Sabbath Sanctuary: Rest in the Greatest Gift

The first Sunday of Advent we prepared our hearts for the coming of Christ, and our hearts were filled with the hope of the promise of His coming to this lost and fallen world.

The second Sunday we were challenged to spread the love of Christ in this season; He is the reason for the season. When we share His love, we are His light to lead the world to Him.

The Third Sunday of Advent we breathed in one of the greatest promises in the Word—joy—His Joy. The arrival of the incarnate Lord was a joyful event—the angels could not suppress their joy at His arrival, how much more should we rejoice?

In this last Sunday in Advent, as we are preparing to give and to receive gifts, we remember the ultimate gift ever given; all gifts this season pale in comparison.

God, who first ordered light to shine in darkness, has flooded our hearts with his light. We now can enlighten men only because we can give them knowledge of the glory of God, as we see it in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6 J.B. Phillips).

The glory of God in the face of Christ; this is the greatest gift. When I remember how broken and lost I was; how deep in bondage I was to sin, it amazes me that the Father sent His only Son to set me free. He came to redeem us and to reconcile us to the Father.  He came to dwell with us. He has given us many wonderful gifts and many precious promises (see 2 Pet. 1:4), but of all His gifts, none is greater than the gift of His Son Jesus. In giving us His Son He gave us himself.

I traveled to Israel many years ago, and I walked through the shepherds fields in Bethlehem. I tried to imagine a stable, and where it may have stood. I thought of Joseph and Mary, and the baby Jesus. How he slipped into the world quietly in the night. Stable animals were his company. Humble shepherds came and worshiped.  A sense of wonder came over me as I imagined the angels appearing to announce the greatest gift that would change the world forever, and celebrating His arrival. 

Rest in the greatest gift this world has ever been given, Jesus Christ, the reason for this season. There is not a gift that you or I can give this Christmas season, as great as giving the gift of Jesus Christ. Give Him to everyone you know, by sharing the Message that will change their world.

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful (2 Corinthians 4: 5-6 Message).

 

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Rest in His Joy

But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness (Is. 65:18).

Joy. Christmas is a time where joy is abundant. But not everyone can find it. But when we reject joy, we reject one of the greatest promises ever breathed from God. The joy promise is woven throughout the Holy Writ. The parched will be quenched, the barren will blossom. The lame will walk, the blind will see:

The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus it will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, The majesty of our God.  Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the  feeble.  Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”  Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.  Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.  The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.  A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.  No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the Lord will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away (Is.35.1-10).

Joy is available to us as we prepare and hope in Him:

In that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever; Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous; The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Ps. 146.4-10).

The arrival of the incarnate Lord was a joyful happening—the angels could not suppress their joy at His arrival:

 

The humble shepherds the first recipients of the Message:

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Lk. 2:10-11).

If the angels, who did not understand sweet redemption, but longed to comprehend it, (see 1 Pet. 1:12) could not contain their celebration, how much more should we, the redeemed, be full of joy at the advent of our Lord?

May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4–7 TEV).

This Advent season choose joy. This Sabbath rest in His joy. He came so that our joy will  be full. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full (Jn. 15:11). He desires for you to be full of joy.

In this Advent season, prepare and have hope, shed the love of Christ in the earth, and be filled with His joy. Let’s pray each day that the joy we know, the joy that is in our hearts, will be shinning from our countenance as we hope, love, rejoice. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Ps.144:15).

For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace (Isaiah 55:12, NASB).

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Rest in His Love

                       God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Jn. 3:16

Today is the second Sunday in Advent. Traditionally, the theme is love; I hold to that tradition.

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 Jn. 4:9-10

Our fallen human nature cannot love God; our carnal nature is at war with God (see Rom. 8:7). He loved us regardless. Love is in high demand, with the hate and evil of the past couple weeks; terrorism and evil seem to be overtaking the world, but Love overcame, and has victory over death, hell, and the grave—yesterday, today, and forever.  

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom. 5:8

God loves us. In the midst of a fallen, sinful, broken world, the love of God is displayed toward us. In Exodus, God called Moses to the top of the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, and to receive the pattern for the Tabernacle, a pattern that designated Aaron to be the high priest. At the moment that Aaron led the Israelites into idolatry with a golden calf, God was preparing the propitiation that would redeem Aaron and the people. He did that for us as well. He loves us so much that He provided a way to redeem us—fallen, sinful, and broken people we are. He loves us that much. He redeemed us and called us His own.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 1 Jn. 3:1

It all began in a garden, this Redemption story. In Genesis 3:15 is the protoevangelium—the first promise of the Savior that would come to redeem His fallen children. The story is recorded in the Holy Writ; beginning in Genesis and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. Gen. 3:15

He loved the world so much that He sent His beloved Son, to redeem you and me. When the Father could have turned away, He instead sent His Son, to dwell with us and be our God, He came and Tabernacled with us. He ordained it from the foundation of the world.

Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. Jn. 17:24

Jesus, in His moving prayer in John’s gospel reveals the heart of God toward a fallen, broken world, and fallen, broken humanity.

Love is the reason for the first Advent. Love is the reason for the second. He will dwell with us forever.

Rest this Sabbath in the Love of God. Let your love shine in this advent season, so that we can spread His love throughout the earth. This is the reason for the season. 

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Sabbath Sanctuary: Prepare and Hope

This is the first Sunday in Advent; the genesis of preparing for the coming King.

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.  You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this (Is. 9: 1-7).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. And the Word became flesh, and ^[k]dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:1-4; 10, 14).

When we truly prepare for the coming of Christ, He fills us with Hope. The Messiah was the hope of Israel; and He silently crept into our chronos in the quiet of the night, in humble surroundings of a stable; The beauty of the incarnation.

We too, have the same Hope with Christ's Second coming, where He will interrupt our chronos with a glorious Kairos. Angels pronounced His birth at the first advent and the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God (see 1 Thess. 4:16).

Rest this Sabbath in the Hope of His coming; the Hope that He came once and the Hope that He will come again. Prepare for His coming and be ready.

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne. 

Charles Wesley

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A Kiss of Thankfulness

This past week, Chanukah and Thanksgiving met; yet one event also graced this week of celebration; Advent kissed us in the midst of Chanukah, both celebrations express our longing for the Light to come. A kiss of thankfulness—I do not believe it is an accidental encounter. 

In Chanukah we celebrate the precious oil; though they didn’t have enough for eight days; they chose to honor God and thought it better to light the golden Lampstand regardless, and God honored their act of faith. One more truth remains in the Chanukah celebration we Gentiles take for granted; at the time of the rededication of the temple, the Devil crafted yet again a plot to wipe the Jewish people from the earth. No Jews—no Messiah. We can celebrate the Christology in this blessed event—Jesus Christ the Light of World; the one in which we hope. The Maccabees overthrew the plot and rededicated the temple, the very temple that spoke of the Temple to come—the Messiah. This alone should be enough for us, Jew and Gentile alike, to throw a thanksgiving feast worthy of the King of Glory. 

Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. 

Ps. 24:8 

 

The first Advent has come, fulfilling all that the Old Covenant promised. Sunday began the Advent season celebrating that fulfilled promise, Jesus Christ, born in a stable to humble Jewish parents. His only coronation audience- cows, sheep, donkeys, and a few frightened shepherds. His glory laid aside to dwell among us—Immanuel. 

The first Advent candle to light is the ‘hope’ or ‘prophecy candle; reflecting the hope we hold in our hearts—He will come. We hope in His coming, the promise that dripped like honey off the lips of our Savior, His prophetic promise that He will return. He came once; He shall come again. 

Three separate celebrations in a week saturated in thanksgiving. We began with the Feast of Lights celebrating the Light of the World and end it with the beginning of the waiting season of His precious birth; and sandwiched between is Thanksgiving, a time to remember all that we are thankful for; all the Lord has done for us. It is time to cultivate a thankful heart. Thankfulness does not just appear in our hearts, we have to cultivate it, practice it. Thankfulness does not always come easy, in the face of hurt, loss and disappointment. Pain and hurt screams to drown out any hope of joy, yet we have the Light of the world and a journey to a manger, to break any threats of darkness. God is so faithful to us, His faithfulness should rest atop our thanksgiving list…If you can think of nothing to be thankful for…Jesus was beaten and bruised to redeem us because His love for us was too great, He could not even fathom spending an eternity apart from you, He could more easily fathom the Cross, if He does nothing else for me—I am forever awed at this act of love.

 Cultivate a thankful heart;

It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2 

This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Psalm 95: 1-6

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalm 107:1

 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endurethforever. Psalm 136:1

O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. Isaiah 25:1

Do you not think it the devil’s work to steal the joy from so many during a season that should bring us such joy? 

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Thanksgiving brings joy. 

Thanksgiving may be over, but our thanksgiving to Him should not rest. Sundown on Wednesday marks the last night of Chanukah, but we should not cease searching for the Light of World to give us light on our path and to break through the darkness in our lives. Twenty-one more days lay before us, a path to Christmas morning. Seek for the Holy Child every day until He comes. Cultivate thanksgiving, find joy, feel His peace and keep your eyes on Jesus. For He is why we celebrate.

In His Grace,