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Sunday, December 4, 2016

Advent Journal Day VIII: Perfect Peace

Tonight the second candle of Advent is lit. This week we seek His peace. Meditate on the Word and its promises concerning the Peace of Christ. Be encouraged with these Scriptures to prepare your hearts this week to receive His Peace.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! Isaiah 14:12

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Isaiah 55:1

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Isaiah 61:1

To read the entire Advent Journal click here:

Advent Journal: A Theology of Thanksgiving

My Scribbling...

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Advent Journal Day VII: Awake And Alive And Full of Hope

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

Psalm 130 A Song of Ascents.

Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities (Psalm 130: 1-8 NASB).

Again, a Psalm of Ascent sung by those going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of the Lord. Those pilgrims were alive with joy and hope in the God of Israel; we have the same hope—we too should be alive in joy in celebrating the season. In my daily creating of a thanksgiving theology, I seek to be more awake and alive to Him and His presence. I am not awake or alert enough to Him. Christ warns us to not sleep concerning His coming:

Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming (Matt. 24:42 NASB).

I am also moved by an older wiser sister in the faith:

“Contemplating Jesus Second Coming stirs me to watchfulness. His parables warn against the dangers of a spiritually sluggish life (see Matthew 25; Mark 13:32-37; Luke 12:35-48). Watching is more than staying awake; it is anticipation and faithfulness. The One my soul loves may come today to gather me to himself. That hope motivates me to be ready, vigilant and diligent, prepared. I must cultivate a watchful spirit.”[1]

I don’t want to just know that Jesus is coming; I want to be awake and alive and about His business so that when He comes, He will find me faithful. I have a lot of work to do.

I need to test my heart and see how awake and alive I am for Christ. It is one thing to celebrate His arrival over two-thousand years ago; it is another to worship Him all year long. How do I cultivate a thanksgiving theology, throughout the year? How can I cultivate a grateful heart three-hundred-sixty-five days—not only for certain celebrations? I asked my heart a few questions; maybe you can too:

Do my eyes fill with tears and my heart with love when I recount how Christ revealed Himself to me and saved me from the miry pit of sin I was drowning in—do I share that story with others? Am I overwhelmed with love and awe as I remember that He is God incarnate, that He died and raised up again into New Life for me? Am I filled with wonder when I hear the voice of God speak to me from the pages of the Holy Writ and into my heart? Am I undone like the woman with the alabaster box at His Love, Grace, and Mercy as He lovingly accepts my worship—the lowly sinner? Am I ready if He knocks on my door today?

As we come to the end of the first week of Advent—igniting our hope in the Lord and in His coming, and enter into the second week of preparation, reflect on the above questions. Are you awake and alive? Ignite your hope in the Lord and look for His coming; the Advent we celebrate now and the one we look forward to. We have the same hope in Christ's Second coming, where He will interrupt our chronos with a glorious kairos. Angels pronounced His birth at the first advent and the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God (see 1 Thess. 4:16) at the second. Rest in the Hope of His coming; the Hope that He came once and the Hope that He will come again. Prepare for His coming and be ready.

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley

To read the entire Advent Journal click here:

Advent Journal: A Theology of Thanksgiving

My Scribbling...

[1] Jean Fleming, Pursue The Intentional Life (Carol Stream, IL: NavPress, 2013), 147.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Advent Journal Day VI: The Great Gift Giver

Christmas is a time of giving. Families give gifts to their loved ones, and children eagerly await Christmas morning to tear open the gifts they receive. The Lord is the ultimate Giver of many gifts. I was reading Acts the other day and a word jumped off the page at me—Gave.

And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs (Acts 7:8 NASB).

God is the Giver of many good gifts. James says this of Him:

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (1:17 NASB).

God gave circumcision as a gift to Abraham and his descendants who followed; the gift that was the sign of the covenant He made with him. Unlike the Mosaic covenant which was conditional, this was a grant covenant—Abraham did not have to perform for the gift—It was freely given by the Father.

God not only gave the covenant of circumcision, but He also gave the fulfillment of who that covenant promised—the Deliverer.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16 NASB).

The first covenant was the promise of the Savior of the world, and God gave that promise to Abraham then, and now to all of us because of faith in Jesus, the one in whom we place our hope.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise (Gal. 3:29 NASB).

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1 NASB).

In this season, remember to hope in the Lord. He is the promise Giver, the gift Giver, the One who fulfills all that He promises. He Gave to demonstrate how much He Loves. There is no greater gift than the gift of Jesus Christ—it will never see its equal.

To read the entire Advent Journal click here:

Advent Journal: A Theology of Thanksgiving

My Scribbling...

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Advent Journal Day V: A Christmas Prayer

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do, seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things, look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways, long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy, seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking light. To you we say, Come Lord Jesus. ~Henri Nouwen

To read the entire Advent Journal click here:

Advent Journal: A Theology of Thanksgiving

My Scribbling....

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Advent Journal Day IV: The Servant Waits For The Master

The Christmas season is supposed to be a time of joy, but for many it is a hard time to endure. Today’s news illustrates how tough life can be; what could bring a mother to take the life of her two young children and herself? Depression and discouragement abound just as much if not more than the magic of the season. Your situation may not be on that level of human suffering, but many things vie for our attention. The to-do list grows exponentially, the calendar fills quickly with parties and events, the checkbook does not reconcile with the dreams and hopes that Christmas is supposed to bring.

The Lord wants more for us during this season; He wants us to look to His coming with joy and expectation; not through gloomy eyes. The Psalmist proclaims:

I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Psalm 122:1 NASB

This Psalm is not about going to church on Sunday, though many interpret it as such. This is a Psalm of Ascent, a liturgy for Jewish Pilgrims going up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of Israel. Not only are they celebrating the festival, they are so celebrating that their feet are in the gates of Jerusalem. Arriving in Jerusalem at the Temple was a very joyous occasion. What Jerusalem was to Israel is what the Church and the holidays she celebrates, should be to believers. Even if times are hard and discouraging, we should approach them with joy; joy that we have the privilege of remembering Christ’s coming over two-thousand years ago, and His Future Advent.

The psalmists often found themselves discouraged because of trials or circumstances which surrounded them; yet they still called upon the Lord for help:

To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He is gracious to us. Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us, for we are greatly filled with contempt. Our soul is greatly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud.

In ancient times, a servant stood dutifully awaiting a command from the one she served. She did nothing but watch the hand of her master. When the master needed the servant, they would raise their hand to summon the servant. That is the picture the psalmist paints here: he will do nothing but look to the Lord for help. He overcame every distraction, every circumstance and cried to God for help and waited on Him; his hope was solely in the Lord. This is what we should do when we become discouraged and trodden down with the commercialism and secular hype of the holidays. Hope in Him. Look to the Lord for His grace; He is faithful to answer. What other time of year can you hear walking through the mall, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! Glory to the newborn King! Look for every drop of grace from the Father, and cultivate a grateful heart, and you will find joy in the season and have hope for the arrival of the coming King.