Tag: Jesus

We’ve Had an Epiphany!

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The changing of liturgical colors from White to Green signals a change in the seasons in the Church, just as it will in a few months as the snow melts and spring makes its first appearance. Epiphany is a season of new hope and new growth enabled only by the light emanating from the Savior. We can mark the first day of the season by allowing this light to invade our being, revealing that which needs to come to the surface and filling the spaces with illumination that can only come from a personal epiphany. The divine manifestation is more than a historical event for us to mark, it is a complete shift in the relationship between heaven and earth.

Psalm 97 1-9
The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side. 
His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles. 
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth. 
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory. 
All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods! 
Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, O LORD. 
For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods. 

 

The celebration of Epiphany commemorates two events in the life of the Lord, the recognition by the Magi that the Lord had come and their subsequent worship (Mt 2:9-12) and Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan and the voice of the Father commending Him as His son. In both Christ manifest as humanity is revealed to a world desperately in need of salvation. As this season leads up to Lent and Easter, we shall focus our worship on the incarnation of God as man. Our Savior put aside his crown for our benefit though He would have been justified in allowing us to continue on in our own desires.

The perfect expression of love was manifest.

Day 17 in the School of Prayer : Harmony!

WithChristInPrayer

“Father, I thank you that have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here., that they may believe that you sent me.” ( John 11:41b-42 )

I will proclaim the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.”

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ( Psalm 2:7-8 )

Many Christians struggle with the seeming dichotomy between the eternal decrees of God and their effect upon our individuals lives and the notion of liberty in prayer. In other words, if God has determined the course of history corporate and individual of what effect are our prayers? Many will prefer to allow this question to linger unanswered. Some will allow themselves the conclusion that prayer is fruitless yet continue in a sort of stoic legalism. Still others will see this as an impassable roadblock and give up the discipline altogether.

Were God one person, closed up within himself the latter conclusion would be appropriate. We could never hope to be close to him nor hope to influence him. God is not one, however. He is Three-In-One, and in the Son and Holy Spirit we have the bond of unity and fellowship with the whole of the Trinity. Through this brotherhood we have an opened door to ear of the Father. We have assurance that our prayers are heard and in the Trinity, eternal as it is, we see that Jesus’ commands to pray form an active part of the eternal design.

We pray because we were commanded to.

We pray because we are heard.

We pray because our petitions are a crucial part of the great plan of history.

Go and Do Likewise…

Mother Mary

Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” 

And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. 

His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation. 

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”

Luke 1:45 – 55

Fourth Sunday in Advent ~ Change Comes

image First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:5-10)

The end of Advent brings the beginning of everything else…everything changes because of the single moment in history when Jesus sets aside his crown and comes to walk among us. A single moment…a holy birth…a changed world. God set aside the futility of the old sacrificial system, a set of laws that man could not satisfy in his own power and provided the perfect lamb.

One single moment changed everything…God elected to place the perfect lamb in our midst…He elected to become the perfect sacrifice for those who would believe and obey…the single Christmas moment changes everything.

Has it changed you?

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Advent Benediction – Little Town of Bethlehem

For the final Sunday of this year’s Advent season, my benediction looks toward the tiny town of Bethlehem for the momentous event that changed everything for history and for you and me…

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Bethlehem Benediction [Micah 5:2-5]

Out of tiny Bethlehem came the Brightest Morning Star,

the Glory of God,

The Son, our Savior.

Out of tiny Bethlehem came the Shepherd of our flock,

He stands in the strength of the Lord,

He stands in the majesty of the name of God.

He is our salvation and security.

Be blessed in the majestic name of Jesus,

Son of God,

Holy Shepherd,

Holy One of Israel,

Your Salvation and Strength.

Be a blessing to others though you may feel as tiny as Bethlehem.

Show the Love of Jesus.

Live as the Son lived.

Help others find the Shepherd, The Holy One, Their Salvation and Strength.

May the blessing be birthed in you.

Amen

O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie;

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light;

The hopes and fears of all the years, Are in thee tonight.

Phillips Brooks/Lewis Redner

Advent Benediction of Rejoicing

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As Mary knew, may you also be blessed to know,

the joy of anticipation, the joy the change to come.

 

The prophets shouted God’s promise,

‘Be glad and rejoice with all your heart;

The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy.’

 

You are blessed in knowing that the Bright Morning Star,

would come,

did come,

and will come.

 

Be blessed, community of faith,

rejoice and share the news and the light of the Star!

God’s greatest blessings on you.

Amen

 

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First Sunday in Advent 2009 ~ Watching

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“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promised I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;

he will do what is just and right the land.

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.

This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’  (Jer 33:14-16)

On our first Sunday of Advent, we watch and wait in anticipation of the fulfillment of the promise. Our perspective however, is much different than that of the exiles. Imagine being far, far from home with only this promise to hang on to. When the Lord says that the ‘days are coming’, you don’t know if it will be tomorrow, four weeks, or forty years. You only know that He has been completely faithful to you and your people since you fell under His protective gaze.

Our modern perspective is much different. We know how the promise has been kept and we live in the danger of taking that for granted. Our anticipation is muddied, our vision of eternity filtered through a thick San Fernando haze. The Advent season can become just another tradition in which we ‘remember’ historical acts but fail to apply it to our lives. We can restore the joy and the quickening that comes with anticipation. We can restore the memory and the life of faith that comes with a Kingdom that has come, but not yet.

Let us lift ourselves out of the busyness and the stresses that the culture has inflicted on this season and aim our sight into eternity. We can rediscover our purpose and anticipate its completion. We can separate ourselves from the worry and strife of daily life and look forward into a new heavens and new earth. The Messiah promise has been kept. The promise of new life is yet to come. Celebrate both.

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Day Seven in the School of Prayer

WithChristInPrayer

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

The Lord asks us to consider how small our prayers are. Are we limited in our thinking concerning what God will provide for us? Our prayers may be filled with the mundane and a focus on our day to day needs when our Father wants us to have so much more. To be filled with the Spirit satisfies so many of our needs and yet we fail to seek Him out. Not only will the presence of the Spirit change us as people, but He will also mature and expand our prayer life. It is through the guidance of the indwelling Spirit that we truly learn to pray the prayers of Heaven instead of dwelling in the smallness of the earth.