Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

Oh, how I wanted to stay in bed this morning.  I was trying to compromise with God as I lay there telling him all the things I had to do today and asking why I couldn't just have my meditation right there.  I saw a picture in my mind then: a lady weighed down with gifts, her hands were full with no room for anything else.  The Lord offered a morsel of food to her but she couldn't figure out how to take it with all those bags.  Then she realized she needed to set down all those things and accept the free gift given to her by the Lord.  You better believe that got my fanny out of bed in a hurry.  How much more indignant can I be?  Each day I come before the Lord and He is faithful in meeting me where I am.  He gives me food from the His word.  Of course He does not stop there.  If we are willing to set aside our burdens, our distractions and our selfish pride, He will fill us with His love, peace, rest... He will fill us with what we truly need.  Take a few minutes this morning and join me in setting down all those things we carry that weigh us down.  Release those things and open your hands as I open mine so we can receive life and love, grace and mercy, wonder and awe.

 Lord,

Thank you for your faithfulness.  I am so ashamed that I put all those things at a higher priority than you and I am so grateful for the nudge to remind me of what is truly important.  Help us all feel and see those nudges that keep us on the path to entering in your rest.  Amen.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” 

I began my quiet time this morning asking for cleansing.  I need cleansing in my body to rid it of the toxins, I asked for cleansing of my mind and my soul of all the things that are darkness, even those I have forgotten about or do not recognize.  I know this prayer is likely to stir up dirt and muck but I want to be rid of it.  When I came to the time where I seek His word I was led to this verse.  At first I thought I must have heard wrong.  I had a different passage in mind when I was led to this text.  As I sat in meditation again it didn't take long to see how this verse tied in with my prayer.  It is moments like this one, where the presence and guidance of God are glaringly apparent to me that I can claim without hesitation, God is Emmanuel.  He came to us as a babe so that we could learn the true nature of the Almighty and he has never left since.  I know I see glimpses of him just like I did this morning in my quiet time.  When I look back at my path over the last few years, His presence and guidance are obvious.  The impurities in me will not cease to exist in this lifetime so I know I will not see God in all truth and glory yet.  I will continue to seek purity and to seek God in the meantime.  Will you join me?

 Lord,

I thank you with all that I am and all that I have been given.  To realize once again that you are Emmanuel is humbling indeed.  You come seeking us.  You come to redeem and rescue us.  I am humbled.  I am yours.  I offer my days, my nights, and my life to you.  Help me see you more clearly each day until the day I stand at your throne in glory.  Amen.

Isaiah 60:3 “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

I love this time of year.  I love the lighted trees and the music and the spirit of love that spreads, truly, throughout nations.  Gifts will be given to loved ones in just a couple of weeks, all in the spirit of love and giving.  Santa Claus, an icon in so many parts of the world, will visit homes everywhere leaving presents for girls and boys, all in the spirit of giving and love.  Presents are being flown to the far reaches of the world to bring love and joy to children everywhere.  Long ago, a star shone and Magi, or kings, men of importance and knowledge came from another part of the world.  They came to the light, seeing the brightness shining in the sky and knowing this was something worth seeing.  They brought gifts and so as we busily shop and wrap, let us also bring something to honor this gift of heaven.  We were created in His light and through our journey in this life we are called to follow His light.  Whether our path is easy cruising on a smooth paved road, stumbling along in a barren desert or in a forest so thick with trees we struggle to even see the sky, we can come to his light.  Look deep within your soul; it is our souls that will find the true light.  He sent Jesus to be among us so that His redeeming light could shine for the entire world to see.  Trust and know that he brings the brightness of his dawn for all nations; he brings it for you and me.

Lord,

Sometimes your light seems to be so far away and then I remember to search with my heart and not my eyes.  Help me set aside differences and division and open my arms to embrace in love and light.  Use me to share your light with others so that all nations, all people will come.  Amen.

Luke 1:41-42 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb.  And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

What I wouldn't give to sit at the kitchen table in Elizabeth’s home and have a cup of coffee with these ladies.  Can you imagine the stories they could tell?  Elizabeth was beyond child bearing age when an angel came and told her and her husband that they were going to have a baby.  Mary who was still a virgin was visited by the very same angel!  He tells her that she will bear a son and he will be the Son of God.  If you are a woman you know that once they received their angelic visit they never stopped thinking and wondering and questioning how this could and would be.  When Mary comes to visit Elizabeth, John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb!  It seems that he already knows to proclaim this child.  Having a baby is a time filled with anticipation.  Sometimes it seems it has been forever since the baby started growing inside the womb and sometimes, as the birth grows closer, the parents are wondering if they are ready for this to happen.  I can only imagine the wonder and anticipation Elizabeth and Mary had compared to those of us with babies announced by doctors rather than angels of the Lord.  Now we all wait in anticipation.  We wait for the angels to sing.  We wait for a cry in the wilderness.  We wait for the Lord.

