed for the night, they asked him to “abide”, to tarry, to lodge with them. I like the word “lodge” because it has two meanings…1. to move in and stay, and 2. to be struck in a place. Once we ask Jesus to lodge we want him lodged firmly in our hearts! This is the abiding relationship I seek…You lodged in me and me lodged in You! No more separation. No leaving but instead taking up a permanent residence. 

Their sense of urgency in asking Jesus to stay is followed by: “it is nearly evening…the day is practically over.” When we come to Christ and ask him to stay there is an urgency, a sense of knowing that the world is winding down, our own lives are headed toward the inevitable conclusion of death, so we need him to stay with us now, before it is too late. We want Jesus abiding in us when night comes. Death only loses its sting if Jesus is there. He is the Life! Death has no more sting! Stay, Jesus, before it is too late! Come in and abide with me always. Amen.

November 27....he explained to them

Luke 24:27 “Beginning then with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted for them every passage of scripture which referred to him.” (NAB)

“…he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

Often we don’t understand why Jesus had to die for us. We don’t understand why there wasn't some other way to take away our sins that didn't require a sacrifice. Maybe we’ll never understand completely here and now. It is easy to love Jesus and want to listen to him and follow him….until he gets to the cross. Then we are confused and afraid and hesitant. Going back in scripture gives us more of the story. Just as Jesus had to take these two men over every bit of history and prophesy that referred to himself and that explained his death, his suffering, his resurrection, we too have to keep reading the scriptures to understand more. 

As we study we learn more about Jesus and we accept more and more the truth of his life. Jesus will explain himself to us, if we listen. Every time I re-read a passage of scripture with an open mind and a seeking heart, You show me something new. No passage of scripture can be “too familiar” when I pray it. I want to know Jesus intimately. I want to be a worthy temple for his Holy Spirit. I want to draw close to You, my Father. There is much I don’t understand and sometimes it seems that I’m incapable of learning any more, but I’m on a lifetime journey to find Jesus Christ and know him, with all my heart, mind, soul, spirit, strength. Fill me with new understanding of who he is, why he came, what he has done for me. Make the message new every time I read it! Interpret for me all that I need to know. Explain to me “what was said in all of scriptures concerning him”. I want to know! I want to be a true follower, a true believer, a faithful servant, a beloved daughter of You, my Father. Thank You for all who help guide and teach. Amen.

November 26....thick-headed, slow-hearted

Luke 24:25 “What little faith you have! How slow you are to believe all that the prophets have announced.” (NAB)

“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (NIV)

“..was it not inevitable that Christ should suffer like that and so find his glory?” (Phillips)

“So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” (MSG)

Heavenly Father, 

These 2 men have just told Jesus his own story as they know it…...he came from God, taught with authority, powerful in word and deed, could be the Messiah, the leaders betrayed him and crucified him, the tomb was found empty, the women told of the angels who say he’s alive!….but they discount the entire thing! They have the gospel message, the Good News, but they haven’t yet believed it. They lived through it along with the disciples, but still haven’t the faith to accept it as truth. 

Jesus’ words seem like a well-deserved “kick in the seat of the pants”….”How foolish you are!”….”How slow of heart to believe”….”Thick-headed”….”slow-hearted”. He just died and rose from the dead, he just fulfilled every prophesy ever written about him, he stands there beside them in risen glory….and they don’t recognize him, don’t believe what is right before their eyes. 

It is hard at times to understand why everyone who hears the Good News of Jesus Christ doesn't immediately fall on their face in repentance and accept with joy their gift of salvation! Why do we question? Why do we hesitate? Why do we fail to put all the pieces together and see how they fit perfectly in this one person, this one Savior? Everything he did was prophesied. Everything he said is truth. Every promise of scripture is certain and finished in him. 

These men tell Jesus’ story without acceptance in their own hearts and without any recognition of who he really is, or faith to believe it. Is that how we tell the story? The Good News of God’s salvation is Jesus Christ is only effectively spread by those who have heart knowledge of its truth. Until we joyfully recognize who he is and how this was God’s plan for all of us, we can’t convince anyone else. Until we understand that Jesus Christ was “inevitable” and his suffering necessary, and his glory a foregone conclusion of his obedience to your will, we won’t see him or understand his story. Open our eyes! Soften our hearts! Amen.

