Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, December 2, 2011
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.
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.
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