2nd Week of Advent: the Really Good News -- GOD with US!

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2nd Week of Advent: the Really Good News -- GOD with US!

"The Good News isn't just that Jesus died for our sins.  The Good News is EMMANUEL...GOD WITH US!"  So declared Deb at the end of our Bible Study.

As John and I drove home that evening, we reflected on her statement.  We recalled a conversation we had had years before when we were discussing what the heart of the gospel ("Good News") is.   The Good News isn't just that our sins are forgiven so we can go to heaven someday (and now we just do the best we can in the meantime).

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Of the Father's Love Begotten ... Emmanuel

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Of the Father's Love Begotten ... Emmanuel

For the past several years, I have been following an Advent devotional by a British author Tim Chester. One of the unique things that the author does is quote some “unknown to me” hymns and carols. However, the other day I recognized the final lines of each stanza in the quoted hymn of the day. Sure enough! I had been listening to that very carol each year on an old Christmas CD in our collection.

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Advent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {from nearness to oneness}

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Advent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {from nearness to oneness}

Jesus Christ the Son of God became one with us, so that we could be one with Him! 

This glorious truth is at the heart of the Incarnation.  God became one of us!  One with us!  Why?  So that we could experience union with God.

And that takes us back to our 3 Greek prepositions for with:  (see previous post:  The WITH-ness of our God (prepositions):

  • para, meaning beside, nearby, in the immediate vicinity or proximity, alongside
  • meta, meaning with, in close association with, in companionship with
  • sun, meaning together in intimate union, inseparable from
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Advent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {His Presence in prepositions}

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Advent Devotions: the WITH-ness of our God {His Presence in prepositions}

Isn't it wonderful when someone wants to spend time with us?  Not just a token, obligatory, "showing up" to either fulfill an obligation, salve guilt, or ask for something...a real wanting to be with us.

As special as it is in human relationships, think how amazing it is when we realize that the Sovereign God of the universe has wanted to be with us!  Yes, US!  and according to the Bible words used, we see that in Jesus, our Emmanuel, He is with us on every level possible.

In the original language of the New Testament, there are three Greek words that can be translated with. 

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1st Week of Advent: O Come, O Come, Immanuel

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1st Week of Advent: O Come, O Come, Immanuel

When I was a child, I always loved Advent.  There was a melancholia, a longing...but mixed at the same time with anticipation and hope. How did I get all that as a child?  I'm sure I didn't, except to say that maybe all the sights and sounds and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories of the "liturgical celebration" weren't entirely lost on me, nor on many of you.  The reality of our God-Man Jesus has grown in me over the years as I've walked and talked with my Savior.

But whether you have had that sort of background as a child or not, why not journey with us these next weeks.  Take it all in as if for the first time...all the sights, sounds, and smells...all the scriptures and songs and prayers and stories.

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The Devil Hates Marriage, Every Day of Every Year

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The Devil Hates Marriage, Every Day of Every Year

John and I have been married 49 years today, and I have just now come to the realization . . . no, the revelation by the Holy Spirit . . .

The DEVIL hates marriage . . . our marriage!

And why is that?

Because marriage is a picture of the oneness we experience with Christ the true Lover of our souls. And the evil one loves to mar God’s pictures.

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Thanks-Giving

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Thanks-Giving

Thanksgiving will not be the same for most of us this year. And even the thought of it causes us pain. But a friend reminded me of this song of thanksgiving the other day. And so I decided to rest and plant myself here, acknowledging HIM. I’m letting my heart and mind well up with gratitude for all HIS benefits … no matter what is going on around me (or not going on but “should” be).

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Invited to the Dance -- Perichoresis

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Invited to the Dance -- Perichoresis

Do you remember prom days in your life? The beauty! The excitement! The “romance” of it all! Rarely does it measure up to all our anticipation, and yet there is something about the dance that draws us in, doesn’t it.

As you may recall from my last blog post, the image of the dance is my favorite metaphor for the life of faith. When I said YES to the LOVER of my Soul, I became one with Him. I accepted His invitation to the dance of all dances … one that will never end and one that is all about Love.

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The Dance of FAITH: Moving with His Life-giving Flow

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The Dance of FAITH: Moving with His Life-giving Flow

A few years ago, my husband and I were at some friends’ house.  This couple liked to gather miscellaneous people who knew them but not each other. True to form, they asked a great icebreaker question.  The particular question that evening was, 

If you could do anything other than what you currently do, what would that be? Your secret ambition?

