Simeon

“There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.” Luke 2:25-26.

Have you ever gotten a special word from the Lord? You know that it is true, even though you have no idea how it will come to pass. I wonder what Simeon thought about his revelation from God. I don’t think we can say for sure that he knew Jesus would be a baby. From what I have read and understand no one knew the full reality of Jesus being God’s Son until He died and rose again. Even then, until you embrace Him as your Savior this is a hidden reality. I don’t know what Simeon was expecting, but I doubt He was expecting a baby.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

This is one of my absolute favorite promises. It has encouraged me in some of my hardest times. Sunday a guest speaker (Rick Cohen) pointed out that these words mean beyond measure. And as humans, we cannot measure what God does by our standards. He said, “If something is measurable then it is not eternal.” I believe God blesses us in ways that are measurable, that He does amazing things we can see… but it may not be the “exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think.” Do we really want a God we can measure?

Simeon may not have been looking for a baby, but when he saw Jesus, he knew He was the Savior. He was so moved he said, "Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace." Luke 2:29. Jesus being born is an example of “exceedingly abundantly more.” How can we fathom it, measure it? I have been taught this story for all of my life; we’re even given great details on how it all came about. But when I think of it I cannot help but be blown away every time. At the outset I cannot get over that God came in flesh. He submitted to life as a man. Not a man in our pristine Western culture that could have given more comfort. God entrusted Himself to a feeding trough and a poor teenage mother. Such meagerness, but so much power, that Satan could not change a second of God’s plan for Jesus on earth.

We see, two thousand years later, that power has swept the earth. I am amazed at the work of God in my own life and multiply that by millions of people and thousands of years. And it all careens backwards in time to one little baby born in a throwaway town in one of the smallest countries on earth. Yet, at the outset, unless you had the insight of God, like Simeon, Jesus was just a baby born in a questionable situation.

What of your situation? Do you want to hear from God? “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3. If you really do seek, He really will show you great things. And what if He has shown you things, but you don’t get it, or you can’t see it? Then He is working out something eternal, something that is beyond what we can measure. Our situation may look bleak, we may feel ineffective, and boxed in. I wonder if Mary thought, “How can this baby be salvation, a light to the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel? There’s no way it can happen!” She could not have imagined who Jesus really was, what He would accomplish. And guess what, we cannot imagine what God will do with our lives either.

Rick Cohen also said, “Our expectations of God are too low.” This Christmas give Jesus the gift of trusting Him for more. Believe that your obedience, your life lived for Him, while it may look at the outset like nothing, is working for “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17.

Purposeful Reproach

I am hoping to write about Christmas this month. I never know what the Lord will lead me to write, but I have gleaned so much from reading Luke 1 and 2 I hope to do a few more posts on the topic. Whenever I desire to delve deeper into the story of Christ’s birth I am always in awe of what I find. It’s so deep, so rich. I encourage you to delve in too. I also want to recommend Todd Agnew’s “Do You See What I See?” album. He spent a year studying the accounts of the birth of Christ before writing the album. The songs are insightful and worshipful. I LOVE it. Get it.

I thought I would write about Mary first, but I could not get past Zacharias and Elizabeth. Zacharias and Elizabeth are given highest praise in Luke 1:6, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” I would love to have this testimony! And you would think, to have this testimony, everything went well for them, but as you know it hadn’t. They did not have a child and they were past the time for that. Still, they were faithful. They did not blame God and did not strive. They just lived seemingly ordinary lives for God.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were past hope for a child. I can imagine part of Zacharias’ unbelief was that he had tabled that prayer. Maybe God had even spoken to them that they would have a child. But time had passed and they decided they must have heard wrong. Yes, they had heard wrong, but they would still remain true to their God.

But then Zacharias heard the angel’s words, “Your prayer has been heard! You and Elizabeth will have a son!” I love how the angel responds to his disbelief. “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God (if it were me I would have repeated that part – the presence of God – in a stern mommy voice), and was sent to you and bring you these glad tidings.” Gabriel cannot believe his unbelief. Gabriel’s reality, which should also be ours, is that you should just believe what God’s messenger tells you. Take note of that, because if Gabriel ever visits you, you will want to believe what he says.

