By the end of the day I was spiritually exhausted. The depravity
of humanity stepped up and hit
me like a slap in the face. The local
paper had a headline that trumpeted a murder of a young woman for a man’s sick
pleasure. Our government revealed the awful deeds done to captives after 9/11
justifying the terrible (not a strong enough word) treatment of men by pointing
to the murder of our citizens. And yes,
I felt the weight of my own sinful nature as well! We all have done things or entertained
thoughts that we hope never see the light of day.
But, God … yes in that Divine interruption, there is
great hope. "But God is so rich
in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of
our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by
God’s special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along
with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we
are one with Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6, NLT) Pause and go back to savor the declaration of
that passage! Dead, sinful, destined for
sorrow and alienation, then God stepped in and opened up a whole new way to
live.
This is the Gospel
– that I, you, and our world can be different. Evil’s grip appears to be so
strong, but the Truth is that in Christ the worst can be made clean and whole. Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who saw human depravity up close, whose earthly
life was snuffed out by Nazis during the 2nd World War, wrote of
hope in Christ that overcomes fear. “We should not be afraid! That is the difference between human
beings and the rest of creation, that in all hopelessness, uncertainty, and
guilt, they know a hope, and this hope is: ‘Thy will be done. Yes. Thy will be
done…’ We call the name of the One before whom the evil in us cringes,
before whom fear and anxiety must themselves be afraid, before whom they shake
and take flight the name of the One who alone conquered fear, captured it and
led it away in a victory parade, nailed it to the cross and banished it to
nothingness; the name of the One who is the victory cry of the humanity that is
redeemed from the fear of death – Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified and
lives.”
In the middle of my sorrow over sin yesterday, there was a
bright moment when a man shared his story with me. Poor choices and not knowing God’s ways led
him to a dead-end, ‘but God’ found
him and changed his life and that of his family. I could not stop the tears from spilling
over, joyful for him, and in wonder – once again – at the power of the simple
Gospel of God’s love shared with us through Christ Jesus.
Are you struggling with hopelessness; feeling like evil is too strong to be overcome,
dealing with some sin that resists your efforts to change, living in a situation where darkness surrounds
you? Let the core message of Advent sink
into your heart and mind. "Whoever
did want him, whoever believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the
God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. The
Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory
with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous
inside and out, true from start to finish." (John 1:12-14, The
Message) Just simply turn to Jesus with
an honest cry … “Lord save me, save my world!”
This is our only hope. He can do what education, enlightenment, and
efforts of well-intentioned humanitarians cannot accomplish.
Here’s the word from the Word - "The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he
promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. … I pray for you
constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give
you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your
knowledge of God. I pray that your
hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful
future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a
rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people. I pray that you will
begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe
him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated
him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is
far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this
world or in the world to come. And God has put all things under the authority
of Christ, and he gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. And
the church is his body; it is filled by Christ,
who fills everything everywhere with his presence." (Ephesians
1:14-23, NLT)
__________
Joy To The World
Joy to the world, the
Lord is come.
Let earth receive her
King.
Let every heart
prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature
sing,
And heaven and nature
sing,
And heaven and heaven
and nature sing.
No more let sins and
sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the
ground.
He comes to make His
blessings flow,
Far as the curse is
found,
Far as the curse is
found,
Far as far as the
curse is found.
He rules the world
with truth and grace
And makes the nations
prove,
The glories of His
righteousness,
And wonders of His
love,
And wonders of His
love,
And wonders wonders of
His love.
Joy, unspeakable joy.
An overflowing well,
No tongue can tell.
Joy, unspeakable joy,
It rises in my soul,
Never lets me go.
(Tomlin)
George Frideric Handel | Isaac Watts
© Words: Public Domain
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