A Manger Meditation

For all the times I’ve heard it, I still can’t wrap my mind around God choosing to come to earth, as a baby, under Roman rule, as one considered illegitimate, not in a grand house or even a hotel but in a place smelling of barn animals.
And yet, his humble beginning makes perfect sense.

Jesus began his life in poverty and banishment.
He was not allowed to be born or to die as anything but an outcast man. "Outside the city" (Hebrews 13:12) was his position as he entered and as he left our earth. (Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889)

We learn from the manger that, from the very start, Jesus came for the ordinary, the overlooked, those outside acceptable circles. Mary was an ordinary girl from a disreputable town; outcast shepherds were visited by an angelic choir; pagan astrologers came to bow before the Messiah of Israel, where well-bred Israelites were notably absent.

He has come to your face, O man, because you were unable to reach His face, and he who was invisible has become visible for your redemption.
(Peter Chrysologus, 406-450)

In the crude humility of a feeding trough, we see how very far down God had to reach to have a relationship with us. Try as they might to reach towards Him, the nation of Israel had already proven it impossible for man to find his own way to God through living by His laws. Imperfect people simply cannot perfectly love and obey a holy God! God Himself reached down through the vast expanse between heaven and earth, between our fallen nature and his utter holiness, and opened the way for us to have a relationship with Him.

So, at the time of his birth, Christ, through whom every place was created, finds no place in the inn; and he who is Lord of all the world is born as though a foreigner, to enable us to be citizens whose homeland in haven. (Peter Chrysologus, 406-450)

He came as a an infant, vulnerable and helpless. From childhood, he was hunted, ridiculed, disbelieved, mocked. A sin-dark world shaded its eyes against such dazzling light: the literal embodiment of God’s love. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:4 )

Rest assured that He did not come in such a way and live such a life in order to have a polite, well-dressed acquaintance with you on Sunday mornings! Instead, He came to know you and be known by you, intimately. Jesus meets us in the lowest places of life, in the mire of sin, in secret guilt and private shame, in those moments when you lose our temper with your child or give in -- again -- to a vice you hate. He came with open arms to lift you from the muck, to wash you clean, to be your brother and Saviour and friend and Lord.

We may fear to approach a throne, but we cannot fear to approach a manger. (Charles Spurgeon)

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords came not as a rich prince in a palace, but as a small baby in a borrowed manger. He calls you to see His face, to know His salvation, and to bow in worship before Him, just as those shepherds and wise men did all those years ago.

A Long List of Names

"A list of names?" Ben groaned, looking a bit bleary-eyed. It was our first subject of the school day, and he was not enthusiastic. That is, until I handed him the printout of Matthew 1:1-17 and told him he could circle all the names that he recognized.

Both Matthew and Ben were surprised at how many familiar names they found in this long, ancient genealogy. Some names made them giggle as I read them aloud: Jehoshaphat, Salmon, Zerubbabel. Just who were these people? And what can we really gain from reading this list of archaic names?

As all of Scripture does, this segment reveals precious truths about God’s gracious and powerful work in His gift of Jesus to sinners.

Wouldn’t you expect Christ’s ancestors to be holy, upright, exemplary folks who reflected God’s character? Some are, like Josiah, the boy king who led revival in Israel, and Jotham, who helped rebuild the temple. But many others are downright despicable. Old Testament historical accounts sum up the idolatry, treachery and pride of Ahaz, Rehoboam, Amon and others this way: they "did evil in the eyes of the Lord." We learned about Manasseh, who erected an altar to the idols in the holy temple of God. He shed innocent blood and did more evil than the surrounding pagan nations, which the Lord had already destroyed (2 Chronicles 33). Yet, we discovered that in his later years, under God’s judgment, he repented, destroying every idol and unclean altar. He pleaded with the people of Judah to follow the Lord (they didn’t listen).

Our God forgives even the most horrific offense against His holiness, when the offender truly repents.

Normally, a Jewish genealogy would list only men, but here we meet four women — including Gentiles! Tamar, after being unjustly treated by her father-in-law Judah, deceived him in order to perpetuate the Messiah’s line (Genesis 38). Rahab was a pagan prostitute who took a stand for God by hiding Israelite spies (Joshua 2). Ruth was a gracious Gentile woman, but of the tribe of Moab, an avowed enemy of Israel whom God later cursed (Jeremiah 48). Uriah’s wife Bathsheba was drawn into adultery with King David, sparking the flame that fueled David’s most grievous sin (2 Samuel 11). Each of these women behaved in ways that appeared promiscuous; yet the first three are later praised in Scripture for their faith! Ultimately, the genealogy ends with Mary, Jesus’ mother, a betrothed virgin found to be pregnant out of wedlock.

