Light it up

 

“Nothing good happens after midnight.”  I’m sure my now adult children remember that phrase from their teen years, when I was establishing a curfew.  Requesting that they get home a respectable hour was my attempt to protect them against the temptations that grow more alluring late at night, under cover of darkness. Some of you are probably glad I was not your Dad, right?

Paul’s inspired words that follow up those that promise the Return of Christ Jesus, use the metaphor of the day and night, the clarity of mind that is found at midday and the temptations that are part of the nightlife. He urges us to ‘belong to the day.’  "You, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, NIV)

The ancient world knew a much more clear divide between day and night than we do. Our technology and lighting allows productivity to go on ‘round the clock, but in Paul’s time, the daylight provided the only opportunity to work. When night fell, without the benefit of lights, crime increased dramatically in the dark streets. There were many dangers lurking in the darkness. So, it was time to be home, sleeping, and for some, a time of drunkenness.

Christian, are you living as a child of the day, a productive disciple?
Is your life open to inspection, an example of self-control, faith, and hope as befits one who knows Christ as Lord?

Are you wide awake, ready for the appearing of our Lord and Savior?

This past Sunday, I referenced the “Last Days” with the reminder that even if Jesus’ return does not happen for another century, each of us is living, in a sense, in our own last days, whether we are 14, 40, or 64! Life, in comparison to eternity, is so short. We cannot afford to let day after day pass as if we were asleep, or worse, intoxicated with the things of this world, so that we forget the calling given us in Christ Jesus.

Let’s make this season of Advent a time of renewal, a rediscovery our calling to service, as we live ‘in the Light.’

Here is a word from the Word, another passage that carries the same theme.

 “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you." (Ephesians 5:14-18, NLT)

Lord, use your Word to awaken me.

May I be clear-minded, focused on Your goodness.

Lead me to live so that nothing is hidden,
nothing owns me apart from Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ holy Name. Amen.

_______

Asleep In The Light

(a powerful song of revival
from the ministry of Keith Green, 1978)

Do you see do you see

All the people sinking down

Don't you care don't you care

Are you gonna let them drown

How can you be so numb

Not to care if they come

You close your eyes

And pretend the job's done

Oh bless me Lord bless me Lord

You know it's all I ever hear

No one aches no one hurts

No one even sheds one tear

But He cries He weeps He bleeds

And He cares for your needs

And you just lay back

And keep soaking it in

Oh can't you see it's such sin

'Cause He brings people to your door

And you turn them away

As you smile and say

God bless you be at peace

And all heaven just weeps

'Cause Jesus came to your door

You've left Him out on the streets

Open up open up

And give yourself away

You see the need you hear the cries

So how can you delay

God's calling and you're the one

But like Jonah you run

He's told you to speak

But you keep holding it in

Oh can't you see it's such a sin

The world is sleeping in the dark

That the church just can't fight

'Cause it's asleep in the light

How can you be so dead

When you've been so well fed

Jesus rose from the grave

And you you can't even get out of bed

Oh Jesus rose from the dead

Come on get out of your bed

How can you be so numb

Not to care if they come

You close your eyes

And pretend the job's done

You close your eyes

And pretend the job's done

Don't close your eyes

Don't pretend the job's done

Come away come away come away

With Me my love

Come away from this mess

Come away with Me my love

Keith Green

© 1978 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

Birdwing Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Ears To Hear (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Hopeful!

The Christmas season officially started yesterday.  It was the first day of Advent, when Christians remember He came to save the world, He comes to us today to be our Lord, and that He will come again as our King.  At home, the tree went up and, since it was a snowy day. 

For some of us this season of celebration includes some sorrow. I remember those who are not singing with us, that will not share the joy of the Season’s festivities. As I went through boxes of decorations, so many of them were reminders of my wife who died four years ago, just four days after Christmas. When we put up our last Christmas tree together in 2015, she was too weak to do the work, but she carefully supervised the placement of each bow and bauble from her place on the couch.

My Bible reading this morning brought me to this passage of promise from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian Christians. There is so much hope included here. These are Advent words!  "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16, NIV)

“The Coming of the Lord” is the Blessed Hope of the Christian. This is the moment of triumph, the final shout of victory, that we wait for in expectation. We recognize that our life is short, that all voices eventually are stilled by death, but we need not be in despair, nor do we ‘grieve as those who have no hope.’  Christians feel the loss that comes with the great divide of death. After 4 years, I still awaken often to renewed realization that Bev is beyond my reach, that I cannot share life with her, right now. But, I hold onto the promise that she lives in the Presence of God and that she, and millions more, will be reunited at the moment when trumpet of God announces the end of the ages.

