Happy New Year!

I had a moment of excitement come over me a few minutes ago — I got a new calendar this year...a "Star Wars" calendar, no less...and it's time to remove it from the shrink wrap and hang it in my man cave. 

Even though I'm pretty digitally-centric these days, there is something kinda fun about breaking out, and breaking in, a new calendar. Tiffany and I both enjoy getting new calendars and using them to track things like birthdays, anniversaries, and special reminders, as well as to maintain perspective as we travel through the currently wide open spaces of the new year. 

There's a lot of hope and anticipation that goes with a new year. Chances to get things right...to do them better than in the previous year...allowing the lessons learned from the past to become the wisdom through which we approach the brand new. I certainly learned a lot in 2015, and I'm ready to begin anew; to allow the lessons of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love to be my path through the unknown of 2016. And these divine gifts — given us by God — truly help us turn the page from previous missteps and mistakes so we can embrace the newness in store for us all. 

So in these waning hours of 2015, I want to share a piece of scripture that has inspired me countless times to leave the past right where it belongs and embrace the unbridled potential of this, our New Year.

[God said,] “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19a, MSG)

For 2016, instead of merely turning the page to the New Year, I am hanging a brand new calendar. I'm bursting it out of the packaging with great anticipation for the new thing that God wants to do in my life, in your life, in all of our lives. 

Do you see it? 

Can you feel it? 

Be alert and present, because something brand new is coming!

Happy New Year with love!

The Weary World Rejoices

I am a Christmas music junkie. I love it! From driving up and down the road and listening to the radio to preparing for the church’s Christmas cantata, the silly and sacred songs take me back to my childhood while helping prepare my soul for the glory of Christmas.

This year has been a little different, though, for various reasons. I have not listened to as much of it as I typically do. Some of it is due to the usual craziness of the season. Some of it is due to adjusting to a new normal as life with a toddler and the energy that requires. Some of it is due to the unrest we experience in the world. I suppose I could sum up my feelings with one word: weary.

Confession is good for the soul, right? I lament about weariness every year about this time. With all of the fun and frivolity of the season, it seems I do not take the time to ponder the power of Christmas until after  the services conclude, Christmas dinner is consumed, the gifts are unwrapped, and I don my cap to settle in for a long winter’s nap. Is this something you can relate to?

Christmas really shouldn’t be this way. We follow Advent to help us intentionally prepare for Christmas, focusing on hope, peace, love, and joy.  And through that, we remember the truth in the midst of this season – Christmas began with weariness.

There was oppression. There was violence. There was fear. God’s people were yearning for a savior. Even creation itself was moaning for deliverance from the hopelessness of sin. And then that one holy night, the light from the Christmas star, the presence of God’s glory, and the songs from the heavenly host broke into our weariness to proclaim that from then forward, history was divided in two with this message:

“’Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2.10-14, NKJV)

That was good news then, and it is good news still! And it reminds me of the line from the Christmas carol,  O Holy Night, “The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

Tomorrow as we gather for Christmas Eve worship, we will once again visit the exclamation point of the account when God broke into our history to usher in the hope of eternity. Sure, weariness remains from fatigue, fear, and anxiety, but the message of Christmas isn’t one of survival, but thriving thanks to the presence of God in our lives.

Are you weary today?

Are you looking for a reason to rejoice?

If so, you can rest assured that the truth we proclaim is timeless, meaning it’s just as applicable today as it was some 2,000 years ago: for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, so whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have life everlasting (John 3.16).

Regardless of how you find this Christmas, I hope you will come and rejoice with us in worship as we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. The world was chaotic and dangerous then, just as it is today. So if you’re feeling weary, know you’ll be in good company. Come anyway. Let’s sing together. Pray together. Light candles together. Share Holy Communion together. And spread the good news of Christmas once again. Together.

Christmas. God’s perpetual glory that makes even our weary world rejoice. Today, just as it has for 2,000 years!

Touch the World

Ethan and I were talking earlier this week about our crazy schedules, and it occurred to me just how close we are to Christmas! Admittedly, in this season where there is more to do than can possibly be done, it feels like it can fly by and drag on simultaneously. 

This season, though, is so much more important than a month-long party, because this is the time when we celebrate God busting through the veil of history so we can get a glimpse of eternity. In Jesus, God touched our broken world with a tiny infant hand that would one day bear the scars for our transgressions. In Max Lucado's daily devotion for today, he touched on this concept. Check out what he wrote:

"Where will God go to touch the world? What a great thought and an even better question! It’s that time of year when we hear about the virgin birth. And yet it’s much, much more than a Christmas story.  It is a story of how close Christ will come to you!

"The first stop on his itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep within Mary for an answer. Better still—look deep within yourself.  Christ in you, the hope of glory! Christ grew in Mary until he had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs.  He will come out in your speech, in your actions, and in your decisions. Every place you live will be a Bethlehem. And every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver Christ into the world!"

Each of us has a responsibility to bear the love of God to this broken world. And since this is the prime time for sharing that with people who have yet to fully embrace God's love for them, I hope you will make every opportunity to share heaven's touch with with others. Invite someone to worship or one of the special events at the church. Send cards and goodies to those who are alone, ill, or grieving. Reach out to estranged friends or family. Volunteer. Be inventive in hospitality, and creative in showing others how precious they are. 

And remember the words of scripture that instruct us to do all that we do as though we're doing it for the Lord (Colossians 3:23).