Tag Archives: Christian Living

The Story Of The Perfect Gift

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“A perfect gift is not easy.” my husband, Mike, told me this over and over again the past 2 days. And how true the words are. I began to prepare a gift for a dear friend last Sunday. I thought it would have been finished by Tuesday. But I was wrong. The hours that this took, were filled with joy, mixed with a little fear here and there that it would end up a big mess. 

There were times I wanted to quit because I mean, how good could this really come out?

The gift was a painting of my friend’s beloved dog, who had to be put down a few weeks ago. I was with her when it happened, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever witnessed in my life.

I ordered an adult paint by number set, that would be a painting of him when he was younger.

Perfect gifts are hard.

I had never done anything like this, and didn’t understand the intricacy of the gift. Each stroke of the brush was done with prayer, gratitude, and an immense amount of love. And with every stroke, I was reminded of Psalm 139: 13-14 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”

The word knit holds an intricacy and care to it (like you would knit a complex tapestry), that made me amazed at how much care God must have placed into creating us… if this gift was so time consuming and joyful, how much more is that true of God when He knit us together.

To keep a long story short…

This gift at times felt like a mountain, or a race. Or maybe a race where the finish line was at the top of a mountain. And when it was done, and it was wrapped, there was a part of me that was scared to give it to her. It felt like such a transparent and vulnerable gift, so a part of me wanted to hold on to it. 

But it was a perfect gift. And yes it got hard, but then I think of Ephesians, and how it says it gave God pleasure to lavish His grace on us, as a perfect gift, by giving up His son. I understand that on a small scale right now better than I ever have. 

Good things are often hard.

I remember the day I realized how precious grace is. It has been 15-16 years now that I returned to our good Father. He never left me, I always knew that, I just chose to not walk with Him. Even though it has been so long I remember the day I knew beyond a doubt that I was forgiven for the ways I had deviated from truth, because of the gift of grace.

I lived my life knowing that God would always be there when I was ready to return to Him. But I lived my life for me. There were good times, but the way I lived my live eventually took its toll. 

How Precious This Perfect Gift Felt…

I remember the day I realized I felt like I was existing and not living. When I recognized it, I also had the desire to not feel like that anymore. I wanted to feel alive again, and I wanted my life to have purpose. The only place I knew where to turn was the church. The church.

However, although I started going back church, I still felt weighed down not only by my sin, but also by the guilt of it. I was surrounded by people who had lived their whole life for God. Sharp contrast to the girl who had done her own thing for so many years.I remember how freeing grace felt the moment I was freed from my sin, and made alive in Christ. I remember the day God took the weight of all of that off my shoulders. 

How Precious Grace Is…

We have been reading Ephesians, and as we have been reading I have been reminded that Paul’s words are for us too. Because his words are our story, as God’s chosen. Once we were lost, now we are found. We were strangers, now we are fully known. And this is such a beautiful thing.

I mentioned it before, but here is a snippet of Ephesians chapter 1!

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:4-10

These verses perfectly captures our identity because of His love for us. Holy. Blameless. Redeemed. Predestined. Adopted. Chosen. Forgiven. Purposed. Loved. I hope that as you read these words, you remember the first time you experienced His grace, when you realized how precious it is. The moment you knew you were forgiven, or one of the first times you recognized His love for you. Or when you knew that God’s word was for you too.

Despite what He knows about us and all the ways we have fallen short, He still lavishes His grace on us. It was freely given to us through Jesus, and it gave God pleasure to do so… even though in order for us to have this gift, His loved son Jesus had to suffer the punishment for our sin.

God had to give His son up, for our freedom. His loved Son, His only Son.

Even as hard as the gift of grace was to give, God still had pleasure doing so.

It is good to remember the depth of that. So underserved, yet so freely given, because we are deeply loved. So many times I look forward, and am thankful for what God has done recently or is doing currently. But I don’t look far enough back to the day I was forgiven, and set free from the weight of my sin. I knew I was forgiven in that moment because I knew with everything in me that God loved me.  

Amazing Grace, the perfect gift from God.

The lyrics of Amazing Grace put it perfectly. “How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.”

Those lyrics are my story. Because if I can feel unworthy of His love now, that unworthiness felt that much more distance from His grace and love before I recommitted my life to Him.

Grace is a perfect gift. It is a gift from God. Let us freely continue to receive it, no matter how unworthy we feel. Because He loves us and it is lavished on us, not because we have done anything to deserve it, except to believe that what He says is true.

