Grandpa and Anticipation

The 43rd time I said "Grampa" had to be a challenging moment.  But Grampa would never have let me know.  The night before Christmas and I lay awake in my sleeping bag on the floor while my Grampa lay on the couch.  I don't remember why we had this arrangment, as memory would insist that there was bedspace enough for all.  But, there we were, down-stairs in our little split-level suburban home.  Awaiting Christmas.  I knew that I was meant to go to sleep...for the great hope of making Christmas come a bit faster.  But there was no sleep to be found.  The anticipation was too great.  

Childlike anticipation differs so greatly from what I experience now as an adult.  Awaiting Christmas was filled only with hope and promise, and every moment of wakeful suspence abounded with the delights of knowing that in just 9 more hours(...or was it 8 hours and 45 minutes?) the whole world would be lit up with Christmas lights and the joys of tearing through wrapping paper and knowing that the new video camera would catch the whole memory on film.  There was no anxiety in this waiting, just simply and joyful expectation.

That, I believe, is what the Advent season is about.  That which I understood so intuitively as a child in the hope of toys and family fun I now experince in the anticipation of Messiah's coming.  From the moment of the Fall - for thousands of years - the fallen world had looked forward to the coming Savior.  But they did not yet know His Name.  The did not have the example of His humble entry into our world.  To celebrate the time of our Perfect Provision from God - the Gift of His Son.  That we can know Him, and know peace, life, fullness, and forgiveness.  Anticipating the celebration of His birth is a celebration of all that He is...and HE is all that I need.

Advent 5: Jesus

When God came to earth it was not with great pomp and circumstance.  He moved the great power of Rome to call a census so that the Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, as He had promised.  He came to a poor young Jewish girl who lived in a small village.  God chose for the birthplace of Jesus a barn, or possibly a cave, where animals were kept.  Rather than being greeted by the greatest powers and authorities of the Earth He was greeted by humble shepherds and some wise men from afar.  Jesus humble birth shows us something very clearly.  Jesus came for everybody.  Jesus is God’s greatest gift.

Advent 4: Love

The human race knows very little of love, yet we long for it so deeply.  Most often we see true love displayed in sacrifice.  The father who, for the love of his family, works hard each day to provide and care for them.  The mother who sacrifices countless nights of sleep in caring for young children.  The friend who sets aside their own agenda to come alongside us and help us in our moment of need.  Yet the greatest sacrifice ever made was by Jesus Christ.  The Hymn Love was When gives us these words:

Love was when God became a Man,
Locked in time and space, without rank or place;
Love was God born of Jewish kin;
Just a carpenter with some fishermen.

For Jesus Christ to law aside His rights as God and take on human flesh was the ultimate act of love.  That act, however, was only a beginning.  The same hymn continues in the third verse:

Love was when God became a Man,
Down where I could see Love that reached to me;
Love was God dying for my sin
And so trapped was I my whole world caved in.

This is the love of God for the lost and perishing world.  It is concrete and demonstrated within time.  There is no question that Christ’s love is meant to be at the very center of understanding the character and plan of God.  May we all know that we are infinitely loved this Christmas season.

Advent 3: Joy

While the Christmas season is a joyous time for many, the stress and busyness of the season can sometimes distract us from the joy we have in Christ.  For many the holidays can be a time of loneliness and missing our lost loved ones.  However, we find in Scripture that the only source of true joy is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  True and permanent joy flows naturally from knowing and believing the truth that God valued each of us so highly that he would send Jesus, His only begotten Son, to die for our sins and to reveal God most clearly to us.  While many things will make us happy this Christmas season Christ alone gives us joy.

