In Christianity Today, Eric O. Jacobsen writes about how we understand the new creation…

A key to this significant paradigm shift has been a reconsideration of the provocative text in the second half of 2 Peter 3:10. As the King James Version has it, “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” One common way to understand this text is that the earth and sky (heaven) will be completely annihilated, then later replaced with a brand new heaven and earth.

However, another possibility—and the one that some of the more contemporary translations use—is that the earth and everything on it will be disclosed or laid bare. That is to say, the fire will not annihilate the entire earth, but will refine it by burning away everything that is unworthy (Malachi 3:2-3). This newer translation seems to fit the context better, as the author had just made a parallel reference to the destruction of the Flood, which wreaked havoc on creation but didn’t annihilate everything.

We’ve talked about and argued about this with each other and our readers in the past. We’ve all been up in arms over various doctrines that we are passionate about. And while I believe that our doctrine shapes and defines how we live our lives, I have a hard time believing that we’ve got it all together. Or that those of us who have argued for a refiners fire have let that belief shape us enough. We look at the evil around us with sadness but do nothing to participate in God’s redeeming work. Well, I don’t really think that. I’m sure you do something to that end, but when I see stories like this -

I wonder about the work that the church is participating in. I live an hour away from Indianapolis. Sex trafficking has been on my radar as a problem the church in the U.S. needs to be aware of and working on. We’ve done nothing. 11 Catholic churches worked on this effort. A lot of our churches are invested in a lot of good and Godly work around this world and in their communities. I get that. I encourage that. But this isn’t another tax seminar, or specialized conference, or study series, or the latest book that can be ignored because there is something better to do with our time. This is mercy for the hurting, justice for the abused, humility for the proud.

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it

First in a long series of Monday posts designed to incite the masses. Unless of course the mob wins. In which case, we’ll just have anarchy.

No, things were not better then and they are no worse now. I was reading an article about St. John Chrysostom who lived in the latter half of the 4th century and is known for his practical and relevant sermons. He’s got some good stuff that (with a little linguistic adaptation) could be preached this Sunday and you wouldn’t even know the guy has been dead for 1600 years. Spending too much time on sports or entertainment anyone? Need to spend more time around the dinner table talking about your faith with your family? Makes you wonder if there is anything new under the sun.

I’m amazed at how much time we waste. Sure, with entertainment and what not, but more so with trying to get other people to see how we are right and they are wrong. About everything. Politics, sports, ministry, theology. Man, this is kind of flying in the face of inciting people to rant and rave in the comments. I guess I’m okay with that because we really wasted a lot of time arguing about stuff. Most of which didn’t actually have any bearing on our lives.

First, a confession. This little devotional is basically ripped-off from part of a sermon I heard this morning. I found it so helpful, though, I had to steal it. I think the pastor who preached it would be OK with that, though. Also, being that tomorrow is the eighth day after Easter, I find it to be timely.

Of all the disciples, I think Thomas (alias, Didymus, or “the Twin”) gets a bad rap. Of course, we all know him as “Doubting Thomas”, and that term is still used in the vernacular to describe any skeptical person. But if we take a close look at the text surrounding the events where he is having trouble believing, I think it becomes clear that he wasn’t a guy who was known for waffling.

First a little back-story. Thomas is mentioned four times in the Gospel of John. The first is in John 11 when Mary and Martha send word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus is very sick. Jesus actually knows that at the time He gets this message Lazarus is actually dead. He loved Lazarus greatly, though, and because of this, He plans to go back to Judea so He can raise Him. Going back to Judea, though, means He would be going back to the place where the people recently tried to stone him. The other disciples, realizing this fact, basically tell Jesus, “are you serious?!” This is where Thomas speaks up. Thomas says, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.” This does not sound like a doubt-filled man. He was willing to lay his life on the line for Jesus when others were second-guessing Him.