Lord,

Waiting is hard for us, just look at my kids.  They can barely contain themselves.  You call us to wait and so we try.  Thank you for your words that tell us the story.  We do not wait without knowing what; we only wait not knowing when.  O come, O come Emmanuel.  Amen.

Psalm 37:23-24 “Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand.”

My little boy loves to run.  He has so much energy and zest for life, it seems he just has to get wherever he is going in a hurry.  When he gets in too big a hurry, running faster than he can really manage, he stumbles and falls.  Then, of course, he comes running to me for comfort and kisses.  When I read this passage I almost laughed.  How long will it take for me to learn not to run faster than I can really manage?  I have learned to hold the hand of the Lord most of the time and I know he has kept me from falling headlong more times than I can count.  Yet, the temptation to run ahead is still there.  As we move forward closer to the stable on Christmas night, I am tempted to let go and run as fast as I can to see the newborn king.  Am I ready?  Am I truly prepared to receive the king of my heart?  These verses gently remind me to stay the course.  Keep my steps firmly guided by the Lord on my journey to Bethlehem.  God is delighted that I want to go; that I am headed in that direction but I need to hold his hand lest I get ahead of myself again.  Will you join me in the journey, step by step, to see the small babe wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a manger?  Hold my hand; hold His hand and we can walk there together.

Lord,

I want to delight you.  I want to make you beam with pride in the steps I take.  Thank you for the reminder that I need to hold your hand every step of the way.  It is you that keeps me from falling and I thank you and praise you for this blessed assurance.  Prepare my heart as I journey with you to the stable in Bethlehem once again.  Amen.

Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”

There is a lot of talk about water right now.  Where I live we saw snow on November 10^th and then not again until the trace amount last night, in mid-December.  People are talking once more about a drought.  We see the lack of water in our part of the world but do we see the lack of living water in our souls?  We get so busy looking outward; do we take the time to look inward as well?  Our souls cry out for the living water to quench our thirst so much more than our grass and trees cry out for their water.  As I sit on this bitter cold morning reading this verse it is like a breath of spring to my heart.  It brings hope to my soul.  It soothes me, bringing God’s love and peace to me once again.  He has never failed me and I know without doubt that He will continue to guide me and satisfy my needs.  His word and His guidance make me strong in faith; in my bones.  It is through all this that I am refreshed like a watered garden.  I can almost hear the rushing of the waters; His living water flowing through me in a never ending spring.  In the midst of this cold and wintery day, I have spring, Oh, joy and praise to my God!

Lord,

Thank you for the incredible blessings that you have given me today.  Help me bring your refreshing, living water to others so that they may also receive the renewing spring of your living water in them.  In the midst of drought, you bring abundance.  You give us everything we could ever need.  Lord God, you are so gracious!  Thank you!  Amen.

Ephesians 5:8 “For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.  Live as children of light”

Each day is getting a little bit shorter.  The sun rises later in the morning and sets earlier in the evening. We are quickly coming upon the shortest day of the year.  The earth goes through cycles of light and darkness, so do we.  We all have seasons in our lives filled with light and seasons where we are stumbling in darkness.  During this season of Advent, we are called to prepare ourselves to receive the Christ child once again.  I have written about God’s light many times in the past.  Do I have anything new to say? The message is not new; it has been announced for thousands of years now. Tomorrow morning it is my turn to teach Sunday school to the young elementary kids and we are learning about John the Baptist.  John came to prepare the way for the Lord.  It was his task to announce the blessed gift of salvation that God, in His mercy, was sending.  Jesus came all those years ago “to give light to those who sit in darkness... to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79) This is the light Paul is talking about here.  Take a moment with me this morning and picture the Christ child, lying in the manger with radiance beaming from his holy face.  As we come closer to the celebration of his birth, let us search our hearts for darkness that lurks and allow the Spirit to renew and refine us.  When we come to the holy night of Christmas, may we be a reflection of his radiant light throughout the world.

Lord,

Through your Holy Spirit, we have been given the gift of Light and Love.  Help us shine your light and announce it to the world around us until no one lives in darkness anymore.  Amen.