Elizabeth conceived, just like Gabriel said, and for five months she hid herself, and said, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, to take away my reproach among people.” Can you imagine Elizabeth’s joy? God did not forget her; He was as good, and better, than she ever dreamed Him to be. In addition to her new realization of God she was having a longed for son. He had taken away her reproach. Reproach? Back up, didn’t God describe them as “righteous before God, in all His ways blameless?” How could they have reproach among the people?

Purposeful reproach. These are the words that came to me as I thought on this. Zacharias and Elizabeth were completely in line with God’s will, they were faithful. Yet they had an unanswered prayer. They had no child, and that caused them, I am sure, gut wrenching anguish. Add to that the reproach of the people. Zacharias and Elizabeth were left out of the play dates and she got tired of going to the baby showers. People maybe secretly or openly (it was a more common thought back then) thought their childlessness was a punishment from God. Their close friends, without even knowing it, were less and less a part of their lives.

There is a balm for those with reproaches in our lives. It is Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Our God is an ever present comfort, His love will quiet those hurts that continue until He takes them away. Because I believe that the end for us is not sorrow, I believe that those prayers, though they tarry in being answered, will be answered. For Elizabeth, God did “exceedingly, abundantly, more than she could ask or think.” There will come a time when God will work in that situation because in Zephaniah 3:18-19 He says, “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you to whom its reproach is a burden. Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.”

Gabriel said his words would be fulfilled in “their own time,” much like it says above, “at that time.” We don’t get the day, but we must believe the promise that God will take away our reproach. Gabriel told Zacharias that many would rejoice at his (John’s) birth, and when he was born Luke 1:65 says that all who heard the words of the birth of John “kept them in their hearts, saying, ‘What kind of child will this be?’” I believe that the deeper the hurt, the stronger the reproach, the deeper the blessing God will give when He takes the reproach away. There is a purpose to the reproach. We cannot see it, and at times it makes us sick with anguish. But I know, because God is good and faithful , and oh so loving, that it will work out for good, and like Elizabeth we will be appointed for fame in every land where we were put to shame.

Comparison Trap

I think it’s most women. I hope it’s not just me. We fall into the comparison trap. We know the verses, “Judge not, that you be not judged (Matthew 7:1),” and, “Judge nothing before the time when all things will be revealed (1 Corinthians 4:5, my paraphrase).” But alas before we can remember those verses we make the snap comparison. Usually it is, “she is so much better at…” or, “at least I am not…” “I wish I could be as devoted as her” or “I am more devoted than her.” And if you are where I am in this process you chide yourself, repeat the verses, and pray to see others as Christ sees them. Now, are you thinking, “At least I don’t think like her,” “I wish I could think like her,” or “She is not making any sense… again.” I won’t make you answer.

This has been a journey for me. I wish I could see through the eyes of Jesus always. I wish I did not make rash judgments that moments (or days or months or years) later I need to repent of. One Sunday the Lord made something real to me and I pray He will make it real to you. I was looking across the congregation and He whispered, “You are all covered in the same righteousness, My righteousness.” I looked at people who I thought were holier than me and felt on equal ground. I looked at people that I questioned their behavior and we were all together. No one had bragging rights because we all had the same covering. Our only goodness came from Him. Do you know what? It made me love all of them and it stopped me from comparing.

I have a new necklace… it says, “The only thing good in me is Jesus Christ.” That is true about any believer in Christ. So whether they are shining on the stage or sliding into the backseat the only good in either of them is Jesus Christ for which they can take no credit. So, if you are comparing still… the holy sister in the Lord is a wreck without Christ. And if your eyes slide to a sister in struggles know that “it could be me,” and pray for her.

There’s a key to all of this because both in doing well and in struggling we can deny Christ’s right to our life. We can be “do wellers” who are phony. We can struggle because we are not submitting to God and ending our rebellion. When we are caught up in ourselves or others we cannot be caught up with Christ. If we make it our purpose to follow and love Jesus, our infatuation with Him will not allow for phoniness, rebellion, or even comparing.

If you want to get caught up with Him, read your bible, read a gospel and learn all about Jesus to see what kind of person He is. I read recently (Jon Courson) that any other person you will become disillusioned with over time, but Jesus is the one that will never happen with. You will grow to love Him more and more as you get to know Him.

Where is the Promise of His Coming?

