Advent- Good News!

We invite you to return every day during Advent for this devotional series

Listen to today’s accompanying audio track: http://www.waterfromrock.org/

O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion 

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Isaiah 40:9; 60:1

“O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into
the high mountain. O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the
cities of Judah, behold your God! …Arise, shine, for thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”

"If we truly hear and understand this good news, we could not keep silent. It is news so good, so wonderful, that we are compelled to race to the highest mountain and cry out. “Lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God!” It is a message that the church cannot keep to itself and still be the church." T. Smith

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I love this musical piece from the Messiah - unfortunately, I can't embed it as easily as just "cut and paste"! So if you want to hear it, go to the Water from a Rock site.  Isn't that a great name for a ministry?  http://www.waterfromrock.org/

So, what shall we don?  ... get thee up into

the high mountain. O thou that tellest good tidings.

And then?  ...lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid

When we have good news we feel like climbing a mountain and shouting it out. We are strong with our words, we aren't afraid what others might think. Well, maybe we are afraid  but the good news is too good to keep to ourselves, we have to share it! 

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Like a new grand-baby- a new granddaughter.  I was a blubbering fool with my first grandchild- I was there and cried after his delivery, mostly from relief after his scary, scary entrance.  I was the early morning relief shift- usually a groggy new daddy knocked or I tried to hear him and get a hoodie on, then I took the blessed babe and it was my turn.  I got to swaddle and rock and sing.

I haven't had my turn with this  little one yet- I'm anticipating, I'm waiting, I'm remembering the joy of meeting a brand new person, a child from my child. I'm in my own personal advent here. 

 Waiting, looking forward with joy, getting excited. 

My son is a father!

His wonderful wife is a mother. Has been for nine months but now... Mariam Charis is here! 

We adore new babies. We look forward their arrival. We're giddy with joy- well, those of us who are sleeping all night.  The new parents are just tired.  They are also looking forward- to sleep at night. Let's not tell them they will always have an open ear, anticipation.... forever. 

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Advent- waiting, looking forward, remembering.  

Looking for Him and remembering the joys, large and small, in our lives- it's a good life.

 There are good things to come.  

Because? We have a good God.  

So, let's get up on a rock and be strong, lift up our voices; 

 be brave, overcome the fear! 

For our light has come and we have GOOD news! 

“O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. 

O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem,lift up thy voice with strength; 

lift it up, be not afraid; 

say unto the cities of Judah, behold your God! 

…Arise, shine, for thy light is come,

and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.”

God with us

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 (fullfilled)

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us.”

"The God of heaven and earth will not be bound by the processes of human existence. He comes bringing life out of death, good out of evil, and even Messiah from a virgin womb.

This is our God! And this is a sign of His coming to us, the virgin birth. As Christians we glory in the paradox that is Christmas. God becomes one of us, eternity breaks into time, and we are made the children of God. Who can understand! But we cherish the things we cannot understand, yet know to be true. The eternal Son of the eternal God who created the universe joins Himself to human flesh, through a virgin." T. Smith

http://www.waterfromrock.org/2012/12/10/december-10-2012/

Rev. Timothy Smith dug plenty out of a short solo from Messiah. This was a great post. It reminded me that the smallest verse of Truth is, well, full of all Truth.  "Behold, a virgin shall conceive.... God with us."

There's a lot happening in orthodox Christian theology right there. We have a virgin conceiving and giving birth, bearing a son Isaiah foretells.  This virgin shall name her son Emmanuel- God with us. Wow! What a name! 

Naming Babies- 

My son and his wife just named their daughter. He and I spoke about cultures that don't name children until their personalities are formed or after baptism. I found a great site for some naming trivia - http://www.babyzone.com/baby-names/baby-naming-traditions_71141

The Salish tribe follows a "naming trail" in which the name given to a baby by his parents at birth (usually a virtue or trait the parents hope for the baby) is eventually replaced at adolescence with another name that is given by the tribal leader at a ceremony called the Jump Dances. This name usually represents a talent or strength for which the child is known. Likewise, as an adult, yet another name might be granted, but this name would reflect expectations or something for the person to live up to.

My Name

I like that- a naming trail. I was named after a delivery room nurse when my parents couldn't agree on Priscilla or Penelope. My dad won out and I was named Kathryn Marie.  In third grade, in a room full of Kathys, I declared that my name was Marie. That was the year my teacher thought I was gifted in art and allowed me to draw, a lot. A year of creativity.  When I moved west I decided I would have a new name, it was a move both physical and psychological, and I became Kathryn. 

But when Jesus mother looked at Him, she knew His name- of all the names given, and turns out there are over a hundred,  the name His mother spoke was Emmanuel.  God with us.  

Why Emmanuel? 

 Of all the characteristics of Jesus, He wanted to be known from the very beginning as God with us-  dwelling with, along side, in the human trenches, the "I get you" friend,  suffering all the pangs of humanness.  And being God at the same time. 

We are a tiny emmanual in our world.  We are made in the image of God, we who profess Christ have the Holy Spirit transforming us, transmitting grace even when we just show up and love people and we are in the trenches, alongside the rest of the human race.  We bring the Life of Christ to a hungering world- even when we don't preach, or "witness" or know what to say.  We can bring His Spirit into our interactions- how well we allow the Spirit to move in those moments is another subject. 

A friend has spent a great deal of time in hospitals fighting for her life and the regular return trips to National Institute of Health in Maryland from her home in Maine are draining and always a reminder of her once precarious health. "What might they find this time? What if I can't go home like we want"- a real concern as she has been kept in when she longed to go home.   A older, wiser member of her prayer support team reminded all of us that she returns each time to be a witness, a reminder to the staff- miracles do happen. God is with us. 

