Advent(Dec. 23): He Can't Stay Away

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Immanuel”

Matthew 1:20-23

Joseph is told that Mary should bring forth the Saviour of the world. 
"He was to call his name Jesus - because it means 'The Lord saves' - this baby is the One the whole epic story of the universe, the tale of the greatest rescue, has been leading up to. He's finally coming to save His children...from all that held them captive to the darkness."

The angel had told him that 'He would be called Immanuel… God with us.' The Messiah was the manifestation of God in our midst. The thought is parallel to that of John 1:14. 

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Emmanuel(God is with us) is a promise of God's presence and comfort - the promise of the Name is fulfilled in Jesus by His helpful and saving presence with His people in their sorrow, their conflict with sin, and their struggle with death.

(compare "Lo, I am with you alway," Matthew 28:20) (source)

"He is the God who is so for you that He can't stay away from you - so God threw open the door of this world and entered as a Baby. He came because He was done with the barriers. 

Only the One who loves you to death - the God who had to come back to get you - free you - be with you."

"You alone are the God for us — because You alone are the God who has been one of us. You felt what we feel, You touched the death that we know, You came to us as Immanuel: 'God with us'."
Listen to this moving reading of what these powerful three words truly mean...

And a beautiful song that reminds us also of how much He loves us....that He came to be WITH US!!!

"Christmas isn't about getting something big and shiny. It's about God doing whatever it takes to be WITH US - and our doing whatever it takes to be WITH HIM!!!!"

Come back again, as I share Day 24 of the Advent Calender...in the book, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift".(All quotes listed are from the book, unless indicated.)

From December 1st to December 25th

I will be sharing each story in this beautiful book, as well as some of the breathtaking pictures. Won't you join me? Stop by each day to see the stories shared. If you would prefer I email you each days post, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email at apop12341@hotmail.com 
and let me know. I will make sure each post is sent to you.

To view the whole series on one page, go HERE

You may find me linking up at any of the blog parties listed on the left sidebar.(or go to my blog party page link, below)

Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up 

Advent(Dec. 22): Wide Awake Dreams

The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:28, 35, 38

"Mary, the girl Joseph was engaged to, turned around and right before her eyes, she saw the stuff of dreams - even though she was wide awake! A very real angel - Gabriel - standing in front of her."


"Gabriel beamed, "Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a Gift for you - for the whole world. A baby boy named Jesus. 
Mary said yes to becoming a space for God - right there beneath her beating heart."

"When you make space in your words, in your wants, in your ways for Jesus, He comes and lives in the most miraculous way in your heart, too.
To say yes to whatever God wants to give you, you are really holding on to the hands of God."

LISTEN

…to the heart of the sad.

LOOK

…into someone’s loneliness and reach out to them.

BECOME

…a safe space for someone.

We get the miracle of being a miraculous space for Jesus, too.

Only one thing is necessary - just let your hands and your heart be a space for LOVE to come into the world.

“When the divine life possesses the soul, it flows over in gracious ministries among our fellowmen. The affluence becomes an influence importing itself to others.”John Henry Jowett

Come back again, as I share Day 23 of the Advent Calender...in the book, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift".(All quotes listed are from the book, unless indicated.)

From December 1st to December 25th

I will be sharing each story in this beautiful book, as well as some of the breathtaking pictures. Won't you join me? Stop by each day to see the stories shared. If you would prefer I email you each days post, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email at apop12341@hotmail.com 
and let me know. I will make sure each post is sent to you.

To view the whole series on one page, go HERE

You may find me linking up at any of the blog parties listed on the left sidebar.(or go to my blog party page link, below)

Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up 

Advent(Dec. 21): Thunder in the Desert

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

    make his paths straight.’”

Matthew 3:1-3

God sent John the Baptist to prepare Israel for his climactic revelation in history. A voice of a crier in the wilderness. This is quoted from Isaiah 40:3, which clearly proves that John the Baptist was the person of whom the prophet spoke.(source)

John declaired, "The Lord whom your have sought, the Messiah whom you have expected, is just coming, he will quickly appear; prepare to meet him by repentance, and receive him by faith, relinquish your former notions and principles, correct your errors, and amend your lives, remove all out of the way which may be offensive to him."(source)

"John couldn't keep quite - he kept booming out the good news, just like he was thunder in the desert! He thundered the joy of it: "Clear the road! Prepare the way! Jesus is coming!"

