Speak of LOVE

Adore is a word that means -  "to worship."  from root words ad and orare, creating a compound word that means “to speak, to pray” – in short to open our mouth!  What does the overflow of your speech reveal about your heart’s affections?  I adored Bev, my late wife, not because I had to but because I truly loved her. I spoke often to her with tender words of affection. Words that spoke to her about how much she meant to me, the ways in which I found her delightful, were not kept in reserve. Words of adoration written in cards and shared in the course of everyday life were an important part of sustaining the affection in our marriage.

I adore Jesus, too.
I worship Him with my words, in song, in prayer, in daily speech. I hope that the overflow of my speech reveals a man devoted to His Lord and Savior beyond duty. As the song says I desire to have a “pure and holy passion” for Christ Jesus.

Can we honestly profess to adore Christ Jesus IF we never speak of Him or seldom speak to Him? I think not. We may be fond of Jesus without speaking of Him. We may trust Him as Savior without speaking of Him, but we cannot claim to adore Him and remain silent about Him.  IF we adore Him, we commune with Him.   "I will sing of the tender mercies of the Lord forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens." (Psalm 89:1-2, NLT)

Our love for the Lord must be cared for in much the same way that we nurture human love.  Relationships that were once full of love can die from simple neglect! Marriage can perish if another love is allowed to replace the primary one. In the same way our devotion to God will die if worship is not consistent, if we prioritize work or play over our worship, both corporate and personal.  

And yes, our devotion to Him can be replaced with other loves. So many temptations offer us pleasure and try to take His place at the center of life. In the book of the Revelation, Jesus laments the state of the Ephesian Christians. They broke His heart by allowing their fervent passion to cool.  They were dutifully religious, but without adoration! He says to them, "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." (Revelation 2:3-5, NIV)

When you hear that carol, "O Come, All Ye Faithful" I hope it will stir you to adoration! Open your mouth and give Him praise.  Sing and speak of His goodness. A word of caution is in order here. IF you don't adore Him, then don't try to convince yourself or someone else that you do with empty words or borrowed words!  Get the inside right before trying to appear to love and adore Him. 

Love is first and foremost a choice.  Yes, it is a feeling, an emotion, too.  There will be days of hurry, fatigue, or distraction when we will not feel much of a desire for God. In that moment, we remember that we have entered into a covenant of devotion and we guard our heart. The emotions will return. His love stirs our love. John says it this way – "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. … We love because he first loved us." (1 John 3:1, 4:19, NIV)

Meditate on this word from the Word.

“May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life
and power that comes from God.”  
(Ephesians 3:17)

_________________

O Come, All Ye Faithful
(Martina McBride invites us to come to adore Him)

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 citizens of heav'n above.
Glory to God,
All glory in the highest.

 O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

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.

O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

 John Wade © Public Domain

Please find JOY

 

Finding Christmas’ joy is a lot harder in 2020 isn’t it?  Health authorities are urging us not to travel, not to gather. Families will be apart. Christmas Eve services will have far fewer in attendance. Feasts will turn into suppers. Many of the things we usually do around the ‘holy-day’ are not happening this year.

BUT, I am choosing JOY!  I put up my tree, decorated my house, and started to play Christian music before Thanksgiving – gasp!  I am determined to remember how to live with JOY, regardless of the circumstances.  Will you choose to enjoy the decorations and blinking lights?  Will you intentionally make the journey of Advent, joyfully? 

Christ Jesus came to a world that was far more sad, to people who lived in circumstances much more dire, than what we experience.  The Jews were oppressed by Roman occupation, taxed, and subject to tyranny. Life was, for many, short and hard. Poverty was everywhere. Children frequently died from disease. Work was grueling. Into that world God sent His Son with a gift – “life to the full.”  But, most of the world failed to receive the Gift. John tells us that "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:4-5, NIV)

The Gift is still offered to us. His salvation is still available, bringing us Light and life. Will we receive Him, find that promised joy?  