November 25....not able to recognize who he was

Luke 24:15-16 "Jesus approached and began to walk with them. However they were restrained from recognizing him.” (NAB)

“Jesus himself approached and walked along with them, but something prevented them from recognizing him.” (Phillips)

“Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.” (MSG)

Heavenly Father,

“They were not able to recognize who he was.” Jesus died for all of us. He arose from the grave, conquering death, and is willing to “approach and walk along” with us. But that doesn't guarantee that we will recognize who he is. We have to be seeking. These 2 men were 2 that had followed Jesus during his life and ministry. We can presume they had listened to his teaching, seen the miracles he preformed, spent time with him as the Son of Man. But when he did the unexpected….when he died….their minds closed down and they could not see beyond the grave. Even when they were told the grave was empty, they didn't understand. They couldn't put together what they actually saw and heard, with the faith needed to interpret these events. They couldn't get beyond the evidence of their worldly senses. 

But Jesus “approached” them and began to “walk with them”. Once we have some knowledge of Jesus…have heard him, seen his miracles, tried to spend time with him, than Jesus can step into our circumstances as the risen Christ and began to walk with us. Recognition may come slowly. Things may still block our vision. But we are on the right path and Jesus is approaching, ready to clear our vision. We want to see Jesus immediately and understand who he is, but it doesn't always happen that way. We have to wait for Him to approach and walk with us and explain who he is. To begin with we must have heard of him, we must know his story, we must talk with other seekers about him. Then he will approach and walk with us, even though we don’t immediately recognize who he is. The Risen Savior is ready to approach all who seek him. The Son of Man is ready to identify himself as the Son of God as we walk together. Thank you! amen.

November 24....unity

1 Cor. 10:16-17 “Is not the bread we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we many though we are, are one body, for we all partake of one loaf.” (NAB)

“Is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there in one loaf, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

This passage speaks of the unity of believers. Everyone who shares or participates in the bread and wine, signals their belief in the One, whom it represents. Whether we use regular bread, wafers, pita bread or whatever….we do it to show that we follow Christ, that we share in his blood and body, that we “remember” what he taught and how he died for us, and how he arose from the dead that we might also arise. We declare ourselves his, in this “sacred” act….sacrament. We identify ourselves with his suffering and accept his act of grace and redemption. Whether Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Church of God, Methodist, Presbyterian or others…we are brothers and sisters in this one cup, one loaf, one body, one blood, one Christ. 

This verse is part of a larger passage that goes on to tell us that just as sharing this one sacrifice as Christians makes us united in our faith and united in the face we show the world, so do we also show “unity” if we share in rituals of other faiths or with worldly values. Don’t do it! We can’t be united with Christ and also united somewhere else. We truly choose the unity of the cup and bread, we can’t hang on to other ways. There is only one Way…Jesus Christ. Jesus is not only “the Bread of Life”, but also “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Life is always part of who Jesus Christ is. He brought eternal life to us in his broken body and blood. We choose this life and we remember and join in unity as his followers.

November 23....worthy

Luke 7:6 “Sir, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter my house.”

Heavenly Father,

The Centurion was a well-respected man. He loved Israel and had even paid to build a synagogue for the people. This was unusual because a Centurion is a Roman sent to keep the Jews in line, in charge of the soldiers. This man was remarkable enough to care about the Jews and their faith….he appears to be a believer. He also cared about his servant enough to want him well. He sent some of the Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come heal his servant. The Jewish elders were not convinced of who Jesus was, and yet they did as this man asked. They told Jesus how “worthy” the Centurion was, how he loved their nation and deserved for Jesus to do this for him. How ironic for the Jews to honor this man when they refused to believe in the One who was truly worthy! 

The man must have had second thoughts about bothering Jesus…he had great humility even though he was, himself, an authoritative leader. He sends a message telling Jesus not to bother coming, because he isn't worthy to have Jesus in his house or to waste his time. He saw in Jesus what the Jewish leaders didn't see…a person of great authority given by God. He knew that Jesus’ authority was enough to just speak the words that were needed….to order his servant healed. He trusted Jesus’ authority without his physical presence. 

A lesson we all need! He trusted Jesus to just speak and God’s power would heal his servant. Jesus honored his great faith. Jesus saw in this man what the Jewish leaders lacked….and told them so! He saw the man’s faith that recognized authority from God. He saw the man’s humility in the presence of God’s authority. He saw the man’s compassion for his servant. The Centurion recognized real worthiness. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Amen.