Why Being A Christian Is Hard

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Hey all! Although I am no longer writing regularly for Candidly Christian, I got the opportunity to write a guest post for them this week! It is a reflection I wrote on a blog I had written for them 4 years ago. It was such a sweet time writing this, and I hope that it blesses you as much as it blessed me to write it.

To Read “Why Being A Christian Is Hard But The Best Life To Live”
Click Here

In Case You Missed It!

And in case you missed some of my latest posts, I am sharing the last few with you here.

How We Know We Don’t Have To Earn God’s Love

What Do We Find Under God’s Protection?

How To Endure A Storm

What Do We Find Under God’s Protection?

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A memory came up in Facebook the other day. It was the day that I went back to work after Olivia was born. I was holding her, and torn about leaving her. She was holding my finger in the photo, something she had often done since. Things haven’t changed much. I still get a little torn when she goes off to school. Something that I learned about her is that she doesn’t know what to do when people are mean to her. She will just sit there and cry, or hold it in until she can’t take it anymore. That is what happened a couple days ago.

As a mom it is almost impossible to have experiences with your children and not relate them to your relationship with God, or His love for us. And that was the same when Olivia was struggling the other day with not wanting to go to school.

I knew something was wrong. I had a pretty good idea that someone had been mean to her. Yet no matter how many times I tried to ask about it, she wouldn’t tell me what it was until the fear of going to school became too unbearable. At this point she was clinging to my leg telling me she just wanted to be with me. A sure sign that she didn’t feel “safe” going to school. 

And that is what she wanted. As the bus pulled up, she broke into hysterical tears. One last time I asked her, what happened at school that was making her not want to go that day. She blurted out through tears “someone pushed me on the playground a lot and I fell”. Later on she would tell me that it was a girl that had pushed her and when she fell, the girl just laughed at her. 

She felt unsafe and unprotected going to school. But she wanted to feel safe, and protected… like she wasn’t going to get hurt.

At home she had refuge, and strength, and support. But she had something else too… as she clung to me, there was love. The love that took her home, changed her shoes, and brought her safely to school. 

Deuteronomy 33:8 says “the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are everlasting arms”.

A few years ago I had a dream that I was in the tower of a castle. It felt like a fortress, or a place of refuge even. The tower was strong, and it felt like nothing could destroy it. I was towards the top of the tower looking down, as enemies tried to break through the tower walls, and destroy my protection. But I had confidence that wasn’t going to happen.

I can often feel like Olivia. Scarred from the days gone by, terrified to move forward, and forgetting I have an unfailing Father who is my refuge, shelter, and strong tower. And I can lack the confidence I had in my dream. I can also forget what I have often found when I’ve been under God’s shelter.

What do we find under God’s protection?

I wrote about Psalm 91:1-2 last week, but if we ever wonder what we find when we abide in Him, Deuteronomy 33:27 answers that question. When we rest in the shadow of the Almighty God, we find everlasting, unshakable, and unfailing arms.

Arms have strength, and carry things. Sometimes what we have in our arms is fragile, and we have to carry it carefully. Just as sometimes God carries us when we are weak. When we are carried by God, we are not carried by weakness, but by someone who has enough power to raise His son from the grave.

What else can we find under His shelter?

When we abide in Christ, we would find what Ephesians 1 calls spiritual blessings. If I could come up with a list of spiritual blessings, it would be long. Protection, rest, grace, forgiveness, strength, redemption, kindness, goodness, peace, faithfulness, assurance, a secured place in heaven. I could add everlasting arms to that list. 

My desire to protect Olivia has always been driven by love. And when I read scripture, I am continually amazed that the things God has done for us and given to us are, as well, all driven by love.

May we remember that. May we remember that under His refuge are good things done for us, and given to us out of a deep love. We are His adopted, and chosen daughters. With that title comes covering, and shelter when we are weak and in need of His everlasting arms to carry us through.

How To Endure A Storm

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I was sitting in the first 2 verses of Psalm 91 this week. That was where God had me, because everything else felt overwhelming. A lot of times my struggles feel like a battle. But this didn’t feel a battle. It felt like I was in a storm. And it felt like the storm came up fast and furious. Storms and battles are different, and require different reactions. Battles require more action, and storms require more stillness. As we approach battles, we put on armor. In storms, we seek shelter. In a battle, the armor is on us, in storms the shelter is over us. My time in Psalm 91 helped me understand how to endure through a storm.

