Meditating on Advent Again

One of the things I enjoy on my Samsung tablet is the fact that I can read the Bible anytime, anywhere. I use YouVersion. They have different reading plans that are fun and easy to use. This past month I read a daily devotional on Advent. The particular plan was called 121 Advent. I am not sure why I choose that one over the many options, but I quickly discovered it was just the one for me.

The meditations were on HOPE, PEACE, JOY, and LOVE. I wanted to share different aspects of what I was learning, but I would have had to retype the message. I've taken the time to re-visit some of the days. Some I paraphrased, some I quote.

Re-meditation on Advent.

Advent – a Latin word simply meaning, “coming”. Advent is not a biblical mandate, but a tradition implored among the Christian tradition to set our minds and hearts on the coming of Christ.

HOPE: Hope wavers in human hearts when it is based on mere desire. Hope based on what Jesus has done is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. It is full assurance.  When Jesus stepped into the scene hope was made possible. Romans 5:5 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. God has given us hope, but we must abide in Him and His Spirit in us, in order to experience and live out hope. Colossians 1:27. Is the focus of your hope FOR something or IN the person of Jesus?

PEACE: “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” MLK 

Shalom, the Hebrew word for peace means wholeness, complete flourishing of a person’s life. Your life being whole WITH God. Harmony. When we live in peace, God is glorified because He is the God of peace. We reflect Him through peace, but we also receive lives of good, of flourishing. This is why peace matters!

Peace was broken with God in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve brought sin into God’s good and peaceful world. The peaceful relationship between God and man, and man and one another, is now hostile and damaged. It took Jesus as mediator to resolve peace with God again. Jesus, Prince of Peace. Jesus is Mediator. Jesus is the one who would offer to reconcile us back to God and and bring true peace into our lives. When Jesus was born, peace came into our world.

When we look out for the betterment of others peace becomes the natural outflow. When we love as Jesus loves, we bring peace to others. Bring peace. Bring love.

JOY: Happiness is not joy. Feelings of pleasure is not joy. Joy is an action of us choosing to trust God in our circumstances, even despite our circumstances. Joy is a knowing that God is in control of everything, even the details of our lives. We can be confident that God is always at work to draw us closer to Him in all situations. Knowing that brings true joy. Philippians4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE.”

LOVE: “Scripture distinguishes human love and the love of god, the latter being perfect and the former, while a glimpse in part of God’s love, impossibly perfect due to the nature of sin’s existence. It is important to recognize our inability to experience the fullness of love apart from Christ, who removes sin and allows us to see love clearly and fully. That is why the advent of Christ not only gives us the grandest display of love, but it also allows the possibility for us to know and experience love.” (I Corinthians13 gives a clear definition of love by its characteristics, what it is and what it is not.)

“Why do we love? When we have a complete understanding of love, perfect love displayed for us in God’s gracious giving of His Son, the outpouring of love upon others is not only justified, but instinctive. We love because He first loved us.”

The source of love is God Himself. The source of love in us then becomes God’s Spirit, which indwells upon our salvation. I John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Our capacity to love is fully and completely dependent on the grace of God, which fortunately for us, is constant and far bigger than human capability or understanding. Defining love simply on our ability to choose love is an important aspect; however, this leaves love at the mercy or our ability, which is not love in the fullest degree of its existence. When we depend on God’s grace through faith for love we are made able to love in the fullest sense of what love is. When we experience the love of Jesus, we are then able to love others. Hebrews 10:23-24 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds….”

Has God trusted you with His Silence?

Have you considered the story of Lazarus the brother of Mary and Martha lately? Bethany, the village where Martha owned a home that provided shelter and sustenance for Jesus and His disciples, became the backdrop of one of the most interesting stories of trust and love.

Jesus is away on another mission trip when Lazarus becomes ill. It came to a point where the sisters were so concerned for their brother that they sent a special request to Jesus to come and heal their brother. “Lord, the one you love is sick.” (John 11:3) And then they waited. Waited for a word from Jesus. Waited for Jesus to arrive. Hoping against hope that Jesus would show up before their brother died. All they received was silence. No word, no explanation. Just silence.

If Jesus would have sent a message ahead of His arrival what would He have said? Fear not, your brother is going to die, but he will live again. Would that have helped? Would that have answered their prayer? Wouldn't that create more questions than answers, perhaps cause confusion? Can we really say we are ready for the answer God has for us? Dare we believe God’s answer is bigger than our capacity to receive the answer?

When Jesus heard the sisters’ request his response was, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)

Not only did Jesus not answer right away, he stayed away two more days before heading to Bethany. “So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” (John 11:14-15)

When He arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. It appeared that their request, their prayer had not been answered at all. And yet, they were about to receive an answer that was above and beyond what they would have asked or even thought of asking. A revelation of who Christ is, resurrection and life, was about to manifest in their midst, yet the sisters each went to Jesus to chide him for not arriving sooner. They were familiar with Jesus, their relationship with Christ was one of friend, but in a moment their relationship would change from intimate friend to Glorious Savior.

Jesus deeply moved himself by the surrounding circumstance of Lazarus’ death and what Father was about to do said, “’Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “’Lazarus, come out!’” (John 11:40-43)

With God silence has its purpose. Sometimes we aren't able to hear the full answer. Sometimes we need to rest in the silence of God, trusting without hearing or knowing what the answer might be. Knowing that an answer will come at the appointed time.

God trusts us to not slander his reputation in the silence. To stand steady in the quiet intimacy of the here and now. The richness of the moment, learning to be still, trusting God. Coming to the knowledge God trusts us cannot be taught by any other method than His silence. What an honor. What a privilege to be brought into this silent fellowship with the one who loves beyond measure. Learning to rely solely on Christ. Learning to hear in silence the deeper yearning God has toward His creatures, His beloved.

As Oswald Chamber says in his book, If You Will Ask: Reflections on the Power of Prayer, "God's silences are His answers. If we only take as answers those that are visible to our senses, we are in a very elementary condition of grace. Can it be said of us that Jesus so loved us that He stayed where He was because He knew we had a capacity to stand a bigger revelation?"

Stand firm whether you are hearing God or not, stay the course. Trust in the One who holds the keys to life and death. 

To read the full story of Lazarus, turn to the book of John and stroll on over to chapter 11.