Merry Christmas!

"Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor."
 - Charles Spurgeon

"He was created of a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute."

 - Augustine

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

 - Isaac Watts

photo credit

Not My Ways

About a year ago, my family and I were planning to take a much-anticipated out-of-state trip.  A few days before we were supposed to leave, my toddler brother started throwing up.  As the bug slowly went through the rest of the family, we hoped that this would not change our plans.  Eventually, however, it was clear that some of us were not going to be able to make the trip.


Needless to say, this was not what we had planned.


This was not what I had planned.


For centuries, the Jewish people had waited for the promised Messiah.  Ideas and expectations abounded as the conquered people hoped for a majestic Jewish ruler to restore greatness to their nation.  Many, especially the zealots, expected a great and mighty man to come in the greatness of physical power, and he would show the world that the Jews were God's people - invincible conquerors.  The zealots were looking for the Messiah in high and powerful places.


They weren't looking in a manger.


Mary and Joseph were a devout couple with godly plans for the future - their future.  As a God-fearing couple, their plans for their future together were good plans: they desired to bring glory to God with their lives.  But it only took one verse, and all those good plans and dreams came crashing down.


Mary and Joseph didn't expect to be making the arduous journey to Bethlehem.  Mary didn't expect to place her firstborn in a cattle trough.  As poor citizens in an occupied land, Mary and Joseph didn't expect to have to flee to Egypt when the king of the land pursued them.  Mary and Joseph didn't expect to be told, "'And a sword will pierce your own soul, too'" (Luke 2:35).


"Christmas" didn't meet Mary and Joseph's or the zealots' expectations.  Christmas really didn't meet any human's expectations.  But God never consults man about His eternal plan; God writes our stories, not us.


I may never know why God kept us home that week.  Mary and Joseph may not have understood some aspects of God's plan for their lives until they reached heaven.  Many of the zealots probably never figured it out, either.  God's plans are always way above our plans, and it's His plans that are best.


Merry Christmas.

A World of Instant, A Culture of Hurry

As the song says, this really is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."  With carols playing, lights twinkling, and the weather turning crisp, everyone is constantly busy.  It all points to a day still three weeks away - Christmas.  For an entire month, we wait for this day.  For the rest of the year, we look back with fondness on the last Christmas and look forward to the next.


As Christians, we celebrate the season of Advent, a month-long anticipation of Christmas Day.  It's a strange time for the culture we live in.  In this world of instant, with fast food and instant video streaming,  it's hard for us to slow down and wait for any amount of time - let alone an entire month.


The word "Advent" is Latin, meaning "arrival" or "coming."  Advent, typically the three to four weeks before Christmas Day, is a time of preparation before the celebration of Christ's coming.  With Advent, churches and families celebrate Christmas as an entire season, not just a day.  While it reminds us of Christ's first coming, Advent also points to the time of waiting for Christ's second coming.


Promises were given by God long ago.  The fulfillment of those prophecies came to pass, sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years after the prophecies were made.


More promises have been made - Christ will come again!  Just as certainly as God kept the promises of Christ's first coming, He will keep the promises of His second coming.

During Advent, we celebrate the Faithful God who always keeps His promises.


During Advent, we remember those who waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of those promises - and those who never saw the fulfillment, but trusted it would come just the same.


During Advent, we celebrate Immanuel, "God With Us," when God entered His creation as a baby.


During Advent, we realize - even in our culture of instant - that it was worth the wait.