"Clear the way, so nothing you want stops you from seeing Jesus - so you don't let anything distract you from seeing His coming. Jesus is coming to carry the heaviness and to wash away all the badness and to give us the gift of happiness."

Do you need to clear the way - to make things right with your Savior? As John thundered to the world..."Repent, for the kingdom is at hand."

Repentance is preparation for quenching, for new growth, for rainshowers of hope and fertility. Repentance washes away our sins and makes a straight path for God to come near. 

When John thundered the good news, the people came out of their own personal deserts, to confess, repent, and plunge themselves in the cool, flowing waters of the River Jordan—to be washed clean of the past and its pain…and to be drenched in newness of Life.(source)

A Prayer of Repentance

From The Book of Common Prayer:
“Most holy and merciful Father:
We confess to you and to one another,
and to the whole communion of saints
in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned by our own fault
in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord. Accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.
Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.
We pray these things in the name of Him who saves us….Amen.”

"It was already happening. God was opening the back door of the universe - Bethlehem. The great rescue was starting! The LOVE that had been coming for us ever since the beginning was coming to undo all the bad things. Could there be a greater Gift than - a love that forever frees us?"

"Everything is almost ready for Christmas. Do you feel it? - Coming down like a gentle rain, like a gentle snow? It's the wonder of Jesus coming down like love all around us, everywhere."

Come back again, as I share Day 22 of the Advent Calender...in the book, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift".(All quotes listed are from the book, unless indicated.)

From December 1st to December 25th

I will be sharing each story in this beautiful book, as well as some of the breathtaking pictures. Won't you join me? Stop by each day to see the stories shared. If you would prefer I email you each days post, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email at apop12341@hotmail.com 
and let me know. I will make sure each post is sent to you.

To view the whole series on one page, go HERE

You may find me linking up at any of the blog parties listed on the left sidebar.(or go to my blog party page link, below)

Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up 

Advent(Dec. 20): God Remembers

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.  But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,

 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

Luke 1:6-8, 11-12

In a dark and godless time, Zachariah and Elizabeth had hearts for God, and God saw them. When the rest of the world ignored God and His ways, Zachariah and Elizabeth chose His ways and walked with Him.  They chose each day to do only what would please God.(source)

"Elizabeth, along with Zechariah, prayed that God would remember the promise He had made to them, to give them a child." But they were getting up in age.

"Zechariah's name means 'God remembers.' But on some days, Zechariah felt that God had forgotten him." 

So, on this special day, that came only once a year: the Day of Atonement, the day people celebrated being right with God, an angel appeard to Zechariah. And he was frightened!

Due to the fact that Elizabeth was barren, and barrenness was usually associated with a divine curse, Zachariah probably expected the worse when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the Holy Place.(source)

"This is what the angel declared. Zechariah and Elizabeth would give birth to a baby boy who would be named John."

"God gives us grace - He graciously gives us one gift after another. He gives us breath and life and each other, and He gives us all of Himself.

We need to get our hearts ready to welcome Jesus into every part of our lives. The best way to do this - come to Him, just as you are.

God gives Himself as the greatest Gift - Jesus! Jesus is all good and He is all yours, and this is always your miracle - your Greatest Gift!"

Come back again, as I share Day 21 of the Advent Calender...in the book, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift".(All quotes listed are from the book, unless indicated.)

From December 1st to December 25th

I will be sharing each story in this beautiful book, as well as some of the breathtaking pictures. Won't you join me? Stop by each day to see the stories shared. If you would prefer I email you each days post, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email at apop12341@hotmail.com 
and let me know. I will make sure each post is sent to you.

To view the whole series on one page, go HERE

You may find me linking up at any of the blog parties listed on the left sidebar.(or go to my blog party page link, below)

Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up 

Advent(Dec. 19): Watch and Wait

I will take my stand at my watchpost
    and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what He will say to me,
    and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
 God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;    he makes me tread on my high places.

