From Generation to Generation

 

Psalm 79:13 "Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will proclaim your praise." 

Yesterday, Cyd set up my office Christmas tree. This year though we used ornaments from a memory tree that Nancy made and used a few years after Dad passed away. The tree is a reminder that in the difficult journey of grief, believers have the opportunity to pass along the faith to the next generation. The last 20 years or so of my Dad's life he proclaimed the praise of the Lord loudly to anyone who would listen. I'm grateful that his faith challenged and encouraged me to lean into Jesus. 

We all have things in life that remind us of loved ones who have now joined the throng of saints proclaiming the praise that God alone deserves. Those artifacts could be books, clothing, or ornaments that remind you of a small part of their life and personality. Treasure those memories. Thank God for those memories. Then proclaim his praise to the next generation. 

A Weary World Rejoices

The line, "The thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices" in O, Holy Night always catches my attention. Perhaps this year more than ever I, as well as most people on the planet can identify with the sentiment. We know deep in our b
ones just how weary the world is. We realize how broken and hopeless life can seem to be, yet...hope, the thrill of hope. 

Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved (Psalm 80:3). 

The theme of the Psalm is about God's restoration. This phrase is repeated three times. Restoration brings hope. Restoration brings salvation. One might say that salvation and hope are interchangeable. The hope of Israel was that Messiah would come. He did. He came to restore. He came to save. In his grand restoration and salvation endeavors, he brings hope. 

My prayer this Advent season is that the thrill of hope would fill our hearts in the midst of this weary world. 

Advent Musings pt. 6

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34 (NIV)

The anxieties of life can certainly weigh you down. George Bailey, in the iconic film, It's a Wonderful Life, almost succumbed to the anxieties of life by ending his own life. Clarence appears and gives George a glimpse of what life would have been like if he had never been born. My favorite scene in the film is at the end as George reads the inscription from Clarence. "Remember, no man is a failure who has friends." 

Three years ago our family gathered to celebrate my cousin's wedding. Weddings are joyous occasions that remind us of God's blessings in life when the anxieties are threatening to trap us. Jesus performed his first miracle as recorded by John at a wedding feast. Three years ago as we celebrated Brad and Bonnie it was a reminder of the joy of friends and family. It was a reminder that life really is wonderful. It was a reminder that the anxieties of life meet their solution in Jesus of Nazareth. 

This year I have been continually encouraged by dear friends in my life. I'm most grateful for the friends that God places in my life that help push me closer to Jesus. Those friends remind me not to let the anxieties of life close in around me. Those friends are a tangible expression of God's grace. Praying the Lord surrounds you with friends this Advent season. 

Advent Musings pt. 5

The greatest event in the Old Testament was the Exodus. This event defined the Hebrew people for generations to come. The second most important event in the Old Testament is the Babylonian Exile. Both events brought about a renewal of God's covenant promises with his people after a period of time that felt as if God had abandoned them. The prophet Micah speaks of the coming judgment that would manifest itself in Exile. Micah also spoke of restoration. Of Hope. Of renewal. Of God's faithfulness in the midst of a period of perceived abandonment.
Micah 4:6-10 (NIV)

6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will gather the lame;
    I will assemble the exiles
    and those I have brought to grief.
7 I will make the lame my remnant,
    those driven away a strong nation.
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
    from that day and forever.
8 As for you, watchtower of the flock,
    stronghold of Daughter Zion,
the former dominion will be restored to you;
    kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem.”

9 Why do you now cry aloud—
    have you no king?
Has your ruler perished,
    that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

Redemption, rescue, hope, restoration. These are things Micah draws the people to consider as they get ready to go into Exile. In the words of that esteemed American folk theologian, Tom Petty, "You don't have to live like a refugee." The refugees and exiles that we see around us, the ones we find in our homes and families, and even ourselves can cling to the promise of redemption. The broken shell of who we are, beat down by life, in prison to our sin and idolatry, cast away from our homeland and family can rejoice that through Jesus we can experience restoration. Exile doesn't have to define us because Jesus has redefined us through his victory that conquers Exile. 