Where is the safest place to be during a storm?

I have learned that the safest place to be in the middle of a storm, more so a hurricane, is the eye. The winds create a round center that is calm. Protected almost. 

And as the week went on, and the strong seemed to come crashing in from different directions, I was comforted by Psalm 91. You may know the know the verses well. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”” 

Beautiful truths, but to help us understand it a little deeper, here are other words taken from the Hebrew translation… The one who sits, stays, inhabits, in the secret place, covering, safety of the Most High will rest, abide, lodge under the shade of the Most powerful God. The word “will” in the verse implies a truth and a certainty. There is no question about this. Only assurance. We will find shade, if we abide in Him, who is our refuge and strength.

My favorite translation of “rest” in the Hebrew translation is “pass the night”. This verse basically promises that night will end. But while its night, we can be safe and secure. It is as sure as the sunrise. But until it does, we can trust, have confidence in, be secure, and feel safe under God’s protection.

But when we are in need of shelter, do we immediately say “the One we trust is our refuge”?

The One. The Most High above all else, and set a part. 

Storms pass. They do. But until they do, we can find shelter, safety, protection, under His shadow. We can be like Peter, until he got distracted. He knew the safest place to be wasn’t in the boat, it was closest to Jesus.

Let’s take a look…

Here were the disciples, just hours after the feeding of the 5000. Jesus had just performed this incredible miracle. Feeding a large crowd, with barely enough food to feed my own family. 

You would think their faith would be at an all time high. However, Jesus made the disciples go ahead of Him in a boat, and He dismissed the crowd so He could be by Himself to pray. So maybe their fear was in part because Jesus wasn’t in the boat with them as the storm came up, as He had been the last time. 

Not only is Jesus not with them as the boat was buffeted by the wind against it. But they became terrified when they think Jesus is a ghost. Seeing a ghost would terrify me, so I can understand the disciples fears. But I can further resonate witnessing God’s work, and then quickly finding myself in the middle of a storm, and scared.

As Jesus comes to them on the water… again doing the miraculous, they still wanted assurance that it was Him. “Call me out of the boat” says Peter. And Jesus does. Jesus called Peter to do the same thing He, Himself was doing. The impossible.

Jesus doesn’t call us to do the ordinary. Just like He doesn’t do the ordinary, even in a storm.

We will never know what it is like to actually walk on water, but when we step of our boat called “safety”, and into the “storm”, our walk with Christ can really feel like walking on water as the wind and the waves crash around us.

We can find the shelter and refuge that Psalm 91 speaks of. But I want to make mention of this… The shelter and refuge most likely didn’t stop Peter from getting soaked by the wind and the waves. Peter was still in the storm, so the shelter he found by being close to Jesus protected him from being overtaken by the storm. 

Until Peter lost his focus…

Peter’s response to the wind and the waves showed that he had doubts about the One he was walking to. He got distracted from the greatness of Jesus, and begins to sink. I know what panic feels like. I felt a bit of panic this week, and surely Peter had to have felt it. Thankfully despite Peter’s brief moment of doubt, He calls out to Jesus, and we see the strength of the hand of Jesus. 

Be still, and know that I am God.

This story teaches us that we will never sink if we keep our eyes locked on Jesus. His hand is strong enough to save. We can be confident He is with us, and will come to us in the middle of the storm. Yet as He is with us, He also is in control of it all. He grabs us the second we call out to Him.

When the storms come, and we need shelter, we can pass the night under His shelter and care. We can be still, so that we don’t get swept up in the winds and the wave. But if we find ourselves beginning to sink, we just need to call back out to Him, who will reach out, and bring us right back to walking on water, right next to Him.

Why God’s Holiness Brings Me Comfort

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I was reading about the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11 today. Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. And I was caught by how Jesus opens His prayer. Father, hallowed be your name. This week I had thought a lot about holiness, and what that means. God being holy seems like an intimidating thought for so many, because we see how far short we fall. I have definitely been there myself, being consumed with how unworthy I am. But as I was reading about God’s holiness I was comforted by that aspect of God. And so today I share with you, why God’s holiness brings me comfort. It makes me feel deeply loved. Beloved.

Our Father, who we are told by Jesus, to call out to in prayer, is Holy. Set a part from all else. In Him there is not a speck of darkness. My Bible app translates the word “hallow” as holy, perfect, pure to the fullest. And separated from profane things.

