“O tidings of comfort and joy”

How are you starting this Monday morning?  Is it with a groan over the beginning of a new week of work? Is it with regret for things said or done?  Is it with dread, fear?  Or, are you anticipating life, the opportunities, large and small, to love, encourage, and laugh?  Last week brought so many challenges in my life that I stumbled into the Lord’s Day worn down, asking myself if I could do it again for another 7 days!  The Spirit found me in our worship as our music ministers sang a joyous, rollicking version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”  Remember the opening lines?  “God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day- To save us all from Satan's pow'r when we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy.” He asked me if I was prepared to ‘rest’ in Him, to trust His provision, to know His gracious gifts that are my hope and strength!

God's love story for us, which we celebrate anew this Advent season, is so amazing precisely because it is told to a dark world in desperate need. God sees people who hate each with murderous intent in His Name! He sees cruelty on a scale that is beyond our imagination. He hears the conversations we have inside our own heads- knows our secrets - and loves you, me – and all of this world. He knows our challenges, our competence and lack of resources.  And, He invites us to “rest” as we trust Him to work in us and through us.

Remember, His love is perfect, is not like ours! We often become impatient with someone when they disappoint us, when their ‘humanity’ becomes too obvious. We are willing to dismiss that ‘failure’ after a sin or two.  In my natural mind, in my awareness of my sin and the sins of the World, the story of Noah makes a lot more sense to me than the story of Jesus. I can understand God's anger and the solution He proposed! "God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7, The Message)

"But God,” what a conjunction. God interrupts, “But …”  shifting the conversation. The verse continues-  “who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." (Ephesians 2:4-5, NKJV)

Advent brings us the message of redemption, hope, revealing the heart of God who demonstrates a love that defies mere “justice.” The Father intervenes not to destroy but to restore.  Will He judge with justice? Absolutely, one day - but right now the Word holds out a path to salvation. "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:6-8, NLT)

The cracks that life’s pressure causes in us is where the Light of Jesus shines through. On the bleak canvas which we smear with our failures, He paints His picture of forgiveness.  

Today, I am filled with a new sense of hope - for myself, for the world that I live in. This hope comes from the promise of Jesus Christ to love us despite our sin. Advent sings with joyful celebration -"He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found!"  Are you in despair this morning? Are you discouraged - by your own sins, by the failures of a friend or family member, by the darkness of the world?
Fall on your knees and look up to the Cross where the broken Savior built a bridge that connects us to our Father. Rest there!

The word from the Word for our meditation comes from the letter to the Hebrews. “The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So, let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.” -The Message, Hebrews 4:9-12

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God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry gentlemen

Let nothing you dismay

Remember Christ our Saviour

Was born on Christmas Day

To save us all from Satan's pow'r

When we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our heavenly Father

A blessed angel came

And unto certain shepherds

Brought tidings of the same

How that in Bethlehem was born

The Son of God by name

Fear not then said the angel

Let nothing you affright

This day is born a Saviour

Of a pure virgin bright

To free all those who trust in Him

From Satan's pow'r and might

O tidings of comfort and joy

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

Unknown

© Words: Public Domain

Read the last chapter!

Spoiler alert! You see this warning in a review of a book or play when there is about to be a revelation of a critical turn in the plot. If you don’t want to ruin the story for yourself, you stop reading, right? Occasionally a writer will show you the end of the story and then turn time back to unfold the drama that led to the conclusion that you now know.  I’ll admit that sometimes I read the last chapter in a novel first. Silly? Maybe, but it’s something I do.

God told us the end of the story, the promise of eternal life, the defeat of evil, the joy of Heaven in His Book. I am so glad He did! Why? Because sometimes, in the middle of this thing we call life it all looks overwhelming, doesn’t it?  Whether we are talking about world problems – and there are plenty of those; or the more local challenges of our situation – and at least in my life there are enough to keep things ‘interesting;’ or even our personal struggles, we are encouraged to remain faithful to Him because we have assurance that He has our lives in His hands.

The closing passage of Romans 8 is packed full promise!  It’s a sort of spoiler alert for our lives, but in the best sense. Because we are called and justified in Christ, "we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. …After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? … Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. … None of this (death, demons, etc.) fazes us because Jesus loves us." (Romans 8:37, The Message)

On this Friday, perhaps you have had a tough week.  My heart has been full of concern this week, perhaps more than usual, for the people in my pastoral care – for those with broken hearts, for those with unrelenting pain, for those battling addiction, for those who are wondering if it’s worth the struggle, for those trying to make sense of what seems senseless, and more.  I will confess that these concerns have kept me awake in the night, have heavily weighed on me. Some of my prayers have just been sighs, knowing that the "Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26, NIV)  Yet, I pray those heavy prayers with faith in the promise – He has made us ‘more than conquerors’ through Christ Who loves us.  I know the end of the story, ‘cause I have read the last chapter.