As we observe Advent, let us wait with great expectation of the promise of redemption found in Jesus alone. 

Advent Musings pt. 4

My Mamanon's birthday was today. She passed away in the spring of 2016. Remembering a loved one on a birthday always reminds me of good times shared with them. My mind is filled with wonderful memories of childhood, young adulthood, and even adulthood in which her presence was felt because of something she said or did. The impressions she left on me continue to shape me. She was a woman who loved deeply, who prayed fervently, and who worshiped authentically. Psalm 79 speaks of the generational component of faith. A life of faith is passed down from one generation to the next, in much the same way as family stories are passed down to each other. Mamanon passed down her faith, the faith, entrusted once and for all to the saints to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She taught us and others what it looks like to praise the God who created us and redeemed us in unending praise.

Psalm 79:13
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
    we will proclaim your praise.

Advent Musings pt. 3

Isaiah 64:7-8

No one calls on your name
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
    and have given us over to our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.

Today, the words of the prophet remind me that God's love for us is not based on what we contribute, our moral uprightness, our moral bankruptcy, or a certain level of spiritual enlightenment we achieve. In fact, verse 7 reminds us that on our own we don't seek God, in part because we are so consumed with ourselves. 

The contrast found in verse 8 holds forth the hope of the gospel. The hope that God loves us not because of who we are, what we have done, or what we might achieve. He loves us because he is our Father. He loves us because he is the potter, we are the clay. He is the creator, we are the creation. He is the one molding and shaping us into the image of Jesus just as the potter molds and shapes his pieces of pottery. The imagery of potter and clay constantly speak to the truth that God is not finished with me. He is constantly smoothing and working in the details that will make me a complete picture of His Son. 

Though we are sinful, He is faithful to his covenant promises. He loves us not because of our lack of sin, but in spite of it. He doesn't give up on us in our sin and idolatry He draws us back. Back to Him. Back to the wheel. Back to creation. Back to new creation. Back to the cradle and the grave. Back to the manger and the mount of Calvary. Back to the stable and the savior. 

Advent Musings pt.2

The Georgia Bulldogs won the SEC Championship for the first time since Cyd and I had children...let that sink in for a moment. And just like that Gus Malzahn went from being one of the most envied coaches in college football (having beaten two number one teams this year) to potentially being on the hot seat at Auburn. The reality of SEC football is you can be the most beloved coach one week and the most hated coach the next week. And this is all from the fans and boosters of your university.

The coaching carousel of college football reminds me of a verse tucked into a prophesy that Jesus gives in Matthew 24. Jesus is reminding his disciples to not be duped into thinking that the Messiah has come again if the news seems to trickle in slowly. Rather the return of Messiah will be earth-shattering and life-changing. "Just as a gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near" (Matthew 24:28).

Living in the country you notice vultures a bit more than if you live in the city. When you see the flight pattern circling overhead you sometimes begin to wonder if they're really coming for you and you don't know it yet. By the way, my favorite line from The Outlaw Josey Wales is, "Buzzards got to eat; same as the worms."

Jesus seems to be using a simple biological truth to illustrate that one should practice discernment with people. In other words, don't be so gullible all the time. Don't buy everything the medicine man is selling, it might just turn out too good to be true. Jesus takes our death and brings life. New life. His life.

Advent Musings pt. 1

Christmas season has always been a favorite time of year for me. Memories are filled with family, presents, Christmas programs at church, and most importantly the birth of Jesus. It wasn't until after college that I really began to fully appreciate the fullness of Advent. The anticipation each year of the humble, earthly begins of the one who would fulfill God's plan of redemption. There are several reading plans and books that can help you in your devotional reading. The one that I have read through numerous times is Calvin Miller's The Christ of Christmas. The book may be out of print now but if you can find a used copy buy two.