So fast-forward to John 20:24-29. We read about this interchange between Jesus and Thomas:

One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

So, let’s not forget, Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared to the disciples the first time. We aren’t told where he was. Perhaps he was simply too devastated to join up with his companions. Perhaps he was just at the end of his rope. Wherever he was, though, he needed to see Christ for Himself to be brought back to a place of belief. And the thing is, Jesus understood this. Jesus didn’t condemn Thomas for doubting. I believe there was a smile, not a scowl, on Jesus’ face as he welcomed Thomas. His beloved disciple has seen Him, and that has restored His faith. Jesus says to Thomas, “Peace be with you.” In other words – “Thomas, come back into the Shalom of my presence”.

So perhaps we too find ourselves in a dark place. We find ourselves in a post-Easter world, but we simply can’t see Jesus. Perhaps our faith is beaten down and we are to the point of despair. We are far from Shalom. I believe that in these circumstances, hopeless as they seem, Jesus will still speak Shalom into them if we let Him. Letting Him means facing our doubts head-on. It means being honest with Him. And it means being honest with ourselves. I believe we’ll find that when we do things Christ will turn and breathe on us.

Peace by with you.

In community we are challenged. In community we are encouraged. In community we are served. In community we learn. In community we are corrected. In community we mature. In community we love. In community we are loved. In community we thrive.

There’s a story about a minister who went to see a church member who had missed a few weeks at church. After the customary greetings, the minister comes in and sits down by the fire. The two sit in silence for a few minutes watching the active fire when the minister goes over to the fireplace and, with the fireplace tongs, moves a burning coal away from the rest of the fire onto the hearth. The bright glowing ember soon fades and eventually loses it’s fire. The minister then takes the dead ember and places it back in the fire where it immediately begins to glow again from the heat of the rest of the fire.

In Christ, we find community. But only if we participate in the service of Christ, cooperate with the work of Christ, share in the suffering of Christ, dwell among the body of Christ.

I keep trying to find a life
On my own, apart from you
I am the king of excuses
I’ve got one for every selfish thing I do

What’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a savior

I wanna be in the light
As you are in the light
I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, lord be my light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the light
All I want is to be in the light

The disease of self runs through my blood
It’s a cancer fatal to my soul
Every attempt on my behalf has failed
To bring this sickness under control

Tell me, what’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a savior

Honesty becomes me
[there's nothing left to lose]
The secrets that did run me
[in your presence are defused]
Pride has no position
[and riches have no worth]
The fame that once did cover me
[has been sentenced to this earth]
Has been sentenced to this earth

Tell me, what’s going on inside of me?
I despise my own behavior
This only serves to confirm my suspicions
That I’m still a man in need of a savior

–DC Talk

I am free
For the first time
Left my fears behind
In front of me is open sky

I’m taller than trees
I can see further than before
Everything’s different now
Now that You’ve ruined my life

You took my dreams
And stole my schemes
And turned my life upside-down
You took my heart
Stole every part
And made it a miracle

Now I can sing, sing a new song
My burden’s gone
You gave me all the words and melodies

And now I can be at Your feet
Your place for me
Everything’s beautiful
Now that You’ve ruined my life

And I’m wide awake
And tonight I’m saved
In Your arms I’m singin’ of
How You made me a miracle

I’m taller than trees
I can see further than before
Everything’s different now

–Audio Adrenaline

People everywhere are up in arms… over something somebody said… that one time. People everywhere are in agreement… with something somebody said… at that one event. Despite the cultural milieu of post-modernity and post post-modernity, we have this tremendous knack for seeing (at least some) things in black and white. Lines are drawn. Sides are taken. You’re either for or against something, there is no middle ground. And you must make up your mind, especially about the things I find important.

You Are Wrong Some of the Time
Obviously you wouldn’t state your case, or even hold the position you do about a given subject if you did not believe that you were right. But you can’t be right all of the time. If you were, you’d be omniscient. You are probably right about quite a bit that you speak on, but if you haven’t spent a lot of time with your subject material, don’t be surprised when others tell you that you are off base. I witnessed a group of individuals talking about how stupid an all electric car would be. Why? Because the raw material consumption and pollution output to manufacture and deliver batteries for an electric car is greater than the consumption and pollution from a gas powered car? Because the cost of electricity plus the initial cost of the vehicle provides no financial savings over keeping your gas powered car? Because the network grid is unstable and worn out in many places and won’t be able to viably sustain an extended fleet of electric vehicles? No. Their complaint? Because after driving to the restaurant, who would want to run an extension chord up to the building so that you’d have enough power to get home.

