Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement

It was Chicago, October, 2003. I was attending a conference for Christian healthcare workers. One of the speakers used Isaiah 61 as the basis for his talk, and it changed how I saw Jesus and my obedience to Him. 

In a subtle way, I had begun to think of Jesus as mostly a healer of physical ills. He healed everywhere He went. He's the Great Physician. I saw the miraculous healings and, in a subtle way, mistakenly thought they were the "main thing", but they were not. Jesus made that clear from the start.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to aptives,

And freedom to prisoners;

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord...

                                     Isaiah 51:1-2 nasb

You probably remember this passage. It's Jesus' "mission statement." Hundreds of years after it was written, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read Isaiah 61:1-2. "Today, this is fulfilled in your presence," He told those listening. 

It didn't go well. Before he was through talking, the men there that day tried to throw him off a cliff. 

They wanted Jesus' miraculous healings. They wanted His water-into-wine trick. They didn't want to hear His good news or His proclamation of liberty.

He came to spread the good news of freedom in Christ. 

Christ did not come to tout a set of rules or beat us into submission.

He came to set us free. 

He did not come to heal all our sickness or remove all our sorrow.

He came to proclaim liberty to those bound by sin and its consequences.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this year, let's also celebrate the work He came to do... proclaiming, declaring, offering freedom, providing balm and binding hurt.

If we are to follow Him, we, too, must embrace the work He came to do. We, too, must make bringing the good news of Christ to a dark and perishing world our highest priority. Every other action must be made with the proclamation of truth as its objective.

My pastor said something yesterday that pretty much sums this up. "God was so excited about His plan to send Jesus that He couldn't wait to tell it. He announced it seven hundred years before He did it. If God was that excited about the coming of Christ, shouldn't we also be excited to tell the world?" 

We have good news and it's worth sharing. This Christmas, let's be sure to proclaim the best news of all. 

Christ has come. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again. Hallelujah.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: Sustenance for the Weary, Finding Christmas: Remembering the Stripes,  Finding Christmas: Look to the Rock, Finding Christmas: The Rear Guard, Finding Christmas: Prosperity and Success,  Finding Christmas: Prophecy Fulfilled, Finding Christmas: The Good Husband, Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Good Husband.

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#GoodNews #Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple,#Wordbecameflesh #

Finding Christmas: Not Forgotten

The holiday season, extending from late November until just after the new year, is a happy time that usually includes spending extra time with loved ones on more than one occasion. I cherish the opportunities to see family and friends more often than usual during these weeks. 

This is a sweet season, but not for everyone. 

Some among us are separated from loved ones, either by death or circumstances, and will spend at least part of the time grieving the separation that keeps them apart. It's easy for people to feel alone and forgotten. For those people, being remembered by someone can make a major difference.

It's one of the reasons taking children to nursing homes to sing carols, visiting shut ins, and spending time with those who grieve are all so important. It makes an impact that can last far longer than we know. It reminds them that they are not forgotten, but it is also a reminder to us that, when our time comes, we will not be forgotten, either.

Feeling forgotten is not the same as being forgotten.

Isaiah wrote about this very issue. Zion thought God had forgotten her. The nation felt abandoned and rejected. God, through Isaiah, reminded His people that He  could never forget them. Why not? 

The Hands of God are a constant reminder of those He loves.

God has inscribed us on the palms of His hands and we are constantly before Him. Those nail-scarred hands ever proclaim the price He paid for our redemption and ever serve as a reminder of the ones He bought with His blood. 

God cannot forget us because we are always before Him, literally and figuratively in the palms of His sacrificing, loving hands.

No matter how we feel this season, our reality, our truth is that we are not forgotten. We are not alone. God remembers us every time He sees His hands.

Inscribed on His palms.

If we are to be the hands of Christ this season, those who are inscribed on the hands of God must also be ever on our thoughts as well. 

This season, make a conscious effort to spend time with those who are alone, send notes to those who have lost loved ones, visit those who are shut-ins (whether at home or in a nursing facility). Remind them that they are not alone. 

We are not forgotten. We are not alone.

We are inscribed on the hand of God, constantly in His thoughts, always in His love. He is with us. 

It's our job to demonstrate that presence, that love to a dark and perishing world. One of the best ways to "find Christmas" this holiday season is to act like Christ. 

Be the hands of Jesus and take His light to those who need it most.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: Truth, Tradition, and Choice,  Finding Christmas: The Joy of Relationship, Finding Christmas: The Word of God, Finding Christmas: The Importance of Surrender,  Finding Christmas: Separating Truth and Fiction, Finding Christmas: Ongoing Surrender, and Finding Christmas: Hidden Paths.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: When Life is Less than Perfect

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 #Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple #HisHands #notalone

Finding Christmas: The Best Advent of all

We prepare for the Christmas season in a variety of ways.  Shopping. Decorating. Gift wrapping. Christmas movies. Christmas music. Advent candles. I do some of those "preparations", too, but my favorite Christmas preparation is to re-read the book of Isaiah between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

I've been reading it for so many years that I've lost count, but it never fails to speak to me. Today, I'm in Isaiah 25. 

And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;

A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,

And refined aged wine...

He will swallow up death for all time,

And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,

And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth...

Isaiah 25:6, 8 nasb

The Thanksgiving feast we've just enjoyed will be nothing in comparison to the lavish banquet God will provide. The crowd so recently gathered around our tables will be minuscule in comparison to all the people gathered at God's banquet. It will be a celebration and all God's people will be there. 

Our Lord will provide generously, and not only what we need to survive. He will provide the best of everything. It will be a joyous party. 

Even better than food, though, God will bring death and sorrow and tears to an end. He'll remove our reproach. 

When that glorious day arrives, we will say, "This is the God for whom we've been waiting." 

All the longing, all the anticipation, all the uncertainty will be washed away in the reality of the now, in the evidence of the promise fulfilled.

As we celebrate the Advent (or coming) of Christ, let us keep our eye on the other Advent (coming) for which we wait with eagerness. 

He is coming again, and when He does every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. No more sorrow. No more tears. Only joy and celebration that will last for eternity.

Celebrating Christmas is about more than a baby in a manger. It's about a living, reigning Lord.

Christ has come. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again, and that's the best Advent of all.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Grateful Heart: Hard Times, Red Hot Christmas Pickles and the Broken Jar, Grateful Heart: The Beginning of Stories, Grateful Heart: Blessing of Position, Grateful Heart: Wonder Pickle, Grateful Heart: Family, and Beginning the Advent Journey.


The most read post of the last week: Grateful Heart: Family.

If you're looking for an Advent devotional, you can find The Road to Bethlehem on Amazon here.
#advent #disciple #JesusChrist #comingagain