With Great Anticipation

December started off busy and exciting in our home, my children woke up the day after Thanksgiving looking forward to the Christmas season. We started the month by planning all the festivities, parties and celebrations that would occur this month- all leading up to the great event of the year, Christmas day! As the month flew by, our days were filled with making decorations, eating yummy treats and thinking and talking about the great Savior that came to set us free from sin. We talked about how the angels sang praises in the fields, about the star that shown so brightly leading shepherds and wise men to come and see and worship the baby Savior and King. We read from the Old Testament of how Emmanuel would come to the earth, about the virgin birth and His lowly entrance into this fallen world that He came to save. All of creation up to this point had waited and watched for this moment in history to come to pass.

About a week prior to Christmas, my daughter came to me and sat in my lap. "Mommy, I don't want Christmas to come....." She whispered to me. "But why not?" I asked in surprise. "Because, then it will all be over...." Such anticipation for one day of excitement. I began to think about that sentiment. I wonder if Mary and Joseph had a moment of let down after the shepherds headed back out to pasture and they were left alone with a baby and no real plan. The Jewish nation waited for so long to see the coming of the Messiah, and although many missed it, those who caught glimpse of the promised one, what did they long for after they saw the Savior??

My life has been marked by waiting for the next big thing, that somehow attaining something new, would make all that had been,worth the time and energy it took to live through it. Perhaps you can relate. Life will be better when.....fill in the blank. I get that other job, we move out of this house, we have a baby, our kids are older, our car is better, my family is closer or farther away..... Why is it that we live out our life never being content with where we are, but always longing for some future event? Could it be, perhaps, that we are created this way, but that our longings are misplaced?

Since the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden, man has longed for a better future.

January 1st comes with great expectations, all around me I see people thinking and planning new years resolutions, promises that are made to be broken it seems, as January 3rd brings to reality the ineffectiveness of our will power. What are you longing for? Perhaps next year brings with it the anticipation of new and glorious adventures! Or perhaps the new year marks the passing of yet another year of struggles, pain and loneliness. Perhaps you have resolutions to get out of debt, or lose that extra weight, or buy that new thing, or stop that bad habit. Making goals is a great thing, but what is it that motivates your goal making. Do you think life will really be happier in a size 6, in a new house, or with a new man? Or maybe underneath all that stuff you really have a longing for something greater, a longing to be a part of something that matters, or to be witness to something spectacular.

Paul and the apostles were anticipating the return of Jesus Christ, and the kingdom of Heaven. They lived their life with one resolution: to welcome their Savior, and to invite as many as they could to the great feast that awaits them. This year, I have no resolutions apart from one:  to walk where God leads me, regardless of where He leads me. I have a great longing to be a part of something great,  I want to be apart of God's redemptive story.

Can I encourage you today? Can I challenge the reasons behind what you long for? If you, like me, find yourself striving towards the future and dreaming of better days ahead, maybe it's a warning sign to stop and think about what your heart truly longs for. Maybe you long for comfort, less bills to pay, or a better lifestyle. Could is be that you really long for the great Comforter? God has promised to give us His supernatural comfort in the midst of worldly discomfort. Maybe you long for better friendships or better marriages, could it be that you long truly for the intimacy of having a friend who knows you better then anyone else? God longs to woo you into a relationship that is so fulfilling that it surpasses anything this worlds friendships have to offer! Perhaps you long to be better, do better, break that bad habit or stop messing up that one thing. Could it be, perhaps, that you truly long for forgiveness and that you desperately desire to shed the guilt and shame you hold on to and that controls the way you live your life. I have hope for you by friend, and his name is Jesus.

I write these things to you because I know them so well. I understand the pain of regret and guilt, I know the pressure of striving to be good enough and the devastation that happens when once again you can't uphold your own promises. That's  the beauty of Jesus, he doesn't desire perfection, or will power, good financial standing or great personal relationship skills. He is the savior, he came to save us....from ourselves.

As you look forward to 2014 with great anticipation, I pray that you find your longings satisfied, and that the great God who sent his son to earth on that glorious day 2000 years ago to save us, would be your greatest desire for the new year.

Blessings my Friends.
Erin

Grace For Christmas

Peppermint candies, fudge, sparkling trinkets and gleaming lights. To say that I love the Christmas season, may be an understatement! December is my favorite month, although we've had more years of want, then years of plenty, we've always managed to make memories and Christmas is always a special time for our family. This year, we gave our still young kids money to spend on gifts for each other, they took their mission as 'mini Santas' very seriously. Through malls, and stores, outlets and markets my children searched and searched for the perfect gifts for their sisters, brother, and daddy. Watching them shop and plan this year has given me such joy and new perspective on Christmas. In the years prior, I had done all the shopping myself, it was faster and easier.