 

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Living as Abba's Child (a Bible Study in 1 John)

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Living as Abba's Child (a Bible Study in 1 John)

Years ago, when a friend had lost her last remaining parent, she said to me, “Now I feel like an orphan!” I’ve thought about her statement over the years and come to realize that we believers usually live like spiritual orphans. We live as if we don’t have a Father Who tenderly loves and cares for us. We live as orphans in a scary world. But His heart is that we would live as His children in union with Him in His Son.

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Learning from Jesus…the Father’s Perfect Child (a Bible Study)

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Learning from Jesus…the Father’s Perfect Child (a Bible Study)

The parent-child metaphor is perhaps the most tender picture of our relationship with God as believers. This is so movingly expressed in the Scriptures by the Hebrew term for Father God "Abba," meaning "Daddy." In our last post, we explored the truth that in reality we are all adult-children deep down who still really need a Father in order to do an adult life right here and now.

Let's look at Jesus, the perfect Son of our Abba Father God, and do a little digging into the Scriptures. Let’s ask the Spirit to speak to our child-hearts.

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Feeling like a "Child Incognito" especially Now

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Feeling like a "Child Incognito" especially Now

Helpless! Not in control of anything … the virus devastating our country and the world, political discord abounding, our economy in jeopardy, even our daily life changing every day. The good news is that our adult lives in this crisis world was never meant to be lived on our own. We have a Father with whom we can be needy and vulnerable so that we can face what is before us. So join me as we revisit what is means to be …

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The Invitation of Faith ... COME!

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The Invitation of Faith ... COME!

Come, what a beautiful word.

Children love it. Faces light up and bodies move. The aged long for it, sadly often waiting vain. All of us anticipate it – will we hear it or not?

What is it about this four-letter word that is so attractive? Come means there’s an invitation. And who doesn’t want to be invited? Come means we are not alone. There is companionship and conversation available. . . and possibly other marvelous things.

When this wonderful word is spoken from the mouth of God, our Creator and Savior and the Lover of our Souls, we certainly want to listen and respond. And I’m glad to say, God invites us, “Come to Me” time after time.

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Not Just Halloween : Reformation Day for Today!

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Not Just Halloween : Reformation Day for Today!

October 31, 1517… the day that changed the world of Christendom forever. German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. His action launched what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation (Or Protestant Revolt, depending on which side you are on).

Luther never intended to leave the Catholic church, but rather to reform it. But in God’s will, reform and a Biblical revolution began and continues to this day.

Luther didn’t get everything right, but he did get it right that “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17) and so much more.

And Luther got something else right that helps us today. He got it right about how to live in the midst of a pandemic (the Black Plague) with God’s balanced, grace-filled perspective.

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Loving and Being Loved in this Pandemic . . . Masks or No Masks

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Loving and Being Loved in this Pandemic . . . Masks or No Masks

I recently read somewhere on social media that we shouldn’t wear face masks during this pandemic because we are made in the image of God and His image is reflected in our faces.

Really?

True, it is hard to recognize someone if the bottom half of their face is covered. But I’ve been thinking about this lately . . .

“The eyes are the window of the soul,. . .

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There's a Ghost Inside of Me

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There's a Ghost Inside of Me

This fall we are again with our dear Eli, getting ready to celebrate his “Halloween time” birthday. And again this year we see ghosts and goblins, scarecrows and pumpkins punctuating the yards all around.

So again I’m thinking about a Ghost — the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life and my indwelling Source. And again I’m sharing about the Holy Spirit with my precious grandsons. What better way than with this fun but deeply true song.

Thank you, Mercy Me, for giving me a way to speak truth into young lives and hearts

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Two Truths to Count on in Trials

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Two Truths to Count on in Trials

Surely goodness and steadfast love shall follow me all the days of my life... Psalm 23:8

PAIN!

Bloody! Cutting! Unrelenting! and Soul-numbing...or is it?

For me, pain has a way of sifting through the non-essentials of life!

And I find my soul awakened abruptly from its numbing slumber to longing, loss, grief, confusion, perspective...

...but most importantly, the presence of GOD.

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