Our God came for men and women, for the upright Jew and the God-seeking Gentiles, for sinners certain that they need a Saviour.

The genealogies found in the gospels are often reserved for Christmas devotional reading, yet they are so much more than a preface to the nativity story. They reflect the remarkable human heritage of the Son of God — who, notably, most often referred to Himself as the Son of Man.

His deity means that He alone has the power to redeem us from sin; His humanity means He is a Saviour who understands our earthly struggles and temptations! He is the suffering Saviour and sympathetic High Priest. As we contemplate the descendants through whom Christ came, we recognize the full scope of fallen mankind that this wonderful, one-of-a-kind God-Man came to save.

And for those who call upon Him as Saviour and Lord, He welcomes us into His family as His descendants, born of God (John 1:13, 1 John 3:1).

[To help] Abraham's descendants, . . . [Jesus] had to be made

like his brothers in every way,

in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest

in service to God, and that he might make atonement

for the sins of the people.
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted,

he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:16-18)

Thanks Giving

Since reading Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts I’ve been keeping my own book of thanks. I wake up early in order to spend time with Jesus; I open my little book and add a few more . . .

14. the taste of that first cup of coffee, earthy and strong
15. purple mist on morning mountains
16. Your word, lying open on my table, inviting
17. curling up comfy in my chair

It was Ann’s friend who challenged her to record one thousand gifts. Quite a project! Yet, after reaching that number, she kept on going; thanking God had grown her faith and joy in Him, the Giver of all good things and she didn’t want to miss a moment of Him.

I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks and see God. (Ann Voskamp)

67. talking with You all day long
68. Your mercy so full it never runs low
69. Your grace for me to do what’s impossible

I think of myself as a thankful person — not by temperament, but by God’s grace, so very evident daily to me. But if you start keeping a journal expressly for thanking God, you are bound to learn a few new things about yourself.

The thanks itself nourishes. Thanks feed our trust [in God]. (Ann Voskamp)

106. brothers who are friends
107. the knowledge of You, gift beyond price
108. husband’s strong work ethic
109. Your perfect heart, home to my imperfect one

I find I tend to thank God for big-picture things — His salvation, His mercy to me, His sovereignty. And for people and relationships that are dear to me — my mother, my friends, my family, my mentors.

"Wherever you are, be all there." This is where God is. In the present. I AM. (Ann Voskamp)

227. today, the only one I have
228. tomorrow, where You’ve promised to be the same, even if everything else changes
229. yesterday, the memories of Your love and faithfulness which give me strength today

But through Ann Voskamp’s example, and through daily listing the gifts God’s given me, I am learning how to watch for the small things, the familiar, regular things to thank Him for. I am learning to thank him for the smell of summer, for the way the leaves look and sound when the wind moves them. I am learning to appreciate the sound of my sons’ voices, the sensation of fuzzy socks on a cold tile floor. I am noticing that every moment of this day is unique and will not come again, and my senses open to fully experience the tiny flutter of graces from God that would have gone unnoticed before.
　
The life of true holiness is rooted in the soil of awed adoration. It does not grow elsewhere. (J.I. Packer)

284. drying and saucing fresh tomatoes: a rich red harvest
285. clean sheets on a firm bed
286. Mondays come only once a week!
287. comforts: cats, hugs, books, mountains

I am also learning to thank Him for things that may not look like gifts to me, but are from God’s hand for my benefit. So I thank Him for the physical suffering in one son’s life, knowing God is maturing him. I thank God for the unexpected pressures in homeschooling this year, confident He is teaching me more about trusting Him with my boys. I have even been able to thank Him for the heartbreak of a broken relationship, trusting that what lies ahead is far greater than this present weight of grief.

Who would ever know the greater graces of comfort and perseverance, mercy and forgiveness, patience and courage, if no shadow fell over a life? (Ann Voskamp)

323. that I can share this pain with You, and You understand
324. that you never despise my broken and contrite heart
325. prayer, where I touch your power for those I love and long for

It is joyfully, deeply liberating, this careful watching for my Father’s gifts. Deliberately, intently thanking God is my way of saying:
"Yes, Lord, I receive [this person, this situation, this moment] as a gift from You. Your purpose for me here is surely good, to show me more of Yourself, and to make me more like Jesus. So, thank you, Lord, for everything. Yes. For everything."