Christmas with kids is a usually busy and exciting time, but sadly it can quickly become all about "what  I can get" and less about the love and joy and remembrance of Christ's coming. Can you celebrate Christmas with trees and gifts and still glorify God in all you give and do? How do the gifts we give reflect Christ? How, as a parent, can we enjoy the mystery and wonder of Christmas while still instilling the true meaning of the season to our kids? These are the things I ponder this year as I watch my kids make lists and talk with Santa, decorate cookies and drink hot cocoa from frosty the snowman mugs.

"Mommy?" a sweet voice breaks through the noise in my head, "I love Christmas!" What joy fills my heart when I see my kids thoroughly enjoying something I love, and I can't help but think how God feels when he sees his kids enjoying what He loves.

As I walked one of my daughters through a crowded mall, weaving in and out of packed isles filled with new toys, I watched her search for that perfect gift for her sister. She would pickup, shake, turn and contemplate each item, and place it back on the shelf. "Nope, this ones to.....shiny." and move 2 feet further down the isle.

 Matthew 7:11

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him."

God gave us a Savior for Christmas. He spent all creation, and time before it, planing and picking just the right way to bless his children. In that moment in the store, I could almost see he him planning it, before creation was even formed, the clay on Adam wasn't even dry yet. But he looked over his creations that he would make and already loved it so! Knowing full well that we wouldn't measure up. Just as I know full well that today will bring children who will not be perfect, they will yell, fight, be stubborn and needy, and yet I love them so, and I eagerly wait for them to open the perfect gifts that were so laboriously picked for them. I, who am so utterly imperfect, sure know how to make the holidays a fun and memorable time for my kids to enjoy. How much more so does my father in heaven, who is perfect and good, give us great gifts.

We tell our children that Christmas is the time when we celebrate Jesus's birthday, it's a party that we throw for him every year. This year my oldest, she's 7, asked me a valid question: "Mom. If Christmas is Jesus's birthday. Then why do WE get gifts?" Her innocent question took me by surprise, should I tell her it's because I like gifts? Or because we are an egocentric, selfish society that is consumed by commercialism.....? Somehow, that didn't fit either. "Well......" I began, praying that I would give a good answer... "You know how, when you go to a birthday party, you sometimes will get a little goodie bag for coming to the party? The gifts we open on Christmas are the party favors for Jesus's birthday." She was satisfied with my answer and bounded away to play. I was not, and I began to think. What gifts do we give God during this time of year that all too often feels so busy? We picked out the perfect things for little Billy and Aunt Betty and the grandparents are getting sweet pictures of the children posed in front of a giant glittering tree..... but what did we bring Jesus? As I pondered, and thought, feeling like my answer wasn't enough, I was reminded of the old song "We bring a sacrifice of praise."

We bring the sacrifice of praise

 Into the house of the Lord 

We bring the sacrifice of praise

 Into the house of the Lord and 

We offer up to you

 The sacrifices of thanksgiving 

 We offer up to you 

The sacrifices of joy

Suddenly I realized that all I do on Christmas, be it the magic of Santa, silly surprises, hot cocoa and cookies, crafts, trees, gifts and carols mean everything or nothing, depending on this: Am I bringing God praises this season? Is my life and gifts, and activity this season marked with the sacrifices of praise to God? Singing Christmas songs isn't enough, they are not a gift that is worthy enough of the king who was born! I want to be like the wise men who traveled years just to bring Jesus three meaningful gifts and to worship at the cradle of the newborn king. Or like Simeon, who waiting his whole life to worship the Messiah and as he held a wiggly tiny Jesus in his old and weathered hands, he worshiped the young king of the Jews.

So this Christmas season, I challenge you to give gifts not out of obligation or festivity,  but out of the grace that God has given YOU the best gift of all. The gift of salvation. And I challenge you to bring your gifts to God this year by being consumed not by parties and festivities and planning and shopping, but let your heart be filled with praises of thanksgiving and joy that you and me, although we will mess up and struggle and learn in this life, God our father loves us greater then we love our own children and is not put off by our childish ways, but finds joy in our process of learning. That, in itself, makes me fill with gratitude and joy that as I imperfectly love my own kids, God's love for me is perfect.