Christian does your vision lift from the daily responsibilities of life from time to time to take in the far horizon that includes eternity? We can become captives of the day, faithful and dutiful disciples unless we consciously look up and renew our faith, a tight grasp on the hope and inspiration that comes from the proclamation that death does not have the final word.  As you mark the days of Advent make sure it is not just about the Baby in Bethlehem’s manger.  Include the Lord of the Revelation.

Here is a word from the Word. May it fill you up with hope and joy.
“The Father sets those dates,” he replied, “and they are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven.

And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!” (Acts 1:7-11, NLT)

________

Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending
(Wesley’s hymn, beautifully sung)

Lo He comes with clouds descending

Once for favoured sinners slain

Thousand thousand saints attending

Swell the triumph of His train

Alleluia alleluia alleluia

God appears on earth to reign

Every eye shall now behold Him

Robed in glorious majesty

Those who set at naught and sold Him

Pierced and nailed Him to the tree

Deeply wailing

Deeply wailing

Deeply wailing

Shall their true Messiah see

TYea Amen let all adore Thee

High on Thine eternal throne

Saviour take the power and glory

Claim the kingdom for Thine own

Come Lord Jesus

Come Lord Jesus

Come Lord Jesus

Everlasting God come down

Charles Wesley © Words: Public Domain

Saying it again

 

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV)  This short verse has occupied my thoughts for several weeks, the theme of my November sermons, the challenge of my personal life. The Spirit is calling me (and you) to bring thankfulness to God to the forefront of our mind.  G.K. Chesterton wrote that we need to get in the habit of "taking things with gratitude and not taking things for granted.”  

A Christian who wants to reflect the heart of Jesus to the world will learn to be grateful – to God, to others – consistently. It takes practice, discipline, and prayer! Self (ego) will devour as much attention as we give to it. If we believe that gratitude is a reaction, something we ‘feel’ rather than an intentional choice, we will only find thanks on those days when the kids are mysteriously wonderful and kind to each other, when our spouse is especially attentive to our needs, when our coffee is served ‘just right,’ and everyone on the road is courteous.  If we wait for some emotion to find us, we will not be thankful very often. It’s a simple command, but true - choose thanks as a way of life. (See the opening line today.)

Henri Nouwen discovered the importance of intentional thanks. “In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.”

If we allow our mind to wander in the maze of ‘if only’ and ‘could be’ we will not find the joy of gratitude to God for this day and the unique opportunities it presents. Every moment that I spend daydreaming about different circumstances is a moment where I am not present right where I am. That does not mean that I cannot work to change things, or that I cannot acknowledge pain or disappointment.  Gratitude is not escapism, nor is it denial. Gratitude finds God in the now and accepts His grace.

Here are a few practical suggestions for making Thanksgiving a richer day.   They are not novel, not profound, but true. 

Begin the day with thanks to God.

Be thoughtful, getting beyond “Thank you, Lord, for all You have done.” Make it personal.
 

Make your first words to someone else be thankful.
                If you start with God, this will flow more naturally.

Should irritation stir in you, (and if you’re with large family groups, it surely may) meet it with a choice to be thankful  and replace it with a positive thought about that person who is getting under your skin.

You might even want to attempt to write your own “Psalm.”
(Model it after Psalm 103)
"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and
crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." (Psalm 103:2-5, NIV)

Thankfulness is contagious. A person who is genuinely filling up life with gratitude will inspire others to be grateful.

Here is the word from the Word. Let’s live it, honoring the Lord with an attitude of gratitude!
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies." (Psalm 107:1-2, NLT)  

"Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
Let them exalt him publicly before the
congregation and before the leaders of the nation." (Psalm 107:31-32, NLT)

_____

I pray a most rich and blessed Thanksgiving for you! 
There will be a service of thanksgiving at Faith Discovery, Weds., 11/27, at 7 PM.

CoffeeBreak will be back next Monday, 12/2. 

You’re invited to be a part of our Advent observance starting Sunday.
Our theme is the “Cast of Christmas,” encouragement to participate in the preparation for the Coming of the Savior and King.