Why God’s holiness brings me comfort…

This Holy One, we get to call Father. And if comforts me that He is holy, because the Holy One carries us, and is with us, and goes before us, and calls us by name. What peace that can bring us. We aren’t carried by any darkness but only by glorious light. There is no shadow of fear, or uncertainty in Him. No doubt, or lack of confidence. 

I can be found guilty of not remembering who God is, and who He has always been. But this is our Father, our creator, guardian, and protector. If were to do a spiritual DNA test to show our spiritual ancestry, God would be the beginning. And we are His descendants.

We are descendants of a Holy God. And that is just beautiful. 

1 Peter 2:9 says that we a chosen people. A royal priesthood. Holy nation, God’s own possession. And the ones that He called out of darkness into marvelous light are to declare His praise. What I put in bold in actually in caps in the Greek translation. That means Peter didn’t want the readers of his letter to miss this point. It was important and not to be skimmed over. Same goes for us.

As His descendants, we are also told to come to Him like children. And that sounds all nice and great, but what does that even mean? That question tripped me up. I know exactly what Jesus said, but what does that look like for me, in my life? Because I can often be found coming to Jesus like an adult. An adult who knows exactly what can go wrong in every single situation, like Jesus doesn’t hold all things together and isn’t fully in control.

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3

And then I thought of Charlie and Olivia. Each morning I put them on the bus. They go on willingly trusting that they are going to get to their destination. 

They don’t question me or have the same fears that I do. “What happens if the bus gets in an accident?” “What happens if someone is mean on the bus to my kids?…. There is only one bus driver and like 30 kids on the bus, how can he control them all?” “What happens if something happens at school?”

All the questions that can run through my mind sometimes. 

But my kids get on the bus with joy, trusting the bus driver will take them to their destination and then back home again after school. 

I guess that is what being like a child is like. Putting aside approaching Jesus like an adult. Believing that He is in control, and holds all things together. Hoping against hope. Trusting that God will guide us to our desired haven, whether that is where God is leading us in life, or the day that He will welcome us into heaven when our time on earth is done. And believing that He will provide our every daily needs.

Our God’s, our Father’s provision comes daily. \Our daily bread, as we need it. He did it for the Israelites, and will do it for us. 

He will never not be holy, or good, or set a part. God will never run from us in our time of need. It is not His nature to do so. He will be close, He will come to us, because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

My prayer for us all is this. May His holiness give us peace and comfort, so we can come to Him as children, fully trusting in who He is, so we can live how He created us, as His adopted, and chosen daughters, who deeply know their unfailing Father.

My 2023 Word For The Year

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How many of you do words for the year? I know many of you don’t. It isn’t right or wrong to do one or not, but somehow they end up being fitting for me. You can read about my word of the year from last year here. But my word of the year this year is so different than the words I usually chose. What is my 2023 word of the year?

Beloved.

I will be honest, I am not sure I fully grasp what that word means. I know what the word love means. But this is different, and I am not sure the dictionaries definition really captures its meaning.

Beloved: Dearly loved

Dearly loved, and close to the heart are decent definitions. But I want to reflect on the word a bit more as it pertains to being a child of God. I will do this by sharing a story that I was encouraged to share again recently, but then share the redemption story that I didn’t think to ask of pray for.

After college in 2014 I moved to Long Beach, CA. To help ensure my safety, my dad bought me a new car. I would say it was my “dream car”. Navy blue. Illuminated lights, leather seats, and had a sporty feel when it was driven. And it also had what I like to call a fin (otherwise known as a spoiler).

About 9 months later, as I was driving home from a doctors appointment, and I was returning the phone call of someone who had called me 2 months prior. Thankfully it was rush hour, so I was only driving about 35 in the center lane of the 405 (a 5 lane highway), when a piece of plywood flew off the pick up truck in front of me and crashed through my windshield.

It took me a minute to realize what was going on, and that I still had my foot on the gas. I slowed the car to a stop, trying to figure out if I was still alive or in heaven. At that moment a tracker trailer stopped and pulled the piece of wood off of me. I always wonder what he thought he was going to find as he had witnessed the accident. A week prior this happened to another car on a California freeway, and the driver had died instantly.

The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:8

A nice couple pulled over and sat with me as I made phone calls trying to find someone to come get me. But back then we weren’t as attached to our phones as we are now. And then they sent me to the hospital. My car had safety glass, so I had 1000’s of splinter sized pieces of glass all over me. In my hear, my eye lashes, in my clothes… everywhere. So they wanted to get me cleaned up the right way and make sure I wasn’t seriously injured.