"And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord--his name alone will be worshiped." Zechariah 14:9

Advent calls us to consider the worship of the Lord. How interesting that the king over all the earth begins in an obscure outpost. He makes his arrival with an audience of animals not other royalty. And yet, the beginnings of Jesus during that first Christmas remind us of the truth found here in Zechariah, Jesus, the Christ child is Lord over all the earth. His mission was reconciliation and redemption not just of humanity represented by Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, but of all of creation. The lowly beasts marked by stubbornness and aloofness holds out the hope that the most stubborn and aloof people we encounter are able to join in the worship of the one and only Lord of all the earth.

Could it be that we need to be reminded that stubborn people in our lives are markers that remind us that we are not a god and we certainly aren't worthy of worship? Only one is Lord; he alone is worthy of worship.

Advent Thoughts pt. 5

Psalm 25

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 25

^[a]A psalm of David.

 ¹ O Lord, I give my life to you.
    ² I trust in you, my God!
   Do not let me be disgraced,
      or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
 ³ No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
      but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. ⁴ Show me the right path, O Lord;
      point out the road for me to follow.
 ⁵ Lead me by your truth and teach me,
      for you are the God who saves me.
      All day long I put my hope in you.
 ⁶ Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
      which you have shown from long ages past.
 ⁷ Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
      Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
      for you are merciful, O Lord.
 ⁸ The Lord is good and does what is right;
      he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
 ⁹ He leads the humble in doing right,
      teaching them his way.
 ¹⁰ The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
      all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
 ¹¹ For the honor of your name, O Lord,
      forgive my many, many sins.
 ¹² Who are those who fear the Lord?
      He will show them the path they should choose.
 ¹³ They will live in prosperity,
      and their children will inherit the land.
 ¹⁴ The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
      He teaches them his covenant.
 ¹⁵ My eyes are always on the Lord,
      for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.
 ¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy,
      for I am alone and in deep distress.
 ¹⁷ My problems go from bad to worse.
      Oh, save me from them all!
 ¹⁸ Feel my pain and see my trouble.
      Forgive all my sins.
 ¹⁹ See how many enemies I have
      and how viciously they hate me!
 ²⁰ Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
      Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.
 ²¹ May integrity and honesty protect me,
      for I put my hope in you.
 ²² O God, ransom Israel
      from all its troubles.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 25:1 This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Do you trust in God to provide for you and lead you daily? Do you trust in your own abilities, achievements, strengths? The reminders of God's forgiveness, His protection are just what many people need during the frenzy of the holidays. We live in a broken world...we are broken people...people full of sin who desperately need to be reminded that God is for us and longs for us to seek refuge in Him. 

Perhaps your prayer is like David's "Show me the right path, point out the road I need to follow"? 

Find comfort in these words from John the Revelator, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

Advent Thoughts pt. 4

Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Today's readings serve as a marker along the journey as we read about the birth and naming of John the Baptist, the exhilaration of praising the Lord, and the judgment of God. I think one of the best things about the lectionary is that it forces us to wrestle with difficult passages, passages of scripture that we would rather skip over and dismiss as antiquated or an old view of God rather than as part of the whole character of God presented from beginning to end in the pages of the Bible.

It seems fitting that we are reminded in Luke 1 when Zechariah speaks under the power of the Holy Spirit, "Praise the Lord, the God of Israel because he has visited and redeemed his people." The reading from Amos is filled with God's judgment, particularly in the form of exile because of Israel's sin and unfaithfulness. Yet Zechariah points the way to the promised redemption that is to come. God's redemptive act (return from exile) foreshadows the promise of redemption that is revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Judgment is real, thanks be to God that redemption is also real! That's something to join the Psalmist in praising the Lord about!

Advent Thoughts Pt. 3

Psalm 116

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ¹ I love the Lord because he hears my voice
      and my prayer for mercy.
 ² Because he bends down to listen,
      I will pray as long as I have breath!
 ³ Death wrapped its ropes around me;
      the terrors of the grave^[a] overtook me.
      I saw only trouble and sorrow.
 ⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
      “Please, Lord, save me!”
 ⁵ How kind the Lord is! How good he is!
      So merciful, this God of ours!
 ⁶ The Lord protects those of childlike faith;
      I was facing death, and he saved me.
 ⁷ Let my soul be at rest again,
      for the Lord has been good to me.
 ⁸ He has saved me from death,
      my eyes from tears,
      my feet from stumbling.
 ⁹ And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
      as I live here on earth!