In this age of COVID and chaos we are at risk of seeing only the difficulties and missing the joy offered. That is why I encourage you to invest time each day in soul care, in worship.  If we attempt to find Christmas joy by making this month into a Santa-centered holiday extravaganza, we may enjoy some happy moments, but we will also come up spiritually empty on December 26.  Oh yes, I appreciate the "Santa Claus" idea that fuels much fun. However, he’s not ‘it.’ Christmas celebrates good news that is ancient yet new with each proclamation:  "Jesus, the Savior, is born!"

So how can we experience real JOY?  Here are some suggestions.

Engage with other people authentically.

If you cannot make the family gathering, make a phone call, send a note, connect on Messenger. Take time, when you’re out and behind that mask, to extend a simple greeting with those who pass you by. When you do have a real conversation, listen and look for ways to lift up not tear down.

Practice generosity.

This is a season of gift giving. Start with the gift of yourself. Set aside self-centeredness. Give forgiveness. Give love. Give grace. Oh how our world needs people who are great-hearted and generous.  It is a mistake to think that spending large amounts of money on an extravagant gift can buy love. But, giving of ourselves, including our resources, to those who cannot repay, feeds our soul. The Word reminds us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Really, it is!

Listen to the Spirit.  

Focus and then re-focus on the story of God becoming Flesh,  a baby born in a manger who brought the Word to us. Most of us have heard the story about a couple traveling to Bethlehem, not finding a room, their Baby born in a manger, angels singing an announcement to shepherds so many times that we are tempted to nod along all the while missing the wonder of it all. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” What a gift!

Joy is available to us, God’s gift. Will we live in it in 2020?

The word from the Word says "The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:9-14, NIV)

________________________

Angels We Have Heard on High
(Josh Groban sings this carol beautifully!)

Angels we have heard on high,

Sweetly singing o'er the plains;

And the mountains in reply,

Echoing their joyous strains.

 

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

Shepherds, why this jubilee?

Why your joyous strains prolong?

Say what may the tidings be;

Which inspire your heav'nly song?

 

Come to Bethlehem and see,

Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee,

Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

 

See within a manger laid,

Jesus, Lord of heav'n and earth;

Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,

With us sing our Savior's birth.

 

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

 

© Public Domain

Light it up!

A little tree in my backyard is covered with Christmas lights that blink on and off and that gives me joy. I suppose that is the child in me.  Christmas lights are the best part of seasonal decorations, for me! Some people like those multi-colored strands of bright reds, greens, blues; but they are not my style. I think that the clear white ones are the only way to go.

It is the symbolism of the lights that I Iove the most. As the long darkness of winter settles over us, we protest by putting up the lights that make our homes bright.  In so doing, we remember the One who came to a darkened world to be the Light of Life.

“Lighting” sets a mood, doesn’t it? A room with poor lighting may be beautifully decorated but who can enjoy what is hidden by shadows?  Glaring fluorescent lighting screams “industrial” and “cold.”  Lighting can enhance a sense of intimacy, set off a focal point. Then, too, who is not happier on those days flooded with brilliant sunshine?  Such is the power of light.

Jesus changes our lives by bringing Light to us. Of the Incarnation, John said, "Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:4-5, NLT)  Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah as Light. "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Isaiah 9:2, NIV)  Because of the coming of the LIGHT, we need no longer stumble through life, tripped up by sin, confused by the lies of that are told by the prince of darkness.  Jesus comes at the Revealer, the Truthful One, the Way;  the Light of Life.

And…  Christians are called to live in the Light and to be light-bearers. "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16, NIV)  

Disciple, are you living in the Light?  We give ourselves to Him prayerfully inviting His Light to shine into our lives. What a powerful metaphor that is for us. When light is introduced to a room, darkness is dispelled. Darkness is a void; light fills that ‘empty’ place.  The glorious Truth is that when we respond in faith to Him, He gives us Light and dispels the darkness. To rid ourselves of the ugliness  and hopelessness of sin is a futile task. But, when Jesus Christ enters our lives, He does in us, what we cannot do for ourselves. Believe and simply receive!

This wonderful time of the year I hope that those Christmas lights strung around your home, along the streets, and in the stores cause you to rejoice; remembering that you are a child of God, called to live ‘in the Light.’  “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you." (Isaiah 60:1-2, NIV)

The word from the Word for today is a prayer.
In these opening days of Advent, make it your prayer.

"Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.

I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God." (Psalm 43:3-5, NIV)

_________________________

I Saw the Light
(Hank Williams sings a classic)

 

I wandered so aimless,

Life filled with sin.

I wouldn't let my dear Savior in.

Then Jesus came

Like a stranger in the night.

Praise the Lord! I saw the light!

 

I saw the light,

I saw the light.

No more in darkness,

No more in night!

Now I'm so happy,

No sorrow in sight.

Praise the Lord!

I saw the light!

 

Just like a blind man

I wandered along,

Worries and fears
I claimed for my own.

Then like the blind man

That God gave back his sight,

Praise the Lord!

I saw the light.

 

I was a fool

To wander and stray;

Straight is the gate

And narrow the way.

Now I have traded

The wrong for the right;

Praise the Lord! I saw the light!

 

Williams, Hank

© 1948. Renewed 1975 Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.  / Hiriam Music, Inc. Unaffiliated Catalog (UC)

CCLI License No. 810055

 

Talk to Him

 

My granddaughter, Selah, who is 9 years of age, visited last week. Being with her you get a kind of stream of consciousness in her communication which I found delightful. Words bubble over from her that are refreshingly honest, observations about what she sees, how she feels, what she thinks. She does not seek to be profound. She just shares herself with her words.

What a model for our relationship with our Father in Heaven. He invites us to keep an open line of communication with Him.  "Be joyful always; pray continually!" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, NIV)

I am so thankful for the privilege of conversational prayer! Before I got up today, I prayed for a friend facing jury duty, for another who is dealing with health issues, for several situations in which I desire the wisdom of the Spirit. My prayers were not carefully shaped, not even complete sentences. They were my heart talking with Abba.  Sometimes my prayers are just words of thanks or praise or wonder! Sometimes I pray in the language of the Spirit as I drive to a pastoral call with someone in crisis. 

Believe it or not, I seldom pray by getting down on my knees, clasping my hands, and turning my head towards the sky in prayer! He is not much impressed with long monologues addressed to the “One who filleth our lives with blessed beneficence, Whose Majesty we implore to rest mightily upon us.”  In our daily life, He invites us to talk with Him, our Father, Who loves us! 

Jesus taught us about praying without giving us formulas that ‘guarantee results’ as I’ve heard some preachers do.  He never suggested that we should attempt to pray in such a way that you ‘get what you want from God.’  He showed us that prayer flows out of a relationship. In fact, Jesus specifically warned about making prayer into a show. “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?" (Matthew 6:5, The Message) 

He also cautioned us about turning prayer into recitation or empty ritual. “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again." (Matthew 6:7, NLT)  It is worth noting that Jesus also said that our relationships with other people have a direct bearing on our prayer life! If we are hateful or unforgiving, we sever the connection that lets us pray from our hearts. He reminds us of the importance of letting go of the offenses of others which frees us to approach God without the weight of hate!

When we pray we should expect God to answer in the same way a beloved child expects the care of a parent. "For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:8-11, NLT) 

Please do not make that into the legal language of a contract. It is the promise of our loving Father.  He doesn’t promise that if we use the right words, adopt the right attitude, or find the right time or place, that our prayers will produce every result we desire! That would be disastrous, given our short-sightedness, selfishness, and frequently foolish prayers!  He invites us to be aligned with His heart, to ask freely and accept faithfully all that He provides.

Prayer involves mystery and faith.
God is God, I am not.
He is infinite, I am not.
He is all-wise, I am not.
He asks only that I stay in right relationship with Him by being obedient to His Word and Spirit, living with a deep faith that trusts Him implicitly. 

2020, with all the crisis and confusion, invites us to learn to pray- not longer, not more eloquent prayers but rather those that are like Selah’s conversations with me, the unguarded overflow of our heart, an authentic expression of who we are – not childish, but child-like! I hope that we will really converse with the Lord – crying with Him when our hearts are broken, pouring out our praise to Him when life is working for us, presenting our needs and requests to Him at His invitation, and most of all; resting in His promise to love us through it all!