Not only can you be wrong in the views you hold to, you can also be wrong about the other person’s views. Often when we receive a message (audibly or visually), what we take away from that message, and what the person sitting next to us takes away can be very different. It’s one of the funniest and scariest things for preachers when talking with their listeners after a sermon to hear the words, “I like it when you said… .” The reason this can be funny and/or scary is because half of the time, what proceeds from their mouths after that phrase was never said by the preacher. In fact, it may not have even had anything to do with the subject of the sermon.

The Person With Whom You Disagree May Be Right Some of the Time
We’ve talked here in the past about charitable reading. Lately, this has been getting confused with being a “fanboy” for some individual. I remember the first book by John Piper that I read, “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.” It was for a preaching class in an institution that had some major theological disagreements (as do I) with John Piper. The teacher of the course did not have us read the book because he agreed with everything Piper said. I know for a fact that he did not agree. He had us read the book because Piper had some good things to say, and because it brought up some important issues for preachers to think about.

If you only surround yourself with messages (and the people that communicate them) that you completely agree with, then you are in fact doing what Paul condemns in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.” So that I’m clear, I am not saying that we should only read people we disagree with and surround ourselves with people with think are wrong about the essentials. However, if you regularly read/listen to somebody’s teaching and you find yourself shouting in agreement, but not cut to the heart, there’s a good chance that verse applies to you.

Being Wrong Doesn’t Make A Person Evil
Being evil makes a person evil (and wrong). I wonder if at any time in our lives as we grew old enough to debate with somebody that we made the connections: I like puppies – I disagree with that person – that person must be wrong – that person must hate puppies – that person is evil. We seem to be especially adept at drawing such conclusions when it comes to politics and religion. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart gets much of its material from people arguing (often incessantly and stupidly) their political or religious position by attacking their opponents (instead of the views that their opponents hold).

It isn’t just in politics and religion that we almost instantaneously vilify the people we disagree with. I recently read a post about IE 9 (Internet Explorer version 9) that gave 5 reasons why the blog author still didn’t think it was a good web browser to use. There were some illogical arguments, some irrational points of view, and some inflammatory language. It also brought up some interesting and valid points. I’m not unbiased, but I could still see that there were parts of the article to consider and parts to throw away. And yet the comments in response to the article were just as, if not more emphatic on the other side of the authors point of view, to the point of demonizing the author. The comments seemed angry and spiteful, as if the blogger had attacked them personally.

Should we even talk about these things? Absolutely. When we do, Christ must be the foundation for our relationships with others and our communication with them. Where you live, where you use to live, the jobs you’ve held, your education, tragedies you’ve experienced, life events, family members (your life history) all plays a role in how you perceive and understand what is communicated. I think it’s time we let Christ play the greatest role in how we communicate. May you read and listen with patience, understanding, and charity and may your words, written and spoken, be full of gentleness, self-control, and grace.

The following article is a guest post from a friend of mine, Len Winneroski at Manna and Coffee. Enjoy!

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11 (NIV)

Some of my friends are crazy about sushi. Sushi is vinegar flavored rice that is usually topped with fresh, thinly sliced raw seafood. The raw seafood is called sashimi, which is a Japanese word that means “pierced body.” Sushi is usually eaten with soy sauce that is mixed with wasabi paste. Not all sushi contains raw fish, but this is what normally comes to mind when people think about sushi. To be safe, raw sashimi should be frozen for at least 24 hours before it is thawed and prepared. It takes some skill to prepare raw seafood and it is best when it is eaten within a few hours after preparation.

As I was thinking about the fresh, raw appeal of sushi I couldn’t help but think about how truth is a lot like sushi. There is something so fresh, raw and real when someone speaks truth into your life. For me the Bible is spiritual sushi. Hebrews 4:12 says, “for the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” There are many times that I have been reading the sacred and living Word and felt like God has literally grabbed me by the back of my neck and reached down into my soul.

