Category Archives: Birth of Jesus

True Light

Posted on December 6, 2015 | Leave a comment

John 1:9-14 12/7/15
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John’s Scripture got me thinking about another light source.  The first thing that came to my mind was a Flashlight.  As a kid did you ever shine your flashlight in someone’s face?  I did.  I’m sorry to admit how much fun it was to hear my victims squeal and squirm to get away from that obnoxious beam and know they couldn’t even tell who was torturing them.  That’s how my mind works.

But here’s how the Holy Spirit works in my mind.  When I typed that word, flashlight, I realized how similarly flashlight and “false light” are spelled.  I think God meant my first thought  to be an object lesson.  There’s such an obvious difference between my flashlight confession with it’s purpose to blind and conceal and the light John speaks of that’s meant to illuminate and reveal.

False light may be what happened then because “though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.”  That’s what makes this Advent journey so important.  Scripture, and thoughts, in these daily doses is light for the path.  We walk to recognize for ourself the True Light of God’s reality revealed at that cradle…”The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

 

 

 

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All About Light 12/5/15

Posted on December 5, 2015 | Leave a comment

vertical light stringGenesis 1:3
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness…14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,

Matthew 2:9
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was…they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

I John 1:7
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, [cleanses] purifies us from all sin.”

God saw right from the beginning in Genesis that light made our world as different as night and day and he filled the night with lights.  If you’ve ever stood outside looking up at the stars in the clear night sky you see the wisdom of what God was thinking.  Those stars have attracted our attention and marked many days and years.

That’s got to be why He used one of them to mark a sacred time that would make our world as different as night and day for a second time…the birth of Jesus.  Light has been a part of Christmas right from that long-ago time as that special star led the wise men to the cradle.  I think God is still using light to catch our attention this Advent.

Lights are a beautiful addition to Christmas. They fill public spaces and our homes.  Our first impulse, at this time of year, when darkness comes early and stays late is to plug in the Christmas lights first thing in the  evening and again in the morning.  It’s our attempt to replace that darkness and fill our space with beauty. That desire could be one way God uses our Christmas lights to remind us of another Light coming into the darkness.  I know one thing for certain: the house is noticeably empty looking when those signs of Christmas are packed away for another year.

We learned a chorus a long time ago that was almost a verbatim quote of  I John 1:7.  It was written by Mark Yasuhara of the Hawaiians, who believed adding music to Scripture was a perfect way for people to memorize it.  He was right.  The music is still in my head for John’s words as I read them this year.   We walk in the light of the Scripture following its signs to the cradle to give our gifts.  It’s a cradle that’s All About Light:  a Light that promises we don’t have to settle for darkness even when Advent is over and our beautiful Christmas lights are gone.

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Posted in 1 John, Advent, Birth of Jesus, Christmas Bread, Daily Faith, Genesis, Matthew

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Prophet’s Preparation 12/4/15

Posted on December 4, 2015 | Leave a comment

Isaiah 40:1-5  A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

Isn’t that just beautiful imagery with a beautiful outcome?  I couldn’t help but think about Christmas preparation today and wonder if Isaiah foresaw how we have tweaked it to become the very thing he was urging us  to straighten out.

It’s weird, I know, but the image of a pinball machine popped into my head.  You know the ones with little balls that are batted to and fro, amid the bells, whistles and flashing lights?  It’s a game that you’re supposed to manipulate to get to the final bell ringing goal.  Oh Lord, what a picture of all that Christmas preparation is NOT supposed to be.

Isaiah’s voice can hardly be heard above the din but preparation is not the problem, HOW we prepare is. Consider and compare pinball game preparation and the Prophet’s Preparation.  Pinball preparation is like a wilderness, it’s uncharted territory controlled by gifts, decorations, food, other people’s schedules, programs and events.  Interesting Isaiah uses the image of a two way street isn’t it? You might not be able to control all the traffic but you can control whether you are coming or going and what the direction will be.  And therein lies the wisdom of the Prophets’s Preparation and the promise it holds…”And the glory of the Lord will be revealed.”  That’s when you know it really is Christ-Mass and that you’re ready for it.

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I Peter 2:5 Stones 12/3/15

Posted on December 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

I Peter 2:4-5  As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I Peter 2:5 “…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” but where does Advent fit?  I went through a period when I’d walk every day.  That was the time I’d spend with God.  Each of those days I’d pick up a pebble to put in a jar when I got home.  I guess I was building my own little altar of undressed stones.  These were gathered more for function than beauty but that function was important.  They were stones of my Spiritual house. They were my reminder of having offered my time to make room for Jesus in my life.

That last phrase is what triggered my connection to Advent today.  Remember this?  …”There was no room for them in the inn.”  That part of the Christmas story still hurts a bit when I read it.  An exhausted mother-to-be, a worried father-to-be and no room.  Isn’t it just like God to figure out a way to use that Christmas story, year after year to touch something deep within us?  The words inspire our hearts to imagine just how basic that reality was for them and then to experience this incredible truth within us; we really DO want there to be room for Jesus.  That’s Advent!

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Remember…Again 12/2/15

Posted on December 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

christthesaviormanger02We surely know about being born again but is the Advent walk to the cradle just about our need to be a witness the birth of Jesus?   I think it’s also how we are reminded of our own need…still.

We still need to exchange our prestige, rights, honor, wisdom, knowledge, strength, abilities and independence for a place there beside a baby in a straw filled manger and consider what complete dependence on the provision of God looks like.  We need to Remember…Again how much we still need this birth, this baby, this Advent.

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Birth of Faith Too 12/1/15

Posted on December 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:10 The angel said to them, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people; for there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Thoughts by Martin Luther from Watch for the Light.bow today a present graphic copy copy
“See to it that you do not treat the Gospel only as history, for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example, for it is of no value without faith. Rather, see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you….The Gospel does not merely teach about the history of Christ. No, it enables all who believe it to receive it as their own, which is the way the Gospel operates.

Luther’s words sound like the essence of what we call being born again, don’t they:  “…see to it that you make this birth your own…”   The angel’s words made this story a current event: ”there is born to you this day…”

Every day of this Advent walk is “this day” for us.   The angel’s words have become more than history: “there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”   They have become a current event for us and that’s what makes Advent about our Birth of FaithToo.

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Birth of Faith 11/30/15

Posted on November 30, 2015 | Leave a comment
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Christmas BellsEvery year during December we see the signs of Christmas around us, wreathes, trees, lights and baubles. Advent encourages us to watch for another kind of sign.  A sign from the Lord himself that leads us to the cradle again this year to give our own witness to the birth of Christ.  Information is one gift the Bible has given us.  It paints a vivid picture of the perfect and glorious outcome of that journey of the pregnant virgin and that carpenter to that first cradle and the finally the Birth of Faith, Jesus.
That’s what I give thanks for but I believe I may have overlooked another reality to be thankful for.  It’s the reality of their tough circumstances and simple obedience that ultimately led to another kind of birth, the birth of my faith.  This year I want to imagine and give thanks for their long, hard days on dusty roads and the fatigue, discomfort and inconvenience of travel.  I want to appreciate the reality of the relief and gratitude they felt sinking into a pile of smelly straw in a barn at the end of their journey.  It was not a perfect situation but they would become part of a perfect plan.  I want to be grateful for that too.  That pregnant virgin and that carpenter have walked through the words of the prophets, through history, into Bethlehem and now into my life this year to become the Lord’s sign for me of the reality that the Birth of Faith can happen in the most unusual places and circumstances.

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Posted in Advent, Birth of Jesus, Christmas Bread, Isaiah

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