The word from the Word says "I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight 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 confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.”  (Ephesians 1:16-19, NLT)  

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:16-21, NLT)

____________

Lord I Need You

 

Lord I come I confess

Bowing here I find my rest

And without You I fall apart

You're the one that guides my heart

 

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

 

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

Where You are Lord I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

 

So teach my song to rise to You

When temptation comes my way

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus You're my hope and stay

 

Lord I need You oh I need You

Ev'ry hour I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

My one defense my righteousness

Oh God how I need You

 

Christy Nockels | Daniel Carson | Jesse Reeves | Kristian Stanfill | Matt Maher

© 2011 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Sweater Weather Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Valley Of Songs Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Restore the shine

 

Have you ‘renewed’ anything recently? A couple of weeks ago I decided that my battered dining room table top was in need of a refinishing.  After a few hours of sanding and applying new finish, it looks much better! The once dull tabletop shines again. Who doesn’t appreciate getting something old renewed? Whether it is a table top or a tattered relationship, it feels good to work at restoration.

Advent is a time for soul renewal! Life wears on us. The daily grind can dull our senses, rob us of joy, and bring on fatigue. 2020 has brought double portions of stress and uncertainty. Are you soul-weary; tired of the endless drone of statistics about the pandemic, feeling the weight of sadness for those who grieve, who have lost their livelihood, who are feeling the strain of isolation?  I surely am!  Join me in a faith response to God’s invitation to renewal of hope in the Lord as we remember the Savior who came to free us from sin and the promise that the King will come again to make all things new! 

Jonah, the wayward prophet, ran from his calling, found himself weary, asleep in the ship that was carrying him away from God’s will. You know the story. A storm blew up that threatened to sink that that boat, taking the lives of the sailors. Jonah realized he was the person God was pursuing and told them to throw him overboard, which they did. From the belly of the ‘great fish’ that miraculously swallowed him, he repented.

His prayer includes these words of renewal. "To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:6-9, NIV)

I love the interplay of loss and hope in those words.  “I sank down … You brought my life up.”  “My life was ebbing away … my prayer rose to You.”  Do you need to pray those hopeful words today?  Are you sinking under the weight of the world, in need of Someone to raise you up?  Does it feel as though life itself is slipping way, with only faint whispers of prayer left over?  God is our HOPE. Jonah’s pride and self-will had brought him down. To all appearance he was beyond renewal, past redemption.

“But God” …    Oh, how I love that little phrase that is tucked into the 2^nd chapter of Ephesians signaling renewal for those who will respond to the Spirit’s invitation to life. Remember it?  "Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins." (Ephesians 2:1, NLT) "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!)" (Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT) 

As we make the journey of Advent, making our way to the celebrate of Christmas, let’s listen for His words of invitation to renewal. Come to the old story of “Immanuel, God with us.” Come simply. Soak it in. Let go of the bad, the sad, the doom, the gloom, and let the Light shine.  Like Jonah, confess the goodness of the Lord … even if you are still ‘in the belly of the fish,’ so to speak.  He anticipated God’s goodness, trusting that the time would come to sing again, to do the work of God. And why? Because “Salvation comes from the LORD.”

The word from the Word is that portion of Jonah’s prayer which I want to read again.|
As I do, let this become your prayer, one that reaches for the renewal and restoration of our HOPE in the Lord.

"But you, O Lord my God, have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death!
When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.
Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and
I will fulfill all my vows.
For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” (Jonah 2:6-9, NLT)

_________

Shine, Jesus, Shine
(a song of renewal!)

Lord the light of Your love is shining

In the midst of the darkness shining

Jesus Light of the world shine upon us

Set us free by the truth You now bring us

Shine on me shine on me

 

Shine Jesus shine

Fill this land

With the Father's glory

Blaze Spirit blaze

Set our hearts on fire

Flow river flow

Flood the nations

With grace and mercy

Send forth Your word Lord

And let there be light

 

Lord I come to Your awesome presence

From the shadows into Your radiance

By the blood I may enter Your brightness

Search me try me consume all my darkness

Shine on me shine on me

 

As we gaze on Your kingly brightness

So our faces display Your likeness

Ever changing from glory to glory

Mirrored here may our lives tell Your story

Shine on me shine on me

 

Graham Kendrick

© 1987 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055