Deeper Still :: The Glory of Christmas

This year I asked God to give me fresh insight and deeper wisdom into the glory of Christmas. Many people know Christmas brings me joy, but only a few people truly see my giddy, overwhelmed heart and tears as I contemplate the awe and beauty of it all.

In the Old Testament God set forth his law for people to understand his holiness, for people to know how to approach him, and for people to pay for their transgressions through sacrifice. He mercifully revealed himself and showed his people that he is gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. (Exodus 34:6) But to approach him took great care, ceremony, and permission. His presence was shown in a pillar of fire, or on a mountain, or so magnificent that one had to hide in a cleft of a rock and only see God's back because his presence was too rich, holy, and glorious for human consumption. He was and is good, but to approach him demanded sacrifice. *

Enters Jesus, a human, a baby, made for relationship.

Everything that was known about God changed the moment Jesus was conceived in Mary. Can you imagine the God of the universe in the womb of a young woman? He entered through a family line lowly enough to show his availability to everyone. The details and order of the prophecy and lineage for God to be born into the world at the perfect moment: profound.

It is difficult for me to fathom the radical shift in God's availability to humanity through relationship with Jesus. He meets me in my questions of doubt, and lovingly guides me to truth through his word. During Christmas I imagine myself worshipping a baby in a barn. He is the same God shining in glory on the mountain with Moses. As a baby he's defenseless, and yet that tiny baby came to crush the yoke of slavery and injustice with power and might on the cross. A thrill of hope, joy to the world, Word of the Father now in flesh appearing. Christmas, Emmanuel, God with us.

This week I read an important aspect of the birth of Christ that I had never heard, or at least had never paid attention to. Leviticus 25 maps out a significant detail of the law of Sabbath. It describes the Year of Jubilee, the last year of the seventh period of seven years, the forty-ninth year. "In that year, all slaves were to be freed and all debts were to be forgiven; all the land and all the people were to have rest from their weariness and from their burdens. The seventh seven, the Sabbath of Sabbaths." **

Matthew 1:17 says, "So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations." This makes Jesus the beginning of the seventh seven, the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the True Jubilee! All true rest comes from Jesus Christ. He frees the slaves! Through him all debts are forgiven! He came to earth to have relationship with us, to allow us to rest in his love, mercy, and grace. He came as a baby so he could endure all the human pain and suffering we endure, to take it all to the cross, to show us he is indeed with us and for us. The seventh seven! The detail in scripture to show the Deity of Jesus is truly miraculous. My soul longs to know more.

To be sure, I love my family's Christmas traditions. Baking, decorating, hosting, all things red and green. My house feels cozy, warm, and lovely. I enjoy hearing my kids laugh and play as they work to solve the year's 1000 piece puzzle. These aspects of Christmas fill my heart. But I know they are temporary. As the years go by, the laughter will quiet, the decorations will fade, and the warmth in my home may grow cold. Of course I imagine I will deeply grieve the loss of days gone by as I'm sure many older people do, but O God, please allow my prayer to remain the same:

Give me fresh insight and deeper wisdom into the glory of Christmas. Keep my eyes away from worthless things, preserve my life according to your word. Fix my gaze on the eternal, not on the temporary. Allow my soul to feel your worth above all things. (Proverbs 2:3-5, Psalm 119:37, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Luke 2:19)

Merry Christmas isn't just a greeting for me. When I say Merry Christmas to you, it is as if I'm praying a short, small prayer for you, whether you want it or not. May God show himself to you this season no matter where you are... someone who doesn't believe, someone who is all alone, someone who is in a personal season of winter, someone filled with hope and joy, someone filled with despair, someone neck deep in doubt, someone who wears a Santa hat everyday, someone who hates me, someone who loves me... The prayer is the same: Merry Christmas, Emmanuel, God with us. Show yourself fresh and new, deeper still, the way you did in a stable in Bethlehem so long ago.

Thank you, Jesus, for coming.

He has come, he is here, he will return.

What does Christmas mean to you? Have you pondered the Incarnation? Believing in the resurrected Christ begins with believing God came to earth as a baby. How does this affect you personally? What are one or two things you can do to capture the wonder of Christmas this year? 



*Do yourself a favor. Go back and click the links to the passages in Exodus. Marvel and be amazed at the glory of God and how different relationship is with him because he sent his Son, Jesus Christ to earth. Ponder, mediate, engage your heart and mind in the glory of Christmas.

**Tim Keller's new book Hidden Christmas, page 38

Touched by an Unlikely Angel

I've walked the track at Udall park consistently for the last couple of weeks. To me the best time to walk this park is in the morning. There are lots of folks making the rounds. You will not be surprised to know that I am one of those annoying people who greet passers-by with a smile and a hello. Don't worry. If they don't make eye contact, I let them slip by ungreeted.

There has been a very smiley, friendly older gentleman I've noticed several mornings. Two weeks ago when he passed me he exclaimed, "Sure hope this walking helps us live longer!" I stumbled over my words and only came up with, "Uh-huh! Sure do!" What?! What kind of a response is that? I kicked myself around the track thinking of a hundred better responses I should have had. Opportunity missed.