In Revelation 5 there is a heartbreaking moment followed by a moment that invoked consummate worship. God is on the throne (blessed be His name!) and He holds in His right hand a sealed scroll. But no one is found who is worthy to open it. John then “wept much” because no one was found worthy to open it. Whatever the scroll contained (click here for some ideas) it must be very important and critical that someone open it if John wept so much. But do not fear; there is someone worthy! “Behold the Lion, the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals (verse 5).” The opening of the seals unleashes judgment on the earth. Think of of the power and grace of God. He has the right and power to allow Jesus to open the seals, to start the judgment of the earth, but He hasn’t.

There is a time in the Bible when it was time for judgment. Ezekiel 12:5 says, "For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it," says the Lord GOD.'" And even though the people did not believe it would happen - it did. They had been warned for 200 years, and it did come.

Fast forward to today. It has been two thousand years since Christ has come to earth. In 2 Peter it says, “Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’” Just like those in Judah, they think that since the words have been delayed that they will not come.

How are we to see it? When I thought about Revelation 5 I was in awe of the power of God. At any moment He could rapture the church, and allow the tribulation to wreak havoc on the whole earth. But He hasn’t. Do you know why? 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” It is not that God is incapable; it is not that He will not fulfill those promises of judgment. It is that He is gracious and patient. He wants everyone to repent and believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins so they do not have to go through the judgment and then to hell. In Ezekiel God brought down judgment that He had warned them of for 200 years. For almost 2000 years the church has had the book of Revelation that tells of coming judgment. God loves people. He wants people with Him. He does not want them in hell.

If judgment makes you squirm or makes you wonder about God's love think on this. God has the perfect balance of time in His hands. Just as He is patient and wants more to come to repentance, He also knows when the time has come when people will not repent anymore. He knows then it is time to bring judgment so more people are not born only to reject Him and enter eternity without Him. God's coming judgment should not make us question God's love, it should make us share it with others in this time of grace. It hasn't happened yet, so we need to tell others of the saving power of Jesus Christ!

Mudslinging

Last year I read a story to Caleb for school titled Mudslinging (from Kingdom Tales by David and Karen Mains). In it two sides were slinging mud at each other, and claiming to know the "Kings Ways" best. In the middle was a street cleaner who no matter what hit him kept cleaning up the mud while more mud flew. When he looked at anyone in the face they were ashamed and stopped throwing mud. One person, Little Child, recognized the street sweeper for who he was, the King himself. Then Little Child went to help the King clean up the mud. I don't know why but it broke my heart and it was hard to read. Whether in thought, word or deed we have all been guilty of flinging mud at other Christians. The part that hurt was picturing Jesus in the middle as the street sweeper; that our mudslinging hurts him, because in the story sometimes there were rocks in the mud.

I thought of this story lately when I heard about backlash two Christian artists got for posting on Facebook pictures of themselves in costumes around Halloween time. There are people that now refuse to listen to their music because of this. It made me so sad to hear it. I think this hurts Jesus, because we’re missing the point. The point is to bring people to Jesus. Mudslinging does not bring people to Jesus, it turns people from Him.

I am one of those hardcore individuals who does not celebrate Halloween and I do not tell my kids about Santa, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny. I could make adhering to these convictions become more important than actually loving people. But what the Lord has been teaching me is that there is something more important than convictions. Here’s what Oswald Chambers said…

“Beware of making fetish consistency to your convictions instead of being devoted to God… There never was a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent to His Father… It is easier to be a fanatic than a faithful soul, because there is something amazingly humbling, particularly to our religious conceit, in being loyal to God.”

These are important words. With all my heart I want to be Little Child who went to where Jesus was. Being faithful to my word, to my convictions is important to me. I try to set a consistent example to those around me and especially my children. But imagine if God ever so gently prodded me to follow Him in a way that was against my conviction. Not against His word, He would never do that. But would my conviction be more important than God’s leading? God forbid if that were the case.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10

I plead with you too, for the sake of winning souls to Jesus, to follow Him faithfully. To stop the mudslinging, whether you’re holding a conviction or not holding one. Look at Jesus’ face and be the Little Child who goes to the middle with Jesus.

