His Lavish Love and Cardboard Testimonies

My pastor’s wife, a good friend and sister in the family of God, always refers to God’s love for us as “His lavish love”. I looked up the word, “lavish” and discovered it is of French origin. The verb is first recorded in the 1540’s. It’s origins are the word “laver” – to wash and “lavache” a torrent of rain.

Advent is the time when we are reminded of God’s infinite – immeasurable, unending love for us in sending His Son to restore us to a right relationship with Him. Jesus is the ultimate gift, freely given, freely received.

God’s gift of life is only received by some because only some ask. The Good News needs to be heard by everyone, and we are the messengers. It’s a privilege to share the story, over and over again. In particular, it’s a special privilege for each of to share our own story of how we met the Savior.

A few weeks ago at the church where my brother and sister in law are pastors, there was a service in which many in the congregation briefly shared their testimonies. Each of them wrote a brief synopsis, just a few words about how they had come to know the Lord, or who they understood themselves to be before meeting Him. Their stories were written on large pieces of cardboard – “cardboard testimonies”! Many of the people, I knew. I thought I knew who they were, but I discovered the transforming power of meeting Jesus all over gain through their brief, “cardboard testimonies”.

 I can tell you the time, I can take you to the place

 where the Lord saved me by His wonderful grace.

 I would love to hear your story of how and when and where you met Jesus!

Lord Jesus, we come to You this day asking for more of You. Fill us with Your Presence, wash us clean from our sins, and set us on the right path for life. Thank you for the gift of Your Holy Spirit which we have received from You so that we may be filled with Your love and grace, and will then abound in every good work. Let us be Your messengers in a world that needs to know how to receive the greatest gift of all. Let is be so, Lord.

Getting Inside the Miracle

No, he is too quick. We never

catch him at it. He is there

sooner than our thought or prayer.

Searching backward, we cannot discover

how, or get inside the miracle.

Even if it were here and now

how would we describe the just-born trees

swimming into place at their green

creation, flowering upward in the air

with all their thin twigs, quivering

in the gusts of grace? Or the great

white whales fluking through

crystalline seas like recently inflated

balloons? Who could time the beat

of the man's heart as the woman

comes close enough to fill

his newy hollow side? Who will diagram

the gynecology of Incarnation,

the trigonometry of Trinity?

Or chemically analyze wine from a well?

Or see inside joints as they loosen,

and whole limbs, and lives?

Will anyone stand  beside the moving stone? And plot

the bright trajectory of Ascension?

And explain the tongues of fire

telling both heat and light?

Enough. Refrain. Observe

a finished work. Think -

today, another miracle: the feathered

arrows of your faith my link

God's bow and target.

 Accompanied by Angels:  Poems of the Incarnation, Luci Shaw

Lord, help my faith link Your bow and target.

Advent – The Fourth Candle: Peace

The fourth candle in the Advent wreath is the Peace candle. This candle symbolizes Jesus coming to bring peace to our hearts, individually and to the world. Without Christ there is no peace.

 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Advent - Luke 2: The Christmas Story

Ford Home, May, 2013

Thanksgiving, 2014

October, 2015

We have six children, three daughters in love, one son in love, eleven and  grandchildren. All of our children but one son and his family who live in Chesapeake, VA - and three granddaughters who live out of the area, will be home for Christmas. When people ask about our children and we tell them Luke, Amber and Isabel will not be here, the usual response is: "But you'll have five of your kids and their families home for Christmas!" That's true. And we're thankful for that, but it will not cause us to miss that one son and his family and our three granddaughters any less. I guess our situation is just a "Microsoft Picture Editor reduced image" of how our Father feels about his children. If there is even one missing . . .

Thirty years ago, in preparation for the Christmas season, we helped each of our six children memorize Luke 2:1-16, the Christmas story. I was re-organizing all the Bibles in our house (aren't we rich to have so many Bibles???) and came across the scripture marked in an old Thompson Chain Reference Bible that Larry wore out.