Isn't it comforting to know that the Lord hears our prayers in good times and bad times. He hears them when the grip of death clutches tight to our life, and He hears them when we walk upright in His ways. He is always faithful in the midst of our unfaithfulness, perhaps this is why the Advent season holds such a special place in our life of faith. We know as we drag toward the end of the year and are hoping to make it to the finish line, we have renewed hope the most unlikely of places. In a small animal trough the Savior of the world finds its bed and pillow on that first Christmas. Even the most humble of circumstances can bring about incredible blessings to our lives. 

Advent Thoughts pt. 2

Okay, so I know that I already missed a day, but to be fair I never made it to a computer yesterday...


Today's readings offer some challenging thoughts from the Psalms as well as the Gospel of Matthew, but the selection from Jude reminds me of Paul's address to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15 to hold tight to the gospel that they first believed. 


Jude 3-4
 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.


Today as so many different things clamor for our attention we must cling to the gospel message. We must defend the faith that was entrusted by God to his holy people. Do we protect our lives and our churches from allowing false doctrine to creep in? Do we protect our lives and our churches from becoming complacent in our faith and abusing grace because we know it will be there when we get ready to clean up our sinful habits? The grace of God cannot be used as a freedom to indulge in anything we want to do! His grace is precious and should be cherished for the regenerating work the Holy Spirit does in our lives. Thanks be to God for his grace, let us not abuse it. 

Christmas Happenings

This week has been so busy and full. We had activities of some kind nearly every night. Christmas Eve and Day were simply wonderful! I made Italian "gravy" with meatballs for our Christmas Eve dinner with Mom, unfortunately the girls were so tired they all had to eat before I could make it home from the services at church.

Claire and Charlotte were so excited they couldn't go to sleep. In spite of my stern warning not to even think about waking me up before 7:30, we were all up and in the den to see what Santa brought by 5:45, that's AM! It was a great morning, Cyd's parents joined us shortly after 7AM, so that we could enjoy a nice breakfast together as the girls played with their new things. We eventually got dressed and went to Cyd's parents, with a slight detour to Aunt Tori's (where my family was gathering for Christmas) to see them for a little bit. The girls and I then headed back to Cyd's parents for dinner and Christmas with her side of the family.



Saturday the girls got to test out the new Barbie Jeep, which they love!

Christmas Eve Services

I love Christmas Eve services! I really enjoy the candlelight and communion (somber, reflective type services) but it seems to me that perhaps that first Christmas night was more like the Family Service we have at FBC Statesboro. There are children all over so it's not quiet, it's not somber, yet it holds a great measure of reflective potential if one will open his/her eyes. Don't you just know that Joseph and Mary looked at each other and at Jesus and thought what in the world do we do? How do we raise him? How do we provide for him? How are we gonna make this work? All the while, the Father was observing this and probably mumbled, "Let me worry about that." And so it is each time a baby is born or a loved one passes, at least to me...the Father is saying, "Let me worry about this, you just trust me."

Christmas Card Potential?

Favorite Christmas Ornaments

I said earlier this month that I would be doing a few lists that are so prevalent this time of year. Cyd and I love decorating for Christmas each year, we always have. I think part of the reason is because our parents all love to decorate. We have so many wonderful things to pull out at Christmas time like our village. It's a hodge podge of various villages some nicer than others but the best part is they were all gifts from family, so we didn't have to buy any of them. Christmas trees themselves are always interesting around our house. We always use ones that other people have outgrown or discarded. For years we used ones from The Victoria Shoppe that were left over from decorating jobs. Okay, I'll try to give my top five ornaments, some of them will actually be groups rather than individual ornaments.

