Christmas / The Advent / Our Savior's Song

As we prepare for Christmas Eve candlelight services and family gatherings this evening, we'll light the final candle in the Advent wreath. The Center. One word pierces through my busy thoughts, invades the often inadequate prayers I pray and the struggles that remain unresolved, reminding me of how and why I can celebrate this night:   

Grace. 

Grace sums up the Christian life. In Christ it is a grace life we live.

I love that the first verse my grandson learned and memorized was Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

It's beyond beautiful, isn't it? This passage is the eternal, divine heartbeat of the Gospel of God's Grace in Jesus Christ his Son. 

I know it's Christmas and not Easter. Before Jesus can die he must live, and before he can live as one of us, he must be conceived. In a virgin's womb, no less, born of woman, but conceived by the Holy Spirit and not of man's corruptible seed. Truly God and truly man. Human and divine. Known theologically as the "hypostatic union." Two natures existing in one person. Only Jesus can be this. Christ alone. 

In his flesh as our representative he can experience and understand our struggles while his perfect Godhood could pay the penalty for our sins and intercede as our High Priest. ( Hebrews 2:17 ) 

In Bible days, and throughout most of human history, the visible church gathered in the house of God on the Sabbath and the Lord's Day to hear the Scriptures read and taught to them. Precious few owned a copy of the Scriptures. 

Luke 4:16-22 explains to us, after his birth, his baptism by John the Baptist, and after the temptation in the wilderness by the devil, how Jesus began his earthly ministry: 

"And he came to Nazareth, where he was brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 

'The spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth."

We know that the words all spoke well of him would eventually sour because in three years time Jesus would be hanging from a Roman cross. 

And yet the gracious words that came from his mouth would manifest themselves into living words through His life, death, and resurrection for all those who would repent and believe in Him. ( John 1:12 )

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." ( John 1:17 ) 

"Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." ( Hebrews 3:15 ) 

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." ( Hebrews 4:16 ) 

And it is a time of need. 

Today a "weary world rejoices," so listen to the Savior of the world's song of grace. 

In your need, repent of your sins and believe! 

This is the glorious, gracious song of Christmas! 

Merry Christmas, Friends! 

💜

T.G.I.M. / Advent Week 4 / Elizabeth's Song

Tomorrow as we light the fourth candle in the Advent wreath, we'll take a look at one more song in the nativity narrative: Elizabeth's song. Her humble melody is short and sweet. 

The angel Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth's husband the priest Zechariah as we saw last week while he was serving in the temple and told him the couple would indeed have a son in their old age who would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And he would make ready for the Lord a people prepared. ( Luke 1:5-24 ) 

Their son John the Baptist would be the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, "A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." ( 40:3 ) 

After Mary's visit from Gabriel with the magnificent news that she would conceive the Christ Child by the power of the Holy Spirit and her barren relative Elizabeth would also bear a son and was, in fact, already in her sixth month, Mary went with haste into the hill country to visit her. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 

"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." ( Luke 1:41-45 ) 

The baby in Elizabeth's womb was foreordained to prepare the way of the Lord and to point the people to Him. And the very first person he pointed to Christ was his very own mother. How beautiful is that? 

I love that babies can be filled with the Holy Spirit in their mother's womb. I don't understand the theology behind it, but I do understand that "Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases." ( Psalms 115: 3 ) And it pleased him to fill a baby in the womb with his Holy Spirit, and it pleased him to send his Son for " a people prepared." 

That's the thing, isn't it? There is no way to prepare ourselves for Christ because we can't, because there is no preparation. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy except to know that we are unworthy. That's how we prepare. That's how a people prepare - by knowing their unworthiness and need of Christ the Savior. 

The only way we can prepare our hearts in this way is by the power of the Holy Spirit pointing us to Christ and preparing our hearts for us. ( John 16:14 ) 

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." ( Matthew 3:2 ) 

Elizabeth's humble words show us the way, "And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Let's meditate on her song these few days left before the blessed Advent. 

"A people prepared." 

For our coming King. 

💜

T.G.I.M. / Advent Week 3 / The Song of Zechariah

 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God..." ( Luke 1:76 & 77 ) 

As we light the third candle this week in the Advent wreath, we'll look at another song in the Scriptures. And that's the song of the high priest Zechariah - John the Baptist's dad - which is another prophetic word given of the promised Messiah soon to come. 

The story of Zechariah is similar to Mary's in that the angel Gabriel appears to him to let him know that the long awaited Savior is coming to redeem his people, and as the virgin Mary would carry the Christ Child, Zechariah's son would be the one to prepare His way. 

Except Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had no children. Elizabeth was barren, and now both were advanced in years and far beyond the child-bearing stage. Have you ever noticed in the biblical narrative how God seems to work through barren women in his story? 