My car ended up being totaled because of the amount of glass that got into the electrical system of the car. And that was the end of my dream car, which in a way had been taken from me.

Looking back I am always amazed at how God had gone before me, even at a time I wasn’t following in His ways. It was rush hour, so I was driving only 35, I had 3 people pull over to help me, my car had safety glass, and for some reason that day, I returned a phone call I had gotten months before, which caused the wood to hit my wrist, and not my neck. If it weren’t for specific details, the story probably would have ended differently. But God loved me enough to spare my life, even though I definitely didn’t deserve it.

Amazing grace. End of story… actually not really.

Then God did the unexpected…

Around 20 years later I would have another car incident. In 2020 my car was stolen from from my driveway. You can read about it here, but it was quite the 13 week ordeal. Again my car was taken from me. This time it was not my dream car, but I loved, and was safe for my family.

Again my car was totaled, because the person/s who stole the car somehow destroyed the engine.

So I had to go car shopping. After test driving a couple cars that I just wasn’t happy with, I was a bit disappointed. Then I spotted a new car model I had never seen before. When I sat in the car, it felt like my dream car. It looked different on the outside, it was white, and also a small SUV. But the inside was exactly the same. The illuminated lights. The leather seats. The sporty way it drove.

I knew that was my car. It was more than my car. It was in a way redemption. God giving me back what was taken from me. It was something that I didn’t ask for, and definitely didn’t expect. But I felt so loved and seen by God.

Actually I didn’t just feel loved, I felt dearly loved safe, and secure, and close to God’s heart. I felt beloved. And as I look back on these moments, I see just how much God loves me, by His graceful care for me, even thought I don’t deserve it.

Several time in the New Testament the writers of the chapters use the word “beloved” when they are addressing the people who they are writing to. The one I share with you today is Jude 1:20-21

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

The word for “beloved” in Greek here is translated further as “esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love”. And as His beloved daughter, that is how He would call out to us if we earnestly seek Him and His ways. The word “keep” is translated as to attend to carefully, or guard. I think of a precious piece of jewelry here. Something you don’t want lost of stolen, or broken.

May I suggest that we treat ourselves that way, guarding ourselves, and attending to ourselves carefully by abiding in His love. So as we continue in 2023, may we, as beloved daughters keep ourselves in His great love, and keep looking for His mercy and kindness of Jesus, until we are with Him face to face.

We stay rooted in His word, walking in His ways, and believing He works everything for His glory and our good.

And as we do this, we will see His love for us, and look back and say God has done more than we could ask or imagine.

How God Used Barbie To Point People To Jesus

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I kind of laugh at this story. Because I really didn’t expect this to happen, or plan for this to happen. A few years ago, I wrote a blog titled “How To Break Down Your Barbie Dream House“. I played with Barbie’s growing up, and in college, me and two friends had Barbie nicknames. I was Midge, obviously, because of the red hair and blue eyes.

So when I wrote that post, it was kind of in a way, just a fun post, with deep meaning. It being “click bait” was never even a thought in my mind. I really didn’t anticipate that this post would end up, years later, driving more than 50% of the traffic to my site each year.

The Story Of How God Used Barbie To Point People To Jesus

You wouldn’t be able to guess how many people Google “how to break down Barbie dream house”, or something similar to that. You also probably would expect people to find instructions on how to break it down. But my post usually shows up number 1 on that Google search, without any break down posts that follow it.

Now, if you just Googled how to break down Barbie’s Dream House, let me give you a better option. Find someone with a young girl to pass it down to. I promise they will be incredibly thankful.

But my post wasn’t really about taking apart a doll house. You can read it here, but it was about that sometimes we can view life like Barbie’s dream house. Because when I grew up, there was no sickness, or disagreements, or mistakes and disappointments when I played Barbie. And sometimes we can approach the future like there won’t be any hardships, therefore making hardships harder to endure, because they blindside us to the point of being disappointed in how our life has gone.

The post encourage readers to make a home in the Word of God, and to put our hope in Jesus, and not our shattered dreams. Trusting Him, and choosing to endure when hard times.

God did the unexpected…when I didn’t expect it.

Yes, God did more than I could think or imagine with that post. But what happens when we actually expect God to do something, and He doesn’t do it according to our plan?

Last year, this happened to me. I had a grand idea of how something was going to go. The plan was in my head. It was wonderful, and God was going to move how I expected of course.

