A few years ago, I wrote a devotional for the season of Advent. It was a series of daily readings about love, joy, peace and hope. Each week was about one of those for things and how at Christmas, we celebrated that Jesus came to bring each of them to this world.
The devotional was called "THE COMING". Here is an excerpt::
Joy is not found in the circumstances of your life. Circumstances can
change; health can fade, the economy can fall apart, jobs can be lost.
If your joy is found in these things, it can fade, fall apart or be
lost. The joy that THE COMING of Jesus brought to this world is deeper
than that.
Scripture says in 1 Peter that the follower of
Christ has an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.
That same passage says that we are strangers in this world and that we
were not meant to live in a broken and fallen world. It is a world with
death and disease and heartache. But God has given us a hope and a
peace that is the epicenter of our joy.
I have a friend named
Denny. Denny had a son named Jon who died in a tragic accident just
after his junior year of high school. The days and weeks following his
death were very difficult on Denny and the rest of his family. I do not
remember a father and son closer than Denny and Jon. They were best
friends.
As time went by, Denny began to talk about how
grateful he was that God gave him the 17 years with Jon and the great
memories that would never be lost. He was grateful for the fact they
were best friends. There is a lot that Denny likes to talk about in
regards to Jon, but this is the most profound for me. Denny doesn’t
simply mourn the loss of his son. Denny celebrates his son. Denny
celebrates the God who allowed him to spend 17 great years with Jon.
Denny’s joy was not and is not bound by his circumstances. In John
14:6, Jesus calls himself the truth. The definition of the type of
truth Jesus uses here is a truth that is unaffected by circumstances.
Think of a concrete pillar holding up a great bridge. The waves and
boats that pass by do not affect the pillar. This is Jesus. This is
the kind of joy THE COMING brought.
If the joy in your life is
bound to the circumstances in your life, I invite you to investigate
this Jesus that came to bring you real joy that is unaffected by
circumstances. Think on that joy – the joy brought by THE COMING of
Jesus.
I got a message from Denny's wife (Debbie) tonight saying that Denny had lost his job recently and asked for prayer about it. As she asked me, she found this reading from the devotional.
Take a second to reread the excerpt and thank God for the way he moves in beautiful ways.
May you be blessed tonight with the presence of God.
Thanks for reading.
Sex, Culture, Bible
I read a Tweet from Darrin Patrick the other day. "When tempted
to harshly judge others, remember that all of us violate our own convictions
with embarrassing regularity." I am not sure Darrin was tweeting about the homosexuality/gay marriage issue that is such a hot discussion point or not. But it connects in the conversation.
Starting this week at North Church we will take the next three weeks to tackle this issue. We will not say all that needs to be said on the matter. We probably will ask more question than we answer. We will be faithful to what the Bible says. Even if you are not a believer in the authority of the Bible, we invite you to come and hear an honest declaration of what it has to say on the matter.
The Bible is not about
ethics or morality. This series is not about sexual ethics, it is about a God
who loves us and has provided a means to know him and live life in a
relationship with him, the way we were created to be. This whole question that
culture is asking about sexuality and gay marriage and first amendment and
everything else can send us into the fray and get drawn into an argument about
sexual ethics.
For the Christian, I want to add this...God has called us to be salt and light in this world. As
such, I want to use this current debate to bring to the forefront the grand
meta-narrative that God is telling about his love for us and how he has overcome
our failures. God seeks to leave no one in the margins and alone.