When you are really looking, you can find God’s truth all around us. There is truth in the sunrise and sunset. There is truth is in a baby’s smile and in a lovers embrace. There is truth in tears and there is truth in laughter. All of these truths point to ultimate Truth. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Isn’t that what we are all looking for, direction, truth and real life?

When God speaks a truth into our lives we should rejoice. How many times has God spoken truth into my life and I did not eat it immediately? I let the truth sit on the plate and just stared at it until I convinced myself that it smelled bad and that it was just not really that appetizing. God doesn’t want us to be afraid of truth. Jesus told us that “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Next time that you think about sashimi and sushi, think about Christ’s “pierced body.” Spiritual sushi.

Dear Lord, please forgive me when I am too full of myself to hear your Word to me. Please help me to be courageous enough to love the truth and humble enough to listen, trust and obey.

Twelve Galilean guys spent three focused years with Jesus himself and still didn’t show up for the prayer meeting on the most important night in history. – Heather Zempel, The Reason Your Discipleship Process Is Frustrating

Introduction

We have a tradition here at Prophets, Priests, and Poets of writing what we call a group post at special times during the year. We have traditionally reserved these posts for such days as Valentine’s Day and Halloween and Election Day and Boxing Day, but this year we decided to do one at Christmas. Maybe I should leave the humor to Brendt.

What we have here at PPP is a collection of writers who are loved by Jesus and who love Jesus and His Scripture–both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures. We find comfort and joy and hope and blessing in God’s Word and believe, sometimes differently, that there is coming a day when God will put the world to rights. We are among the millions, perhaps billions, of the hopeful who, combined, sing a chorus of praise to God with every stroke we make of a pen.

In his collection of sermons called Secrets in the Dark Frederick Buechner has a sermon he simply calls ‘The Birth.’ This sermon is a colloquy of three shorter sermons, each spoken by a ‘famous’ person from the birth narratives of Jesus found in Luke and Matthew. First we meet an innkeeper. Then we meet a Wise Man. Finally, a Shepherd speaks to us. It is the Wise Man’s words I am mostly interested in for he speaks a word that I hope defines what this group post is meant to represent.

“‘And now, brothers, I will ask you a terrible question, and God knows I ask it also of myself. Is the truth beyond all truths, beyond the stars, just this: that to live without him is the real death, that to die with him is the only life?’” (13)

Ask yourself this terrible question as you read this colloquy from us. We base our thoughts on the words of (mostly) the Hebrew Prophet Isaiah. Be blessed this Christmas in Christ.

Isaiah 8: Jerry

My focus is on chapter 8, but chapter 8 actually reaches backward and begins in what we call chapter 7: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel,” is where it begins (Isaiah 7:14). But if we press the issue a little more, we see it actually begins thus, “When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Peka son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it” (Isaiah 7:1). We see the Ahaz concerned with the water systems, making alliances with foreign kings, and refusing God’s provision of a sign in the face of an imminent threat, so God will give Ahaz a sign anyhow: God with us. God will ‘come down’ among his people, he will suffer with them, he will be with them.

Then, later, the very king Ahaz had decided to trust is the very king who would bring about the downfall of Judah and carry them off to exile. The land of milk and honey would become a land of thistles and thorns. At that time, the only cry that can be made will be, “Immanuel!” Still, God with us; God with them.

In chapter 8, then, we hear of the rising tide of opposition: mighty floodwaters would rise against Judah and it was the Lord’s doing. The prophet laments, “It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel!” Yet there is hope: “God is with us” (8:10). “Devise your plans”, shouts the prophet to the enemies of Judah, they will now stand! God is with us.”

The sign of Immanuel was given in the face or rank unbelief—it was no kingly piety that prevented Ahaz from asking for the sign: It was unbelief. It was his way of saying, “Uh, that’s OK Lord, I have the king of Assyria. It’s all good.” The sign of Immanuel was also given in the face of imminent disaster—a rising tide of persecution and devastation to the people and land of God. Your Land, Immanuel; God with us.

The sign was ironic: a brave king facing national devastation receives a sign he did not want in the form of a child. The sign was devastating: a God who loved his people and the land would watch as his people and land were swept away by pagans who neither feared God nor cared about people. Yet the sign was hopeful: when all was said and done, ‘God with us’ was the cry of God’s people (8:10). “Nothing devised against Immanuel’s people can succeed” (J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah, 94). The sign lingered in the memory of the Jewish people…God with us….