November 22....thanksgiving

John 1:29 “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (NAB)

“Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” (KJV)

Heavenly Father,

 Today is Thanksgiving, when we set aside a day to thank you for your provision, your protection, and your presence. Another year of plenty and blessings! Thank you! I think this verse is perfect for Thanksgiving….we acknowledge the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This is your greatest gift…love big enough to provide a Lamb to erase our sin, to give us a brand new start. We certainly need a new start today and every day. 

We’ve taken the day of Thanksgiving and turned it into a day of overeating and football and anticipating the shopping season before Christmas. A long way from it’s intended purpose! Man always overdoes and reinvents and embellishes. If we had less of your blessing we would actually be more likely to be thankful. If we had less of your protection, we would cherish what we have. And if you hadn’t given us a perfect Lamb to do the work for us, to bear our burden, to forgive our sin, to take our punishment, we would recognize and be thankful for the love that was necessary for this sacrifice. 

We don’t see our greatest blessings because they are there every day when and where we need them. We don’t thank you enough because your faithfulness and love are so complete we take them for granted. “Behold!” We need to behold the source of our thanks! The Lamb of God is the symbol of Thanksgiving and not the turkey. “In him” we have all we need now and forever more! The one thing we do right is fellowship with our families on Thanksgiving. We share love in each other as we thank you, Our Father for all you have done. Amen.

November 21....in Him

Acts 17:28 “In him we live and move and have our being.”

Heavenly Father,

You are the Creator! You created man and provided all that we need ”so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” Your plan in giving us life was that we would seek to know the One who created us, that we would seek a relationship with You. You are “not far” from each of us, if we seek you. 

You are “not far” from us because we actually live, move, and have being “in” You. We have an internal connection, a spiritual heart that draws its life from You, that knows it is connected to a greater being, a “Father”. When we deny that connection we live a life that is always missing something. True love, true joy, true peace, can’t be found. We may be happy most of the time in an earthly sense, but there just isn't any “purpose” or meaning to anything we do. There is always a feeling of “why am I here?”….”Is this all there is?” Those questions only have an answer in the One in whom we “live, move, and have our being.” 

We are “offspring” of a living God, and until we recognize that and claim that position we are like someone trying to overcome amnesia. We know there is a connection somewhere, but we can’t remember or discover what it is! Who we are, depends on who our Father is. “In him”….is the answer to all questions. “In him”…lifts the cloud of confusion. “In him”…defines our purpose and stakes our claim as “offspring”. The rest…sin, Jesus, forgiveness, grace….all falls into place once we recognize our origin and rightful place as sons of the Living God! Thank you, Father! Amen.

November 20....holy, holy, holy

Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory.” (NAB)

Matthew 21:9 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!”

Heavenly Father,

“The LORD of Hosts” is a confusing term for most of us. I just found a definition based on the Hebrew words: “He who is sovereign over all the hosts (powers) in heaven and on earth, especially over the hosts (armies) of Israel.” Sovereign seems to be the key word to me. Sovereign means “over all”, at the top, in charge, above all others, total control. There can only be One who is sovereign. By definition this One is incomparable, unbeatable, one-of-a-kind, a King of all Kings, Lord of all Lords!

 This is our God! When we praise You, we acknowledge this sovereignty. We acknowledge your right to be at the top, as the only One true living God who created us. There is no other. When we cry holy, holy, holy, we recognize your triune nature as Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Three equal holy’s for 3 equal persons in One God. 

“All the earth is filled with his glory”. Earth is your creation and all that is in it or on it, naturally was made by You. Your glory hovers over all that is yours. You are always “there” in your creation. Man has done much to dishonor and destroy what you created on earth. Only in heaven does your sovereign nature reign in purity. Man must answer for his destruction of your earthly creation. 

Our sin separates us from You. But earth still holds your glory because your holy Son took human form and stepped upon the earth. Your Son brought holiness back to earth and washed sin and death away with his blood. Your glory is here now in Jesus Christ alone. If we are in him, we share in your glory as sons and daughters. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna! Christ is your glory on earth for us. Thank you! amen.