He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me,
and he prepares the way so that I may show him
the salvation of God. (Psalm 50:23)

Running the Race of Faith (Part II): Travelling Light

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

1) ... let us lay aside every weight.....

I’m not a marathon runner — but even I know that to run well, you must travel light. If your sneakers fit well but are too bulky, if your jogging shorts aren’t the lightest you own, you will stumble when the race turns tough.

The writer of Hebrews applies this image to our faith relationship with Jesus. Whatever brings an unnecessary burden to our race of faith — any unhelpful habit or activity or thought pattern or relationship that impedes our progress — simply has to go. The one who pursues Jesus will gladly and deliberately lay aside anything that works against her.

I find it interesting that we’re not first told to avoid sin, but to lay aside anything that drags us down. There are things in our lives that are not sin, but that are unwise if we are to live completely for Christ.

Three examples in my own life come to mind: 1) Years ago, I stepped away from a ministry I’d been involved with for years, because I knew it interfered with the ministry God was guiding me into. 2) I am an avid reader, but at one time, I set all fiction aside: I noticed that my time and thoughts were too tied up with stories, not occupied enough with God’s Word. 3) Presently, my family fasts from computers one day a week, because of their potential to distract us from keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Obviously, reading good fiction, using a computer and serving in women’s ministry aren’t wrong! But for me, they were like wearing bulky sneakers in my race. So I laid them aside.

John Piper puts it succinctly: Don’t ask yourself, "Is this sin?" But ask of yourself, "Does this help me run?" If not, it may need to go, at least for a lap or two of your race.

2) ...and the sin that so easily entangles...

Casting off sin is a clearer concern: any sin we see in ourselves is to be rejected, destroyed, dismissed. There’s no room for it in your transformed heart and renewed mind! It will only interfere with your relationship with Christ. Following sin’s lead always draws our eyes away from Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and veers us off our course.

Does this sound like a hurdle that’s raised too high? Every weight? Every sin? God’s immense grace toward us is stronger than all those burdens piled together! Don’t let a solitary thing stand in between you and the race of faith God has marked out for you. For as we travel light and strong and free in the race of faith, we will run with Jesus’ endurance, and with His joy.

(More on THAT part of the passage in a future blog post...)

I will run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free. (Psalm 119:32)

Running the Race of Faith (Part 1)

Listening to the Life Stories of Those who Ran by Faith

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

What a great call from God, to run with endurance the race of life He sets before us! And not by our own devices, but by being encouraged by the example of many witnesses, by letting go of all that impedes us, and by looking into the face of our Saviour! This climactic passage is even moreso if you read it on the heels of chapter 11 (or the whole book, for that matter).

Still, I just can’t help but stumble over that first strange phrase.

Surrounded by a cloud of witnesses? (A healthy imagination can conjure up a plethora of possibilities.) As a new believer, I wondered if Christians who’d already died were somehow able to peer into the private places of my life. Sounded more like Ghostbusters than God’s Word the first time I read it. What kind of cloud, exactly, has got me surrounded?

Looking back to Hebrews 11, we find quickly drawn, deeply meaningful portraits of those witnesses. Some of these Old Testament saints did crazy things: building a big boat in the desert (before anyone ever had heard of rain); moving around in tents for what seemed to be no good reason; leaving a royal palace to herd sheep in a nameless wilderness; conquering a city by singing and marching around its walls. Can you imagine all the funny glances and behind-the-back whispering that went on among their neighbors? Yet we’re told that everything they did, they did by faith — not faith in their own ideas, but in the God who had instructed them. They trusted Him and His promises.

What promises did God make? That He was building a great nation of people for His glory; that He would one day write His word not on tablets of stone but on the very hearts of His new covenant people and put His Spirit in them; that He Himself would redeem people from their sin and uphold the demands of His covenant, which no man could ever uphold.

And for all their faith in the promises of God, these Hall-of-Famers did not see their fulfillment in their lifetime. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. (Hebrews 11:39-40)

These witnesses lived by faith in the utterly faithful God! This cloud is not an invisible army of spectators, but a timeless testimony to power that comes to endure when we put our faith utterly in God. They aren’t the ones watching us; we are the ones called to look on and be encouraged by their lives of faith.

In addition to the Bible examples listed in Hebrews 11, I think of some of the present-day witnesses in my own life that spur me on: friends who live more like Jesus than I do, Christian leaders whose teaching makes a tangible difference in my faith and my endurance. (What "witnesses" of faith in Christ encourage you in your race of faith?)