Then, one day, along came an angel who said: “This is the one who is Immanuel” and he pointed to Jesus who would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:23). So Matthew and the angel take Isaiah’s words and say to anyone reading and/or listening: Jesus is God with us.  All that Isaiah had said was about God, Matthew and the angel say is about Jesus. But that’s not the best part of it at all!

By the time we read through all of Matthew’s chapters and eavesdrop on private conversations and watch from a safe distance as Jesus does things that cause many great consternation and others great joy, he says this to his disciples, some of whom were doubting (much like Ahaz did): “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:17-20).

There in the midst of failing faith, in the midst of a turned upside down worldview, in the midst of death and resurrection—there, surrounded by those who were at the same time hopeful and hopeless—there in the midst of uncertainty and relief, Jesus too says: I am Immanuel; I am God with you. Of all the ‘I am’ statements Jesus ever made, this one is especially poignant. All those promises Isaiah’s God made to his people, Jesus says he is the fulfillment of. So go ahead and let the world scheme, let the nations rejoice, “nothing devised against Immanuel’s people can succeed.” God remembered his promises to Judah and brought them forward to us.

So where are you? Broken? Bruised? Beaten? Faithless? Uncertain? Upside down? Doubting? Facing a flood of adversaries? “O Come, o come, Immanuel!” What else can you say? Jesus is the realization of Isaiah’s words, the fulfillment of the sign in the most complete sense, and the only hope we have when faced with a crisis of any proportion. And, the best part? This is not mere Christmas hope!

He. Is. With. Us. Always.

Isaiah 9: Christian

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Isaiah has quite a few passages we love to quote at Christmas time.  It’s filled with prophecy that announces the coming of Israel’s salvation.  It also has some key verses that we can connect to the birth of Jesus – “For a child is born to us.”  Of course, we don’t go digging around trying to make every prophecy a prediction about Christ.  We have Matthew’s testimony about how Jesus fulfilled certain prophecies.  But the major themes found in Isaiah, even if we only take the prophetic passages that speak about Jesus, don’t focus on the birth of Jesus.  The focus is on the actions of the one who will be born.

Things will be different when he comes.  His presence will be a shining light in a land of deep darkness (Isaiah 9:1-5).  Life will be better under his rule.  It all sounds too good to be true.  It sounds like the perfect place to live.  And it never ends.  There won’t be some other country that overthrows the new King.  His government won’t collapse because of financial instability, citizen unrest and upheaval, or a military coup.  Peace is it’s defining characteristic.

The really amazing thing is that the Jewish people looked forward to the fulfillment of these prophecies.  They had hope that one day, God would send His anointed one to rule as their King, to protect and defend them, to provide for them, to bless them.  I think that’s amazing not because they had hope, but because they were looking toward the future that we are now living.  Our King, not a baby Jesus, but the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns in glory with fairness and justice.  His people, who are aliens in this world, live in his peace.

Before Him there was darkness.  Before Him there was sin and evil.  Before Him there was oppression.  Before Him there was cruelty.  Before Him there was the grave.  Before him there was death for all eternity.  Before, I did not know Him.

Things are different now.  With Him there is light.   With Him there is righteousness.  With Him there is justice.  With Him there is mercy.  With Him there is resurrection.  With Him there is life for all eternity.  The King has come.  Praise the King!

Jeremiah 31: Tim

Consider these two verses:

The priests will enjoy abundance,
and my people will feast on my good gifts.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”

And:

But now this is what the LORD says:
“Do not weep any longer,
for I will reward you,” says the LORD.
“Your children will come back to you
from the distant land of the enemy.

Want to know what verse comes between these two? Its one you’ll recognize if you’re familiar with the Christmas story:

This is what the LORD says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

Those verses aren’t exactly peanut butter and chocolate. They’re more like chocolate milk and pickles at 3AM. Jeremiah 31.15 is quoted by Matthew, describing the massacre of the innocents. And it’s easy to let that verse sit there, a bitter edge to the Christmas story. But in the larger context of Jeremiah, and the Christmas story itself the bitterness lasts only awhile before God sets right what has been wrong. Jeremiah 31 is a prophetic utterance, not about bitterness, but about a savior who will restore the relationship between humanity and God.