Habakkak 2:1, 3:17-19

Habakkuk saw how his people were turning against God. He pleaded to God to do something...

“As a watchman takes the proper place, especially in time of danger and distress, he was determined to wait patiently for an answer, and to continue to constantly attend to every motion and dictate of the Spirit of God, and take particular notice of what should be suggested to him: that he may receive it, The prophet retired from the world, and gave himself up to meditation and prayer – watching and waiting." (source)

God revealed to Habakkuk that the Babylonians, the epitome of everything Habakkuk (and God for that matter) detested, would become God's instrument of judgment on Judah. How could this be?

 Habakkuk did not understand. He could not explain it. For a time, evil would win over righteousness and bad things would happen to good people. God's hand would not move. His face would not be seen. Yet throughout this time of punishment, God reminded Habakkuk of correct living: 

"The righteous will live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). 

Waiting patiently in expectation is the foundation of the spiritual life.”~Simone Weil

"Don’t the best things in life necessitate long waiting? Sometimes to find that which we seek, we must simply still… and wait. 

What if I laid down efforts and expectations, perfectionism and performance — and simply waited with arms and heart and eyes wide open?

Waiting is just a gift of time in disguise — a time to pray wrapped up in a ribbon of patience — because is the Lord ever late? Through the quiet rain of tears of water-buried prayers that are waiting for change - waiting for better things. Waiting — no, yearning— for the return of the King and all the perfection we weep for."

Waiting requires us to trust God, just as Habakkuk trusted God...when he didn't understand.  A closer look at the verses in the book of Habakkuk reveals some concepts that help us to trust God more.

1. Habakkuk commits to praising God regardless of external circumstances. In spite of many hardships, the prophet says, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
2. Habakkuk praises God specifically for salvation.“I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” God not only could save; God is salvation. 
3. Habakkuk recognizes the Lord as His strength. 

Like Habakkuk, we can choose to praise God even in the face of desolation. Like Habakkuk, we can praise God for the salvation He provides in Jesus Christ.  And, by seeing God as our source of strength, we, like Habakkuk, can trust God’s promises.(source)

"Instead of chafing, we accept that waiting is a strand in the DNA of the Body of Christ. For this waiting on God is the very real work of the people of God in a world chomping to forge ahead. The promises wait in the distance where the pain waits. They wait together in the space where God is.

Until, in the fullness of time, His time, God’s good will emerges, unfolds.

And now, at Christmastime - "Waiting - all the world on the edge of its seat, dangling with bated breath…craning for the first glimpse of God on history’s stage? Waiting for Christ the Babe that comes on Christmas just as Christ the Savior comes on the Cross — seeking only our embrace.

Christmas can only come like Christ came: in the resting wait of gestation. Like a mother longing for the holding of the Child."

How can I slow today… slow in the midst of the holiday hustle… and simply do what Christmas is all about — finding more of Christ? See and behold the love of Jesus everywhere, and you are held.

the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.

Quick, go up to the top of the watchtower - and count all the GIFTS! And in the stillness, and in the wait  — our hearts leap! Joy! His coming! Love comes down.(source)

Soon, SOON, we will see the unwrapping of the greatest Gift of ALL!!!

Lord God, cause us to do our work, hard work: prayerfully waiting on You. And we trust You to do Your work: to make all things new. We live in wait: Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come.(source)

Come back again, as I share Day 20 of the Advent Calender...in the book, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift".(All quotes listed are from the book, unless indicated.)

From December 1st to December 25th

I will be sharing each story in this beautiful book, as well as some of the breathtaking pictures. Won't you join me? Stop by each day to see the stories shared. If you would prefer I email you each days post, please leave your email in the comments section or send me an email at apop12341@hotmail.com 
and let me know. I will make sure each post is sent to you.

To view the whole series on one page, go HERE

You may find me linking up at any of the blog parties listed on the left sidebar.(or go to my blog party page link, below)

Favorite Blogs Parties where I Link-up