He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:4
Do we think of God in this simple way? As a mother hen covers her chicks, so our God covers us in times of trouble, hiding us from the great storms of life. I know that sometimes it’s hard to believe that as the storms we do face are so incredibly powerful and gut-wrenching, but He does watch over us, giving us solace and comfort — when we let Him.
If the chicks do not seek shelter, then the mother hen does not usually cover them up. While our God is big enough to cover us from the worst, even when we do not seek Him out, it goes much easier on us when we actively seek shelter under His wings. When we place ourselves under His almighty protection, we gain the knowledge of His grace and mercy.
Part of this process of refreshment or preparation in Advent is a refocus on putting God first in our lives and orienting our moment by moment existence to a constant appreciation of His presence and love.
Do not hide from His solace. Do not run from His hope. Instead, seek Him. One of the comments from yesterday’s post reminded us that even though we may seek Him, He seeks us more earnestly and desperately. He desires us more than we can understand — at least for now. One day, He will reveal to us His amazing love in such detail that we will have no choice but to fall before Him in awe and wonder while we sing His praises from the depths of our souls.
God bless you. Really, may He bless you and grant you to walk in His Spirit.
Always,
K+
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Revelation 18:20-21
Wow.
Somebody’s gonna get it. 
Really. It is not gonna be fun for those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in this life. Those who rebuke God’s Chosen One and His Bride will find judgment and disappointment.
But what does that have to do with Advent?
Preparation.
Are we prepared? Have we done all we can to prepare those around us?
Are we willing and engaged in truly trying to help our neighbors understand the love of God by the way we live? Are we actively trying to live as though we really love God with our whole selves?
Now is the time to prepare our hearts and to try fervently to love our God as He deserves. Now is the time to put away “childish things” — pursuit of unrighteousness and sin. Now is the time to learn more about worshiping Almighty God with our entire being.
God bless you in your pursuit of Him.
Always,
K+
This morning my sermon was entitled, “Messenger of the Word.” On the third Sunday in Advent, we traditionally recognize the contributions of John the Baptist and celebrate his “preparing the Way” for the Messiah. As part of that, we see his work as God’s messenger to the world about Christ’s coming.
As John is the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” preparing the way directly for Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry, so we, the Church, are the new voice, the Messenger of the Word, presenting the Message of Salvation in Christ to the world. Similarly, we carry the Message as part of ourselves — The Word dwells in us through His Holy Spirit. We are the Christ’s Message to the world.
As Messengers and the example of God’s Message, we have a responsibility to 1) deliver the message, 2) honor the Message-Giver and 3) prepare the world to receive the Message of God’s love. We cannot act ignorantly or selfishly. We are not our own but God’s, called by Him to do His work in this world. Where we might balk at the dangerous duties of a Messenger, we are still called to go forward and face the doubters and skeptics — those who would rather deny Christ and even persecute Him — for the sake of the Message and our obedience to our Lord and King Who sends us.
May your Advent season continue to bless you and encourage you to reach new heights in your reliance on the Triune God.
Always,
K+
But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
Mark 4:34
So often we wonder why God seems to keep silence or fret that what we think we need to hear we are not hearing. We ask ourselves if God is really there, if He really is speaking to us. Remember that when we have these doubts, He promised us He would never leave us alone but fill us with His Spirit to lead us to all Truth.
Sometimes, however, we do not listen to what the Spirit is saying. He speaks to us through life experience and the stories of our lives. He rarely comes to us in brilliant flashes of light and inspiration that tell us all we need to do or where we are going. Instead, He leads us patiently to each new day, asking us to trust Him with our lives and listen for the stories that will bring us greater knowledge and hope.
Our existence is not some accident whereby random things occur through which we have to slog and combat ourselves and sin. Instead they burn as flames of a brush fire, hot and fast. We have a short time to accomplish what God desires — loving Him and our neighbors. This life is not supposed to be something lived in isolation or fear. Confusion and sorrow, while part of life, should not control us, but should be temporary “speed bumps” that cross our paths through which we seek the Father and His guidance.
The stories of our lives may seem obscure or possibly insane, but when put to the revelation of Christ and His love for us, we can find new meaning and hope.
Let us listen for the voice of God in our daily lives as we hear the opportunity to know Him and trust Him better through the experiences He allows in our mortal existence.
Always,
K+
I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.
Psalm 77:12
Advent is about thinking about God and His work in our lives, most especially His gift of Christ, gained through His mercy and grace. We remember the little child born on Christmas Day.
Having children myself, I find it hard to imagine God making Himself manifest as an infant — coming as completely helpless and subject to the same problems of each man. It’s not that I question the miracle. It seems so wild and incredible. God really loves us and hopes for the best for us — so much so that He gave His best, Himself, in Jesus, the Christ.
Our work this Advent is to meditate upon all the gracious gifts of God and the work He does daily in our lives. We are about to begin our third week of Advent. I pray your season of deep thought and preparation inspires and enlightens you.
May God’s gifts of hope and peace fill you. May His joy surround and bless you. May His love abound in you.
Always,
K+
Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.
Psalm 66:3-4
While we look towards God and His amazing love, we should never forget His omnipotence and position as ultimate judge over all things. Part of the expectation we await during Advent is for the Great Judge to make His appearance and cause righteousness to be made manifest throughout Creation by His very presence and power of His Word made evident.
