Let the Party Begin

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for al the people.  Today in the Town of David A Savior has been born who is Christ the Lord.  (Lk. 2:10-11)

I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.  (Jesus: John 10:10)

Thoughts:  There are many Christmas parties going on in December.  Some of them have nothing to do with Christmas.  But they all pale with the true and great joy given by the Creator of joy and life.  He is the one who said, that He came to bring life and bring about the joyous, abundant life.  There is no joy like the love of God.  We don't have to be dour about Christmas.  It is a feast of the church- a celebration.  God's love manifest- incarnate.  All our presents imitate His great gift.  All our artificial parties imitate and try to artificially reproduce the joy.  But nothing compares to the true joy of knowing God loves us and has made us for a purpose- that our life is not meaningless, but has true meaning and hope.

Prayer:  Thank you for the joy that came down at Christmas.  Help us to live in that true joy no matter what life has in store for us.  Help us to rejoice in you- Emmanuel!

Sing: "Joy to the world The Lord Has Come!"

(Image Chordiem.com)

Coming Back

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:2) 

The spy calls in to the base, "Meet me at the rendezvous point at the appointed time."  So we are called to meet with God this advent.  He has appointed a specific spot- "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them."  Our rescue, our salvation lies where we meet with God.  Do we believe in Him enough to believe He will show up? 

In Psalm 42 the writer is in a tough spot.  He wants even longs to meet with God for relief and sanctuary.  His soul thirsts to come back to God.  So we need to quench the thirst of our soul.  As we cannot live without water, so we cannot really live without purpose, without hope, without love- we are made to have these things- and ultimately they are found in God. 

Prayer: Lord, give me the desire to meet with you this advent, that my thirsty soul may be assuaged.

 

The Light Comes Back

The first candle of advent is the symbol of prophecy and hope. 

SCRIPTURE: 

4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

6There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. 8He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

9The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

DEVOTION: 
Advent means coming- especially God's coming.  God did not just make us but is with us.  In our world of quick fixes, the ministry of presence is important even today.  It is this ministry that God has given us in Jesus.  The word “Emmanuel” that the angel talked about means “God with us.” 

The light of the world came into the darkness- God came back for us.  In 1989 the runway lights went off at night at John Wayne International airport in LA.  Planes could not land safely and hundreds of passengers were diverted to other airports far away.  The lights came back on and the planes could land safely.  The light of the world has come back into our world to light up our darkness and show us the way.  I have noticed many dark homes this advent season.  I am asking you to light up yours as a sign of faith.  You don’t have to be gawdy or overdo it, but just let your light shine in a symbol of advent- the light of hope has come- the prophecies and hopes have been fulfilled.  Maybe the light you shine in your home will remind someone that there is hope and there is a light that shines in the darkness.  

PRAYER: 
Lord, thank you for coming back to us.  Help us to come back to you.   

The Honor of the Graybeard

DAY 1- THE HONOR OF THE GRAYBEARD
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the graybeard of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:32)

      Moffatt Burriss Sr. was a man who drew respect from you whether you liked it or not.  He valued God and country.  He taught his family to appreciate Montreat so that they all have houses here and a gazebo on Lake Susan in honor of Louisa, their mother.  His exploits during World War II- found in the book “Strike and Hold” are worth remembering- courage and quick thinking under fire.  His service to his community and to South Carolina are noteworthy both as a businessman and as a representative of the people in the statehouse.   Moffatt knew how to respect people, and taught that. 
    In this passage of the Law, the people were taught to stand before the aged- of the “gray headed.”  Just surviving- persevering- going through the ups and downs is worthy of respect in and of itself.  To live a long life is a sign of God’s blessing, because each day is a gift. 
    In a strange change of values in the last thirty years, we value strength more than experience; youth more than wisdom; fads and fashion more than what will last.   Perhaps we value such things because they will surely fade- beauty, youth, strength.  But instead of valuing things that will perish so quickly, we ought to value things that will last.  The difference can be seen in many things.  Take clothes- a pair of cheap shoes- vinyl bought at Walmart may be in fashion, but within a year of use the sole will fall off.  A pair of more expensive leather shoes will hold up and conform to your foot.   A cheap tie may look good, but the first time a rain comes it will fall apart.  But value a tie that lasts and that you get to know.  
So an older person, who has lived through the ups and downs of life has something of value to give- crystallized intelligence. 
      Our passage says “honor the ‘graybeard’ (or ‘old face’) of an old man and you shall fear your God.”  How is this so?  How are we taught about a man who lived 2,000 years ago and gave Himself on the cross for our sins so we might have life?  We must trust those who went before us- trust their story- trust their trust.  To not trust the Bible is to not trust the core Gospel truth.   
     In the 1960s the saying was “don’t trust anyone over 30.”  Now all of those who said that are over 30.  Pepsi had commercial after commercial showing pictures of pretty young girls and handsome athletic men.  The commercial said, “Join the Pepsi Generation.”  Now most of those in that ad are in nursing homes and use walkers and are in their eighties. I am not sure any commercials will come around now inviting us to join that generation!  My point is youth fades and to over value being in it takes away from the enjoyment of life and the ability to listen for wisdom from the wise.  There are many smart people today and we know more information today.  But our ability to filter through the information is missing because we have forgotten to honor those who can sift through it for us- who have perspective and experience in life.  Yes, honor the graybeard- and you shall fear God.”