And that in part didn’t happen. I was left disappointed in myself, wondering how things had ended so differently than I expected.

Now, let me say this. Was God glorified? Yes. But I was still disappointed. As I look back, I realized it was I had put God in a box, expecting the outcome to be exactly as I had plan. But God had other plans.

I have grown to see that everything happened according to His plan and not mine. However, I was extremely upset at the time, that my expectations didn’t meet what had actually happened.

I shared before that God moved without any expectations on my part, just a hope that He would use my blog to encourage someone. But what happens when we have our own expectations?

First, we have to trust God, and the only expectation we should have is that God will do more than we can ask or imagine. God isn’t limited by the things that limit us, and that means that He isn’t limited by our expectations of Him.

His ways are higher than our ways, but if we are dead set on what we expect God to do, we won’t be left in awe of what He has done, but disappointed by what we thought He should have done, but didn’t.

Will God ever leave us disappointed?

That is a good question. Because I was disappointed, crushed even. But it wasn’t because of God. It was because I expected something, without the prayer of “your will be done”, accompanying that.

My expectations were wrong though. But when are only expectation is that God will do more than we ask or imagine, we will never be disappointed. And if we pray, and end our prayers with “your will be done”, and believe that despite our expectations, we will never be disappointed.

I know this to be true, because God knows us to well, and loves us too much. He created us in our mother’s womb, and knows our deepest, most intimate thoughts. God also knows our needs better than we do, and sometimes will give us one thing instead of what we ask for.

Because God knows us so deeply, and He is a good Father, we will always be satisfied with the live He leads us in.

I think of the story when Jesus encourages us to not worry. He notes the birds in the sky and the flowers of the field. These are things that God needs the needs of. If He takes care of the needs of the birds, and the flowers, even more will He care for us.

So let us approach God, and the things He calls us to do, with the only expectation of Him doing more than we can ask or imagine. May we always end our prayers with “Your will be done.” And let us trust that His ways are higher than ours, because He is God.

What Makes Christmas Wondrous: He Shall Be Called

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As I have shared this Christmas season, I have been pondering what makes Christmas so wondrous. I have written that what makes it wondrous is that His birth was only to be accomplished by God, our promised King was born who reign would never end, God made impossible reality, and that God’s promise was fulfilled even after 400 years of silence. And on Christmas day, this is my final thought. 

What Makes Christmas So Wondrous…

We were at the bust stop the other day, and my friend and I were making plans to decorate Christmas cookies that night with our kids. Squished in the middle of talking about what cookies decorations I had, and her plan to make tacos for the night, I asked her if she wanted me to bring wine for the adults, and she said yes. Then something her son said stopped me in my tracks.

“Christmas isn’t about wine.”

I am not sure why he pointed out the wine, instead of the tacos, and cookies decorations but he did. And he is right. If he noted the tacos or cookies, I would have had the same reaction. And I needed to hear it as a reminder. Because this week has been more unexpectedly busy with shopping, wrapping, preparing meals, making cookies, and all the things. And I found myself getting caught up at moments in the holiday traditions, before first remembering Jesus.

So today my final Christmas post, is all about Jesus.

“He shall be called…”

In a dark time in Israel’s history, God promised that light was coming. Isaiah 9 (over 700 years before the light of the world would come), describes a child who would be born, and given to us. God says here that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, Mighty God. All loving, and all powerful. His rule and peace would have no end.

And in Isaiah 7:14 God says His name will be Immanuel. With us, is God.

He would be many things. Israel’s strength, and consolation.

Strength: their strong tower, safety, protection, refuge.
Consolation: their comfort, and solace.

He is mighty, yet gentle. I love this. 

The name that stuck out to me the most the past couple days has been Prince of Peace. I love the Hebrew word for peace in Isaiah 9. It means peace, but also completeness, soundness, quiet, contentment. This is what was given to us when Jesus was born.

What is wondrous is that He wasn’t called Prince of Jerusalem, or Bethlehem, or Nazareth. He wasn’t the prince of a earthly location, but of the heart and in eternity. It would be of love, peace, soundness, quiet, power, strength, and heavenly splendor. And this Kingdom would never faint or fade.

This is such a beautiful thought.

What is wondrous is that Jesus wasn’t named by man. He was named by God, when He sent angel Gabrielle to Mary and then Joseph with the message that they were to call Him Jesus.  “Jehovah is salvation”. 

We celebrate today that the One named by God, Himself, came near. No longer separation from God, but now God with us.