1. Macon Ornaments: We have a just a few of these but they are of Mercer University and the Woodruff House. Mercer is important because that is were Cyd and I went to college. The Woodruff House is important because that's were I proposed.
2. Homemade ornaments from the girls (and from our childhoods).
3. Savannah Ornaments. We have several ornaments of historic landmarks in Savannah that we love to have on our trees.
4. My Homer Simpson ornament. I actually got Charlotte to say "D'Oh!" yesterday.
5. Teacups for our teacup tree. Several of these I bought for Cyd along the way. It reminds me of going to antique and junk stores to find unique teacups all those years ago.

What's your favorite ornament?

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Charlie Brown specials are always a blast to watch. As our girls have gotten older we have tried to start watching the shows with them. Usually they start to get sleepy and can't make it through the whole thing, but it sure is fun to relive some childhood memories while making new ones. In this clip, Charlie Brown is frustrated with what Christmas has become in one fashion or another and cries out, "Does anyone know the real meaning of Christmas?" Linus steps up and recites from Luke 2. How incredible that each year millions of people who watch this Christmas show don't just see stockings, trees, and snow...they are confronted with the reason for the season.

3rd Sunday of Advent

Yesterday we lit the candle of hope on the advent wreath…hope is perhaps the greatest thing a believer can have. Our hope to escape the punishment we deserve for our sins, rest solely on the sufficiency of the person and work of Jesus Christ, our savior who didn’t want us to die apart from God, but came in the form of a tiny, helpless baby to eventually conquer sin, death, hell, and the grave. That is the reason for the hope in us this Christmas season!

Choosing to Love

Romans 11:33-36 (New Living Translation)

33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?[a]
35 And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?[b]

36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

Calvin Miller in his devotional book, The Christ of Christmas writes the following:

We basically have two choices to make in dealing with the mysteries of God. We can wrestle with Him or we can rest in Him. We can continue searching the unsearchable or relax in the reality. What exists at the end of all our searching will be a God who knows absolutely everything...and chooses to love us anyway.

The mystery of God is not that he is distant and far off, it is that in spite of our sin and failure he has loved us with an everlasting love! A love that knows no boundaries, a relentless love, a pursuing love, God's love!

Top Christmas Songs

I have seen lots of lists in the blogosphere the last few weeks so I intend to indulge in compiling a few of my own over the next few weeks. Here's a few of my favorite Christmas Songs. Some are classics and others not so classic but all of them bring to mind the spirit of Christmas and the celebration of the Savior.

1. "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" I like just about any version because the theology of the song is so rich, but one of my favorite is on The Gift: A Weathervane Christmas Sampler

2. "Go Tell it on the Mountain" Something about this song just resonates with my soul, I love to sing it in church at Christmas time. My favorite CD version is Garth Brooks.

3. "On to Bethlehem" An original song by Bill Mallonee, did you really think I would do a post about music and not include something by him?

4. "White Christmas" Bing Crosby's version of course!

5. "A Christmas Song" Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds

6. "Santa Baby" Not sure who actually sings this but it's on a Starbucks sampler from a few years ago...my girls love to sing it in the car. They even did a performance last night at the youth worker party!

7. "Baby It's Cold Outside" James Taylor and Natalie Cole Again one that my girls love to sing.

There are many others I could list but these few are the ones that get played and sung over and over again in my head, house, and office.

Here's a few verses from "On To Bethlehem" by Bill Mallonee
Quiet, introspective, meaning of life stuff, but isn't Christmas a great time for us to do that sort of thing.

and i'd like to say i'm faithful
to the task at hand
speaking gospel to a handful
and others with their list of demands

it's cold this year and i'm late on my dues
it's cold in here ah but that's nothing new
my heart's electric with your love again
so it's on to bethlehem

you might surmise that i ran there
but i really only crept
lead me to the place where love runs wild
and then it dogs your every step

you know how fickle my heart is
prone to wonder my Lord
yeah we talk but it's at arms length
always got one eye on the door

God wraps Himself up in human skin
for those who want to touch
and God let them drive the nails in
for those of us who know way too much