God works salvation miraculously by a virgin and a barren woman each conceiving and giving birth to ensure to all of us that it is Him and Him alone who brings about the rescue of his people. He's the only One who can. As we saw in last week's blog, God worked the miracles in Egypt, "so they will know that I am the LORD." ( Exodus 10:1-2 ) 

The Bible lives and breathes, not as a disjointed arrangement of stories, but as one cohesive, soul-stirring narrative of the redeeming work of God through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son. 

The angel Gabriel appears on the right side of the altar as Zechariah is serving as priest, burning incense before God according to the custom of the priesthood in the temple of the Lord. Gabriel tells him that Elizabeth will indeed bear a son in her old age and they are to name him"John." Gabriel says that Zechariah's prayer for a child has been heard. Going past the eleventh hour, has to be like a Red Sea moment. ( Luke 1:5-25 ) 

Although the Scriptures tell us that Zechariah was fearful with Gabriel's appearance, one can't help but wonder if he didn't suppress a laugh as well. Surely the couple had given up on this prayer for a baby decades ago. It rings of Abraham and Sarah, doesn't it? 

God told Abraham that he would bless all nations of the earth through his offspring with his barren wife Sarah, and here we are again. God will prepare the way for his Offspring, born of a virgin, no less, by another barren woman. You have to love the way God works. ( Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 15 ) 

But if we get focused on things other than Christ, we'll miss God's true work and what he is accomplishing through his Son. Zechariah's prophetic song helps remind us. 

Because of his unbelief, Gabriel informs Zechariah that he will be unable to speak until the child is born. And once his lips are loosed, this is what flows out: 

Let's meditate on these fulfilled words this third week of Advent: 

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us 

in the house of David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

that we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show the mercy promised to our fathers 

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins

because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."  ( Luke 1:68-79 ) 

To God be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

💜

They called a "Ruber" lol Too much partying 

                                   

"Then Sings My Soul"

Awhile back I had a dear friend who was going through a very difficult time, so one week I decided to join her at her Sunday morning worship service for support. I noticed as I took my seat that the stage had fog machines and big screens wrapped around it. I told myself, "Rebecca, please don't be a big fuddy-duddy. Just sing and praise the Lord." 

When the praise band began singing one of my favorite hymns, "How Great Thou Art," my heart really did start to sing. Like most good hymns the words are theologically sound and grounded in biblical truth, and when sung, God's redeeming love, grace, and mercy cause hearts and hands to be lifted high and tears of joy to begin to flow. 

When we hear God's Word and what Christ has done on our behalf, it does cause an emotional response. It should. How could it not? It doesn't mean that we'll cry like a baby every time, but it does mean our souls will sing for joy because of our salvation. Not because any special effects have manipulated us into an emotional frenzy but because the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms our lives. It causes us to weep at the feet of Jesus. 

Except that morning it didn't happen.

Because for what ever reason the praise team didn't sing the middle verse. They cut it out. 

I've tried to drop this for months now, but it won't stop bothering me. Let me explain in case you're not familiar with the hymn: In four verses the lyrics sum up the entire redeeming, biblical narrative with a power chorus in between each. 

The song starts off with two verses in what is known as "general revelation" - seeing God's eternal power and divine nature in the things that he has created as told to us in Romans 1. 

"Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder....." 

The Scriptures tell us that we can clearly see God's invisible attributes in creation, but not the Gospel. Jesus's disciples, and if you are in Christ, you are one of his disciples, are commissioned by Him to proclaim his Gospel to the nations before he ascended back to the Father. ( Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John )  

Paul sheds light on this command: "'For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" ( Romans 10:13-14 ) 

The third verse of "How Great Thou Art" is the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: "He bled and died to take away my sin!" 

The last verse is about Jesus returning to get his Church. "When Christ will come with shouts of acclamation...." 

So my question is this: Why in the world would a church sing the first, second, and last verses - seeing God's divine attributes in creation and then Jesus coming back to get us -leaving out the heart of the Gospel message? Half a gospel is no gospel at all. The first, second, and fourth verses make no sense without the third verse. It's stripped of its power. ( Romans 1:16 ) 

Maybe I'm a fuddy-duddy to some people when it comes to church liturgy, but I don't think I am when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How can we cut Jesus out in a church service of all places? 

Paul told Timothy in his pastoral instruction to "preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." ( 1 Timothy 4:2 ) Christ's Church gathers to share the sacraments, ( Luke 22:19 ) to read the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and teach and preach the Word. We are then sent out to the world. 

Christians have a saying around Christmas time "Keep Christ in Christmas, but this should most certainly apply to our church gatherings. Without Christ's atoning work and resurrection, there's no hope. 