I specifically remember the year the children memorized the scripture passage. Luke, our youngest, was two years old. Jonathan, the oldest was eight. 

Our prayer this year is that those words come back into their heads, and hearts; that the long-buried treasure will be re-discovered ~ the Word ~ Who was made flesh ~ and dwelt among us will dwell in their hearts and minds.

Dwell among us this year, Lord. 

“Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto us a child is born... Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men.” Luke 2:10,14

Advent - Thursday, December 16

One of the most amazing names of the Lord is: Emmanuel. God with us. The Creator of the Universe working in us and through us ~ walking with us. When I pray for our children - I often pray, "Lord, let them feel Your Presence. Let them feel Your shoulder bumping up against them as You walk beside them. Let them feel Your breath on their face . . ."

Sometimes it's really hard to sense the Lord's Presence. We live in such a busy, fast, noisy world. As we all struggle through difficult, confusing and sometimes painful circumstances, we advise our children:  "Listen for direction from the Lord. In all your plans, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. Seek Him first and all the things you really need for your life will be provided . . . " Sounds good but when you're "listening" for the Lord, what does His voice sound like?

Recently we re-read portions of Henry Blackaby's, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. In his classic work, Dr. Blackaby suggests a number of ways in which we can "hear" God speak to us:

*The Holy Spirit   Times when I sense that God is giving me direction to do something.

*His Word A verse or series of words either leaps off the pages of the Bible, seems different, or more clear than when I've read it before;  or just continues to run through my mind;

*Prayer I am trying very hard to become better at listening prayer. In order to be a conversation a dialogue it must be two-way;

*Circumstances At times it is difficult to recognize that God has placed me in a set

of circumstances as a blessing, and to remember that He is always faithful;

*The Church A sermon speaks to me so directly that it is obvious the speaker

was inside my head while preparing! Another member of the body hears a word for me or hears the same word I have heard. When several of these ways of hearing God line up and confirm each other, then I know it is God speaking.

The more often we talk and I listen, the more easily I recognize His voice. After His resurrection, Jesus said one word to Mary Magdalene. He spoke her name. Immediately Mary knew it was Jesus.

Lord, help me to hear You when You speak my name.

Simeon's Moment

One of my favorite images at Christmas is Ron DiCianni's work, Simeon's Moment. DiCianni is a brilliant artist. Years ago, I bought a box of Christmas cards with characters from the Christmas story created by him. His painting is not sentimental. It is bold and passionate - an explosion of character and story.

Who was Simeon? He was a man of Jerusalem who was righteous and devout.

He was apparently elderly, since he speaks as someone in his final days of life. At that time the world was dark and full of despair, and many people did not  believe in God, or they  believed in multiple gods who were distant and powerless.

"And there was then in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and he was an upright man, fearing God and waiting for the comfort of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was on him."

Luke 2:25

Simeon was like a warrior of faith in dark times. Everyone around him despaired, but Simeon did not because of his faith in God. Simeon believed that God’s promises were true. He had faith that he would see the Savior of the world with his own eyes before his death. Simeon studied the Law of God daily. Through Bible study he understood God’s promise that He would send the Savior of the world. In Jesus, Simeon found salvation for all mankind; they would be saved from their sins through the Son. Because Simeon believed God’s promise in such a time of hopelessness,  something great happened personally in his life.

“It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Luke 2:26

Simeon was old enough to die, but because of his absolute faith, God blessed him with the conviction that he would not die before he literally saw the promise of Messiah fulfilled.

“Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you now dismiss your servant in peace,

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all people,

a light for the revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel."

Luke 2:29-32

Simeon had waited his entire lifetime for this moment ~

http://www.pennstateubf.org/doc/luke/2005/luk2b_msg.pdf

Please visit Ron DiCianni's website, read his biography and browse the  brilliant work he has done - for the glory of the Lord.

http://www.rondicianni.com/

Third Sunday of Advent - December 12

Joy to the world! The Lord has come!