The two major remembrances of the Church calendar are Christmas and Easter. One the birth of the savior signaling a light had begun cracking the darkness and the Resurrection the singular act that defeated death and sin.

The work of God is a work of joy that has washed away bitterness, even the bitterness of a people lost, and infants murdered.

Isaiah 32: Nathanael

“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness . . .” (Isaiah 32.1a ESV).

This prophecy is just one of many pointing toward the day when the promised Messiah would arrive and usher in His kingdom. The coming King would fulfill the covenant that God made to Abraham. And He would be a faithful mediator in a way that Moses could not be. He would be a blameless King in a way that David was unable to be.

This King will rule and reign in righteousness over a kingdom that has no borders. His kingdom cannot be overthrown. No coup can succeed against it. It subverts other kingdoms without taking them over. This kingdom is so far above earthly concepts of a kingdom that its King, when describing it, had to resort to parables that began with the phrase “The kingdom of God is like . . .” for there is no human language that can explain it and no human intellect that can comprehend it.

But the thing that jumps out the most about this prophecy in Isaiah is the second half of the verse. “. . . and princes will rule in justice” (Isaiah 32:1b). The children of this King, His royal heirs, will be known by how they rule. They will be fair. They will be just and virtuous. They will be honest. They will rule in direct correlation to their submission to their King. Once we surrender our lives to the Him, we realize that He calls us to a unique mission. We are to go forth and draw others to Him. External force cannot be exerted. Reconciliation, not domination, is the goal of this kingdom.

Isaiah goes on to describe the manner in which the children of this servant King will rule: “Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly” (verses 2-4).

The method in which we rule will be directly affected by the influence and authority we allow the King to have in our lives. The degree to which we surrender to His reign will dictate the manner in which we rule. The King made it very clear in an analogy how much His children depend on Him. He said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15.4-5 ESV).

Behold, a coming King will reign
And rule in righteousness
Whose advent was of old ordained
Before this world was formed and framed.
To liberate the oppressed.

His children will rule with justice,
Each prince and each princess;
They’ll be a healing hospice,
A peaceful place of solace,
To those lost and in distress.

Each will be like a safe haven
From the wind and storms,
To all who feel the sting of sin,
Every one be welcomed in
Where love restores and transforms.

Each will be like a refreshing spring
In the dry and barren desert,
From the scorched ground bubbling,
Causing the parched tongue to sing,
Quenching more than thirst.

They are the great Rock’s shadow
In a hot and weary land,
To the orphan and the widow,
To those overcome with sorrow.
They extend their King’s hand.

Then eyes will see, ears will hear,
Truth will be disclosed.
Emmanuel, God draws near,
Dispelling any doubt and fear
With the love songs He composed.

The fearful heart will understand
And know love’s sacrifice.
The stammering tongue will proclaim
In clear tones Messiah’s name,
The King of kings, Jesus Christ.

Our King is a suffering servant, not a dominant dictator. And so, as His princes and princesses, we must be willing to follow His example.

Isaiah 40: Chris

Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.

In this time of remembrance and recognition of the coming of our Messiah, one of the words that most comes to me is “Compassion”.

My oldest son and I were talking today as we were wrapping gifts, and we happened upon the topic of stories which could bring tears to our eyes. The written word is sometimes hard to infuse with the passion and weight it truly deserves. Even so, I told him of the one passage in Scripture which still brings tears to my eyes – with the first time being five years ago when I read it as part of my first time reading the Bible from cover to cover.

When the Old Testament comes to a close, even though the children of Israel have returned to Jerusalem and set the foundations of the Temple. But even so, their longing for a Messiah is a palpable, bottomless ache. The prophecy of Isaiah 40, which pointed to the return of Israel from Babylon, also held for them a deeper, more fulfilling promise.

And this deep yearning comes to the fore in the story of the Essene, Simeon, in the Temple:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

And I can see this man, whose patience had been lifelong, hoping for the comfort promised by God through his prophet, 700 years before.