Entwined

I wanted very much to keep up with doing this blog twice a week. I see that I am very far behind. The reason is threefold: not being sure what to post, being oh so busy, and being in a funk. I am sure you all get in funks. I am not sure I am out of my funk... but I thought you should know I have funks, and that God is still gracious and kind in my funks. I am so glad He is.

A small part of two songs have struck me lately. The first is from "Center," by Charlie Hall.

We wrap our lives around Your life.

The second is from "The Eleventh Hour," by Jars of Clay.

Take the place of my heart, till I become a stranger to my life.

I was trying to think of a verse that went with this theme, and one of my favorites came to mind. In Exodus 33 Moses was talking to God, face to face, as a friend. God promised to go with them and give them rest. Right after that Moses said, "If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here." I paraphrase that as, "If you aren't with me God, I am not going." In the same way I want to say, "If you are going, I am coming with you." I want to be under the cloud and go when it goes and stop when it stops (Exodus 40:36-38).

I want my life to be so wrapped up in Jesus that I do only what He wants me to do. I want our wills to be intertwined. Even as I write that I think, "NOOO!" in my head. To only do what Jesus wants must mean certain death to some things I want to do. I mistakenly assume that those will be the things I most enjoy. But that is not true. God is gracious and all His ways are good. I promise that going with Jesus will guarantee the most peace for your heart. Your relationships will thrive, you will be a fountain that doesn't run dry. You will make mistakes, but you will be held up by the promise that, "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6)."

I love that Jars of Clay verse. That is what I feel, a stranger to my life. I never would have picked how my life is now. I did not chose adoption (although I love it and advocate for it), God chose it for me. I did not chose to adopt a quadriplegic son (who is one of the three coolest kids ever), God chose that for me. I did not chose to live where I live or my husband's job. What I did chose was to go with God. It became, if that is where You are taking me God, I am going, because I cannot live without You. And because He is with me I do not regret that I chose Him and the life He has chosen me for, it has been and is an abundantly blessed life.

And lest you think I am the picture of perfection lately I have felt like I am on top of a pile of unfulfilled promises and threads of visions that have not happened. I have been confused about many things and tired of certain things; but I am sure of Him. I may feel like an epic failure in some ways, but isn't that where He agrees to meet us? When we come to Him tired of our own ways and not having a clue of where to go He must be so happy. So, bring it all to Him, lay down the thoughts of the day, and ask Him to entwine His life in yours.

Rebellion*Repentance*Kindness

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as the sin of iniquity and idolatry. 1 Samuel 15:23

Sometimes we keep "pet" habits, and justify them. Rebellion is seen as cool. Some things that are typically seen as rebellious I think don't really matter to God. Tattoos and piercings do not automatically make you rebellious. Going against God's word, that makes you rebellious. Going against the Holy Spirit breathed instinct into your conscience, that is rebellious.

My rebellion was small, or so it appeared to me. I have a preference for my coffee to be ground on the finest espresso grind at the grocery store. The problem was the grinder in the regular coffee section did not have that grind. So I would sneak over to the organic coffee grinder and use it. My coffee was not organic. I justified it because I sometimes wonder if organic foods really are better, or if it is a hoax. But one day I was convicted.

The Lord spoke to my heart; you cannot do this anymore. I know that voice and I heeded it. I don't know why He didn't convict me before. But I knew perfectly ground coffee was not worth losing the peace of God in my heart. I repented. To repent is to change one's mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins. Now I think, it was just stupid, really, and certainly not kind to insist on my coffee rebellion.

But, guess who is kinder than we could ever hope to be? I went to the coffee aisle last week and it was all rearranged. I looked and they had replaced the grinder with one that had the espresso fine grind. What a sweet blessing! God is kinder than we deserve. If I had not changed my path to one of non-rebellion I would have never been blessed by the change in grinder. It would have been, "Good, now I don't have to walk halfway across the store to grind my coffee." Instead it was, "Thank you God, You are so kind."

According to the verse up there if we don't heed that conviction of the Lord it leads to stubbornness. I felt when I read it that it was like making an idol of your own rebellion. We make a prize of the ugly rebellion that God has called witchcraft.

Once we prize something we may find it hard to give up. But if you do there is only kindness from the Lord in return. He won't rub it in and you will not miss that rebellion. God will come in and fill that void with Himself, and bless you more than you deserve.

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4