Novermber 19....Help my unbelief

Mark 9:24 “I do believe! Help my lack of trust.” (NAB)

“If thou can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”…vs. 23” 

“I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief.” (NIV)

 “I do believe! Help me to believe more! “ (Phillips)

 “Then I believe! Help me with my doubts!” (MSG)

 “I do have faith! Help me to have even more!” (CEV)

Heavenly Father,

This father wants Jesus’ help for his son. He has just watched the disciples fail to help his son, so I think he had real doubts as to whether Jesus could do any better. So he asks Jesus in an off-hand manner…”if you can do anything”. Like many who encounter Christ, his first meeting is more of an insult than a statement of belief. He is searching for help, but unsure of the source from whom he is asking it. He had probably heard others tell about all the miracles Jesus had done, and that his disciples were also doing, but his first attempt at seeking help is a failure…the disciples can’t heal his son. 

Is this what many first time seekers see in the Church? A failure to produce the miracle needed? First steps in faith struck down by the weakness of the church? The Church is Christ’s body, but he is still the head. Coming to the Church is not the same as coming to Christ. Until the man spoke with Jesus, himself and sought his help, his faith was only tentative. Jesus tells him that, “everything is possible to him who believes”. There is no “if” in real belief. Either Jesus is the answer or he isn’t. 

When faced with this challenge from Jesus, the man’s first steps of faith are revived and he cries out that wonderful paradox we have all cried…”I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!” We all cry, “Take away the “ifs”! I want to believe, and I want to lose my doubts. I do believe to the best of my ability, but I need your help to believe even more!” With Jesus’ help, our first steps of faith experience miracles and grow stronger. We do believe, but Satan will continue to plant doubts and they are the demons of unbelief we have to conquer, with Jesus’ help. “Help me to believe more!” Thank you, amen

November 18....Glory to God...peace on earth

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in high heaven. Peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.” (NAB)

 “Glory to God in the highest heaven! Peace upon earth among men of good will.” (Phillips) 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (KJV) 

“Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” (CEV)

Heavenly Father,

Two phrases stand out here…”Glory to God” and “Peace on earth”. When we give glory to You, the One to whom all glory belongs, the result is peace here on earth. When all bow down together in praise and honor, peace reigns. These words were spoken when the angels announced the Prince of Peace was born in Bethlehem. The announcement came to simple shepherds that the Good Shepherd was here at last! The announcement and the birth would indeed glorify God, the Father, in heaven! What greater gift, what greater action of love, what greater happening could occur? Love came down! God descending in human form! A baby to become King of Kings! 

The angels always sing your glory and praise and so should we! We desire your presence, your “peace on earth”. We long for the peace that comes from knowing that our God is on high in glory and all is right with us because You love us. We glorify your name and seek to honor you, but don’t always know how. You love us anyway. The angels sing the songs and speak the words we don’t know how to articulate. Glory to God! He is on high! He gives us peace here on earth through his son, Jesus Christ! Your "good will”, your peace , are directed towards us. Our praise and honor are directed towards You. Love flows both ways. Peace fills the sky, and angels sing. 

Glory to God in the highest! Be exalted O Lord above the heavens! Holy, Holy, Holy! Worthy is the Lamb! Thank you! Praise You! Love you! amen.

November 17....be merciful

Luke 18:13 “O God be merciful to me a sinner.”

 “He who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Heavenly Father,

Your mercy is free for all who ask for it. But to seek your mercy, first means seeking You as God. Until we know You are God Almighty, Creator, Father, we can’t see ourselves as failed children, sinners, disobedient. The law was necessary to show us how far off the mark our lives are, what a disappointment we are at running our own lives and being in “control” of our own destiny. If we don’t see our sin, our place in the “big picture” as children who have left home and squandered our inheritance, we can’t see any reason for your mercy. Recognition of who You are and who we are is a necessity. A child can only sin against a Father, a Creator, a God. Our humble cry of “God be merciful to me a sinner” is filled with recognition and remorse. 

Humility, borne in need and desperation. Wanting to come “home”. Wanting to regain our relationship with our Father. Wanting to say, “I’m sorry”. Wanting to be forgiven and to receive mercy. Those of us who are muddling along in life doing “OK” and being basically “good” people lose our humility. We don’t see our level of “goodness” in perspective of the Father who created us or the standard of perfection needed to go home. We don’t see the mistakes, the mis-living, the lowered standards that we have accepted as “OK”. Show us our failure and our need for mercy that we might long for it and seek it! Show us truth, so we will cry, “Father have mercy”! Take our failure and turn it into blessing as we hunger for home, thirst for righteousness, lose interest in the world’s empty promises of happiness. Be merciful, O God!….I have sinned and I want to come home! Amen

November 16.....I have sinned

Luke 15:18 “Father I have sinned against God and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.”

