O Come, Emmanuel

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

Matthew 1:23

O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free

Thine own from Satan's tyranny

From depths of Hell Thy people save

And give them victory o'er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This is my favorite Christmas song. A strange choice, is it not? Neither cheery nor upbeat, it definitely fits into the solemn category.

But every Christmas Eve, as I hold my lighted candle during a worship service, and sing this to God I feel it in my bones. This deep need put into words and notes and chords. A song that speaks of the lost who are longing to be found.

When Jesus came to earth as a newborn baby the people of Israel had not heard from God in over 400 years. Can you imagine? Remember this was a time before the Holy Spirit was gifted to believers. The veil was still in place in the temple to keep the presence of God apart from His people.

I know what it feels like to be in exile, to be lost and alone. I know what it is to mourn, to feel a loss so great that like a wave crashing over you no air can get to your lungs.

So maybe this is why I relate to this song so much. Israel is not the only one looking for Emmanuel - we all are. We all feel a little lost and alone and mourn with all our hearts to be saved, to be rescued.

But that's where the similarities with us end. We, who sing this song in the mindset of 2015, have a very different perspective from the people of Israel 2,000 years ago.

The difference? They were looking for Him, but we have found Him!

That's the thing about this song, as mournful as it may sound, it's message is of hope. And it will meet you wherever you are today:

I am filled with sorrow, but He has come!
I am angry, but He has come!
I have been betrayed, but He has come!
I carry shame and guilt, but He has come!

Emmanuel. Not only has He come, but He has stayed in hearts by way of the Holy Spirit. Emmanuel, God is with us.

Oh, beloved. Emmanuel came to earth. He died a sinner's death in my place. He arose from the dead, thereby conquering it. He lives in all of us who believe in Him.

So, this year, as I pack away Christmas ornaments and vacuum pine needles off of my floors, I will remember. There is no need to mourn, no need to feel lost. My circumstances may take my joy for awhile. Life may not be ideal today, but I remember the message of hope from the song that may sound the least hopeful -

I long for a Savior, One who is good and true and faithful. One who can vanquish sin and death. One who can right wrongs. One who can deliver me from evil.

But the wait is over! He has come.

Emmanuel is here.

Space to Rest

May this weekend give you space to rest and seek out the truth in the Word of God.

Look for remembrance in the resemblance of all creation. Take time to stop and ponder the design of all the dwells among us.

Listen:



A beautiful song that reminds us to rest in what we've already been promised.

Make something fun with fresh spring herbs.




Use cans or recycled containers and paint them with fun colors and designs. Keep them indoors near sunlight. When they outgrow your containers, make space outside for your herbs to root and spread their fragrant beauty.

To Make the Mountain Move

When I was a child I was a huge fan of the Christian vocalist Sandi Patty.  If you don't know who she is I see an extended YouTube session happening in your life.  She was to Christian music in the 80s as the Apostle Paul is to the New Testament - she's half of it.

Sandi Patty.  Oh how I loved her.  The sweet voice.  The big hair.  When I grew up I wanted to be Sandi Patty.  Oh God, give me big hair and a big voice like Sandi Patty.  (Well, hey.  One outta two ain't bad.  I have hair in abundance.)

I tell you about this obsession because of a song. A simple, meant-for-children song.  Until I began writing this blog entry I had not heard it out loud in nearly 25 years.  If you've never heard this song, called "Miracles Can Happen," imagine this:  the melody is a bit reggae meets Kidz Bop with some mean tuba thrown in at the bridge.  I know, the very height of musical sophistication.

While I hadn't heard this song aloud in quite awhile, it played in my head often over the years.  Very often.  Every time I hear the word 'miracle' a switch is flicked, the needle placed on the record and the words of the song start to play:

Miracles can happen

to those who love the Lord

Blessed are they that believe in Him

His kingdom shall be yours

Miracles happen.  I mean, do they?  Have you ever witnessed a miracle?  Seen the impossible made possible?  Or is this the stuff of fairy tales and children's songs?  There are lots of examples of miracles in the Bible:  the building of the ark, the parting of the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho falling, the slaying of Goliath which - Whohoo! Yes! - is covered in the Sandi Patty song!  Another excuse to sing along:

There was a boy named David

who fought a giant man

All the people were afraid of him

but only David took a stand

Goliath marched with his sword and shield 

shouting, "Where is your God now?"