May we remember today all that Jesus is, who He was promised to be, who He will always be. Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was given. It is a gift that we treasure in our hearts. And He came near, so that God would be with us.

Merry Christmas, may you feel you feel the things that He brings that can never be taken away. Peace and joy.

What Makes Christmas Wondrous: Promise Fulfilled

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Have you ever heard about the 400 years before Jesus came, and the significance of that? It is the time between the end of the book Malachi and the time when Jesus was born. And as far as anyone knows, God did not speak, and no scripture was written. This time in history is just one more reason that makes Christmas so wondrous, because God fulfilled promise.
What happened during the 400 years aren’t mentioned in scripture. But history gives us a picture of what happened when the Old testament ended and the New Testament began.

What happened during these 400 years?

These years began with the Jews back in Israel after they had been held in captivity Babylon. The temple had been rebuilt, and although the Law had been restored, the Jews again were not living lives to honor God.
Shortly after the silent years began, Greek influence overtook Hebrew culture (this is when Greek language was adopted, and the Old Testament was translated to Greek). At first the Jews were treated fairly well, but eventually the reading and observing the Hebrew law was outlawed, an altar was up for the Greek god, Zeus in the temple that was created for God, Himself.
The ruthless ruler who had this done even sacrificed a pig on that altar, which was basically a slap in the face to the Jews, as pigs were considered unclean. He also turned other rooms in the temple into brothels, and murdered thousands of Jewish women and children.
That was just the beginning of the darkness that those 400 years held (you can read more about what happened in the silent years here). The silent years seemed mostly hopeless, and definitely held a level of darkness that had never been experienced before.

But hope would come, just not yet.

There was a brief revolt when the Maccabees revolted, they had a cleanse and rededication of the temple that took 8 days. The Festival of Dedication. Hanukkah.
But their newfound freedom didn’t last long, and soon they were overtaken by the Romans.
When the New Testament begins, Herod the Great (The king of the Jews) was in power, and tried to appease the Jews by marrying into the Jewish bloodline and expanding and renovating the temple. He also allowed them to follow Jewish law.
That all sounds great until you realize that he had an intense desire for power. It also seemed like he only wanted to please the Jews, so that they wouldn’t turn against him.

Here begins the New Testament.

Why does all of this matter? And why does it matter to us?

I think of how many times I lack faith, or respond to God in unbelief, yet we have these people that scripture records as still being faithful and still holding on to hope that there will be redemption for God’s chosen… even after 400 years. There were still some of God’s chosen that held on to the promise. There would be rescue. Hope. Freedom. God would fulfill what was spoken years prior.
This was evident in the lives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph.

What makes Christmas so wondrous?

Knowing a bit of the history of the 400 years, makes Mary’s response to the angel so much more profound. This promise had obviously been passed down for generations and generations through the darkest days. 400 years. I bet as the years went on and on, every day one day farther from the days the promises were spoken, more and more people started to lose hope.
Imagine being Mary hearing about this promise. Maybe she heard about it from her parents, or other family members. She had obviously believed it, and held on to the hope that someday there would be rescue again.
And then some day arrived. The angel of the Lord was sent to her. So favored that she was chosen out of everyone else to carry and birth the promised Son.
This wasn’t just any angel either. It was angel Gabriel, an angel who stood in the presence of God.
She was at first troubled by his greeting, but he assures her to not be afraid, that she had found favor with God. Then comes the news that she would conceive a son. He would be the Son of the Most High, would be given the throne of David. But His kingdom would never end.
“May your word to me be fulfilled.” Mary says right before the angel leaves her.
She believed it. She knew it was true, and she reflects a gratitude, faithfulness, and humbleness in how she hears the news that after so many years, God was going to fulfill His promise and it was going to begin with her.

Wow. Promise Fulfilled.

When you know a little bit more about the 400 years of silence, it makes Mary’s song of praise even more meaningful. She ends saying this:

From generation to generation, His mercy extends to those who fear him. He performed mighty deeds with his arm. Scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. Brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. Filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. Helped his servant Israel. Remembered to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever. Just as he promised our ancestors. Luke 1:50-55 

Have you ever waited a long time for something? As you have waited has your hope lost weight? Does the confident hope that you felt in the past all of a sudden feel like it is balanced with fear and doubt?
We live in the “already, but not yet.”  What makes Christmas wondrous is that it is a time we remember that promise was fulfilled. Jesus came to be near as promised, but He has yet to come again as promised.
However, we live in a time when all we have to do is look around and see all that He has given us. That His promise is true. Because of this, we can remain confident in hope that He will be with us every step of the way. We will see it, if we believe. If we keep our eyes locked on Christ, the promised Son, who was, and will come again.
If you hope is beginning to fade, as doubt begins to grow, may you remember Jesus. That He came near, and is with us. And may that give you the confidence to holdfast to hope, that His promises are true.