Heavenly Father,

There is no story more beautiful than the Lost Son. We are all lost, strayed from our home in heaven, and our Father who loves us. We think we want “more”. We aren't satisfied. We want money, power, control, freedom, to “be on our own”…be our own boss. It always ends in failure. We gain “things” and keep trying to buy happiness, but we feel the dissatisfaction of something missing, a futility to any of it, a lack of purpose, a longing for something more. 

Man has a connection to You, that pulls and tugs and teases at us. Where is home? What is missing? Why am I not really happy? When we decide to seek You, when we decide to turn towards home, You are ready and waiting to meet us. The arms of grace are spread wide and You want to have your sons and daughters back home! When we recognize we are wrong, that we have sinned, that we can’t get home without help, that we need You, that we don’t want to be in control any more…and never really were, then You are ready and willing to throw your arms of love around us and draw us close. 

You don’t want us back as slaves or servants. You want us back as sons and daughters. You don’t plan to make us “earn” our home or “work our way up from the bottom”…You want to clothe us in the robes of grace, put the ring of family on our finger, and throw the finest feast to celebrate. Redeeming lost sons is your business. Welcoming them home is what You do best. Loving us is as natural to You as breathing is to us! Father, I have sinned! I no longer deserve to be your daughter, but I know you will welcome me home through Jesus Christ. Thank you! amen.

November 15....grace, love fellowship

2 Corinthians 13:13 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father, 

Three in One God, three blessings. We see the trinity here. Paul prays that 3 things will “be with you all.” We need to be blessed with:

1. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

2. the love of God, the Father, and

3. the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

I often pray for 3 things for those I love….your provision, your protection, and your presence. I can see those things here in Paul’s prayer. We find provision in your love. You know all we need and you provide it out of your love for us. A Father loves and provides for his children. A Father wants what is best for his children and loving them in all things is the best there is. 

We find protection in the grace provided through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Grace is the result of your love. Grace gives us the protection we need from sin and death. Neither can harm us if we are in the grace of Jesus Christ.

 We find your presence in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We are never alone. The Holy Spirit within brings us the concept of a personal relationship with our Father God rather than a far-off being in heaven to be worshiped, but never known. We are no less in awe of your greatness and we do worship you, but now we can know God the Father, who loves us and Jesus Christ who protects us in a very intimate way. The Holy Spirit is within us….guiding, teaching, reminding, rebuking, changing. 

Provision, protection, presence bring us peace. This is the peace that passes all understanding. Peace that is internal and results from the knowledge of your other gifts. Grace, love, fellowship with our triune God! Beautiful words! Beautiful meaning! Beautiful God! Thank you, always! Amen.

November 14....a new covenant

Luke 22:19-20 “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (NAB)

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

 A new covenant. A covenant is between 2 people. You established many covenants with your people and those you chose for special blessings. This covenant replaces the one which established the sacrifice system. No longer would it be necessary to sacrifice animals for our sins. Jesus was to be the last Lamb…the one who completes the act of redemption. All who believe in him, who trust in his blood…the sacrifice…are freed from the penalty of their sins. One perfect human lamb was necessary. Jesus had no sin of his own. The only sins he bore, were ours. His blood was shed or poured out for us. 

We don’t like to think about blood. I couldn't watch much of the movie, “The Passion”, because of the endless pouring and shedding of blood. It was a gruesome “picture” or reminder of just how badly Jesus suffered. All that blood isn't pretty and messes up our sanitized version of Jesus’ death in our own minds. But Jesus tells us here to drink from this cup of his blood. Until we face the cross and his sacrifice and see them for what they were----our redemption bought at great personal sacrifice through Christ….body and blood poured out…we can’t see how wonderful the gift of grace truly is. We trade our badness for his goodness. We are to remember the body broken, the blood poured out. 

This is the new covenant, the new agreement that gives us salvation. You provided the Lamb. The Lamb willingly obeyed your will. We are victors through this Lamb. Blood that washes clean, rather than stains! This blood is the Pure Lamb’s blood of perfect love. Thank you! amen.