David's shield was his faith in God

It was his faith that knocked that giant out

(How did this stuff not win multiple Grammys?  Especially with that mean tuba?)

Okay, we say miracles happen in the Bible.  But this is real life.  Stuff like that doesn't happen to me...or does it?  Can it?

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says, "If you have the faith of a mustard seed (which is less than 1 mm long!  That's like this:  - ) and you tell this mountain to move, it will move."

 I don't know about you, but I tend to put serious stock in those red letter words.  And Jesus is telling me I only need a little, tiny bit of faith for a miracle to occur in my life!

In fact, Hebrews 11 has a list of those in the Bible who were full of faith.  This list in Hebrews is a place of honor; a veritable Who's Who of children's Sunday school lessons.  Among those listed?  Noah and his ark, Moses and the staff that parted the Red Sea, Joshua and his horn that knocked those walls down, and David with his stone that slew Goliath.  Faith is constantly honored in the Bible and Hebrews counts the faithful among those who "please God (v. 6)" and those who are "commended (v. 39)" by God.

Yes, please.  I would like to please God and have Him give me compliments.  I mean, these are some serious desires of a godly heart!

Have you ever told a mountain to move?  (Or a mole hill?)  Have you ever had the faith to ask God for the utterly impossible?  And be willing to thank Him whether He chooses to answer according to your wishes or not?

Here's the thing:  All these Biblical narratives are real life.  And they can be our real life, too.  I'm not saying we need to survive a flood or part a great sea or knock down a wall or kill a giant.

Or wait...maybe we do.

Do you need to survive a situation in which you feel like you are utterly sinking?  Do you need to take a journey to a better place in life, but it seems too difficult?  Do you need to knock down a wall that's keeping you from God's promises?  Do you need to rid yourself of a giant-sized bully that keeps taunting you?

These, friends - these are the miracles that our God produces.  Every day.  You just have to have the faith that He can.  Ephesians 3:20 says that God can do immeasurably more than we can even ask or imagine!  That's incredible!

So why aren't we asking?

A miracle was born last week to my friends Jamie and Eric.  His name is Hayden.  He was only expected to live moments after his birth, but he lived an incredible, love-filled five days.  In his short earthly life he pointed countless people to Jesus while his parents showed the world what bold faith looks like. They reminded us that blessed are they that believe!  His kingdom shall be ours!

Miracles can happen.

Is that sea, that journey, that wall, that giant taunting you?  Can you hear them? Where is your God now?

My friends, your God is everywhere.

What did Sandi say?  "It was his faith that knocked that giant out."

Let's be a people who have faith in our God to produce the miracles we need. Let's ask Him to save us from drowning, to part the sea, to knock down the wall, to rid us of the giant.

To make the mountain move.  

Where is my God now?

With my own eyes I will see the downfall

of my enemies. (Micah 7:10)

The Lord will say,

"Yes! I will do mighty miracles for you,

like when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt." (Micah 7:15)

(emphasis mine)

Almighty Father,

Let us be believers in your ability to change our lives, to defeat our enemies, to move our mountains. When they ask, Where is your God? let us show them the Lord's mighty miracles in our lives and shout with outstretched arms:  Ha! Where is My God not?

Lord, may it be so.

Amen.

(Friend, please hear me:  if you've ever experienced a time when God did not move the way you wished and your miracle did not look the way you wanted, it was not for your lack of faith.  You were precious in His sight and angels sang because of the faith you showed.  You will be rewarded for it.  I pray that during your time of distress you felt Him.  He has promised to be "close to the broken-hearted" and to "comfort those who mourn."  It is my most fervent prayer that you felt his presence.)