I know many will think that I'm making too much of this and that I'm on a spiritual high horse, but I promise I'm not. The truth of the Gospel of Christ is the one thing we have to change people's lives - anything else is empty and meaningless. People are looking for hope. We have it. 

We also must have the courage to speak the truth in love, with gentleness, clarity, and kindness. I pray that I am. I have been mulling this over for some time now because I can't wrap my mind around a church worship leader doing this. I don't understand, but I want to be clear that there were many, many years when it wouldn't have bothered me a lick. And I'm still growing in my faith today, repenting daily for my sins and shortcomings, and many times with the help of the Farmer's insight which I'm thankful for. 

Recently I found out that the same church was hosting an event with some questionable speakers who are known for teaching some biblical errors and for not centering their messages on Christ but rather on a self-help, me-centered gospel. And it hurt my heart to see this. Even if event speakers are doing great works around the world, they mustn't be let off the hook for teaching a false gospel. Again, I've made countless mistakes in my choice of teachers over the years. It grieves me so much now, and I want to gently help others if I can. 

When we come in to a worship service, lost in our sin and our shame and guilt and are crying out for help, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can heal us, not being told that we are enough. However, we must proclaim that God's grace is more than enough to make us enough in Christ. ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 ) 

The hard truth that we are indeed sinners collides with the Good News that Christ has bled and died for all of those sins when we repent and believe in him. It means we are forgiven, clothed in Christ's righteousness, and adopted into the family of God. It's the only song that can regenerate the unbeliever's heart and also continually remind the believer's heart of the Good News that truly causes our souls to sing. 

Wherever we open the Bible and expound the Scriptures contextually, we find the Gospel. We never move away from it. Its hope is for both unbelievers as well as believers. Always and forever. 

We live in such uncertain, fearful times with many voices claiming to be the truth and crazy things going on inside and outside of our nation, above our heads, and the Church needs to operate in spiritual discernment more than ever it seems. People are desperate and need the hope and life-changing message of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, so we absolutely must stay on point. 

Let's sing the whole glorious truth to a lost and dying world this Christmas and always - because after all, God's grace and unending mercy were once sung to us. 

How will they hear? 

💜

Carl Boberg, 1886

O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works
Thy hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout
The universe displayed!

Chorus
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

When thru the woods
And forest glades I wander
And hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze,

Chorus
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

And when I think
That God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die,
I scarce can take it in –
That on the cross,
My burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died
To take away my sin!

Chorus
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come
With shout of acclamation
And take me home,
What joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
My God, how great Thou art!

Chorus
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts from the Farmer - Atlas's granddaughter, my girl Skipper now runs the sheep show with one paw tied behind her fluffy undercoat. I couldn't do it without her. 

T.G.I.M. / Advent Week 2 / The Songs of Moses and Miriam

"A darkness to be felt" ( Exodus 10:21 ) 

Last week we looked at Mary's song, known as the Magnificat, that is recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, and for the second week and lighting of the next candle in the Advent wreath, I thought it important to look at two other songs. These are found in the Book of Exodus, and sung by the great leader and prophet Moses and his sister Miriam. 

I decided to combine my weekly blogs for the month of December in the Advent season. 

The Exodus out of Egypt is the epic story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and toward the land of Canaan, the land God promised to give to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12 & 15 when he promised to bless all nations of the earth through him and his offspring. 

As the tenth and final plague strikes the Egyptians due to Pharaoh's hardened heart and refusal to let God's people go, the Israelites obediently smear the blood from their slain lambs on the doorpost of their dwellings. Because of the lamb's blood, God does not permit the destroyer to enter their homes but to pass over them. 

This act commanded by God of applying the blood to their dwellings is a type and shadow of the blood to come from the sacrifice of his own Son, the Lamb of God, who would come and die for the sins of his people, releasing them out of their life of slavery to sin and into a life of freedom in Christ. 

In the biblical narrative as the children of Israel hurry to eat their meal and make their way out of slavery that dark night, they reach the Red Sea where God has guided them and where there is seemingly no way of escape. Pharaoh's forces are pursuing close behind them, as Pharaoh has once again changed his mind. 

It's an impossible situation, but God does the miraculous by opening up the sea in front of them. He made a way - just as he does in the New Testament in his plan of salvation for his people. He again opens up the only Way. 

And this was his plan all along. We see it in the promise to Adam and Eve in the garden after their sin, and with each patriarch God's covenant becomes clearer and more intense, with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. 