BLESSINGS and JOY and PEACE to you in want or in plenty this year, you have the gift that cannot be bought.

Erin

The Grace of the Martyrs

I wrote a few days ago about the grace of courage, and how God equips us for every work he plans for us to accomplish in this life, and this knowledge is what gives us the grace of courage to stand strong when God asks us walk down a road marked with suffering or pain. Today I want to continue the thought with another secret of the great men and woman of faith who walked before us. 

A Martyr doesn't view their eternity through the eyes of their present suffering,

 But rather, they view their present suffering through the eyes of their eternal worth.

 2 Cor 4: 16-18

 " So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Do you think the great men and woman of faith ever knew what impact they would have on generations to come? Do you think Paul ever sat in prison thinking about how far his message of the Gospel of Christ would go? There was no way that he could have foreseen that generations and generations of Christians would quote his very words as they sat in their own prison cells for likewise proclaiming God's truths to their own lost generations. I guess I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about influence, thinking about the cost of following Christ. In particular, I've been thinking about how I will respond when, inevitably, I am asked to follow Christ when the cost is myself, my well-being or my family. Yesterday, I spent a bit of time listening to old sermons by John Piper, as I listened to his sermon Called to Suffer and Rejoice: For an Eternal Weight of Glory, I was encouraged in my quest to follow Christ. Paul, in 2nd Corinthians 4, gives us the secret to enduring our Christian life. The secret to fighting the good fight is to be renewed day by day, a renewal that comes from looking at not what we see but what is unseen. This is the secret of the martyr, this is the way that great men and woman of faith can stand in the midst of great suffering and persecution for their faith and be unshaken. They see something that the rest of us, when life is easy, we all to often miss. They are looking at the unseen. Verse 18 tells us how we can live our life giving up every comfort and easy way and strive for the cross of Christ. By looking at what we cannot see. It's doesn't make sense, to look at what we can't see. How can we see it?? It's not VISIBLE! Our life is what is seen! The cancer, is seen. The broken marriage, the sick parent or sick child, my empty bank account..... I can clearly see these things! But Paul says,  all the pain of this life is LIGHT, when compared in weight to the GLORY that awaits us! If anyone has the right to tell us this, it's Paul. Paul, who endured lashings that left his bones exposed. Paul, who spent most of his ministry imprisoned, or shipwrecked, or being run out of town by angry mobs. If anyone has suffered for his ministry, Paul has. And Paul, he knows what he's saying when he tells us this. He's telling us that when we choose to follow Christ, if we are serious in our attempts to live out loud our faith and dependence on Christ, then pain is inevitable. We will be hated. 1 Corinthians 1:18 "The cross is such foolishness to the perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God." The world will not understand us, speak anyways. They will ridicule you, speak anyway. You will be passed over for that job, live your faith anyways. If you share your money with someone who needs it you will have less, give anyways. All the while do not look at your empty bank account, look at the endless funds of your maker. Do not look at the sickness in your body, look at the health you will have for eternity. Do not look at your empty stomachs, your cancer ridden bodies, your painful experiences. Do not be TRICKED by the outward appearance of your need, look to your savior who has already conquered the battle you fight, which is unseen. Your eternal worth is unseen, but it is no less real. In fact, it's even MORE real then what you see around you! What you see and feel around you is counterfeit by comparison to what is unseen. And when you look at what your circumstances are by seeing them through the rose colored glasses of the eternal, they are far less intimidating. This is the secret of the Martyr. A Martyr doesn't view their eternity through the eyes of their present suffering, but rather they view their present suffering through the eyes of their eternity.

As I listened to John Piper discuss these truths, my heart stirred. I was encouraged, and I was also challenged. I am quick to lose hope, I am quick to see my circumstances and cry out "Why me!?" I desperately want to live out my faith, I want to be a 'Paul' for this generation, but I am so easily swayed into despair when the outcome of my steps of faith are met with more harsh circumstances! I am so acutely aware of my humanity, and my frailty. Take heart today if you relate to me here, God is faithful to complete his work that he started with you at your conversion. Living out your faith is a process that takes a lifetime to accomplish! Even the great apostle Paul says in Romans 7:15-20 that he cannot do what he ought to do! But daily God is refining me, and he is refining you. Verse 16 of the text in Corinthians tells us to "not lose heart! though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." Daily, I need God's renewal. Daily, I seek His strength. My conversion was not enough to last me a lifetime of circumstances, I need constant affirmation. And that affirmation comes from God alone. My prayer is that as you read this blog today, you are encouraged and challenged. I pray that you are renewed and affirmed by the God who called you and set you with a high calling and purpose. I pray that you and I begin to learn to look at our circumstances through the lens of our eternal worth, and in doing so are renewed yet again to continue the race and live out loud our faith to our own lost generation. 

