"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.'" (Luke 2:10-11 NIV)
Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.
-- Leon Bloy in Alive Now, May/June 2002, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN. Used with permission.
#2672
Monday, December 13, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
THE JOY OF THE LORD
"…the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10b)
Joy was characteristic of the Christian community so long as it was growing, expanding, and creating healthfully. The time came when the Church had ceased to grow, except externally in wealth, power, and prestige; and these are mere outward adornments, or hampering burdens, very likely. They do not imply growth or creativeness. The time came when dogmatism, tyranny, and ignorance strangled the free intellectual activity of the Church, and worldliness destroyed its moral fruitfulness. Then joy spread her wings and flew away. The Christian graces care nothing for names and labels; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there they abide, but not in great Churches that have forgotten Him. How little of joy there is in the character of the religious bigot or fanatic, or in the prudent ecclesiastical statesman! A show of cheerfulness they may cultivate, as they often do; but it is like the crackling of thorns under a pot: we cannot mistake it for the joy of the Lord which is the strength of the true Christian.
-- William R. Inge (1860-1954) in Personal Religion
#2670
Joy was characteristic of the Christian community so long as it was growing, expanding, and creating healthfully. The time came when the Church had ceased to grow, except externally in wealth, power, and prestige; and these are mere outward adornments, or hampering burdens, very likely. They do not imply growth or creativeness. The time came when dogmatism, tyranny, and ignorance strangled the free intellectual activity of the Church, and worldliness destroyed its moral fruitfulness. Then joy spread her wings and flew away. The Christian graces care nothing for names and labels; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there they abide, but not in great Churches that have forgotten Him. How little of joy there is in the character of the religious bigot or fanatic, or in the prudent ecclesiastical statesman! A show of cheerfulness they may cultivate, as they often do; but it is like the crackling of thorns under a pot: we cannot mistake it for the joy of the Lord which is the strength of the true Christian.
-- William R. Inge (1860-1954) in Personal Religion
#2670
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
UNLIKELY MESSENGERS
In John [the Baptist], the messenger of God's Advent… came in a most unlikely person.
So let us not be surprised if the messengers of God's Advent among us are not the highly visible, duly advertised spokespersons of God and society in our midst. If we want to see signs of God's coming among us, perhaps the persons to seek out are those whose lives quietly but profoundly reveal the fruits of repentance announced by John: fruits of sharing from abundance, fruits of practicing vocations in ethical ways, fruits of translating Sunday words into weekday works.
-- John Indermark in Setting the Christmas Stage (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books. Used with permission.)
#2668
So let us not be surprised if the messengers of God's Advent among us are not the highly visible, duly advertised spokespersons of God and society in our midst. If we want to see signs of God's coming among us, perhaps the persons to seek out are those whose lives quietly but profoundly reveal the fruits of repentance announced by John: fruits of sharing from abundance, fruits of practicing vocations in ethical ways, fruits of translating Sunday words into weekday works.
-- John Indermark in Setting the Christmas Stage (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books. Used with permission.)
#2668
Thursday, December 2, 2010
THE SOLID ROCK
Nineteenth-century hymn writer Edward Mote (1797-1874) wrote the following: "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness… On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." If we understand little else on our Advent journey toward Christmas, let's understand that.
There is nothing else that solid, and there is nothing else that real… Through Jesus Christ, we can have a hope that means something.
-- Derek Maul in In My Heart I Carry a Star: Stories of Advent
#2665
There is nothing else that solid, and there is nothing else that real… Through Jesus Christ, we can have a hope that means something.
-- Derek Maul in In My Heart I Carry a Star: Stories of Advent
#2665
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
PARTNERS WITH GOD
Eventually, you come to understand something really fundamental and important about God: God will always get done what God wants to get done. And so, the key question for us is simply: will we choose to work with God, or against God?…
Lord knows, in our lives, we often want things to work out our way. Lord knows, we sometimes get angry if our team doesn't win, or if our plans are not the one everyone else adopts. And, sometimes, we may even get angry with God, because we have a vision for how we think things are supposed to be.
But, what if we could learn to simply trust instead? What if we could believe that God can use us for some real good in the world? What if we could learn to follow what God wants from us, instead of fighting against God's plans? I think, if we could do all these things, then God could use us to accomplish far more than if we fight against God's plans and always suggest our own. We could be partners with God in the great things God will still do.
But, whether we decide to do things God's way or not, there is good news: sometimes despite us, God will always get done what God wants to get done; and the only real choice is whether we will choose to work for or against God.
-- Copyright Eric Folkerth 2000. All Rights Reserved. (Used with Permission)
#2664
Lord knows, in our lives, we often want things to work out our way. Lord knows, we sometimes get angry if our team doesn't win, or if our plans are not the one everyone else adopts. And, sometimes, we may even get angry with God, because we have a vision for how we think things are supposed to be.
But, what if we could learn to simply trust instead? What if we could believe that God can use us for some real good in the world? What if we could learn to follow what God wants from us, instead of fighting against God's plans? I think, if we could do all these things, then God could use us to accomplish far more than if we fight against God's plans and always suggest our own. We could be partners with God in the great things God will still do.
But, whether we decide to do things God's way or not, there is good news: sometimes despite us, God will always get done what God wants to get done; and the only real choice is whether we will choose to work for or against God.
-- Copyright Eric Folkerth 2000. All Rights Reserved. (Used with Permission)
#2664
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