Bread of Life

During the Christmas season I enjoy reading the passages pertaining to the birth of Jesus.

This year, like those in the past, has once again caused me to pause and consider the “hidden nuggets” that strangely lay in plain sight.

In last week’s post, “The Shepherd Effect,” I shared that the words “they hurried,” revealed an attitude of excited expectation.  An attitude that was not met with deliberation or contemplation, but rather one that was met with an instant response.  It reveal that their excitement was at such a high level that they dropped everything and hurried…hurried… to see what had been told to them about the Christ child.

This hurried attitude has challenged my approach and expectation to this Christmas season.  It has caused me to be mindful to not let the “hurried-ness” of shopping, baking, gift wrapping, decorating etc. to overshadow or rob me of the excitement that should be celebrated at this time of year.  The celebration of remembering that the Son of God stepped down from heaven and entered into the world to offer forgiveness and eternal life with Him.

This week as I continue to dwell on the passages written about the saviors birth, two additional things caught my attention.  The first is the location of  Jesus birthplace (Bethlehem) and the second is the location where he was laid after being born ( the manger).

• Luke 2:4  So Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.
  
• Luke 2:7  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
  

In reading this, I am reminded that God does not do anything with insignificance, so I began to explore these two locations and here is what I discovered.

The Shepherd Effect

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While there, the time came for the baby to be born where she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

Nearby were shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them saying, “Do not be afraid for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.  He is Christ the Lord.”

Then suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God saying.  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men.”

When the angels left and gone into heaven, the shepherds said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.”

So they hurried and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed.  Luke 2:1-18

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As I read this familiar passage something new captured my attention. 

Elected to Forgive

“I forgive you,” she said as she took a step of faith towards the restoration of her marriage.

It hadn’t been an easy decision.  The last six months had been filled with a torrent of  pain and anguish.  She had felt the cut of betrayal and found that its slice ran deep.

Now leaning into the arms of Jesus she elected to forgive, fully understanding what that required.  She knew that it would take work and blinding trust.  She knew that she would have to lay down her rights, the right to retaliate, the right to accuse.  And she knew that she would have to die to self… and so she did.

Infidelity, shattered trust, betrayal, pain, rejection, insecurity, injury, anger, condemnation, injustice, vengeance, control, bitterness, her right, her will, all placed on the altar of forgiveness, all relinquished into the hands of God.

And so the healing process began and she was faithful to forgive as she trusted her God to do a good work in her.

Vapors of Faith

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Have you ever experienced a time in your life that has caused you to question, not so much the existence of God, but rather if He is present in the time of your suffering?

If you answered yes, then you and I have something in common.

Painful situations occur life and I, like many, have experienced difficult trials.  Trials, I might add, that have held their share of suffering and pain.

As I have journeyed through the “shadows of the valley,” where degrees of dark vary and the feeling of abandonment conjures up fears, I have ask the questions, “Where is God?  Does He know what has happened to me?  Why doesn’t He deliver me?  Does He even care?”

It’s Harmonious

Image by jayneandd via Flickr

Psalm 96:1 – Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

Everyone enjoys listening to a gifted singer.  So much so that we will pay to hear them perform either live or recorded.  We buy their CD’s, download them to a Mp3 player or computer, and listen to them on our favorite AM/FM or Satellite radio by carefully tuning in the station that carries their music genre.

There is no doubt that we enjoy and value talented singing voices and my guess is, so does God.  However, you might find it surprising as to which station He tunes-in to for listening enjoyment. 

Effectual Prayer

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James 5:16b

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Effectual – Fervent – Avails

Three simple words that are easy to understand and full of meaning.

• Effectual – producing or capable of producing an intended effect.
• Fervent – having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm.
• Avail -to be of use or value, to profit, advantage.

Basically -  pray specifically, pray like you mean it, and pray with a valuable purpose.