Jesus said He came to do the will of the Father. He calls us to nothing less.  To be the light, to be the encourager, to be the reminder- it's Christmas, it's the birth of the Miracle of salvation, it's a time to reflect on Truth.  No matter what we name our babies or what names we chose to use, our first name is child of God. 

As for our little Christmas miracle,  her name is Mariam Charis.   Mariam for Mary, the first one to know Christ within. And Charis- Greek for "grace". 

Messenger of the Covenant

Malachi 3:1

“The Lord , whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple,
even the messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in;
He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”

"It is striking that Malachi calls the Lord “the messenger of the Covenant”. Messiah comes to keep all the covenants God has made with His people. We may think the Lord slow sometimes in keeping His word, but He will never fail us." T. Smith
http://www.waterfromrock.org/2012/12/07/friday-december-7-advent-devotional-2012/

As much as I love the ideas of the messenger of the Covenant- God's bearer of His Word of truth, as much as I want to relish the idea that He will come.... For the Lord of Hosts saith...


All I can think of is my little corner of the world. 

I have a precious new granddaughter!  For unto us a child has been born...  and we shared the excitement in the manner of contemporary citizens of this world.   We texted, we facebooked, we called on phones,  we rejoiced. We messaged!  For this child we have waited for has come!  

Malachi promised Jesus would come as a Messenger. Could this precious new woman/child also be a messenger of God's never-ending love and compassion?  And isn't that God's call for all of us?   We've a story to tell to the nations- the news of  the Lord, who came bringing good news to His people.  He continues to send to the world He created, the message of love and the sanctity of  all life. 

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I thought of this old hymn- mostly associated with world missions but the lyrics are exactly what I pray for this child, for all my grandchildren.... be a storyteller for Jesus. 

We've a Story to Tell to the Nations

            

We've a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right,

a story of truth, a story of mercy, a story of peace and of light.

We've a song to be sung to the nations, that shall lift their hearts to the Lord,

a song that shall conquer evil and shatter the spear and sword.

We've a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigneth above

hath sent us his Son to save us, and show us that God is love.

We've a Savior to show to the nations, who the path of sorrow hath trod,

that all of the world's great peoples might come to the truth of God,.

For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright;

and Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light. 

http://www.worshiptherock.com/group/songwriterscircle/forum/topics/weve-a-story-to-tell-to-the
Here's a contemporary remake of these old lyrics.  WeveAStory_M1LIM.mp3, 6.1 MB

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Malachi exhorts his contemporaries to watch, “The Lord , whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple....He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Mary and Joseph held the Messenger of the Lord, the very Creator of the universe Himself when He came down to dwell among us.  He came as a baby in pain and blood and human form so we could clearly understand the Message. We don't relate to an impersonal god who sends directives.  Our God came low to be one of us, yet still remained fully God.  What a mystery we ponder this Advent season!  Come Lord, Jesus, come. 

And let us be your messengers. 

And the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed...

Isaiah 40:5

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”

"The music moves from the lone solo voice in the wilderness to a chorus of many rejoicing in the glory of God revealed. The combined voices represent many people, the “all flesh” who will experience the glory of God in their redemption. As they joyfully sing we can imagine an enthusiastic dance. Calvin Stapert adds this note: “The phrase, ‘And the glory of the Lord’ is always sung to a rising line that reaches its peak on ‘Lord.’ ‘Shall be revealed’ always descends, suggesting the incarnation’”. The glory of God is most revealed, not in the Milky Way or other celestial astonishments, but in Messiah coming down to be with us, and for us."  T. Smith 

http://www.waterfromrock.org/2012/12/05/wednesday-december-5-advent-devotional-2012/


My sister and her husband surprised me and drove six hours -one way- to join me at a gala  celebrating the publishing and unveiling of our writers group's first anthology. It was a fun night of dress up clothes and fancy food, featured readers and more food. Lots of laughter and smiles as authors read and readers enjoyed the stories. 

Later that night, the three of us stepped out onto my porch. Night comes early to the Hills and it was dark, pitch dark.  No street lights except a few distant yard lights but we kept our backs to that.  I ran around and found blankets to wrap in and turned off lights. We crept around, bumping into each other and giggling like kids getting away with something. 

Suddenly Dick said in a hushed voice, "I have never seen so many stars." Dick's quiet but he's a big, active  guy, not really one prone to contemplative gazing.  But this stopped him and we all lifted our gaze to the dark sky above.   

It was jammed with stars. Clusters of stars with each star clear and distinct. Planets with pure, unblinking light.  We turned and above the house the Milky Way wound its filmy gauze across the infinite sky.  We were awestruck. We saw His Glory. 

We saw His glory in the heavens-

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1 NAS

 Isaiah says the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed- the heavens do declare, tell, remind us.  But Jesus came into our world as the Word made Flesh and He revealed the Glory of the Father.   Jesus pulled back the inky sky and we glimpse the true glory. 

 As we stood on the porch, our hearts stilled in awe as we  watched a star shoot across the sky.  How much more should my heart gasp at the wonder of the revelation of the Glory of God.  Not in thunder, lighting, shooting stars, exploding galaxies but as a naked, helpless babe in a manger.  God's glory revealed in human form, in a form that draws us to Himself and reveals my Abba, Father - lover of my soul. 

“And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;

 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” 

Just a glimpse from a spectacular video on the Milky Way above the South Dakota Plains.

http://vimeo.com/24551969  by Randy Halverson