November 13.....Do this in remembrance of me

Luke 22:19 “This is my body to be given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Heavenly Father,

Why did Jesus institute this meal and say these words? Sometimes I feel by not knowing more about the Passover meal from a Jewish standpoint, that I’m missing small pieces of the puzzle. Jesus makes a point of taking bread and calling it his body. What would that have meant to the disciples who were eating it that night? He says, “which is given for you.” We understand this because we know he freely gave his own body to be hung on the cross and slain for us like the Passover lamb. We know he did it for us…to take the penalty of our sin so death would "pass over" us. 

Even without complete knowledge of the Passover feast from a Jewish point of view we can understand the image of his body being given for us. There was much discussion after his resurrection in the early church about whether the gentiles had to become Jews to become followers of Jesus Christ. The answer was “no”. So, I assume that we don’t need to understand every detail of the Jewish Passover to understand the significance of this meal that Jesus institutes. He knew the gentiles were going to become believers in great numbers and that the Passover is not celebrated by them…they didn't need to understand all the details beyond its comparison of Jesus as the Lamb that saves. 

His new words…”this is my body which is given for you”…have meaning for all who come to know who he is and why he died. This is what we “do in remembrance”….we remember Jesus on the cross, undeserving of punishment, an unblemished Lamb, giving his body to save us. We remember and honor his sacrifice. We repent anew, we shed tears of hope and joy, we take him in and make him part of us. Thank you. I will remember this always! amen.

November 12....Passover lamb

Luke 22:15 “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (NAB)

“With all my heart I have longed to eat this Passover with you before the time comes for me to suffer.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

The Passover celebrates the time when the Jews escaped Egypt and slavery. They were allowed to finally leave Egypt after the events of the first Passover.  A lamb was sacrificed by each family and the blood painted on the doorposts to show they were your people, so their firstborn sons were not slain....they were "passed over".  Only the lamb died. But the first born sons of the Egyptians died because they were not marked with the blood of the Passover lamb. The blood of a lamb saved each Jewish family. Jesus Christ came to be the Lamb whose blood would save everyone, who would be slain for all. This Lamb is the final one, the One who takes the penalty for all of our sins. The angel of death will pass over and spare us, if we accept the blood of this Lamb, slain to save us. The Lamb will die, but the firstborn (who is also Jesus Christ) will also live. Jesus was the first to rise up, to conquer death. 

Jesus says here that he “greatly desires” to celebrate this commemoration of the lamb dying and the firstborn being saved. He longs to celebrate this meal with his friends, his disciples, “with all my heart”. It is the last Passover he will eat here on earth. It is the last time this Passover feast will need to be celebrated. It represented a release from slavery, an earthly saving of God’s people. But now a new feast is being set in its place. What we call communion is a feast that celebrates the slaying of the final Lamb, Jesus Christ, and the final act of salvation needed to free us from slavery to sin and death forever. 

This Lamb is an eternal Lamb. This Passover is a permanent Passover. This Savior is THE Savior and this salvation is forever! Jesus went towards this eagerly, with all his heart, even though he would suffer. How can we refuse this great act of love and sacrifice? Celebrate the Lamb that was slain! Celebrate salvation come down to die and rise up! Eat and drink and be a part of this meal! Thank you, amen.

November 11....I will raise him up

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Heavenly Father,

How do we “eat your flesh” and “drink your blood”? This isn’t an image we care much for. For us to eat another’s flesh and blood is something we have only heard of someone doing who was absolutely starving in a survival situation.....and even then the idea appalls us!  Could we possibly ever be that hungry??  That is where we find ourselves here......starved. “Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness”. The righteousness we hunger and thirst for is found only in the Savior of the world….Jesus Christ. He is all that “fills” us….the only one who can. Any other food and drink won’t satisfy. To feed on Jesus flesh and drink his blood we have to see him dead….on the cross. Facing the cross where he took our sins is a necessity. We have to go there with him. Christ knew we would run from the cross in fear. 

Before the cross was the upper room and the bread and wine. Christ set a reminder in place even before he died. He put the comparison of bread and flesh, wine and blood into a meal we can use to “remember” each time we eat and drink. The bread and wine of communion should always bring “flashbacks” of the cross that followed. We “feed” on Jesus in starvation for grace and forgiveness hope and peace. We feed and drink to gain life. Jesus has to be internalized. He has to be absorbed into our being, just like food and drink. It isn't enough to just think about these things, we have to let Jesus become a part of us, a sustaining grace, the food and drink that bring us back to life when we are starving. 

