Today we begin our family Christmas festivities and they will continue through the new year. Because I will be spending time with my family (and I hope you will be, too) I won’t be writing any new blog posts until after the start of 2012. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Do you ever make promises that you either have a really hard time keeping or maybe aren’t able to keep? I know there are times I have made promises to my kids and something else important has come up and I have had to adjust the timeline or the details of the promise to make it work. I always feel bad when it happens, but sometimes there isn’t much that can be done to prevent it.
As I was reading in my devotional time last night I was struck really hard by the reality that when God makes a promise, He follows through. No matter what.
Here is the Lord’s promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7:
1 After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”
4 But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”
17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
And here, hundreds of years later, after God’s people have continued to fail over and over, is the fulfillment of the promise in Luke 1.
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
This isn’t something God decided to do at the last minute. This isn’t something that God thought would be a good idea, but then when His people kept messing up decided it wasn’t worth it. This was God’s plan. This was His promise. And he kept it.
When I think about that, and realize how hard it is sometimes for me to keep my promises, I am both in awe of our Lord, and humbled by my humanity.
Whatever is going on in your life today, remember this, “For no word from God will ever fail.” He is a God who keeps His promises.
He promises to never leave us or forsake us.
He promises to watch over us.
He promises to provide for us.
He promises to love us.
He promises to forgive us.
He promises to come for us.
And His promises aren’t hard for Him to keep.
What promises of God are you holding on to today?
I just got a new book (A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God) that I am going to use as a devotional guide for the next year. It is based on the Church Liturgical Calendar that begins with the four Sundays of Advent – or the weeks leading up to Christmas – rather than starting on January 1. And since I just got it, that means I am playing catch-up already. But I was struck by these words that I read in the first section.
“Advent” has its roots in the Latin word adventus, or coming. This season proclaims the coming of Christ in the birth of Jesus, in the Word and Spirit, and in the final victory when God’s kingdom shall be complete. Our privilege as Christians is to receive the gracious gifts of God’s presence in Christ. Our task is to prepare for his coming so that we will not miss life’s greatest gift.
Sometimes the hype and clichés of the season distract us. The clever marketing efforts succeed in making us desire tangible things we can hold in our hands and savor as gifts. However, marketing hype and catchy clichés cannot answer the deep questions of the heart, explain the mystery of God’s presence, or help us comprehend the meaning of our existence. Yet all these gifts are promised to us in the Advent Season.
Yes, it is true that God’s astounding and radical intervention in our human history cannot be contained in the tame and timid displays of Christmas lights, catchy slogans, or the exchange of gifts. Advent confronts us once again with God’s unparalleled effort to communicate the message that all humankind is embraced and held close by a God of love. Jesus Christ has come, is present with us, and will come again in final victory when all darkness, pain, and evil will be no more. In Advent we begin again to try and make plain the wonderful truth of the most extraordinary good news the world has ever heard.
When I pair this with the chapter I just finished reading in Radical that reminds me that it is our calling, as the church, to take this good news to all the people of the world, my brain starts spinning. This good news is “the most extraordinary…the world has ever heard,” and yet, we don’t do share it as far and wide as we need to. Maybe we hint at it to some people. Maybe we hope that others will notice that there is something different about us and ask us. But I think that sometimes, we hope they don’t ask because we’re not sure what to say.
David Platt used the words “indescribable urgency” to describe how we should feel about sharing the good news with the world. I don’t know about you, but when I think of urgency and how it feels in my gut when it is urgent for me to get something done – whether it be get a check to the bank to cover something that I know is coming out, or get to one of my kids who is sick or finish a task at work that has a deadline – that is not the feeling I currently get when I think about the world needing to hear about Jesus. So to add the word “indescribable” in front of urgency and I know I don’t feel that. And why don’t I? Is it because we don’t talk about it? Is it because it is easier to ignore it? Is it because we are too busy to worry about anyone else but us?
Is it because we are living for this life and not an eternal life?
Hmmm. That one made me pause. If we were living for an eternal life rather than this one, would we feel stronger about making sure that others get to experience that eternal life, too?
And when I start down that line of thinking, I am reminded of that line in the quote above, “The clever marketing efforts succeed in making us desire tangible things we can hold in our hands and savor as gifts.” And I start thinking about all the stuff that I want. All the stuff on my kids’ Christmas lists. All the stuff that we have. All the time that we have spent wanting and buying and using this stuff. All the time that hasn’t been spent sharing with others the gift of Jesus.
How do I change that? How do I change me to want to change that?
I don’t. I ask the Lord for help. I ask Him for an awareness that I don’t have. I ask Him for that indescribable urgency about the eternal lives of those who don’t yet know Him. And I go from there, with the Lord’s help.
What do you think?
Sunday morning we sang a song that I enjoy. But I enjoyed it even more when we were listening to it in the van this afternoon and my kids were singing it and talking about how much they loved it. And when we got home, we talked a bit about the scripture from which this song comes, Luke 1.
Mary’s Song
46And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
My soul magnifies the Lord today – He has done and continues to do great things for me.
Take a listen. I guarantee that you’ll be singing along by the end of the song.
What are you glorifying the Lord for in your life today?
The other day I got to work and this is the picture that was on my desktop background. It is just a random picture that was on the computer when I got it and I have chosen to use a number of the stock pictures on the computer and they change every hour or so. I have seen this picture before and it is beautiful; one of my favorites. But the other day I noticed something about it that I hadn’t before. I saw the mountains in the background and I wanted to get to them. The only problem is, there is water between me and the mountains. And as far as I can see in either direction there is water, or at least swampy ground. The only way to the mountains is to go through the water (or take a really long detour around and try to find a place where there is no water).
And I got to thinking, this is how the Christian life is; and even life in general. We want to make it to the mountain; we have a goal of some kind (usually multiple ones one right after the other). We want to know the Bible better. We want to be able to pray deeper. We want to be helping others more easily and readily. We want to lose weight and get in shape. We stand on the edge of the water, wanting to get to the mountain, but not willing to go through the water to get there. We want instant gratification rather than the process. But we can’t know the Bible more without going through the water and actually spending time reading it. And we won’t ever pray deeper if we aren’t spending time in the water of prayer. We won’t ever help others more until we get into the water and start doing it. We won’t ever lose weight and get in shape without watching what we eat and exercising.
Sometimes we may try to figure out ways to get to the mountain without crossing the water. We look for ways around it, but all we find is that we have followed a detour that got us no closer to the mountain, and there is still water that has to be crossed. But this water may be swampy, and murky, and harder to cross than the first water.
The lesson for us is simple. We have to do the work, go through the water and get wet, in order to achieve our goals and get to the mountain. It won’t be easy, but when we see progress we will be encouraged to continue.
What water are you needing to go through to reach your mountain?
It’s Monday. And I’m sick. And that means my brain isn’t working very well. So, instead of trying to write something that would likely not make any sense at all to anyone, I thought I would just share with you one of my favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy!!
Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know
I’m not the same one
See what the time’s done
Is that why you have let me go
Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh
If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time
I feel you Christmas
I know I’ve found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love
Where are you Christmas
Fill your heart with love