What Makes Christmas Wondrous: Impossible Became Reality

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So this is my third past about what makes Christmas so wondrous. You can read the first post here, and the second post here. But today my focus is going to be on Zechariah (The husband of Elizabeth, and father of John the baptist who would “prepare the way of the Lord”), Mary, and Joseph, and about how the impossible became reality. I am very attuned to the fact that what happened years ago, still effects and encourages us today. And I am so thankful for His word that can remind us that God is good, and faithful, and true.

Another thing that has stuck out to me that makes Jesus coming to earth so wondrous is that the promise was fulfilled by unexpected people, and He made impossible situations reality.

The Christmas Story Is Full Of Ways That God Made The Impossible Become Reality

Zechariah and Elizabeth wanted a child. They were blameless and upright, and observed all of God’s commands. Even so, they were without a child, and too old to conceive. I wonder if they remembered the story of Abraham and Sarah at this time?

Mary, a young girl, who was to be married to Joseph and a virgin.

Both very different circumstances: One looking back at a life that didn’t include a child to bring them favor. The other planning her future, probably with the hope of one day having a child of her own…after she was married.

Even in his old age, it was apparent by the angels words that Zechariah was still praying for a child. The first words the angel said were “Do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard.” One of the reasons for that prayer was because of the disgrace Elizabeth was probably experiencing due to childlessness. A part from Zechariah’s own struggles with this, seeing his wife struggle must have been hard for him to witness.

Then there was hope… the news of a child, a son, they would call John.

We see here that, God used his personal desires, for His greater purpose. This promised son, John, wouldn’t just remove Elizabeth’s disgrace among people, and be a delight to them, he would also be great in the sight of the Lord, and he would make ready a people ready for the Lord.

God will use your personal desires for His greater purpose too. But how often do we stand in disbelief like Zechariah, who lost his voice because he didn’t believe?

Let’s Look At Mary…

Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. Luke 1: 30-31

Mary’s life would be harder because of the angel’s news to her. She had to have known that. But that didn’t seem to be a thought for her. She knew she was blessed.

Unlike Zechariah she didn’t respond in disbelief. Mary stood in awe, and she responded to what she had been told with a song of praise (Luke 1:47-55). Her soul magnified the Lord. She didn’t lose her voice, she used her voice to declare God’s faithfulness.

When we look at Zechariah and Mary’s responses to the angel’s news, we need to be reminded to not lose our voice by responding to God in disbelief instead of awe.

Don’t lose your voice by responding to God with disbelief instead of awe and wonder.

There is so much more to say about Mary, and we will look at her more in depth next week, but now let us take a look at Joseph for a minute. He is just as a part of the story as Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary.

You can find his encounter with the angel in Matthew 1:18-25. He would have the blessed gift of embracing Mary with love as she walked out God’s incredible call on her life. God is so good that He didn’t leave Mary without Joseph, without someone who wouldn’t leave her side, and care for her, on what was surely a blessed but difficult road to walk.

At first when the angel comes to Joseph it seemed like he was only considering 2 options following the news that Mary was pregnant.

The first option was to stay faithful to the law and have her stoned, which was disgraceful to her publicly. It seemed like in their day, people seemed to want to gravitate to that option, and make a public display of their sin. The second option was to divorce her quietly. The first didn’t even seem to be an option for him

But with God…

We see that with God though, there are more options that we realize, and we see that perfectly here.

There is no law against grace, when God’s law is love. And that is what Joseph displayed to Mary. Love. The love that Jesus would command of His followers, and it was by that love in which the world would know who His disciples were.

Sometimes it can be easy to feel like Joseph felt. What situations are ahead of you that seem to have limited options, and none of the limited options really seem right?

With God, there will always be another way, because His ways are greater than ours. Let us never settle for less that His way, and may we always seek Him until we are confident in His way.

My prayer for you all this week, is that when you face times when you think “How?”, you will consider that question, not in unbelief, but awe, and anticipation of how God will work. And that you remember that there is no law against grace.