Our hunger and thirst has to break down our control and turn us into greedy starved beings who want to live more than anything, and know which food and drink will save us. We have to recognize that Jesus Christ is the food and the drink. "And I will raise him up on the last day!” The promise is in the food, Jesus Christ and the eating, the drinking. Feed us, O LORD and raise me up. Amen.

November 10....Bread of Life

John 6:35 “I myself am the Bread of Life, no one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall ever thirst.”

John 6:32-33 “What matters is….my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God which comes from heaven gives life to the world.”

Heavenly Father,

Like most of us, the Jews tended to look to the past. They ask Jesus for signs to prove he is sent from God, and remind him of how God gave manna to their forefathers while wandering in the desert. Why would this sign seem greater and more important to them than the things they have been watching Jesus do??…healing, walking on water, providing a feast for 5000 from a few scraps?? I think because it is cloaked in years of history and years of retelling, and years of the mystique that past events take on. This is the faith story of their childhood, the faith story passed down from their parents. 

But now Jesus wants to draw them into the present and their own acknowledgement of God’s power and God’s saving grace, and God’s presence in their lives. Not just stories from the faith of their fathers, but their own story of faith and God working in their life. “What matters is”….this is how he leads into his statement. “My Father is giving (present tense)…this is now….”the true bread from heaven”. He is saying, "Look at me. See me as the gift your Father wants to give you. See me as Bread that provides everlasting relief from all hunger, all thirst. I am bread that “gives life to the world”! 

This is THE BREAD. This is bigger than manna from heaven that lasted one day at a time and left their forefathers hungry again. This is all that matters….seeing Jesus for who he is. Wanting the “true Bread” that totally satisfies. Knowing it came from the Father as a gift. Knowing that this is now for them to take, and not the food their forefathers ate in the past. A new covenant for a new people who “come to me” and “believe in me”. Thank you, Bread of Life! Amen.

November 9....Bread of Heaven

Psalm 78: 23-24 “The doors of heaven he opened; he rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father, 

After writing a poem based on this verse, it is difficult to see it any way other than what I saw before. The phrase, “the doors of heaven opened” echoes in my mind. You, O LORD, are the one who opens the doors of heaven! It makes me think of the host of a party throwing open the doors, with a huge smile of welcome, and saying, “Come in!, come in! I've been waiting for you!” You've prepared all we need, all we might want. Our room is ready…we are home! 

When you opened the doors of heaven you sent manna for the people to eat. “What is it?”….literally. You fed them with a question. They ate what they couldn't describe and didn't understand. When the doors of heaven opened again, “bread from heaven” once again came down…Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Just as the Israelites pondered and asked, “what is it?”, we look at Jesus and say, “Who is he?” It’s the question we each have to answer. Is he the Son of God or is he just a man? Is he the Savior of the world, or just a good teacher? Is he Bread to feed us, to sustain us, or just an unanswered puzzle? 

Heavenly Bread is not like man-made bread. It is everlasting, endless in supply, life-giving. Jesus is all we’ll ever need. Your love opened the doors of heaven and Jesus’ love sacrificed itself for the world. When we take communion we remember. We hold the Bread of Life in our hands and in our hearts. We hold the grace that poured from the open doors of heaven and from the wounded Lamb on the cross. Heavenly Bread! Bread of Life! Life itself, heaven itself! The doors are still open…the Door, Jesus Christ welcomes us into our Father’s home. Thank you! amen.

“The doors of heaven he opened; He rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.” Psalm 78:23b-24 

The Doors of Heaven Opened 

The doors of heaven opened and heavenly bread rained down 

“What is it?” cried the people while looking all around. 

The manna God provided, the grain of heaven to eat 

To give them life and sustenance….it lay there at their feet. 

The doors of heaven opened and the Bread of Life came down

 “Who is He?” cried the people who were milling all around. 

The heavenly food provided to give eternal life 

We only need accept Him to enter into light. 

Once more the doors of heaven poured out the Father’s love 

But this time the Bread, is Jesus descended from above. 

Many still don’t understand and puzzled look around, 

But those who choose to eat the Bread 

Find love and grace abound. 

We eat the Bread, we drink the Blood and in God’s love we share 

We “do this in remembrance”…..our feast a holy prayer. 

The Doors of heaven are open still for all to enter in, 

For Jesus came to be the feast, that takes away our sin. 

(4-8-2006)