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

And so it is, this old man, whose only heart’s desire is to see the Messiah, is given the privilege of blessing him at the time of his circumcision. He was able to hold the Creator of the universe in his hands and offer a blessing to Him and to his mother and adopted father.

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

And it is in Simeon that we first feel the full weight of the joy at the coming of the Messiah, and the first contemporary glimpse at Jesus as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”. And so it was, this Good News, came to us about 2010 years ago, and whose story we tell and cherish today.

And it brings us such great comfort and joy.

Isaiah 61: Phil

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

It is after reading this passage from Isaiah that Jesus sat down and proclaimed that this Scripture was fulfilled in your hearing. There are some commentators who believe that the reason those listening had such a negative reaction to Jesus’ claiming this passage was fulfilled was not simply that He was claiming this passage was talking about Him, but, rather, Jesus stopped in the middle of a sentence. Of course, in Isaiah 61, verses 2 & 3 continue to say:

and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.

So, perhaps the reactions of those in Nazareth hearing this proclamation was not so different than what ours would be today. When we read Scriptures about God offering blessings, both physical and spiritual, there is a natural desire to claim those for ourselves – especially if we find our identity as His chosen people. It is human nature to hold on to and to grasp as much as we can for ourselves and those in our inner circle. As Christians, as members of a certain church, or as Americans (or any other nationality), we tend to see our tribe as more important than other tribes. So it’s not surprising that when Jesus neglected to mention the part of this passage that talks about God exacting vengeance on Israel’s enemies that the Jews got upset.

But, the truth remains – Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. This favor extends to all mankind, and it’s not any greater for one group over another. We are all favored. Republicans, Democrats, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists drug-addicts, perverts, pastors, drop-outs, atheists – none of these people are so far gone that they are beyond the reach of God’s love for them through Christ. The wonder of the incarnation is in the fact that despite our constant unfaithfulness, the Father remains faithful to us. It is a wondrous thing to ponder.

In closing, I quote John “Golden Mouth” Chrysostom from the first Christmas sermon ever preached from 386 AD.

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ‘in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Amen. Let us observe the feast!

Conclusion

Eugene Peterson wrote, “Too many of us spend far too much time with the editorial page and not nearly enough time with the prophetic vision. We get our interpretation of politics and economics and morals from journalists when we should be getting only information; the meaning of the world is most accurately given to us by God’s Word” (his emphasis; Run with the Horses, 54).

I’m glad we conducted this experiment this year, this slow march through the prophets. These ancient words enlighten our minds, stir up our hearts, animate our imaginations, and give energy to our hands and feet. We see God in the grand and in the mundane. We see God in poems and in sermons. We hear God roaring and we hear him weeping. We see him triumphing over his enemies and bending over his beloved. This is the God who came near! This is the God announced by the prophets and shown to us in Jesus. This is the God whom we serve and love, the God who serves and loves.

One of the disciples demanded of Jesus on the night of his betrayal, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” And Jesus responded, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

In other words, “I am enough for you.”

Our hope, in this post, is that you have heard from the prophets, listened for the voice of God, and  seen the Lord Jesus and that in so doing, you will have a renewed determination to be what you were born to be in and because of Jesus.

appendix A – better late than never: neil

since I did not get my assignment in on time, it must be added to the end. so, in that vein i’ll reference the very beginning of the story.

genesis 3:
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel. – god

at first glance this looks like nothing more than a promise that snakes and people will forever not get along. yet as history proved – it was the first prophetic utterance that would culminate in the Christ event. What is truly amazing is that nothing in this chapter took god by surprise. He, they, were ready to respond. Theologians have speculated as to how and why he created adam and eve knowing they would sin. Believers have debated the order of decrees and decisions – and will continue to do so.

what remains is this promise.
a promise repeated to a man named Abraham.
a promise repeated to a nation called Israel
a promise repeated to their most famous king named david
a promise repeated until fulfilled in jesus the christ.

And just as the candlelight spread in last evening late late service… the gospel has spread, and will spread, until his glory covers of earth as the waters cover the sea.

Merry Christmas from the writers of Prophets, Priests, and Poets.