Grace and Peace to you. 

The Grace of Courage

This past weekend I took my oldest to the Emergency Room. She was dehydrated and suffering from high fevers and body pains, the doctor told her she needed a IV placed so she could get fluids. My daughter did not take the news well. My 7 year old princess, became a wounded warrior. She sobbed into my chest and begged to be sent home. The nurse, brought her in a stuffed animal and promises of Popsicles for exchange for her bravery. I took my baby in my lap and prayed over her, I reminded her that God loves her, and that He promises to be with us and that He will never ask us to do anything that He has not already equipped us to do. I prayed that God's peace would come over my daughter as she cried in my arms. As the moment of truth came to fruition, and my daughter wept and shook as the nurses held her tiny arm and talked her through the process, my baby looked at me with sad blue eyes and whispered, "Mommy. I can't be brave. I just can't be brave. I'm to scared." 

As I watched my daughter go through a very real fearful situation, I couldn't help but think of times in my life when I've prayed the same prayer to God. "Lord, I'm trying to be brave. But I just can't! I'm just too scared!"

I've often read of the great men and women in the Bible who did tremendously brave things for the sake of the Gospel, or in the name of God. I think of David and his battle with the giant, Daniel and his night with the lions, Rahab and her helping the spies to destroy Jericho, Ruth, Esther, the Apostle Paul...So many men and women that God used to do incredible things at great cost to their own safety. I read these passages and I think to myself, could I ever be that brave?

When my daughter told me "Mommy, I can't be brave..." I looked right at her and said the very thing God says to us. "That's okay Baby. You don't need to be brave, you just need to trust that God will get you through this." I think God echoes this same answer when we tell him our fears, when we cry out that were trying but we just can't be brave anymore. You see Webster defines Brave as ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage, endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behavior) without showing fear. 
But God defines bravery as a dependence on Him, and an understanding of where our courage comes from. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power. And 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God's grace is sufficient for us in our weakness.  

Sunday Morning, our adult Sunday School class was talking about martyrs, and the same resounding answer came from all of us. "How could I ever be that brave?" As we continued to talk about Martyrdom, and the promise of persecution that Jesus and Paul so frequently spoke of to us as we follow Christ, what struck me was the fact that these men and women of faith did not suddenly wake up one day and die for the sake of Christ, but that they had a journey with Christ that led to their eventual death. The life that they lived with their savior was one that proved to them that they could endure, because they had confidence in the God they served. He may not rescue them from their present suffering, but He would never lead them down a road that He had not already equipped them to endure. They didn't have to be brave, they just need to know the God that is in control. 

So how did the great Martyrs through the ages cultivate such a relationship with God, what did they grasp about the person of God that allowed them to remain pillars of faith in the midst of such great suffering? I think that they truly understood the kingdom purpose behind will of God. They didn't seem to ask many "why me?" questions, they just seemed to know that their life was about more then themselves. That's where the grace of courage is born. If you are a Christian then you are called apart from the world, Isaiah 43 tells that we can have courage because God has called us by name. And if God has called you apart by name, then don't you think that he had a reason to do so? You are not invited into the family of God in order to meet a heavenly quota based on your abilities, personalities or rugged good looks. You are called, with a job to do. And that job is one thing, further the kingdom of God. It's mind blowing when you sit with that for a minute, YOU are important, scratch that, VITAL to the ultimate purpose and plan of God to see mankind brought back into fellowship with Himself. He choose you with this very job in mind. I think that is the secret of the Martyr, they knew this, and because they grasped this truth. When God led them down roads that lead through suffering, loss and death, they were not shaken. For they understood that their life will not be lived in vain, but that the God who starts a good work will be faithful to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)

So my challenge to you today, is to think about this, you are created with a purpose. You are vital to the work God is doing in His great story of redemption. What if God called you to be courageous, even unto death? Are you confidant in the God who called you? If not, then like my daughter who cried that she can't be brave, it's okay to cry out to God and share your fears. God loves to show His faithfulness to his chosen people. 

Rest in the Grace of Courage that God has for you today.