As I continue to think upon the verse, I find that the words effectual and fervent are not only mere adjectives but are descriptive words that lead to a promise.

What might that promise be?  To “avail much.”

So with that good news in mind why does it seem that there are times that my prayers aren’t “availing?”

It is Well

Horatio Spafford: Image via Wikipedia

When peace like a river, attendeth my way.  When sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

The above stanza comes from a well known hymn written in 1873 titled, “It Is Well With My Soul.”

It, like other great works, wasn’t written from the comfort of an easy chair, or by the relaxed hand of one sitting underneath a soft light sipping tea as catchy words jumped into their head.  No, words with such transparent depth are crafted from one that has experienced great lost, immense sorrow, and rifting pain.

In that place of pain, shattered dreams, and derailed hope, words such as, “whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul,”  rises from the depths of a souls lament and finds the grace to express itself in such a way that commands the attention of those who occupy heaven.

These type of words are birthed from the core of brokenness and are yielded into the hands of God who spills them over to touch others who are in need of encouragement, comfort, and healing.

The author of this notable hymn came from such a place, the place I call the souls lament, but instead of losing himself in the depths of his despair, he exposed the maturity of his faith and turned his sorrow upward and offered it for praise and glorification.

Perhaps you know of him and the tragic event that caused his hand to penned the enduring hymn.  But would you be surprised to learn that Horatio Spafford’s sorrowful journey began three years prior and did not end with the tragic event of 1873?

If not, please join me as I share the journey that forged the heart of a man who so graciously crafted the song, “It Is Well With My Soul.”

God the Airlifter

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“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:9

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The story that you are about to read is true.  It happened to a woman, and that woman is my mother who has been fighting a year long illness with no resolution in sight.  

What you will read is an account of intercession.  An account of the working of God through unexpected avenues and my humble attempt to glorify His extended hand of love and mercy.

My Walk With “Ruth”

“Don’t ask me to leave and turn back.  I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live.  Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

“I will die where you die and will be buried there.  May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

Image via Wikipedia

These words were spoken by a woman named Ruth living during the time of Judges, approximately 1070 BC.

Her story has great biblical significance for it demonstrates the redeeming work of Christ exampled by Boaz, the kinsmen-redeemer, and Ruth, who portrays those entering a new life through trust in Christ.

I have often read her words, “I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live, etc,” but I have never really paused to consider the depths of their significance, until now.

So I find myself asking a few questions such as;

Are they simply words that reflect a young woman’s love for her mother-in-law demonstrated by acts of devotion, obedience, and loyalty?

And if so, why, based solely on that, does she, a Moabite, earn a place in biblical history where an entire book in the Bible is dedicated to her, as well as, to be chosen by God to be in the Messianic genealogy?

These few questions have created a desire to probe beyond the surface of the words, and seek for the story behind the story.

So to coin the phrase, “inquiring minds want to know,” I have decided to take a walk with Ruth.

Not so much through the territory of Israel or the gleaming fields of Boaz, but rather through the mountainous land of Moab and the culture in which Ruth lived.

So grab your hiking shoes, water bottle and backpack, and join me on a trek back in time.

Mary…did you know? Part 10

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Under the heat of the rising sun the Centurion cautiously surveyed the familiar surroundings.

Countless times he occupied the place where his shadow was cast, but on this day he sensed something out of order and a slight feeling of uneasiness began to wash over him.

As he stood in his place of attention, his authority could not be mistaken, and the stern look on his face was set to serious business as he visually searched the crowd.

Carefully His eyes scanned to and fro, and though the multitude was larger than usual, he found, with an exception to a few, that satisfaction and appeased anger sat firm upon their faces.

It was an expression that he was well acquainted with, and usually mirrored on such a day.  But not this day.

This day his face reflected the conflict residing in his heart.  And though he was a Roman officer known to be hard and swift handed, he was also a man of resolute justice, and today he feared that he saw error in the system he swore an allegiance to uphold and enforce.