Back in Egypt, the ninth plague that God imposed on the land after Pharaoh's stubborn refusal was darkness. "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.'" ( Exodus 10:21 ) 

I remember before I came to faith in Christ the darkness that permeated every area of my life - it was so heavy upon me that I couldn't find words to describe its bondage; until I saw this verse recently in the Book of Exodus. 

"A darkness to be felt." ( 10:21 ) 

That's exactly how I would describe my life before Christ. Maybe you understand exactly what I mean. The human condition of slavery to sin is such a horrific, dreadful feeling because it's a reality of the darkness that grips the lost soul. When this darkness is felt, that means there is actually hope. We must first be awakened to the darkness, the seriousness of our true condition of sin, in order for us to see the Light, the Way that is opened before us. 

In order for the Light to be good news, we first must understand and feel the darkness. If we don't know our need, we will never come to Christ for salvation. If we don't understand that we are completely cut off from God because of our sin with no way through the deep darkness, we will never see the beauty and abundant life Christ bled and died and resurrected to give us. "While we were sinners Christ died for us." ( Romans 5:8 ) 

That's the glorious good news of Christmas. When the Holy Spirit regenerates our hearts and gives us faith to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that truth leads us to praise him as Miriam and the other women did after they made it through the Red Sea. It's an organic act of worship out of a humble heart when we see our desperate need and then the Way opened up before us.

It's the angels piercing the dark night above the lowly shepherds watching over their flock, to proclaim the great tidings of joy that Christ the King is born in Bethlehem. 

And as we saw Mary singing and praising God for his salvation after the angel Gabriel visited her, we see the same with Moses after the children of Israel are saved from slavery and walking through the Red Sea. 

I think back to Moses as an infant floating in the Nile River inside of that little "ark" his mother constructed to save his life out of papyrus reeds that she daubed with bitumen and pitch. I think of his big sister Miriam watching her little brother from a distance to see what would become of him. 

Now they sing and dance together because of the LORD's saving grace. What a story. That's the story of God redeeming his children through his own Son. 

"The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." ( Exodus 15:2 ) 

"And Miriam sang to them: ( by the way, Miriam is the Hebrew name for Mary ) Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea." ( 15:21 ) 

"You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode." ( 15:13 ) 

This weekend and into next week take some time to reread Luke 1 and Mary's Magnificat, and Exodus 14 &15 and the Songs of Moses and Miriam. 

The Bible is so good when we learn to read it in context and for what it truly is - God's story of redeeming mankind through the life and death and resurrection of his Son. "Every verse whispers his name." "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." ( John 1:29, 1:36 ) 

That's the glorious, good news of Christmas. 

💜

( I thought I'd share a Christmas photo from the HBF archives of the late, great Atlas. I sure miss that big old boy. 💔💚 ) 

T.G.I.M. / Advent Week 1 / Mary's Song: The Magnificat

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." ( Luke 19:10 ) 

Today as we celebrated and lit the first candle in the Advent wreath, my mind went to Mary's song of praise in the beginning months of her pregnancy recorded in Luke 1:46. Although we don't pray to Mary or worship her, we must meditate on these wise words of Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit through this young woman chosen to carry the Christ Child. Every year, Mary's song seems to bring a deeper degree of comfort to me in the shortened, dark days leading up to the winter solstice. ( Psalm 1:1-2 ) 

The early darkness that closes in each night is a reminder that the world God made and the image bearers he created are alienated from him because of their sin. Psalm 14, Psalm 54, and Romans 3:11-18 all describe the wicked and hopeless disconnect in no uncertain terms: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 

We are enemies of God. No one even seeks for him. Even if we did seek for God and stumble upon him in the bleak darkness, we have nothing to offer him for reconciliation but our own filthy rags of righteousness. ( Isaiah 64:6 ) 

Nineteen chapters over from Mary's Magnificat in the Book of Luke, a now grown Jesus tells a despicable tax collector and repentant sinner named Zacchaeus that salvation has come to his house. 

Because even though fallen humanity is incapable of seeking God, Jesus has come to seek us. 

That's the glorious good news of Christmas. 

Jesus goes on to proclaim to Zacchaeus and all of the curious and grumbling onlookers that day, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." ( Luke 19:10 ) 

And Jesus didn't just take the first step toward reconciliation, he took all of the steps. Since we are dead in our trespasses and sin, unable to take any steps back to God, Jesus took every step necessary for lost sinners to be reconciled with God. Jesus took every one of the steps, all the way to the cross. He fulfilled the words of praise his mother Mary spoke.  ( 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 ) 

Let's hold and ponder her words this week in our own hearts. I believe when we do, our hearts will sing with hers. 

"My soul magnifies the Lord, 

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things, 

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever." 

( Luke 1:46-55 ) 

💜

HBF Archive photo of Natasha and Atlas watching over the flock.