Advent 2: Peace

Christmas can certainly be a time of chaos and busyness.  With gifts to buy, parties to attend, church activities and family activities it can easily start to feel as if a vacation is needed after surviving the Christmas season.  However, celebrating Christmas is a celebration of peace – The Peace of God.  Consider those precious Christmas moments when the soft glow from the lights on the tree illuminates the while snow peacefully falls outside.   In the person of Jesus Christ we see very God made man.  Jesus came to earth for the very specific purpose of providing a peace with God that mankind had no way of creating, earning or maintaining.  Peace with God can only be found through Jesus Christ, because of His death on the cross to pay for the sin which separates us from God.  It is only because we are clothed in His righteousness that we may have peace with the righteous God of love.  Because Jesus dealt with the sin problem we also look forward to a time when His peace will rule on and over the entire earth.  We look to Jesus and see all of the peace we can ever know, and we look forward to seeing His peace manifested upon the earth.

Advent: Hope

Christmas is a special time of anticipation.  It seems as soon as autumn sets in our minds begin to drift towards Christmas day.  We may look forward to the songs or to the lights and decorations.  We may look forward to the exchange of gifts, or holiday parties.  We may even spend a sweet moment anticipating a Christmas meal shared with loved ones.  Whatever we look forward to each holiday season it is a time to remember that Jesus Christ, the long promised Messiah was anticipated for thousands of years.  As soon as sin entered the world the Lord made the promise of the coming Savior (Genesis 3:15).  From that day forward men and women who trusted God longed to see His provided Savior.  For years they waited, hoped and prayed and then Jesus came to the earth.  Simeon – a man who longed to see the Savior prayed this prayer of joy when he first saw the baby Jesus:

²⁹"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³²A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES,
And the glory of Your people Israel."
Luke 2:29-32 NASB

Joy to the World

"Joy" is a word we hear quite frequently in the holiday season. It is a word that is often written in large glittery letters across shiny Christmas cards and in lights over windows. It becomes so familiar that we often fail to think about the importance of this word. What is joy? How did it come to the world in the person of Jesus Christ? If "joy" is simply a synonym for "happiness" then we find that there was plenty of joy in the world already, however Biblical joy is much more than just happiness.

Like all of the fruit of the Spirit joy is something that is the product of the believer in Christ in spite of any circumstance. Joy is a deeper gladness of heart that cannot be affected by any outward circumstances. The growth of joy in the life of the believer is the mark of maturity that enables the Christian to step into every day with love and good cheer, knowing that the Lord will complete His good work in each of us. And while we can sustain many painful losses in this life, not one force on earth can touch our eternal position in the Heavenlies in Christ. Here is the striking reality: The only way that this world could ever see true joy isn't on a card, or written in lights. It is the burning flame that emanates from the heart and life of every person who is living in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, each and every day. The Christmas card that really matters is you!

...you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:3

The Way

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6

Last week's devotion was about longing. Not for a thing, or for a possession, but for a Person. Longing for the Messiah. Longing for Jesus. In looking at this week's verse we see why. This monumental statement shows more than we may think. Very often this verse is referenced in the context of salvation. Truly, there is no other name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12), there is no access to the Father, except through the person of Jesus Christ. He bought that privilege for all who receive it by faith in the Him, by His sacrifice on the cross. This verse perfectly identifies our need for Jesus in order to be saved. However, there is more to this verse.

The earliest title given to followers of Christ was "those of the Way."* This way was Jesus Christ. This is one of Jesus' amazing "I am" statements wherein He claims deity with his very grammar and word choice. However, this does lead us to a question: How can a person be a way? It is amazing that Jesus takes many titles for Himself which we may not expect. He tells us that He is the Door in John 10:9. Jesus is the Door by which we enter into a relationship with God. Jesus is the path we walk (the way). We walk this path because He has given us His history, because He empowers and guides us through His Holy Spirit, He leads us by His word, He has given us the fellowship of His body (the Church), and has placed us in an eternal relationship with God the Father. Jesus is the The Way.

In John 14:3 we find that, not only is Jesus the Door and the Way, He is also preparing a place for us. Jesus is the Door. Jesus is the Way. Jesus is the destination. He redeemed you for a love relationship that will last for all of eternity.

*(FYI - In modern times this title has been hijacked by a cult)