"Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies"
Merry Christmas Eve to YOU and Your Family!!!
In this season of Advent my heart yearns more and more for the sound of my Savior's Voice. The Savior that was born in a stable. The Savior that came to BE WITH Us!
For many... It is the season of busy, loads of cheer, and tree trimmings at every corner, but it is also the season that Heaven sweetly crashed into Earth on our behalf!
I like that BEST about this time of year!!!
Tis the season for tasty treats, time with family, and brighter homes, but that does not mean our hearts reflects that brimming brightness!
For some this time of year is the reminder of what is missing, or what you can just never seem to change! For others it is a season where measuring up becomes a question every single day with parties, gifts, outfits, and decorations. Sickness, loneliness, difficult memories, and predictable patterns seem to invade this cheery time of year for many.
For my heart, I desire wholeness, for brokenness to cease, and God's glory to be revealed all around us! But as I live out the days during Advent I realize that this "wholeness" seems so far away. From the state of the world, the state of my own heart... wholeness does not seem possible.
I imagine for Mary as she journeyed with Joseph this wholeness felt far away too. She traveled, pregnant, with her new husband, to have a baby that was in fact the Savior of the World! I imagine for MARY this time of year WAS scary!!! For Mary wholeness, I would guess, seemed small and impossible. Especially when she realized that Jesus, her baby, would be born in a stable!
Our King, born in a stable. God came near in the most humble of places. Unplanned, not pretty, far from perfect... and isn't that how so often God chooses to reveal Himself. Right in the midst of the chaos!
BUT as I think about the Christmas story... There is a strength in Mary... a deeper Hope... a JOY in Mary as she realizes God's promises are True! Fearful... yes, but insistent to follow the Lord. To pursue God's truth above her own. To know and cling to the PROMISE of what God freely gives us! And as she gave birth to the Savior inside a manger... she saw True Love born!!!
What Mary must have seen as the Angels sang, as the Skies broke open with the Good News... He is WITH us!
And as I reflect on this Christmas Eve... The promise is this... We ALL get to join the Triumph of the Skies! Join the triumph of what God IS doing, and what God promises to continue to do!
The Message tonight is this... Peace, Joy, Love, Life IS born to YOU and Me! This Holy, Sacred Night. Born is a Savior, a King who WILL travel with us... THROUGH the pain, brokenness, chaos... Delivering hope in a weary, broken world and in our weary, broken hearts! Offering us the Wholeness we all desire! There is a Promise of TRIUMPH with Jesus!!!
So in this season when loneliness or comparison sneaks in would you remember WHO is born unto us... What is offered to us... and that OUR invitation is... to JOIN the triumph of the skies!!!
To know so sweetly on this Christmas Eve... He is truly with US! May your soul feel that worth during this Christmas!
Would that BE what brings you Christmas Cheer!!!
Happy Christmas to YOU and to Yours!!!!!!!!
"The manger was alive with anticipation, while those at the Inn slept. Faith is about finding our way to the barn." Bob Goff