The word "Advent" means "coming" or "arrival". On the third Sunday of Advent, we light a rose colored candle, and that candle represents joy.  The entire Christmas season is a celebration of Jesus birth, His coming to the earth in His First Advent. Just as important, it's a celebration of our anticipation of His second coming.

Squire Parsons, a friend of ours, wrote: 

He came to me. He came to me.

When I could not go to where He was, He came to me.

He left everything. He became nothing so that we could be reconciled to Him.
Advent reminds us to thank God for the past, that He came to us, and to anticipate the future, when He returns for us. It also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and groups of believers as we affirm that He has come; He is present; and He is working in and through us in the world today.  We understand that we are living “between the times” of His first coming and the time when He will come again. We are called to be faithful stewards of what the Lord has entrusted to us as His people. Advent is a time to acknowledge our responsibility as a people commissioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing with hope. Romans 15:13

Advent - December 11, 2010 - Aurora Borealis

December - the Advent season

The days before Christmas are so quietly beautiful. People expect a lot at this time of year. The "perfect" gift (whatever that is). A beautifully decorated home. A Norman Rockwell Christmas day with the family. Actually, the Christmas season is like life. It's the little things. A surprise Christmas card with pictures and news about a dear friend you lost touch with. An amaryllis starting to bloom. A grandchild re-discovering the Christmas star frame with his photo from first grade, a gift made for his mom and dad.  An adorable clothespin reindeer made by another grandchild. A dear friend coming home after months of world-wide travel  and bringing an ingenious, hand made wooden Pinocchio Christmas decoration from Italy. Treasured Christmas recipes written in the familiar hand of the grandmothers who so lovingly made them and recorded them for their family.

When I was a teen-ager, my parents gave me a heart-shaped aurora borealis necklace for Christmas one year. I was fascinated with the discovery that the stone changed colors - beautiful blue, pink, yellow and turquoise pastel facets, as I turned it and held it to the light. Thinking of the necklace reminds me of Christmas. Each new day, each turn of events, each re-opening of a box with old treasures presents a new reflection of the season. The reflection of the Light of the world. Jesus.

A favorite prayer from Peter Marshall at Christmas:

We thank you, God, for the return of the wondrous spell of the Christmas season

that brings its own sweet joy into our hearts.

As our hearts yield to the spirit of Christmas,
help us discover that it is Your Holy Spirit who comes -

not a sentiment, but a power -
to remind us of the only way by which there may be peace on earth

and good will among men.

Help us not to spend Christmas, but keep it, that we may be kept in its hope,

through Him who emptied Himself in coming to us,

that we might be filled with peace and joy in returning to God.

Advent - December 9, 2010, Thursday

I had such fun creating this blog yesterday. The point is to write one's own thoughts, but ~ I'm reading/have read so many wonderful writers. The song, Doesn't That Surprise You? (yesterday's blog) has been ringing in my head.

In 1980 I first read the poetry of Luci Shaw. Her Christmas poem was a pre-cursor of Mark Lowry's song, Mary, Did You Know? I still love this poem:

Mary's Song

Blue homespun and the bend of my breast
keep warm this small hot naked star
fallen to my arms. (Rest . . .
you who have come so far.)
Now nearness satisfies
the body of God sweetly. Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.

His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world. Charmed by doves' voices,
the whisper of straw, he dreams,
hearing no music from his other sphere.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes,
he is curtailed who overflowed all skies,
all years. Older than eternity, now he
is new. Now native to earth as I am, nailed
to my poor planet, caught
that I might be free, blind in my womb
to know my darkness ended,
brought to this birth for me to be new-born.
and for him to see me mended,
I must see him torn.

Luci Shaw
Accompanied by Angels: Poems of the Incarnation