As the people of God, we are all witnesses of the Word become flesh, who made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the Only Begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

Next: Running the Race of Faith (Part 2): Laying Aside Every Weight

One Mother's Prayer

I think I could pray all day long for my children and still have more to pray: for their physical protection, for their spiritual growth, for their relationships, for their attitudes, their accomplishments, their character, their future . . . if you’re a praying mom, you know just what I mean!

Several years ago, I wrote out this prayer for them. This is a "work-in-progress" in that I often start praying it and then think of other things to add, but somehow, having it written down helps me stay focused. Each prayer point is based on scriptural truth.

Whether we write out our prayers for our children, speak them aloud, or utter them silently, may the Lord who hears us answer them out of His Fatherly love for us and for our children.

Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. --Isaiah 65:24

• Lord, would you pour out your mercy so that my boys would know Your perfect love
and they would joyfully trust You, even when my imperfect love for them falters.

How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are . . . 1 John 3:1

• Lord, would you protect and purify their bodies, minds and spirits, so they would be more like Jesus even though it’s hard for me to see them tested.

Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us . . . Ephesians 5:1-2

• Lord, develop in them godly character: compassion & gentleness, hope & vision,
industry & diligence, humility & love, self-control & patience,

joy & peace, integrity & courage —
that their character would be strong even in areas where mine is weak.

See the character qualities listed in Galatians 5:22-24 & 2 Peter 1:5-8.

• Lord, work out your purposes for my boys,
which You knew when You formed them inside me,
even when those purposes differ from my own expectations.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:15-16

• Lord, please defend my children when they face spiritual attack
that would threaten their closeness with You,
and strengthen them to stand firm in their faith.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith . . . 1 Peter 5:8-9

• Lord, surround my boys with friends and mentors who will help them in Your ways,
and as they mature, bring people to them that they also can encourage in their faith.

See Ephesians 4:11-13.

• Lord, may they always know Your presence and recognize Your loving hand in their lives,
even when I am gone.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him,

and His righteousness with their children’s children —

with those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.
Psalm 103: 17-18

• Lord, help me to persevere in parenting the children You’ve given me with Your love and grace.

Keep me from fear as I train and teach them in Your ways.

Help me to remember that they are in Your hands, even more than they are in mine;

Help me to fully enjoy them each and every day.

• And Lord, I praise you in advance for the wonderful things you will do in their lives,

things I cannot imagine, in answer to my prayers.

He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those who have young . . . Isaiah 40:11

Resting in the Storm

Suddenly, a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But [Jesus] was asleep. — Matthew 8:24

What a picture: Jesus naps as the boat beneath Him threatens to go under! How can He rest peacefully while the ship tosses and turns on furious waves? Seasoned fishermen familiar with storms, the disciples are anxious about the violence of this particular one. Certain that Jesus’ fatigue had rendered Him clueless as to their doom, the disciples call upon Him to wake up: "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" (Matthew 8:25)

 But before rebuking the raging storm, Jesus rebukes the disciples: "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26). Only then does He calm the waves and the storm. Instantly, both the seas and the disciples are quieted.

Is God sleeping in your storm? As the water rises, is it tempting to think that He is not paying close enough attention to your plight? If He’s not coming to the rescue, well, then, we’d better take matters into our own hands!

We may not recognize our thought patterns and our actions as "little faith," to use Jesus’ words. We scheme to turn the tide to our advantage; we are worried and uncertain of our future; we are sure that the plight of our family or our career rests in our own hands. We can’t hear His voice over the howling winds; we can’t see His face because we’re busy watching the waterline rise against our battered boat.

But when we turn to our own self-rescue plan, we are living as though God were asleep at the helm, as though He were not the Ruler and Provider and Protector that He has clearly and repeatedly declared Himself to be. And for all our fretting and figuring, we do not have the power to quiet a storm.

It takes the Word of the Creator (often at the very last minute!) to bring peace and purpose. As He begins to still the waves, we understand that He has never once looked away from us. "He who keeps you will not sleep" says Psalm 121:3. At the same time, we are humbled before Him, to see how easily we forget who God is, how quickly we turn from His resurrection power to our own human efforts.

How do we remind ourselves that He isn’t asleep? By fixing our eyes on Jesus alone, growing in our relationship with Him, through fellowship with Him in God’s Word and prayer. Only by knowing Him better will we more readily rest in His faithfulness and be prepared to trust Him in the inevitable "next storm."

You . . . still the noise of the seas and their waves
and the tumult of the peoples. -- Psalm 65:7