Yesterday I headed out at 8:00 to walk my track circles. Guess what? The same very smiley, friendly gentleman passed me. The first time we passed each other we both smiled and said good morning. I recognized him and remembered his live longer comment from our last encounter. As I passed him the second time a huge smile stretched across his mustached face and he exclaimed, "Sure hope this walking helps us live longer!" I responded with a profound, "Uh-huh! Sure do!" What?!? Are you kidding me? I missed the opportunity again?

If my body language showed any aspect of what was going through my brain I was kicking the dirt and wringing my hands. I lamented to Jesus telling him that I've been pondering hope so much and the sweet older gentleman spoke to me of one of his hopes and all that came out of my mouth was "Uh-Huh?" I asked the Spirit for another chance and to give me good words.

It "just so happened" he was coming around the track again. I could see him many yards ahead. If you know me, you know that I don't mind introducing myself to anyone at anytime. When were were just a couple of feet away from each other, I stepped in his lane and stuck out my hand. He didn't even flinch. His smile broadened.

I told him that I had a different reply to his comment on hoping to live longer by walking. And then I introduced myself. "My name is Angel." He replied, "I'm George. Nice to meet you."

As I began to share my answer about hope, the conversation took on a serious tone. Sometimes when I meet someone for the first time and have a spiritual conversation I feel as if they look at me like Monica (Roma Downey) from Touched by an Angel, not because I'm super spiritual and holy, but because my name is Angel. If I had a dollar for every time someone who just met me said, "You really are an Angel" then I could demonstrate my super spiritual holiness and give away a lot of dollars.

I wonder if I look a little like this to people who think I'm glowingly holy. 

source

If it makes my story more entertaining imagine me saying the following words to George with Roma Downey's Irish accent. I'm sure my head was totally glowing as I spoke with him. 

"George, I wanted to respond differently to why I come to walk every morning. You see, I've been thinking a lot about hope lately. Last August I had a stroke and four weeks ago I had heart surgery." 

(My head really started to glow after I said that.) 

"Because of my health challenges hope in my life has been refined. I learned that my days are numbered and I don't have any control over it, so I put my hope in Jesus. And the reason I walk every morning is because I hope to live stronger, and not necessarily longer." 

He got a little teary, hugged me, wished me luck, and told me to keep walking. 

My head stopped glowing, but my heart was full. Of course I don't see myself in a touched by an angel light, but it's fun to make fun of myself. 

The point of this silly story is a public confession that I miss opportunities and a personal reminder that opportunities can often be redeemed. If this very holy week of Easter reminds us of anything, it should remind us of redemption...in our days, in our relationships, in our conversations, in our souls. 

Colossians 4:5 

Be wise in the way that you act to outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. 

(You should read that verse again with a wonderful Irish accent. I think it's a good way to end this post.)

Celebrating Jesus through Cord of Hope

Many people have asked for details about the Cord of Hope outreach that took place a week ago. My apologies for the delayed response. To be honest, this last week left little time to write for all sorts of reasons, not to mention it is difficult to sit down and try to explain what took place. Life circumstances, as well as needed concentration to communicate some of what God did through the outreach led to procrastination. Again, my apologies.

But rest assured, He moved.

Over one hundred women received a beautiful gift full of chocolate, cute socks, jewelry, cute trinkets, and a beautiful booklet with Luke 2 in the Message translation. As always, some of the women spoke with gratitude that it would be the only gift they received this Christmas. Some just looked at us in shock or hesitation. And, some wanted to dig through the bags and trade out for something more to their tastes.

M asked us who we were and why we did this. When one of my teammates briefly explained Cord of Hope, M shook her head and replied, "I can dig it." She talked about how she got into dancing and that her sister also dances in the same club. Over the last week, she has been in my daydreams and night dreams. She is a treasure. Jesus loves her with an unfailing love. Will you please pray for M and her sister to know the God who saves?

We met A during a coffee drop during the summer. She looks so, so young. She has a sweet disposition and a beautiful smile. Despite her employment choices, she still has an innocence about her which could be because she has a young daughter. She was delighted to receive a Christmas gift and even more happy that one of my teammates remembered her name and asked about her daughter. Please pray that our love and memory of the small details of her life will lead her to an inescapable curiosity to search for God. Will you pray that she will come to know Jesus that will restore her sweet innocence?

J knew about what we were doing right away because while working in Phoenix she received a gift from a group similar to ours. In Phoenix she received Harmony Dust's book and had already read it. I was so happy to be able to tell her that I knew Harmony and that she is legit and her book is true. Please pray for J. Ask God to continue to put people in her path in the most unexpected ways to show her He is pursuing her. Will you please pray for J to know the God who has not forgotten her?

The managers of Ten's, Eden, Venom, and Turbulence were all very open to us this outreach. No one even hesitated. B at Venom was very talkative with us. J at Eden is interested in having coffee with Chad and me. J, R, and D at Ten's continue to be open to whatever we want to do in their club. To be honest, they all seem so closed off to spiritual things, but I know that it is only my small human brain and heart underestimating the God who can do whatever He wants whenever He wants. Please pray for these men. Ask God to continue to give us favor with them. Ask God to remove their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh. Will you please pray that these men will know true freedom and redemption through Jesus?

Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

Psalm 130 O Israel {dancers, mangers, people of Tucson, me, YOU} put your hope in the Lord for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. He Himself will redeem Israel {and us} from all their sin.

Thank you for praying.

Glory to God alone!