Prayer: Lord, keep me from being short-sighted.  Help me to value what you value- what is true, full of love and light.  Give me today, the perspective I need.  Help me to honor those who have experience.

[Written at "The Graybeard" house in Montreat- home of John and Becca Burriss;
Celebrating a 62nd birthday and 15 years at LMPC- cause to reflect on "grayness."]

A prayer for Us to Be Sent

 17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. 18As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.

20I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22I have given them the glory You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one— 23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

Thoughts: This was Jesus great high priestly prayer before he was arrested.  It was His prayer for His disciples that they would be blessed by God with sanctification and unity. 
The crux of this prayer for us is this, "As you sent me into the world, I have also sent them into the world."  God had sent His Son to the world.  He was not sent out of servitude, or meanness.  He was sent out of love and in love.  So Jesus sends us out of love and in love.  Christ loves all those He made and wants them to know His love.  He asks us to love them in return.  He sends us to them with the message that God has sent His Son.  God did not leave the world to die, but sends a Savior.  As we speak of His sent love, we provide salvation.  We are sent, but we need to go in response. 

Prayer:  Lord, as you send me, help me to go- one day- one act- one step at a time.       

More moon thoughts

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, the moon and the stars.  Genesis 1:1
We walk by faith not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

Charles Duke is one of the 24 who walked on the moon.  He was the capcom for the Apollo 11 first moon landing and walk.  He was born in Charlotte and grown up in Lancaster, SC attending Lancaster High for awhile.  Later he graduated from the Naval Academy and MIT. 
    Wikipedia says this about Duke: Since 1978, Duke has been a committed born-again Christian. He wrote in his book that his temper, ego, single-minded devotion to work, and greed had ruined his relationship with his wife and his children, and his marriage teetered on the verge of divorce in the late 1960s and early 1970s.^[8] Duke and his wife, who became a Christian before him, both credit religion with making their lives much happier. Duke also stated that his marriage and relationship with his children became considerably better soon after finding religion.^[9] He is active in prison ministry.^[10] 
   Duke says about his walk on the moon, "I used to think that going to the moon would be my greatest achievement.  But my walk with Jesus is more memorable because it is an everyday affair."
    Many of the astronauts had Christian faith.  Buzz Aldrin had communion before he stepped foot on the moon.  One crew of Apollo 8 read from Genesis 1:1 on Christmas Eve - "In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth."  Madeline Murray O'Hare, the famous atheist, threatened to sue NASA for allowing them to say that. 
    Some of the atheist cosmonauts of the U.S.S.R. noted that they did not find God in the heavens.  They were reminded that we walk by faith and not by sight.  The astronauts noted His presence: "If I go up the heavens- even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."  (Ps. 139).
   When Apollo 13 was in trouble, President Nixon asked all the nation to pray for them.  The whole world did from the Vatican to the Wailing Wall.  It was a unique moment when the world was united in prayer.  Nixon had a day of thanksgiving afterwards. 

Prayer: Lord, when I see the moon tonight, remind me of your presence, your great power and tremendous love.  Let me not take for granted my own smallness but also your own greatness. 

Thoughts on the 50th anniversary of the Moonlanding

The heavens are telling the glory of God; the earth proclaims the work of His hands.  (Psalm 19:1)

I watched in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the flight to the moon (July 20, 1969) a documentary "For All Mankind" with the astronaut's film footage and commentary.  I believe it was Neil Armstrong talking when the astronaut said, "In space I felt like an alien, but on the moon I felt at home even though the earth was a long ways away.  But I realized we were there by the grace of God.  I felt something other than what we could visually sense.  A spiritual presence was there.  Perhaps it was because so many people on the earth were focusing their attention on us- maybe sending signals to us somehow.  I sensed maybe like the first people on the earth- they were all alone but had a special communication.  We felt an unseen love.  We were not alone." 
    Buzz Aldrin was an elder at Webster Presbyterian church outside Houston.   He told his pastor that he wanted to convey that this event was more than electronics, computers, and rockets.  The pastor later told Guideposts magazine that "One of the principal symbols is that God reveals Himself in the common elements of everyday life." Aldrich poured grapejuice (with just enough gravity on the moon) into a chalice from his church.  He laid the elements out on a small table.  He asked the world listening in to take a few moments of silence and "to give thanks in his own individual way."  Then he read John 15:5 (one of my favorite verses): "I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, for you can do nothing without me."  Aldrich partook after reading the verse and he said he felt a strong unity with his church back home and the church around the world. 
     Aldrich was a missionary of sorts.  He brought his faith with him to the moon.  Wherever we go, we need to do the same.  He did his work well and He was not embarrassed (despite pressure from Madeline Murray Ohaire) to speak a good word about the One who made the moon, the earth, and the heavens. 

Prayer: Lord, wherever I am may I remember you and your love for me.

[Part taken from "Nine things you should know About the Communion Service on the Moon" by Joe Carter on the GospelCoalition.com website. ]