Fighting the good fight? Never quit. Don’t settle for apathy or resignation.

Here is a word from the Word. My prayer is that the Truth will infuse us with courage, stamina, and vision, for the Glory of God, now and forever. "And the angel showed me a pure river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will anything be cursed. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:1-5, NLT)

Jesus says, “See, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me, to repay all according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12-13, NLT)

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O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)

O come all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant

O come ye O come ye to Bethlehem

Come and behold Him

Born the King of angels

O come let us adore Him

O come let us adore Him

O come let us adore Him

Christ the Lord

Sing choirs of angels

Sing in exultation

O sing all ye bright

Hosts of heav'n above

Glory to God all

Glory in the highest

Yea Lord we greet Thee

Born this happy morning

Jesus to Thee be all glory giv'n

Word of the Father

Now in flesh appearing

C. Frederick Oakeley © Words: Public Domain

Living to your God-given potential

On that Sunday morning in 1977 when Bev and I dedicated our first-born son to the Lord, I sang to him: “You are a promise, You are a possibility… you are a great big bundle of potentiality.”  (Bill Gaither)  My head was full of questions that day 4 decades ago. Who would he become? What choices would be made to shape him? How would he use the gift of life? Would he allow God, the Holy Spirit, to develop his abilities and choose a path that would honor the God who made Him?  (I am proud of the man he is today, by the way!)  

My own father spoke often to me as I grew up about potential and promise: about the importance of our choices and God’s gifts, about becoming a person who contributes to the world and remembers the higher purposes of the Lord.

When the Spirit calls you into the family of God, when you are reconciled to your Father and made alive through Christ Jesus, there are expectations of you, too. God sees each one of us as a ‘big bundle of potentiality!’  Yes, there is a whole new way of life opened to us when the Spirit of God takes residence in us, as we are ‘born again’ becoming children of God.  Look at this passage that speaks of the new things that are possible in us and through us. "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:14-17, NIV)

• You have an identity!  Don’t be confused about who you are, where you belong. You are God’s own child. My own children clearly knew who they were. They were connected to a family, that was part of a larger family. From the stories they heard they learned about who they were, where they came from, and how to live.  As God’s child, you too, have an identity. You are shown, in Christ Jesus, how to live.

• You enjoy access and closeness to Him! I hope that despite my imperfections as a father, that my children never needed to wonder if they were loved. I tried to be a Dad who was available to them, interested in who they were, ready to hear their stories and help them work through their struggles. Some of my most precious memories of fathering are formed around times when I was able to encourage, pray, and help them made the difficult choices that helped them to grow on.  Paul reminds us that we are not slaves of fear, as we once were. We are God’s kids who come eagerly to Him, “Abba.”  That is a word of deep respect and personal intimacy, a way of saying “My Father!”

• You have an inheritance.  For us inheritance is about something received after death, in the settlement of an estate. That is not what Paul is writing about in this passage. The declaration of paternity in that time made a son one who shared in the family’s wealth, though it was not yet in his control. As heirs of God, we are given riches (please think bigger thoughts than money!) so that we can live without a sense of lack. We live with the knowledge that He has made us to share His love and life, not as recipients of charity but with full rights as children!  And as we stand with our co-heir Christ Jesus, remaining faithful in times of suffering, there is an unwavering assurance that we will ultimately enjoy the glorious existence that is prepared for us in the Father’s house.

Yes, in Christ, possibilities are released in us and for us – identity, intimacy, inheritance.  Are you living in a way that invites the Spirit to lead you to discover the full expectation of Your Father?

Meditate on this word from the Word. Here the Spirit reminds that the amazingly wonderful truths about our adoption into God’s family are fully declared, but as yet, not fully realized. Pray for faith to accept what He has said, so that you will live to fully inherit His promise. 

"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse.

 All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us." (Romans 8:18-23, NLT)

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No Longer Slaves

(worship at this link)

You unravel me with a melody

You surround me with a song

Of deliverance from my enemies

Till all my fears are gone

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

I'm no longer a slave to fear

I am a child of God

From my Mother's womb

You have chosen me

Love has called my name

I've been born again into Your family

Your blood flows through my veins

You split the sea so I could walk right through it

My fears were drowned in perfect love

You rescued me so I could stand and sing

I am a child of God

Brian Johnson | Joel Case | Jonathan David Helser

© 2014 Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055