Angels

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Luke 1:68-70

God wants to have a word with you.  And me.  How best would he get through to you?  I’m not sure using an angel to reach me would be the best, but then, I’ve never experienced a message from an angel before. Well, maybe….

I am reminded that the word ‘angel’ as its basic means, "messenger" or "envoy."  I was also prompted at a gathering yesterday that in Revelation 1 (and 2)  “the angels of the seven churches” are clearly the pastors or overseers of the churches that John has been given a message himself to give.  The pastors being messengers or envoys who are bringing God’s word to his people.

Running with that definition, well then I have definitely have received messages from angels.  I do every time I open up the Scriptures.  Every time. I do at every worship service. I do when a friend or colleague has a godly word or two or three to give me.

There are writers out there in the blogosphere who I read nearly daily that inform, teach, challenge and sometimes frighten me.  Using the above definitions, they are angels; and to a person they frequently tell me, “do not fear” in spite of what may be going on in my life or in my world.

Angels.

God has his messengers (and yes some of them are angelic beings as seen in Luke 1).  The big question is whether you or I are open to hearing from angels.  And what the angels may be telling us, and what God through his angels has for us to do.

Joseph needed to hear from and Angel of the Lord.  You know what? So do we.

Trust

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  - Luke 1:26-28

As I read passages like this from one of the accounts of the birth of Jesus, I am grateful.  I’m grateful for Matthew and Luke (and theologically, John) for giving to us the story of Christmas.

But I am reminded, perhaps even chastened a bit. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are to remember and commemorate Jesus’ birth.  In fact, the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthian 15 lays out simply what we are to remember: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….” (visit 1 Corinthians 15:3,4)

Paul, as far as I can recall, never mentions the birth of Jesus; indeed all of the letters that follow the gospels refer to Jesus’ life, teachings, death and resurrection.

And sometimes because of that, I think we go a bit overboard in what all we do for Christmas. Maybe; maybe not.

Yet, Luke in the passage above wants to remind us.  And I’m grateful for the reminder.  That even the pregnancy of Mary and the subsequent birth of Jesus were all a part of God’s great plan of redemption.  I have no doubt that Mary didn’t have a clear idea about what was going to happen to her child.  In fact, I’m willing to speculate that announcements like that given to her by the angel Gabriel might have served to set her at some unease.  She likely would have had some familiarity with the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, and perhaps understood a bit about what the Messiah would have to go through. Was the Messiah going to be this child that miraculously was in her womb?

Ultimately, she is told that the Lord is with her, and she accepts that blessing in the midst of uncertainty.  She trusts God in what is going on.  And what is to come.  That is ultimately the message of Paul to the Corinthians.  That trusting in what Jesus came to do…and did is what it is all about.  In Mary we are given a great example of pre-Jesus trust.  In Paul we are given a great example of post-Jesus trust.

Remembering both his birth, death and resurrection is all about trust.  Seems that’s been the message from God to his people through the ages.  It is of first importance.

What do you trust?

Prophet

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  - Hebrews 1:1-2

There’s a part of me that longs to be spoken to by a prophet.  That someone would walk up to me and say – “This is what God is telling you (“Thus sayeth the Lord”)….” And then just let me have it.  Because I deserve a good tongue lashing or two from a prophetic and faithful voice.

I know won’t like it; in fact I might actually reject what is being told to me because it might hit in private places that they have no business prying into. I’m such a typical evangelical. I guess there are just times when I wish the Lord would just let me have it and tell it to me plainly.

But we are reminded; in these last days we have been spoken to by his Son.  And we have entered a time of preparation to celebrate the birth of this son into the world.  As a baby.   I can’t visualize a baby yelling at me to get my act in order.

But I can almost hear the words of Jesus telling me that he loves me, that he came because of me and my sin; that he went to the cross because of me; that he rose from the dead for me.  That he has called me into some sort of covenant relationship with him, and that his grace will not fail even if I do.

Wow. I don’t need a prophet.  I have Jesus.

What more could I ask for? What more could I possibly need?

Thanksgiving

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” Psalm 95:1-2

The other evening, I had the opportunity to introduce a small group of foreign students to the American tradition of Thanksgiving. In doing so I did a little research about the holiday.  It is a carryover from English Puritan tradition of declaring days of thanksgiving and fasting.  No one is completely sure how such a holiday became a day of turkey, football and over eating; but I had to sheepishly admit to the students that that is what it has become for far too many people.

After the initial Pilgrim Thanksgiving in 1621 (when they did eat venison and ‘foul’ with Native Americans), it became a fairly routine practice of colonial leaders and later state governors to declare days of thanksgiving.  It wasn’t until the nation was in the throes of a horrible civil war that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed in 1863 that the fourth Thursday of November shall be observed nationally as “a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” “A day of Thanksgiving and Praise.”  Thanksgiving and praise to whom? Lincoln wrote, “to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

The Psalmist, likely David, long ago declared the need for thanksgiving and praise. “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise.”  What he did not do was set a certain date on it.  This is to be the daily attitude of God’s people.  Daily.

So as you start this morning, what are you thankful to God for?  What are you and I praising him about? Let’s not wait till thanksgiving, not wait until we are in our tryptophan stupors.  Today.  This moment.  What do you give thanks about; what do you praise God for right at this moment.

Let me encourage you to open each day this week, the rest of the month, the rest of the year with this challenge.  Let’s not wait for Thanksgiving. 

The time is now. What are you thankful for?

Battle Lines

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”  - 1 John 2:15-16

I found it more than a bit ironic that this passage came to me in an email on Veteran’s Day.  A day in which we recognize and honor those who have served in the armed forces; in particular those who have served in combat situations.  I wrote on Facebook yesterday that I’m for all those who have served this nation in a way I never have; grateful for our son Drew (Army - served in Afghanistan); I also was remembering my father (Army - WWII in Germany) and my father-in-law (Navy – Japan just after the Korean War). 

The passage was ironic because it is about battle lines.  Some may read that it depicts a battle between believers (those whom the Father is in) and non-believers (who are not from the Father but from the world).

The reality is that this passage is all about battle lines that are in each of our hearts. The battle between the love of God and “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life.”  Those are fertile battle grounds.  I’d be lying if I said that those battle grounds don’t exist within me.  For there are a lot of things in this world that I catch myself loving and desiring. For instance, I’m finishing up the first week of actually owning a smart phone.  I had no idea how really cool they were and what all I can access easily through them.  Very worldly, honestly.

I guess the good news for people like me is this: I may have my battles, but more and more the thing I desire most often goes this way:  I love Jesus.  I desire more and more to know him better.  I desire to live in his grace and walk in his ways more and more.  I want to increase my passion for sharing Jesus with people that don’t know him. More and more I want him to take over my life.

Slowly but surely he is winning the battle lines.  I am surrendering, even if it goes against my basic nature. 

OK. I downloaded a Bible reading app on phone.  Can I keep it? 

And…where are your battle lines this morning?