He is the final arbiter of all. He decides “up” or “down”. We owe Him our praises, not just because of His wonderful love, but simply because of Whom He is. It is too easy to overlook in our everyday the Majesty and Glory of God that is part of His Being, not just some ephemeral description but of the very essence of the Almighty. His Nature is Majesty and Glory. He is Holy.
All the earth shall indeed worship Him because His Nature can receive nothing but praise and glory. It is not a fault of His — He is not pompous or arrogant. He simply is worthy above all to be praised.
Begin to worship Him more earnestly this Advent season. Make devotion to Him part of your normal life. Can anything be sweeter or more special than worshiping He Who is worthy?
Always,
K+
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
Psalm 50:23
God calls us to praise Him and seek Him. Each day we have opportunities to walk a little closer to God. The key for each moment is in how we shine the love of God to those around us. Are we “loving” others or simply “getting by”? Are we trying to win others’ approval or show them that no matter what they think about us, our motivations for loving them derive from the knowledge of God’s love for us and them?
God’s salvation is not offered in a vacuum. It is corporeal in the sense that each of us is called to manifest that salvation in our lives through action, not just platitudes and generous thoughts.
The Body of Christ is a living organism made up of each baptized Christian. We present to the world the hope of salvation, the promise of eternally being with the Almighty and Ever-loving One. How do we endeavor to live each day as part of that Body? Do we consciously think about the fact that what we do and say (and think) directly affects those around us?
Spend a moment contemplating the importance of each thought and action. As the ancient statement goes: “The law of prayer is the law of belief.” So is the axiom: “Action is born of thought.” Proverbs 23:7 begins: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
Ask yourself with me: What am I thinking about most often? Am I honoring God with my thoughts? Am I seeking His grace, mercy and wisdom or something else?
God bless you.
Always,
K+
In reading about Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament, we find that he would depart from His disciples and the crowds to get away and spend time with God. Traditionally, the Church claims these private excursions to have been fairly regular at least as implied by the context of the writings. For example, the disciples are never really surprised that Jesus is going off to spend time alone — they simply accept this as part of His nature.
What can we learn from Christ’s discipline of going off to be alone with God? Perhaps we should recognize that even the Son of God found it necessary while in human vesture to part company with His fellow man in order to spend quality time with His heavenly Father.
The emphasis for many Christians when told they “need” to spend time in prayer or quiet time is the idea that it will “make” them “better” Christians. While I am sure that is true, the real reason seems to be the need to develop or maintain relationship with our heavenly Father. Plainly put, we need to spend time with Him just as we spend time with those close to us in this physical life. If He truly is the most important Person in our lives, should we not take the time to spend listening to Him?
We do not know what Jesus said to the Father in most of His excursions, but we do know from the discourses we see that He spoke with the Father about Their love for us and Jesus’ own obedience to the will of the Father. Maybe during this Advent season, as we seek to draw closer to God, we should make a methodical approach to our seeking God through a daily excursion to talk with our heavenly Father. During that time we can talk with Him about His love for us and our neighbors while placing ourselves in His hands and trusting Him to guide us and help us accept and live in His will.
Happy Advent,
K+
“As the deer pants for the waterbrooks, so my soul longs for Thee, O Lord.”
Psalm 42:1
Do we really seek for God as our sustenance and our strength? He is the only hope we have for any real life in this world or the next. What is meaning or purpose without it being defined and shaped through the grace of the Almighty? Our whole lives should be lived submitting ourselves to Him and seeking to know Him better.
May this Advent be a time of seeking the deep waters of Christ and drinking from His never-ending wellspring of hope, love, peace and joy.
Always,
K+
Today is the Second Sunday in Advent. My sermon this morning was about the “Word of Peace” which is Christ Himself, God Made Manifest, The Incarnate Word. What I challenged everyone to remember is that Christ is truly God’s Word — as Scripture is that verbal essence of God’s Self-revelation to mankind, so is Christ the very physical and spiritual revelation of God to Man.
While Scripture points us to Christ and in itself provides the revelation God desired for all mankind, it is only fulfilled in the presence and nature of Jesus Christ. He is the Word. We have in Him the complete summation of Scripture. It all points to Him. He is the Person of God’s Self-revelation to Man.
How cool is that!
Not only does God reveal Himself to us in Christ, but as we accept Him as Lord and Savior and become members of His Church, we enter into a new relationship with God, becoming His children, and the true Body of Christ to the world.
To go further, Christ came to reveal the nature of God and God’s call to each person to love. We are called to love God with our whole selves and to live that out, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. This message of love is a promise of peace and a declaration to work for it, but not the kind of peace that calls us to stand with signs calling for an “end to war” or some such. It calls us to fight sin and evil with our whole selves. Only through conquering the evil in our lives — not by the way through violence against men — through self-discipline, self-sacrifice and honesty, can we begin to produce the fruits of true love.
In addition, we must seek out and expose evil in all its forms in this world with no mercy for wickedness. Injustice and oppression should not be tolerated, and as the Church, as the Body of Christ, as Christ’s Incarnation to the World (since His Ascension), we must shine His Light on the dark places and illuminate them wherever they may be. Through His righteousness and the grace of His Spirit, we will see the fruit of peace made known, and God will be glorified.
Later,
K+
